#014 みちのくの

みちのくの 
しのぶもぢずり 
誰故に 
乱れそめにし 
我ならなくに 

Michinoku no shinobu mojizuri tare yue ni midare somenishi ware naranaku ni

Minamoto no Tōru

In Michinoku they mottle cloth with fern leaves; but who hides behind this disorder I'm marked with? It began with you not I. (trans. Köy Deli)

in Michinoku ferns dye the mottled cloth who is the cause for the disorder marking us I am not the reason  (trans. Jane Reichhold)

Parsing 

Michinoku no
Michinoko | of
shinobu mojizuri
fern-dyed | irregular patterned cloth
tare yue ni
who | therefore | the reason
midaren somenishi
disorder | to dye/begin
ware naranaku ni
I | be | not | because/the reason 


Crib

Like the irregular patterned cloth from Shinobu, I too am disordered. With whom did this disorder begin? Not I! (It is because of you).

Notes

pivot words

shinobu
n. a dye made from ferns, a fabric printed with an irregular pattern using fern dye; the place name of where such cloth was made;
v. to recollect, remember; to hide; to endure.

some
to dye/ to begin

syntax


ware - I, answers to tare, who. Who is the cause? I am not the reason! (inferring it is because of you).

Michnoku	みちのくの	place name
no	の	genitive
shinobu	しのぶ	n. 1. species of fern 2. colour of clothing (light green on blue) 3. cloth patterned using a species of fern 4. place name, a region of Michinoku v. 1. to recollect, remember, to long for 2. to hide; conceal oneself 3. to endure, suffer in silence, to silently bear,
mojizuri	もぢずり	a fabric with an irregular pattern of patches or spots of different shades
tare	誰	who, someone, somebody,
yue	故	reason, cause, consequently, therefore, happenstance,
ni	に	case particle indicating reason, the reason is, because of, given that (ので in modern Japanese), because of who (tare)?
midare	乱れ	disturbance, disorder, unrest, riot, war
some	そめ	dye(ing), print(ing), そめる someru – to dye, to print; to begin
ware	我	I, oneself, ego, selfish, our
nara	なら	to be
naku	なく	not