Hito shirenu omoi o tsune ni Suruga naru Fuji no yama koso waga mi narikere - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

人知れぬおもひを常にするがなる
富士の山こそわが身なりけれ

Roma-ji: Hito shirenu omoi o tsune ni Suruga naru Fuji no yama koso waga mi narikere
English Translation: Burning with a fire
that no one knows, forever
in Suruga's land
Mount Fuji is the one
that is truly my own self
Meaning: Mount Fuji in Suruga, forever burning with a fire unknown to others, is none other than my own self.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems I 534

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poem likens the poet, who keeps burning with the fire of a love unknown to others, to Mount Fuji in Suruga, sending up its smoke. Pivoting omoi, longing, with hi, fire, and suru, to do, with Suruga, it overlays the mountain holding fire within with the poet holding love's flame in his breast. Mount Fuji was then known as an active volcano sending up smoke, and it was favored as an image symbolizing the fire of love.

First line, "Burning with a fire": hito shirenu means unknown to others. Poem 506 of this book begins with the same phrase.
Second line, "that no one knows, forever": omoi is a pivot word containing hi, fire, echoing the fire of Fuji's eruptions.
Third line, "in Suruga's land": suru is a pivot word meaning both "to do," to feel longing, and the province name Suruga. Poem 489 of this book also begins with "Suruga naru."
Fourth line, "Mount Fuji is the one": Fuji no yama koso, Mount Fuji in Suruga, with koso forming a kakari-musubi with kere at the end.
Fifth line, "that is truly my own self": waga mi narikere means "is my own self," with kere expressing realization. It resonates with the last line of poem 511 of this book, waga mi narikeri, both sharing the discovery that the source of love lies in oneself.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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