Takayama no iwamoto tagichi yuku mizu no oto ni wa tateji koite shinu tomo

高山の岩もとたぎち行く水の
音には立てじ恋ひて死ぬとも

Roma-ji: Takayama no iwamoto tagichi yuku mizu no oto ni wa tateji koite shinu tomo
English Translation: From the mountain heights
seething round the rocks' deep roots
the waters rush on:
never will I give it voice,
though I die of loving you
Meaning: Like the water seething round the roots of the rocks as it rushes down from the high mountains, I will never let my love be heard aloud, even if I die of longing.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2718

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Through the sound of water seething at the base of rocks on a high mountain, the speaker vows never to let love show and become known, even at the cost of dying from it. While using the violent sound of water as a preface, the poem states, in contrast to it, a firm resolve to keep love hidden in the heart.
The poem expresses feelings through the sound of mountain water. Like poem 2716, it depicts water flowing down from high mountains; where that poem tells of a heart breaking apart, this one declares a resolve never to reveal love. It also pairs with the preceding poem, which laments rumors roaring like waves over a weir and rapids, whereas this poem vows to make no sound.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather love poems by people whose names have not been handed down.

First line, "takayama no": "of the high mountain." Like the opening "takayama yu" of poem 2716, it begins with water flowing down from high mountains.
Second line, "iwamoto tagichi": "seething at the roots of the rocks," describing water rushing and churning violently.
Third line, "yuku mizu no": "of the flowing water." The lines up to here form a preface, leading from the loud sound of the water to "oto" (sound) in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "oto ni wa tateji": "I will not let it be heard." "Oto ni tatsu" means to reveal something so that it becomes talk or rumor. "Ji" is an auxiliary of negative intention, and the poem pauses here.
Fifth line, "koite shinu tomo": "even if I die of love." Through inversion with the fourth line, it strongly impresses the resolve to keep love secret even at the cost of life. "Tomo" expresses a concessive supposition.
Source: Manyoshu
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