Isaribi no yoru wa honoka ni kakushitsutsu arieba koi no shita ni kenu beshi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

漁り火の夜はほのかに隠しつつ
ありへばこひの下に消ぬべし

Roma-ji: Isaribi no yoru wa honoka ni kakushitsutsu arieba koi no shita ni kenu beshi
English Translation: Like the fishing fires
that glimmer faintly by night,
if I keep it hidden
and live on so, beneath love's flame
I shall surely fade away
Meaning: Like the fishing fires that glimmer faintly in the night, if I go on hiding my love, I shall surely be consumed beneath its flame and vanish unseen.
Commentary: Book Ten Love Poems II 681

Headnote: "To someone he had been meeting in secret."
The poet says that if he goes on hiding his love, like fishing fires glimmering faintly at night, he will surely vanish beneath love's flame. He likens the pain of a secret love to fishing fires flickering in the dark.
According to the headnote, it was sent to someone he had been meeting in secret.
The poet, Fujiwara no Tadakuni, lived in the mid Heian period, and few details of his life have come down to us.

The first line, "Isaribi no," means "of the fishing fires" lit at night to draw fish, leading to "honoka ni" in the second line.
The second line, "yoru wa honoka ni," means "faintly by night."
The third line, "kakushitsutsu," means "keeping it hidden," with "tsutsu" expressing continuation.
The fourth line, "arieba koi no," means "if I go on so, love's," with the "hi" of "koi" a pivot word for "hi," fire, an associated word with the fishing fires.
The last line, "shita ni kenu beshi," means "I shall surely vanish beneath it," with "shita" also suggesting "unseen, within the heart."
Author: Fujiwara no Tadakuni
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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