Iso no ue ni ouru komatsu no na o oshimi hito ni shiraezu koiwataru kamo

礒の上に生ふる小松の名を惜しみ
人に知らえず恋ひわたるかも

Roma-ji: Iso no ue ni ouru komatsu no na o oshimi hito ni shiraezu koiwataru kamo
English Translation: Like the little pine
growing on the rocky shore,
loath to stain my name,
unknown to everyone
I go on loving still
Meaning: Like the little pine that grows upon the rocky shore, I guard my name and go on loving you without anyone knowing.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2861

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Fearing rumors about her name, the poet goes on loving in secret so that no one will know. The variant text cited in the left note reads "iwa no ue ni tateru komatsu no na o oshimi hito ni wa iwazu koiwataru kamo," giving line four as "telling no one," which makes the image of a love kept unspoken even clearer.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet who served under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note shows that this poem was taken from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, though scholars differ on whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a song he recorded.

Line one, "iso no ue ni," means "upon the rocky shore."
Line two, "ouru komatsu no," refers to a small pine growing on the shore; with line one it is taken as an introduction leading to "na," name, though how the connection works is debated.
Line three, "na o oshimi," means "loath to have my name talked of," with "mi" expressing cause.
Line four, "hito ni shiraezu," means "unknown to others," "e" being the irrealis of the passive auxiliary "yu."
Line five, "koiwataru kamo," means "I go on loving," with "wataru" adding the sense of continuing.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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