Minasoko ni ouru tamamo no oiidezu yoshi kono koro wa kakute kayowamu

水底に生ふる玉藻の生ひ出でず
よしこのころはかくて通はむ

Roma-ji: Minasoko ni ouru tamamo no oiidezu yoshi kono koro wa kakute kayowamu
English Translation: Like the jeweled weed
growing on the water's floor,
never rising up,
so be it, for now, like this
I will keep on coming to you
Meaning: Like the jeweled seaweed growing on the water's floor that never rises to the surface, I will not show my love; so be it, for now I will keep coming to you like this.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2778

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Just as the seaweed on the water's floor never rises to the surface, the speaker resolves not to show his love openly but to go on visiting in secret for the time being. Fearful of rumor yet unwilling to give up meeting, the poem reveals the resolve of a hidden love.
The sequence moves here from grasses on land to the jeweled seaweed in the water. Where the preceding poem reproached a man whose visits had ceased, this one resolves to keep visiting while avoiding others' eyes, so poems about going to one's love follow one another.
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, "minasoko ni": "on the floor of the water." It points to a deep place beyond the reach of human eyes, hinting at a secret love.
Second line, "ouru tamamo no": "of the lovely seaweed that grows there." "Tama" is a word of praise, and the first two lines form a preface leading into "oiidezu."
Third line, "oiidezu": "not growing out," that is, not showing one's feelings, as the seaweed does not rise to the surface. Taking up the preface, it expresses love kept hidden, with a pause here.
Fourth line, "yoshi kono koro wa": "well then, for these days." "Yoshi" expresses grudging acceptance, showing a mind that settles matters for the moment.
Fifth line, "kakute kayowamu": "I will keep coming like this." "Kakute" points to the present state of hiding from others, and "mu" expresses will, ending with the resolve to keep visiting in secret.
Source: Manyoshu
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