Nawashiro no konagi ga hana o kinu ni suri naruru manimani aze ka kanashike

苗代の小水葱が花を衣に摺り
なるるまにまにあぜか愛しけ

Roma-ji: Nawashiro no konagi ga hana o kinu ni suri naruru manimani aze ka kanashike
English Translation: In the rice seedbed
flowers of the water leek
rubbed into my robe:
as it grows more worn and soft,
why does it grow ever more dear?
Meaning: I dyed my robe with the flowers of the water leek in the seedbed—and as I wear it soft, why does it grow ever dearer to me?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3576

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Allegorical Poems"
As a robe dyed with the flowers of water leek from the seedbed grows familiar with wearing, so the beloved grows dearer the closer they become—an allegory. Affection deepening in daily life is likened to a robe softening to the body.
It is the last of the allegorical poems. Konagi is also sung in 3415 from Kōzuke, "uekonagi."
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "nawashiro no": A rice seedbed, a scene of farming.
Second line, "konagi ga hana o": "Konagi" is a waterside plant, also seen in 3415.
Third line, "kinu ni suri": "Rubbing it into my robe," transferring the flower's color to cloth.
Fourth line, "naruru manimani": "Naruru" means growing used to, wearing soft, and "manimani" means as it does.
Final line, "aze ka kanashike": "Aze ka" is an eastern "why," and "kanashike" an eastern form of "kanashiki."
Source: Manyoshu
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