Mikomori ni iwade furuya no shinobugusa shinobu to dani mo shirasete shikana - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

水籠りに言はでふる屋の忍ぶ草
しのぶとだにも知らせてしかな

Roma-ji: Mikomori ni iwade furuya no shinobugusa shinobu to dani mo shirasete shikana
English Translation: Like the hare's-foot fern
on an old house where unspoken
hidden years go by,
let me at least make it known
that I bear my love in secret
Meaning: Like the hare's-foot fern growing on the eaves of an old house, where I have passed the years without a word, keeping my love hidden as if beneath the water, I wish I could at least let her know that I am enduring it in secret.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 655

Headnote: "Composed as a love poem at the poetry contest held at the house of Provisional Middle Counselor Toshitada"
Composed as a love poem at the poetry contest held at the house of Fujiwara no Toshitada. Like the hare's-foot fern on an old house where years have passed unspoken and hidden, he says, let me at least make known that I endure in secret. The first three lines are a preface leading to "shinobu," and in the fern that grows unnoticed on the eaves of a crumbling old house he sees a love that has passed year after year without being spoken. It is a modest wish: though he cannot convey all his feeling, he wants at least to have her know that he is enduring it.
The author, "Fujiwara no Mototoshi," was the son of Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Toshiie. Though he did not rise high in rank, he was a pillar of the poetic world, ranked alongside Minamoto no Toshiyori, and was the teacher of Fujiwara no Shunzei, the compiler of this anthology.
It shares with "Iwade no yama ni toshi o hete" in 651 of this book a hidden love that passes the years unspoken.

First line, "mikomori ni": "as if hidden beneath the water," meaning kept secret in the heart.
Second line, "iwade furuya no": "furu" combines "furu," "to pass the years" without speaking, and "furu," the "old" of "furuya," "old house." It shares the sense of silence with "Iwade no yama ni" in the second line of 651.
Third line, "shinobugusa": a kind of fern that grows on the eaves of old houses. The first three lines form a preface leading to "shinobu" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "shinobu to dani mo": "shinobu" means to endure a love in secret, and "dani" expresses a minimal wish, "at least that I endure in secret." It repeats the sound of "shinobugusa" in the third line.
Fifth line, "shirasete shikana": "teshikana" is a final particle of one's own wish, "I wish I could let her know."
Author: Fujiwara no Mototoshi
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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