Utsusemi no yaso koto no e wa shigeku tomo arasoikanete a o koto nasu na

うつせみの八十言のへは繁くとも
争ひかねて我を言なすな

Roma-ji: Utsusemi no yaso koto no e wa shigeku tomo arasoikanete a o koto nasu na
English Translation: In this mortal world,
though the talk of countless tongues
grows thick around us,
do not yield, unable to resist,
and speak my name out loud.
Meaning: However thick the gossip of the world may grow, do not give in and speak my name aloud.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3456

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
However loud the gossip of the world, a woman asks her lover not to give in and speak her name aloud. The tension of guarding a secret love is plain.
It is one of the love exchanges. Behind it lies the custom of not revealing a lover's name, as in "noranu kimi ga na" in 3374 from Musashi.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "utsusemi no": A pillow word for "world" or "people," here leading to the people of the world.
Second line, "yaso koto no e wa": "Yaso koto" are many words, gossip; "no e" is thought to be an eastern form of "no ha."
Third line, "shigeku tomo": "However thick it grows," with "tomo" a concessive supposition.
Fourth line, "arasoikanete": "Unable to argue back," unable to resist the rumors.
Final line, "a o koto nasu na": "Koto nasu" means to put into words, and "na" forbids.
Source: Manyoshu
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