Kumite shiru hito mo aranan onozukara Horikane no i no soko no kokoro o

汲みて知る人もあらなんおのづから
ほりかねの井の底の心を

Roma-ji: Kumite shiru hito mo aranan onozukara Horikane no i no soko no kokoro o
English Translation: If there were someone
who would draw it up and know,
without being told,
like the deep Horikane well,
the heart that lies at the bottom!
Meaning: If only there were someone who would draw up and know, without my telling, the heart that lies as deep as the bottom of the Horikane well.
Commentary: Love Poems 690

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Love"
The poet wishes there were someone who would draw up and understand, without being told, the depths of the heart he keeps hidden, as deep as the bottom of the Horikane well, so deep it could hardly be dug. The Horikane well in Musashi is a poetic place, a well said to have yielded no water however deep it was dug. Horikane joins 'hard to dig' with the place name, and kumu, to draw water, and soko, bottom, are associated with the well, conveying a depth of heart that no one comes to know.

First line, “kumite shiru”: kumu is to draw water, overlaid with discerning another's heart; associated with the well.
Second line, “hito mo aranan”: nan is a particle of wishing for another: if only there were someone. The poem breaks after the second line.
Third line, “onozukara”: of itself, naturally.
Fourth line, “Horikane no i no”: horikane is a pivot word joining 'hard to dig' with the Horikane well, a poetic place in Musashi.
Fifth line, “soko no kokoro o”: soko, bottom, is associated with the well: the depths of my heart. This returns in inversion to the upper verse.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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