Kurenai no yashio no koromo kaku shi araba omoisomezu zo arubekarikeru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

紅の八入の衣かくしあらば
思ひそめずぞあるべかりける

Roma-ji: Kurenai no yashio no koromo kaku shi araba omoisomezu zo arubekarikeru
English Translation: Like a crimson robe
steeped in dye eight times over,
if it was to be like this,
never should I have begun
to let my love be dyed so deep.
Meaning: I came to love as deeply as a robe dyed eight times over in crimson; had I known it would end like this, I should never have let myself begin.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Love Poems V 975

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Topic unknown"
The poem says that I came to love as deeply as a robe dyed many times in crimson, but had I known it would come to this, I should never have begun to love. Overlaying deep love on the rich hue of crimson dye, it sings of regret that the love was not returned.

First line, "kurenai no," means "of crimson." It shares the word with the third line of 978 in this book, "kurenai no."
Second line, "yashio no koromo," means "a robe steeped many times in dye." The first two lines form an introductory phrase that, through dyeing, leads to "some" in the fourth line, while also expressing the depth of feeling.
Third line, "kaku shi araba," means "if it were to be like this," with "shi" emphatic.
Fourth line, "omoisomezu zo," means "never to have begun to love," with "some" a pivot word joining "some," to begin, and "some," to dye cloth. The binding particle "zo" forms a kakari-musubi with the final line. It shares the same pivot word with the second line of 978 in this book, "omoisometeshi."
Final line, "arubekarikeru," means "I should have stayed so," concluding with "keru," the attributive of the exclamatory "keri," in answer to "zo" in the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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