Kimi ni nomi shita no omoi wa Kawashima no mizu no kokoro wa asakaranaku ni - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君にのみ下の思ひはかはしまの
水の心は浅からなくに

Roma-ji: Kimi ni nomi shita no omoi wa Kawashima no mizu no kokoro wa asakaranaku ni
English Translation: To you alone, love
hidden within, I pass it,
like Kawashima's
waters, the heart of the stream
is by no means shallow, though
Meaning: To you alone I pass the love hidden deep within me; like the waters of Kawashima, my heart is by no means shallow.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems IV 865

Headnote: "Sent when a woman with whom I had a secret affair always complained that I had no true feeling for her"
This poem was sent when a woman with whom he was secretly intimate kept complaining that he had no love for her. To you alone I pass my hidden love, he says, and like the water of Kawashima, my heart is not shallow. Pivoting the place name Kawashima with "kawashi," "exchanging" love, he likens his love to the depth of river water and pleads that his feelings are not shallow. The love that cannot be shown because it is secret is compared to water flowing beneath the surface.
The author, "Junior Third Rank Sueyuki," was Fujiwara no Sueyuki. A courtier of the cloistered rule era, he rose to Junior Third Rank.

First line, "kimi ni nomi": "nomi" is restrictive, "to you alone."
Second line, "shita no omoi wa": "shita" is the depths of the heart, the feeling not shown outwardly. It overlays water flowing beneath the surface and is an associated word for "mizu," "water," in the fourth line.
Third line, "Kawashima no": "Kawashima" pivots between the place name and "kawashi," "exchanging" love. "I exchange my love with you alone" and "the water of Kawashima" overlap.
Fourth line, "mizu no kokoro wa": "mizu no kokoro," "the heart of the water," refers to its depth, likening his own heart to it.
Fifth line, "asakaranaku ni": "naku" is the nominalized form of the negative "zu," and "ni" a conjunctive particle with an exclamatory tone, "though it is not shallow." Against her reproach, he closes by pleading the depth of his heart.
Author: Fujiwara no Sueyuki
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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