Kusamakura tabi yuku kimi to shiramaseba kishi no hanyū ni niowasamashi o

草枕旅行く君と知らませば
岸の埴生ににほはさましを

Roma-ji: Kusamakura tabi yuku kimi to shiramaseba kishi no hanyū ni niowasamashi o
English Translation: Had I only known
you were one who, grass for pillow,
would soon journey on,
with the red clay of the shore
I'd have dyed your robes for you.
Meaning: Had I only known you would be setting off on a journey, I would have dyed your robes with the red clay of the shore as a keepsake.
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 69

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems from the journey of the Retired Empress to the Naniwa Palace"
Addressing Prince Naga as he departs, the poet laments their parting: had she known he would leave so soon, she would have dyed his robes with the red clay of the Suminoe shore as a keepsake of his journey. Frankly expressing regret, it carries a tender consideration for him. According to the left note, it was presented by Kiyoe no Otome to Prince Naga.
Kiyoe no Otome is, as the left note says, "of unknown clan," and her life is unknown. Kiyoe means Suminoe, and she is thought to have been a wandering entertainer of that place.

The first line, kusamakura, "grass for a pillow," is a pillow word for "journey," since travelers bound grass for their pillows.
The second line, "you who go on a journey," refers to Prince Naga.
In the third line, mase is the irrealis form of the counterfactual mashi, and with ba means "had I known." It answers the mashi of the last line.
In the fourth line, hanyū is land of red or yellow clay, used to dye cloth. The red clay of the Suminoe shore was famous as a dye.
In the last line, niowasu means to dye, mashi is counterfactual, and o a concessive, exclamatory particle: "I would have dyed them for you." The "maseba ... mashi" pattern voices regret at parting. Poem 57 in this book also has "let your robes take on their dye as a token of our trip," sharing the conceit of dyeing robes as a keepsake of travel.
Author: Kiyoe no Otome
Source: Manyoshu
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