Tatsutagawa tachinaba kimi ga na o oshimi iwase no mori no iwaji to zo omou - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

竜田河たちなば君が名を惜しみ
いはせの森の言はじとぞ思ふ

Roma-ji: Tatsutagawa tachinaba kimi ga na o oshimi iwase no mori no iwaji to zo omou
English Translation: Should rumor rise up
like the Tatsuta River,
for your name's sake
I, like the Wood of Iwase,
mean never to say a word
Meaning: If rumor were to rise like the Tatsuta River, I would grieve for your good name; so, like the Wood of Iwase, I mean never to speak of it.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems VI 1033

Headnote: "Composed when the one he was visiting in secret told him not to let others see any sign of it."
The poet says that, since he would grieve for her name if rumor rose, he means never to speak of it. Drawing "tatsu," to rise, from the Tatsuta River and "iwaji," I will not say, from the Wood of Iwase, he layers place names to make his vow of secrecy.
According to the headnote, the one he was visiting secretly asked him not to let others see any sign of their affair. The preceding poem, 1032, also concerns a love visited in secret, so poems of hidden love follow one another.
The poet, listed as "Motokata," is Ariwara no Motokata. A grandson of Ariwara no Narihira and a son of Ariwara no Muneyana, he is known as the author of the opening poem of the Kokinshu, "toshi no uchi ni haru wa kinikeri hitotose o kozo to ya iwan kotoshi to ya iwan."

The first line, "Tatsutagawa," is the Tatsuta River in Yamato, whose sound "tatsu" leads to "tachi" in the second line.
The second line, "tachinaba kimi ga," means "if it should rise, your," with "tachi" joining the sound of Tatsuta and rumor rising.
The third line, "na o oshimi," means "since I value your name," with "mi" a suffix marking a cause.
The fourth line, "iwase no mori no," means "of the Wood of Iwase" in Yamato, whose sound "iwa" leads to "iwaji" in the last line. Together with the Tatsuta River of the first line, it doubles the device of drawing words from the sound of place names.
The last line, "iwaji to zo omou," means "I mean not to say it," with "ji" a negative auxiliary of intention and "zo" an emphatic binding particle closed by the attributive "omou."
Author: Ariwara no Motokata
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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