Makura yori mata shiru hito mo naki koi o namida sekiaezu morashitsuru kana - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

枕より又知る人もなき恋を
涙せきあへずもらしつるかな

Roma-ji: Makura yori mata shiru hito mo naki koi o namida sekiaezu morashitsuru kana
English Translation: A love that no one
save my pillow ever knew,
not another soul,
now I cannot dam my tears,
and they have let it all spill out
Meaning: It was a love no one knew but my pillow, yet unable to hold back my tears, I have let it spill out for all to see.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 670

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
It was a secret love known to no one but the pillow, yet the poet's irrepressible tears have let it be known. Bringing in the pillow, held to know the secrets of love, it overlays tears leaking out with a secret leaking out.
The author, recorded as Taira no Sadafun, was a son of Taira no Yoshikaze, of the Kanmu Heishi line. Known as Heichu, a famous lover, he is regarded as the hero of The Tales of Heichu, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals of the Middle Ages.
Ise's poem 676 at the end of the book also uses the idea that the pillow knows of love, saying she slept without even a pillow, and it echoes this poem.

The first line, "makura yori," means "apart from the pillow," with yori limiting.
The second line, "mata shiru hito mo," means "no one else who knew."
The third line, "naki koi o," means "a love there was none to know," continuing with an adversative sense.
The fourth line, "namida sekiaezu," means "unable to hold back my tears," with eight syllables, one extra.
The final line, "morashitsuru kana," overlays tears spilling with a secret spilling out, closing with the perfective tsu and exclamatory kana. "Tears," "dam," and "spill" are associated words.
Author: Taira no Sadabumi
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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