Nare miteshi hana no tamoto o uchikaeshi nori no koromo o tachi zo kaetsuru - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

なれ見てし花の袂をうちかへし
法の衣を裁ちぞかへつる

Roma-ji: Nare miteshi hana no tamoto o uchikaeshi nori no koromo o tachi zo kaetsuru
English Translation: The flowered sleeves
that I had grown used to see,
you have turned inside out,
and into a Buddhist robe
have cut them and made them new.
Meaning: You have turned inside out the flower-bright sleeves I was so used to seeing, and cut them anew into the robe of the Law.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1711

Headnote: "Sending garments to someone I heard had become a nun."
This is the first of the poems exchanged with gifts of garments on the occasion of taking vows. The flower-bright sleeves he was used to seeing have been cut anew into a Buddhist robe. According to the headnote, the poem accompanied garments sent to someone he heard had become a nun, and it carries his feelings toward one who has left the world.
The author, "Hōjōji Nyūdō Former Regent and Chancellor," is Fujiwara no Michinaga. The son of Fujiwara no Kaneie, he set his daughters up as empresses, rose to Regent and Chancellor, and held unrivaled power. Late in life he took the tonsure and founded the temple Hōjōji.

In the first line, "nare miteshi," "nare" is a pivot word meaning both "grown used to seeing" and a garment becoming worn and familiar. "Te" is perfective and "shi" past, telling of long familiarity.
The second line, "hana no tamoto o," is the sleeve of a brightly colored robe, showing her appearance while still in the world.
The third line, "uchikaeshi," means "turning inside out," that is, remaking the garment; the same "uchikaeshi" stands in the third line of the next poem.
The fourth line, "nori no koromo o," is the robe worn by monks and nuns. It pairs with the "flowered sleeves" of the second line, marking the change from bright clothing to ink-dark robes.
The last line, "tachi zo kaetsuru," means "has cut them anew." It closes the kakari-musubi of "zo" with "tsuru," the attributive form of the perfective "tsu," entrusting the great turn of leaving the world to the remaking of a garment.
Author: Fujiwara no Michinaga
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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