Toshi fu to mo oto ni wa tateji Otowagawa shita yuku mizu no shita no omoi o

年経とも音には立てじ音羽川
下行く水の下の思ひを

Roma-ji: Toshi fu to mo oto ni wa tateji Otowagawa shita yuku mizu no shita no omoi o
English Translation: Though years go by,
no sound of it shall I raise:
like Otowa River,
water flowing underneath,
the longing deep within.
Meaning: Though years go by, I will never voice the longing deep within me, like the water flowing beneath the surface of the Otowa River.
Commentary: Love Poems 466

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on the theme of love at famous places"
However many years pass, the poet vows never to show the longing deep in his heart, like water flowing beneath the surface of the Otowa River; it is a vow of hidden love.

Line 1 means "though years pass."
Line 2 means "I will not let it sound," that is, never speak of it, ji expressing negative intention; the poem pauses here.
Line 3 names the Otowa River in Yamashiro, echoing oto, "sound"; it is the same place name as Otowa Falls in 460.
Line 4 means "like the water flowing beneath," repeating shita to lead to line 5.
Line 5 means "the longing within," the object of line 2 placed last by inversion.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
Prev Poem: Mikumano no ura no hamayū iwazu to mo omou kokoro no kazu o shiranamu
Next Poem: Fuji no ne no keburi mo sora ni tatsu mono o nado ka omoi no shita ni moyuramu