Nagarete mo susugi ya suru to nureginu hito wa kisu tomo mi ni wa narasaji - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

流れてもすすぎやするとぬれ衣
人は着すとも身には馴らさじ

Roma-ji: Nagarete mo susugi ya suru to nureginu hito wa kisu tomo mi ni wa narasaji
English Translation: It may yet be rinsed
clean as time flows on, and so
this wet robe of blame,
though others may put it on me,
I will never make my own
Meaning: As time flows on, it may yet be washed clean, and so, though others may dress me in this robe of false blame, I will never let it become my own.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 696

Headnote: "Reply"
The woman's reply to the preceding poem. It may be rinsed clean as time flows on, she says, so though others put the wet robe on me, I will not wear it as my own. Brushing aside his invitation, "let it be soaked through again," she firmly refuses: a groundless rumor may in time be washed away by the flowing stream, so she will not let the robe of false blame cling to her, that is, she will not become his lover in truth. The poem is attributed to "Anonymous."
In this exchange with the preceding poem, 695, she takes up its third line, "nureginu," in her own third line, and answers "hosu," "to dry," with "susugu," "to rinse," turning his words back through the related words of the robe.

First line, "nagarete mo": "even as it flows in the stream," overlaid with the passing of time.
Second line, "susugi ya suru to": "susugi" means to rinse clean, overlaid with a rumor being cleared, and "ya" is interrogative. Against "hosu beki" in the fourth line of the preceding poem, she answers with another related word of the robe.
Third line, "nureginu": combines a wet robe and a false rumor. It is the same word as the third line of the preceding poem.
Fourth line, "hito wa kisu tomo": "kisu" means to dress someone, and "tomo" is a concessive hypothesis, "though others may put it on me."
Fifth line, "mi ni wa narasaji": "narasa" means to wear something until it fits, and "ji" is the negative volitional, "I will never make it my own," meaning that she will not become his lover.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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