Koisu chō waga na wa madaki tachinikeri hito shirezu koso omoisomeshika - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

恋すてふ我が名はまだき立ちにけり
人知れずこそ思ひそめしか

Roma-ji: Koisu chō waga na wa madaki tachinikeri hito shirezu koso omoisomeshika
English Translation: The rumor has spread,
that I am in love, so soon,
already abroad,
though I had only begun
to love her where none could know.
Meaning: The rumor that I am in love has already spread, though I had only just begun to love in secret, so that no one would know.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 621

Headnote: "Poetry contest in the Tenryaku era"
The poem says that the rumor of the poet's love has already spread, though he had only just begun to love in secret so that no one would know. It expresses surprise and dismay that a love meant to be hidden has become known to the world while it was only beginning. The headnote shows that it was composed at a poetry contest held in the Tenryaku reign of Emperor Murakami, that is, the Palace Poetry Contest of the fourth year of Tentoku. At this contest it was paired with the poem by Taira no Kanemori in the next poem, 622, and it is said that the judge, unable to decide between them, at last awarded the victory to Kanemori.
At the head of this first book of love poems is placed a poem singing of love's beginning, "omoisomeshika." Where the closing poem, 697, says there is no day without longing each time the dawn comes, the opening and closing of the book answer each other with the beginning of love and a longing that never ceases.
The author, Mibu no Tadami, was a son of Mibu no Tadamine, one of the compilers of the Kokinshū. Though of low rank, he excelled at poetry and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets. This poem was chosen for the Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "koisu chō," means "that I am in love," with "chō" a contraction of "to iu," "that is called."
Second line, "waga na wa madaki," means "my name already," with "na" meaning reputation or rumor, and "madaki" meaning "so soon, before its time."
Third line, "tachinikeri," means "has spread," with "ni" perfective and "keri" exclamatory. The poem breaks after this third line, inverted with the lower verse.
Fourth line, "hito shirezu koso," means "so that no one would know," with the binding particle "koso" resolved by "shika" in the final line. It shares the heart that hides its love with the first line of the next poem, 622, "shinoburedo."
Final line, "omoisomeshika," means "though I had begun to love," with "shika" the perfective form of the past auxiliary "ki." The resolution of "koso" carries a concessive sense that turns back to the upper verse.
Author: Mibu no Tadami
Source: Shui Wakashu
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