Kaeruyama ari to wa kikedo harugasumi tachi wakarenaba koishikaru beshi - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

かへる山ありとは聞けど春霞
たち別れなば恋しかるべし

Roma-ji: Kaeruyama ari to wa kikedo harugasumi tachi wakarenaba koishikaru beshi
English Translation: Though I have heard there is
a mountain called "Return,"
once, like spring haze,
you rise and part from me,
how I shall long for you.
Meaning: I have heard that in Koshi there stands a mountain whose name means "Return," and yet, once you rise and part from me like the spring haze, I know I shall long for you.
Commentary: Book Eight Parting Poems 370

Headnote: "Composed and sent to someone leaving for Koshi"
The poet has heard that in Koshi there is a mountain whose name promises a return, yet if they part, he will surely long for the traveler; so runs this poem sent to someone going down to Koshi. Accepting the comfort offered by the place name, he still speaks plainly of a longing that only grows.
The author, "Ki no Toshisada," was a son of Ki no Sadamori, Governor of Kai, and rose to Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, as Vice-Governor of Awa.

The first line, "Kaeru Mountain," is a pivot word joining Kaeruyama, a famous place in Echizen Province, with kaeru, "to return." Poem 382 in this book also opens with "Kaeru Mountain," and the two correspond, using the same place name for the hope of return in one and for the lament of a friend who comes but does not stay in the other.
The second line, "though I have heard there is," acknowledges the mountain of return with the concessive particle do, only to set it aside.
The third line, "spring haze," leads into the word tatsu, "to rise," and marks the season as spring.
The fourth line, "once you rise and part," is a pivot word joining the rising of the haze with setting out on a journey. Nanaba is the hypothetical form made from the perfective auxiliary nu with the particle ba. The line shares the word "departing" with the first line of the opening poem, 365.
The last line, "I shall surely long for you," uses the auxiliary beshi to foresee with certainty the longing that will follow the parting.
Author: Ki no Toshisada
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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