Waga kitaru hitoe goromo wa yamabuki no yae no iro ni mo otorazarikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

我が着たる一重衣は山吹の
八重の色にも劣らざりけり

Roma-ji: Waga kitaru hitoe goromo wa yamabuki no yae no iro ni mo otorazarikeri
English Translation: This robe that I wear,
though it is a single layer,
to the kerria's
eight-fold petals' golden hue
is in no way inferior
Meaning: The single-layered robe I am wearing is not outshone in color even by the double-petaled kerria.
Commentary: Book Three Spring Poems III 108

Headnote: "At a place where kerria grew among the garden plantings."
The poet says the single-layered robe he wears is no less lovely in color than the double kerria blooming in the garden. Contrasting single and eightfold and pitting his kerria-colored robe against the flowers, the poem shows a playful spirit.
According to the headnote, it was composed where kerria bloomed among the plantings of the garden.
The poet, called "Lord Kanesuke," is Fujiwara no Kanesuke. A son of Fujiwara no Toshimoto, he rose to Middle Counselor. He was called the Tsutsumi Middle Counselor because his residence stood on the embankment of the Kamo River, and he was a patron of Ki no Tsurayuki, Ōshikōchi no Mitsune and others. He was the great-grandfather of Murasaki Shikibu and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

The first line, "Waga kitaru," means "that I am wearing."
In the second line, "hitoe goromo" is an unlined, single-layered robe, contrasted with "yae," eightfold, in the fourth line.
The third line, "yamabuki no," names the kerria blooming in the garden. Following 104 of this book, kerria appears again.
The fourth line, "yae no iro ni mo," presents the color of the many-petaled double kerria. Through the contrast of one and eight, the poet boasts of a robe whose color is not outdone by the abundance of the flowers.
In the last line, "keri" expresses a sigh of realization: "it is in no way inferior."
Author: Fujiwara no Kanesuke
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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