Tamakagiru iwakaki fuchi no komori ni wa fushite shinu tomo na ga na wa noraji

玉かぎる岩垣淵の隠りには
伏して死ぬとも汝が名は告らじ

Roma-ji: Tamakagiru iwakaki fuchi no komori ni wa fushite shinu tomo na ga na wa noraji
English Translation: Gleaming like a jewel,
the pool walled in by the rocks
lies hidden from sight;
though I lie down there and die,
your name I will never tell
Meaning: Hidden away like a deep pool walled in by rocks, though I lie prostrate and die of love, I will never speak your name.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2700

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Keeping my love hidden in my heart, even if I should collapse and die from its pain, I will never reveal your name: so this poem vows. It expresses an almost tragic resolve to guard the beloved's name at the cost of one's life.
This is a poem on a river, and the first two lines form a preface leading, through the image of a pool walled in by rocks, to "hidden" in the third line. The last line, "na ga na wa noraji," is shared with poem 2696; where that poem refuses to reveal the name even under questioning, this one refuses even in death, a still stronger vow. The phrase "tamakagiru iwakaki fuchi no komori" also appears in poem 207 of Book Two, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro's long poem mourning the death of his wife.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather the love poems of people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "tamakagiru": a pillow word attached to "rock-walled pool." Meaning a jewel's faint gleam, it suggests the glint of water in the dim pool.
Second line, "iwakaki fuchi no": "of the pool walled in by rocks." It brings in a deep pool hidden from human eyes, leading into "hidden" in the next line.
Third line, "komori ni wa": "in hiding." It means keeping one's love secret in the heart, set apart by "wa"; the figure of the pool from the first line comes to rest here.
Fourth line, "fushite shinu tomo": "though I lie down and die." It speaks of collapsing and dying from the pain of love, with the concessive "tomo."
Fifth line, "na ga na wa noraji": "I will not tell your name." "Noru" means to speak aloud, and the negative volitional "ji" states a firm vow.
Source: Manyoshu
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