Makura dani shiraneba iwaji mishi mama ni kimi kataru na yo haru no yo no yume - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

枕だに知らねば言はじ見しままに
君語るなよ春の夜の夢

Roma-ji: Makura dani shiraneba iwaji mishi mama ni kimi kataru na yo haru no yo no yume
English Translation: Since not even the pillow
knows of it, I will not speak;
just as you saw it,
you too must tell no one of
that dream of a night in spring
Meaning: Since not even a pillow knows of it, I will say nothing; and you, too, must never tell anyone what you saw—our meeting, fleeting as a dream on a spring night.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1160

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the second poem of the sequence likening lovers' meetings to dreams. Since not even a pillow knows, she will not speak, and he too must not tell what he saw, the meeting fleeting as a dream of a spring night. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Izumi Shikibu," was a daughter of Ōe no Masamune, Governor of Echizen. She was called by this name because she married Tachibana no Michisada, Governor of Izumi, and she later served Shōshi, Empress to Emperor Ichijō.

The first line, "makura dani," takes up exactly the words "makura dani sezu" from the last line of the preceding poem. Where that poem said "I do not even use a pillow," this one answers, "not even a pillow knows."
The second line, "shiraneba iwaji," means "since it does not know, I will not tell." It takes up "shiru" in "shiru to ieba" of the preceding poem's third line by negating it as "shiraneba." The auxiliary "ji" expresses negative intention, with a pause after the second line.
The third line, "mishi mama ni," means "just as you saw it." The phrase applies both to seeing a dream and to sharing a lovers' meeting.
The fourth line, "kimi kataru na yo," means "you must not tell." It takes up "hito ni kataru na" from the preceding poem and adds "yo" to strengthen the appeal to the lover.
The last line, "haru no yo no yume," ends on a noun, overlaying the brevity of a lovers' meeting on the dream of a short spring night that quickly turns to dawn. It is an inversion that reveals only at the end what must be kept secret.
Author: Izumi Shikibu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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