Mono mou to hito ni wa mieji shitabimo no shita yu kouru ni tsuki zo henikeru

物思ふと人には見えじ下紐の
下ゆ恋ふるに月ぞ経にける

Roma-ji: Mono mou to hito ni wa mieji shitabimo no shita yu kouru ni tsuki zo henikeru
English Translation: That I brood in thought
I would not let others see;
like the hidden cord,
while I long for her within,
the months have slipped away
Meaning: Not wishing others to see that I am brooding, I have longed for her in secret, hidden as an undergarment's cord, and meanwhile the months have slipped away.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3708

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Eighteen poems composed while anchored at Takashiki Bay, each expressing his feelings"
Not wishing others to see him brooding, he has kept his longing hidden within, and meanwhile the months have passed. The position of the ambassador, who as head of the embassy would not show his homesickness before his men, is expressed in the language of secret love hidden from others' eyes. The length of time he has held this longing in secret is folded into the last line, "tsuki zo henikeru." A left note reads "the above poem is by the ambassador."
The author, Abe no Tsugumaro, was the ambassador of the embassy to Silla, appointed in the eighth year of Tenpyō. On the way home from Silla, he died on Tsushima in the following, ninth year of Tenpyō.
According to the headnote, this is one of eighteen poems composed while anchored at Takashiki Bay, each expressing his feelings. Takashiki Bay lies within Asō Bay in Tsushima, thought to be present-day Takeshiki in Mitsushima, Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture. The first half of the sequence ranges poems by the ambassador, vice-ambassador, senior and junior secretaries, and a young woman of Tsushima, and is thought to have been composed at a banquet.

First line, "mono mou to": that I am brooding in thought.
Second line, "hito ni wa mieji": "ji" is negative intention: I will not be seen so by others. The poem breaks after the second line.
Third line, "shitabimo no": the cord of an undergarment; being hidden from view, it leads into "shita" (within) in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "shita yu kouru ni": "shita" is the inner heart and "yu" marks passage: while I long for her within.
Fifth line, "tsuki zo henikeru": "zo" is a binding particle resolved by the attributive "keru" (kakarimusubi): the months have passed, the poem ends.
Author: Abe no Tsugumaro
Source: Manyoshu
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