Kawaru ramu koromo no iro o omoiyaru namida ya ura no tama ni magawamu - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かはるらむ衣の色を思ひやる
涙や裏の玉にまがはむ

Roma-ji: Kawaru ramu koromo no iro o omoiyaru namida ya ura no tama ni magawamu
English Translation: The color of your robe
that must have changed by now—
thinking of it, will
my tears be mistaken for
the jewel within the lining?
Meaning: As I think of your robe, whose color must now have changed, will my tears be mistaken for the jewel sewn inside its lining?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1714

Headnote: "After Jōtōmon-in took vows, a rosary of aloeswood fitted with gold, placed in a silver box and tied to a plum branch, was presented to her."
This is the fourth of the poems exchanged with gifts of garments and ornaments on the occasion of taking vows. Thinking of her sister's robe, which must now have turned ink-dark, she sheds tears and wonders if they will be mistaken for the jewel within its lining. According to the headnote, it was sent after Jōtōmon-in took vows, with a rosary of aloeswood fitted with gold, placed in a silver box and tied to a plum branch.
The author, "Biwa Empress Dowager," is Fujiwara no Kenshi. A daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, she became consort to Emperor Sanjō and later Empress Dowager. She is known by this title because she lived at the Biwa mansion. She was the younger sister of Jōtōmon-in Shōshi.
Jōtōmon-in is Fujiwara no Shōshi, daughter of Michinaga and consort of Emperor Ichijō. Mother of Emperors Go-Ichijō and Go-Suzaku, she later took vows and became a Retired Lady.

In the first line, "kawaru ramu," "ramu" is an auxiliary of present conjecture. From afar she imagines that the robe's color must have changed upon taking vows.
The second line, "koromo no iro o," is the color changed from bright robes to ink-dark Buddhist garb.
The third line, "omoiyaru," means "thinking of one far away," and modifies the "tears" of the fourth line.
In the fourth line, "namida ya ura no," "ya" is a particle of question. "The jewel of the lining," as in the poem two before, draws on the Lotus Sutra parable of the jewel sewn in the robe, and also suggests the beads of the rosary she sends.
The last line, "tama ni magawamu," closes the kakari-musubi of "ya" with the attributive form of the conjectural "mu." Seeing her teardrops as jewels, it shows how many tears she sheds for her sister's leaving the world.
Author: Fujiwara no Kenshi
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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