Omoiki ya kimi ga koromo o nugikaete koki murasaki no iro o kimu to wa - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

思ひきや君が衣を脱ぎかへて
濃き紫の色を着むとは

Roma-ji: Omoiki ya kimi ga koromo o nugikaete koki murasaki no iro o kimu to wa
English Translation: Did I ever think—
that you would change your robes
and in their place
put on the color, deep
of the purple dye
Meaning: Did I ever imagine that you would change out of your robe and put on one of deep purple?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1111

Headnote: "When Lord Hiroakira became Middle Counselor, sending him an outer court robe."
The poet asks whether anyone could have imagined that his friend would change out of his robe and put on deep purple. He celebrates Hiroakira, promoted to Middle Counselor and now entitled to the deep purple robe of high rank, by sending him a court robe.
According to the headnote, the poem accompanied a court robe sent to Minamoto no Hiroakira when he became Middle Counselor. Hiroakira's reply follows in the next poem, forming an exchange.
The poet, "the Minister of the Right," is Fujiwara no Morosuke. The second son of the Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, he rose to Minister of the Right. His daughter Anshi became empress of Emperor Murakami, and his descendants flourished as the Regent's house. He was called Kujōdono.

The first line, "Omoiki ya," means "did I ever think," with "ki" the past and "ya" rhetorical. The poem pauses here, and in inverted order the line leads to "to wa" in the last line.
The second line, "kimi ga koromo o," means "your robe."
The third line, "nugikaete," means "changing out of," referring to changing from the robe of his former rank.
The fourth line, "koki murasaki no," means "of deep purple," the color of a robe of high rank.
The last line, "iro o kimu to wa," means "that you would wear that color," with "mu" conjecture. It returns to "omoiki ya" in the first line and heightens the joy of the promotion.
Author: Fujiwara no Morosuke
Source: Gosen Wakashu
Prev Poem: Haru goto ni yukite nomi mimu toshikiri mo sezu to iu tane wa oinu to ka kiku
Next Poem: Inishie mo chigiritekeri na uchihabuki tobitachinubeshi ama no hagoromo