Murasaki no hitomoto yue ni musashino no kusa wa minagara aware to zo miru - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

紫の一本ゆゑに武蔵野の
草はみながらあはれとぞ見る

Roma-ji: Murasaki no hitomoto yue ni musashino no kusa wa minagara aware to zo miru
English Translation: For the sake of one
single stem of murasaki,
all the grasses
of Musashi Plain I view
with tender, loving eyes.
Meaning: Because a single stem of gromwell grows there, I look upon every grass of Musashi Plain with tender affection.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems I 867

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Because of a single gromwell plant growing on Musashi Plain, all the grasses of the plain become dear. It is read as a figure for how, when one loves a single person, everyone connected to that person seems dear as well.
From this poem came the expression "murasaki no yukari," the kin of the purple, for things connected to a beloved. In The Tale of Genji, Murasaki, related to Fujitsubo, is called the "murasaki no yukari" on the basis of this poem. The author is unknown.

First line "murasaki no" is the gromwell plant, whose roots yield purple dye. The next poem, 868, also begins with "murasaki no," linking the two by the same opening.
Second line "hitomoto yue ni" means "for the sake of a single stem," a figure for one beloved person.
Third line "musashino no" is the vast plain of Musashi Province, known for its gromwell.
Fourth line "kusa wa minagara": nagara means all just as they are, pointing to every grass on the plain.
Fifth line "aware to zo miru" closes zo with the attributive miru. It echoes the last line of poem 873 in this book, "aware to omowamu," in its tenderness toward all things.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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