Tanomete mo harukekarubeki kaeruyama ikue no kumo no uchi ni matsuran - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

頼めても遥けかるべきかへる山
幾重の雲のうちに待つらん

Roma-ji: Tanomete mo harukekarubeki kaeruyama ikue no kumo no uchi ni matsuran
English Translation: Though you promise me,
how far it must be, that peak
called Kaeru, "Return":
behind how many layers of cloud
must I stay here waiting?
Meaning: Even though you promise to return, Mount Kaeru must lie far, far away; how many layers of cloud will stand between us while I wait?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 1130

Headnote: "On the idea of 'Waiting in Love for One in a Distant Land.'"
This is the third of three poems on waiting for love. Though the beloved has promised to return, Mount Kaeru lies far away, and the speaker wonders behind how many layers of cloud the waiting must go on. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic "Waiting in Love for One in a Distant Land," that is, waiting for someone in a far province.
The author is Kamo no Shigemasa, a priest who served the Kamo Shrines.
Mount Kaeru, in Echizen Province (Minami-Echizen, Fukui Prefecture), is a poetic place-name sung with a play on "kaeru," to return, and with the heart that waits for a traveler's return.

The first line, "tanomete mo," means "even if you promise." Like "tanome okishi" in poem 1128 of this book, it sings of a heart that waits relying on the beloved's promise.
The second line, "harukekarubeki," means "it must be far away," with "beki" conjectural. It shows the "distant land" of the topic.
In the third line, "kaeruyama," "kaeru" holds both "kaeru," the beloved returning, and the place-name Mount Kaeru.
The fourth line, "ikue no kumo no," means "of the many-layered clouds," the clouds that part the capital from the far province.
The last line, "uchi ni matsuran," means "must I wait within them," with "ran" conjectural. Against the once-a-year meeting of the preceding poem, this is a love that waits across a distance where not even the time of return can be seen, and it closes the three poems on waiting.
Author: Kamo no Shigemasa
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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