Tanabata ni koromo mo nugite kasubeki ni yuyushi to ya mimu sumizome no sode - Shika Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

たなばたに衣も脱ぎて貸すべきに
ゆゆしとや見む墨染の袖

Roma-ji: Tanabata ni koromo mo nugite kasubeki ni yuyushi to ya mimu sumizome no sode
English Translation: For the Weaver Maid
I should take off my robe
and lend it to her, but
would she think it ill-omened:
these sleeves dyed in ink-black?
Meaning: I ought to take off my robe and lend it to the Weaver Maid, but would she find these ink-black sleeves of a monk ill-omened?
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 85

Headnote: "Composed on the seventh day of the seventh month, after he had taken the tonsure"
Retired Emperor Kazan composed this on the seventh day of the seventh month after taking holy orders. At Tanabata it was customary to lend, that is, offer, robes to the Weaver Maid, and he feels he should do so, only to realize that his robe is now the black garment of a monk.
His hesitation to offer a robe in the color of mourning to a star rejoicing in her reunion carries the sorrow of one who has left the world. The offering of thread in the preceding poem widens here into the offering of robes.

The first line, "tanabata ni," means "to the Weaver Maid," naming the recipient of the offering.
The second line, "koromo mo nugite," means "even taking off my robe," alluding to the custom of lending robes at Tanabata.
The third line, "kasubeki ni," means "though I ought to lend it," a concessive that leads into the doubt of the closing lines.
The fourth line, "yuyushi to ya mimu," asks "would she see it as ill-omened?" with ya marking the question.
The last line, "sumizome no sode," ends on a noun and stands for his life as a monk. It shares with the preceding poem, 84, the motif of an offering to the Weaver Maid.
Author: Retired Emperor Kazan
Source: Shika Wakashu
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