Kyō wa itodo namida ni kurenu nishi no yama omoi irihi no kage o nagamete - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

今日はいとど涙にくれぬ西の山
思ひいり日の影をながめて

Roma-ji: Kyō wa itodo namida ni kurenu nishi no yama omoi irihi no kage o nagamete
English Translation: Today, all the more,
I am lost in tears, dusk falls—
on the western hills,
deep in thought, the setting sun,
its light is what I gaze upon.
Meaning: Today I am lost in tears all the more, as dusk falls on the western hills and I gaze, deep in thought, at the light of the setting sun.
Commentary: Book Twenty Buddhist Poems 1974

Headnote: "Reply."
This is the second poem in the closing sequence of exchanges and moon poems turned toward the western paradise, a reply to the preceding poem. On this day of the Buddha's passing, gazing deeply at the setting sun sinking behind the western hills, the poet says she has been lost in tears all the more. The headnote reads "Reply," answering the preceding poem sent by Sagami.
To Sagami's question she answers that she is not merely sending thoughts west but longing for the Buddha so deeply that she is lost in tears watching the setting sun, expressing grief at his passing.
The author, "Ise no Taifu," was a lady-in-waiting and poet of the mid-Heian period, a daughter of Ōnakatomi no Sukechika. She served Jōtōmon-in Shōshi.

The first line, "kyō wa itodo," means "today, all the more," taking up "more than usual" and "today" from the poem sent to her.
In the second line, "namida ni kurenu," "kure" is a pivot word joining being "lost" in tears and the day "darkening." The perfective "nu" closes the statement, and the poem breaks here.
The third line, "nishi no yama," takes up "west" from the poem sent to her, showing the western hills where the sun sets. The longing for the Western Pure Land is set down as a scene.
In the fourth line, "omoi irihi no," "iri" is a pivot word joining "deeply immersed in thought" and the "setting sun."
The last line, "kage o nagamete," means "gazing at the light of the setting sun," an inversion returning to the second line. Answering the "smoke" of the poem sent to her with the "setting sun," the two exchange a shared longing toward the west.
Author: Ise no Taifu
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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