Tsukikusa ni koromo wa suramu asatsuyu ni nurete no nochi wa utsuroinu tomo

月草に衣は摺らむ朝露に
濡れての後はうつろひぬとも

Roma-ji: Tsukikusa ni koromo wa suramu asatsuyu ni nurete no nochi wa utsuroinu tomo
English Translation: With dayflower blue
I shall rub my robe in dye;
in the morning dew
once it has been soaked through,
though its color fade away
Meaning: I will rub my robe with dayflower dye—even if, once soaked with morning dew, its color should fade away.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1351

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Grasses"
The speaker resolves to rub her robe with dayflower dye even if its color fades once it is soaked with morning dew. The dayflower stands for a fickle lover, rubbing the robe for union, and fading for a change of heart, expressing a firm resolve to be joined with him even if his heart should later turn away.
It is one of the poems on grasses. Poem 1339 in this book, on the same dayflower, hesitates because people say its color fades, and this poem stands as its counterpart, casting that hesitation aside. Dyeing a robe with dayflower is also sung in poem 1255 in this book. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "With dayflower blue," is the same as the first line of poems 1255 and 1339 in this book.
The second line, "I shall rub my robe in dye," states her resolve, and the poem pauses here.
The third line, "in the morning dew," names what will soak the robe.
The fourth line, "once it has been soaked through," refers to the time after.
The final line, "though its color fade away," strengthens the resolve of the second line by inversion and answers "it is a shade that fades" in the fourth line of poem 1339 in this book.
Source: Manyoshu
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