Nakina nomi tatsuta no yama ni tatsu kumo no yukue mo shiranu nagame o zo suru - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

なき名のみたつたの山に立つ雲の
ゆくへも知らぬ眺めをぞする

Roma-ji: Nakina nomi tatsuta no yama ni tatsu kumo no yukue mo shiranu nagame o zo suru
English Translation: Groundless rumors rise
like the clouds that rise and drift
on Tatsuta's peak,
and not knowing where they go
I sink in thought and gaze.
Meaning: Only groundless rumors rise about me, like the clouds that rise over Mount Tatsuta; and not knowing where they drift, I gaze on, lost in thought.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 1133

Headnote: "Composed on the idea of 'Love That Brings Rumor.'"
This is the first of three poems on love linked to clouds. Only groundless rumors rise, and like the clouds rising over Mount Tatsuta the speaker sinks into thoughts that know no end. According to the headnote, it was composed on the topic "Love That Brings Rumor."
The author, "Provisional Middle Counselor Toshitada," is Fujiwara no Toshitada. The son of Major Counselor Fujiwara no Tadaie, he rose to provisional middle counselor. He was the father of Fujiwara no Shunzei.
Mount Tatsuta, in Yamato Province (around Sangō, Ikoma District, Nara Prefecture), is a poetic place-name sung with autumn leaves, rising clouds, and white waves.

The first line, "nakina nomi," means "only groundless rumors," with "nomi" limiting.
In the second line, "tatsuta no yama ni," "tatsu" holds both "tatsu," rumor rising, and the place-name Tatsuta.
The third line, "tatsu kumo no," means "of the clouds that rise," repeating "tatsu" from the second line and turning to the rising clouds. The lines up to here lead to "yukue mo shiranu" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "yukue mo shiranu," means "not knowing where they go," layering the drifting clouds with the uncertain future of love. Poem 1135 in this book places the same line in its fourth line, closing the three poems of love linked to clouds.
The last line, "nagame o zo suru," means "I gaze, lost in thought," the attributive "suru" answering the particle "zo." The word "nagame," which ran through the poems from 1104 in this book, appears here too, as the brooding of one troubled by rumor.
Author: Fujiwara no Toshitada
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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