Kaku to dani omou kokoro o iwaseyama shita yuku mizu no kusagakure tsutsu - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かくとだに思ふ心をいはせ山
下行く水の草隠れつつ

Roma-ji: Kaku to dani omou kokoro o iwaseyama shita yuku mizu no kusagakure tsutsu
English Translation: If only "thus it is"—
I would have my heart speak out,
but as at Iwase
the stream that runs beneath
stays hidden in the grass.
Meaning: I would have my heart say at least "this is how I feel," yet like the water flowing below Mount Iwase, hidden again and again among the grasses, my love stays out of sight.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 1088

Headnote: "When composing many love poems."
This is the third poem of the sequence on hidden love that turns on "letting slip." The speaker longs to convey at least "this is how I feel," yet the love stays hidden, like water flowing beneath a mountain concealed in the grass. According to the headnote, it is one of many love poems the author composed.
The author, "Latter Tokudaiji Minister of the Left," is Fujiwara no Sanesada. The son of Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Kinyoshi, he rose to minister of the left, and he was called "Latter Tokudaiji" in contrast to his grandfather Saneyoshi, the Tokudaiji Minister of the Left.
Mount Iwase is said to be a poetic place-name in Yamato Province.

The first line, "kaku to dani," means "at least that it is so," with "dani" marking the smallest of wishes. It shares its first line with Fujiwara no Sanekata's Goshūishū poem, "kaku to dani e ya wa ibuki no sashimogusa."
The second line, "omou kokoro o," means "the heart that loves." The second line of the next poem is also "omou kokoro o," so the two poems are placed side by side sharing the same line.
In the third line, "iwaseyama," "iwase" holds both "iwase," to let the heart speak, and the place-name Mount Iwase.
The fourth line, "shita yuku mizu no," means "of the water that flows below," a figure for love that does not show itself. Like the valley stream beneath the leaves in poem 1086 of this book, water running below stands for a hidden love.
The last line, "kusagakure tsutsu," means "hidden again and again in the grass," the particle "tsutsu" marking repetition and continuance. Ending on "tsutsu" without closing the statement, the poem leaves a lingering sense of love that stays hidden.
Author: Fujiwara no Sanesada
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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