Komori ni wa koite shinu tomo misonō no karaai no hana no iro ni ideme ya mo

隠りには恋ひて死ぬともみ園生の
韓藍の花の色に出でめやも

Roma-ji: Komori ni wa koite shinu tomo misonō no karaai no hana no iro ni ideme ya mo
English Translation: Though in secret hid
I should die of all my love,
like the karaai
flowering in the fair garden
would I let it show its colour?
Meaning: Even if I should die of a love kept hidden, would I ever let it show in my face like the bright red of the karaai flowers in the garden? Never.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2784

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Even if hidden love should bring death, the speaker vows never to let it show, as the vivid colour of the karaai flowers in the garden shows itself. The firm resolve to keep a secret love is voiced with force through the image of a flower's blazing hue.
In this sequence on flowers, the preceding poem lamented that feelings were about to "ho ni saku," break into view, while this poem declares "iro ni ideme ya mo," never shall they show; love revealed and love concealed face each other in the arrangement. "Iro ni izu," love showing in one's face or bearing, is a set expression in the love poems of the Man'yoshu.
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, "komori ni wa": "while hidden," meaning to go on loving in secret. The particle "wa" sets this off.
Second line, "koite shinu tomo": "even if I die of longing." "Tomo" expresses a concessive supposition and shows a readiness to face even death.
Third line, "misonō no": "of the fair garden." "Mi" is an honorific prefix, and "sonō" is a garden planted with trees and flowers.
Fourth line, "karaai no hana no": "like the karaai flowers." Karaai is thought to be the cockscomb, a flower of vivid red; the third and fourth lines form a preface leading to "iro" (colour).
Fifth line, "iro ni ideme ya mo": "would I let it show in my colour? I would not." "Me" is the conditional form of the conjectural "mu," and "ya mo" makes it a strong rhetorical question.
Source: Manyoshu
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