Yūgure wa kumo no hatate ni mono zo omou amatsu sora naru hito o kou tote - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

夕暮れは雲のはたてに物ぞ思ふ
天つ空なる人を恋ふとて

Roma-ji: Yūgure wa kumo no hatate ni mono zo omou amatsu sora naru hito o kou tote
English Translation: At the fall of dusk
toward the far edge of the clouds
I sink into thought
for I have come to love
one as high as heaven's sky
Meaning: When dusk falls, I gaze toward the far edge of the clouds, lost in thought, because I love someone as distant as the sky above.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 484

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
A love poem in which the poet looks up at the evening sky and falls into brooding toward the far edge of the clouds. Because the beloved is as unattainable as someone dwelling in heaven, the poet cannot help gazing at the distant sky. It is famous for its striking expression of the link between dusk and love, and it influenced later poems that made the evening clouds a symbol of longing.

First line, "At the fall of dusk": yugure wa, when evening comes, marks the hour of waiting for the beloved, when longing deepens. Poems 515 and 546 of this book likewise sing of longing that grows at dusk.
Second line, "toward the far edge of the clouds": hatate means the far end or edge, referring to gazing at the sky where the clouds end. Another view reads it as a banner, the trailing edge of clouds like a streaming flag.
Third line, "I sink into thought": mono zo omou means brooding, and zo forms a kakari-musubi with omou. The poem pauses here, and the fourth and fifth lines give the reason in an inverted structure.
Fourth line, "one as high as heaven's sky": amatsu sora naru, dwelling in the heavens, figures a beloved of high rank beyond reach. Poem 488 of this book also joins love with "the empty sky."
Fifth line, "for I have come to love": hito wo kou tote means "because I love that person," giving the reason for the brooding of the third line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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