Oto ni kiku kimi gari itsu ka iki no matsu matsuran mono o kokorozukushi ni - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

音に聞く君がりいつかいきの松
まつらんものを心づくしに

Roma-ji: Oto ni kiku kimi gari itsu ka iki no matsu matsuran mono o kokorozukushi ni
English Translation: Heard of, you whose name—
to your side, when will I go,
like Iki's pine,
you surely are waiting there,
with all your heart, in Tsukushi.
Meaning: When will I go to you, whose name I have heard? Like the pines of Iki, you must be waiting for me with all your heart in far Tsukushi.
Commentary: Book Twenty Buddhist Poems 1959

Headnote: "Hearing the name, they wish to be reborn."
This is the ninth poem in the sequence of poems from the Hundred Poems on Buddhist Texts by Jakuzen and others. When can I go to you, the one whose name I have heard—Amida Buddha—who must be waiting for me with all his heart? According to the headnote, it was composed on the meaning of "Hearing the name, they wish to be reborn."
The wish for rebirth, stirred by hearing Amida's name, is expressed in the form of a love poem longing to go to a beloved who waits in distant Tsukushi.
The author, "Jakuzen Hōshi," whose lay name was Fujiwara no Yorinari, was a son of Fujiwara no Tametada. With his elder brothers Jakunen and Jakuchō he lived in retirement at Ōhara, and the three were called the Three Jaku of Ōhara. He was a close friend of Saigyō.
"Hearing the name, they wish to be reborn" is a phrase in the verses of the Sutra of Immeasurable Life, which teaches that by the power of Amida's original vow, all who hear his name and wish to be reborn will reach his land.
Iki no Matsubara is a poetic place in Chikuzen Province, a pine grove on the coast of present-day Nishi Ward, Fukuoka. It is often sung with plays on "iki" (living) and "yuki" (going).

The first line, "oto ni kiku," means "known by report," transposing the scripture's "hearing the name."
In the second line, "kimi gari itsu ka," "kimi" refers to Amida Buddha, and "gari" means "to the side of." The particle "ka" asks when one can go.
In the third line, "iki no matsu," "iki" is a pivot word joining "going" to the beloved and the place name Iki no Matsubara. "Matsu" (pine) leads into the following "matsu."
In the fourth line, "matsuran mono o," "matsu" is a pivot word joining "pine" and "wait": the Buddha must be waiting. The particle "mono o" carries the lament of one who cannot readily go.
In the last line, "kokorozukushi ni," "kokorozukushi" is a pivot word joining "with all one's heart" and Tsukushi, where Iki no Matsubara lies. By inversion, the poem closes by impressing strongly that the Buddha waits with all his heart.
Author: Jakuzen
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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