Koto ni idete iwanu bakari zo Minasegawa shita ni kayoite koishiki mono o - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

言に出でて言はぬばかりぞ水無瀬川
下に通ひて恋しきものを

Roma-ji: Koto ni idete iwanu bakari zo Minasegawa shita ni kayoite koishiki mono o
English Translation: It is only that
I do not speak it out in words;
like Minase River,
my heart flows on hidden
beneath, in love with you.
Meaning: It is only that I do not put it into words. Like the Minase River, whose waters flow unseen beneath the sand, my heart runs to you in secret, filled with longing.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 607

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet says that it is only that he does not put his love into words; like the Minase River, which has no water on its surface yet flows beneath the ground, his feelings keep flowing deep in his heart, full of longing. Likening a love not expressed in words to an underground river, he pleads the depth of a love that cannot be seen from outside.
Ki no Tomonori was a poet of the early Heian period, the son of Ki no Aritomo and a cousin of Ki no Tsurayuki. He served as Senior Private Secretary and was appointed one of the compilers of the Kokinshū, but died before its completion. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "koto ni idete": "putting into words." The main text writes koto with the character for "thing."
Second line, "iwanu bakari zo": bakari is restrictive, "it is only that I do not say it." The binding particle zo gives emphasis, and the poem breaks here.
Third line, "Minasegawa": a river with no water on its surface, flowing beneath the sand, also regarded as a famous poetic place in Settsu. It leads into "shita ni kayoite" in the fourth line and becomes a figure for love that does not show.
Fourth line, "shita ni kayoite": shita overlays "underground" and "within the heart." As with "shita ni nagarure" in 581 and "shita ni nagarete" in 591 of this book, the conceit of likening hidden love to flowing water recurs within the book.
Fifth line, "koishiki mono o": mono o is an exclamatory particle with a concessive sense, closing with the plea "though I long for you so."
Author: Ki no Tomonori
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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