Koenu ma wa Yoshino no yama no sakurabana hitozute ni nomi kikiwataru kana - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

越えぬ間は吉野の山の桜花
人づてにのみ聞きわたるかな

Roma-ji: Koenu ma wa Yoshino no yama no sakurabana hitozute ni nomi kikiwataru kana
English Translation: Until I cross them,
the hills of Yoshino and
their cherry blossoms
only by the words of others
can I hear of all this while.
Meaning: Until I cross the mountains, I can only hear from others of the cherry blossoms on the hills of Yoshino; so too I hear of you only through others' words.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems II 588

Headnote: "Sent to someone who was in Yamato"
This poem was sent to someone living in Yamato Province. The poet says that, just as until one crosses the mountains one hears of the cherry blossoms of Mount Yoshino only by report, so he keeps hearing of the beloved only through others. Likening the beloved to the famous cherries of Yoshino, he expresses longing for someone he has not yet met. From the headnote it is clear that this is a love poem sent to someone living in Yamato.
Ki no Tsurayuki was a poet of the early Heian period, the son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He was the leading compiler of the Kokinshū and wrote its Japanese preface. He served as Governor of Tosa and is also known as the author of the Tosa Diary. He is one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.

First line, "koenu ma wa": nu is the attributive of the negative zu, "while I have not crossed." The way from the capital to Yamato crosses mountains.
Second line, "Yoshino no yama no": Mount Yoshino is a famous poetic place in Yamato Province, renowned for its cherry blossoms.
Third line, "sakurabana": the one in Yamato is likened to the cherries of Yoshino. Cherry blossoms also appear in 589 and 590 of this book, so three love poems on blossoms follow in a row.
Fourth line, "hitozute ni nomi": hitozute is hearing of something through others. Nomi stresses that there is no direct meeting, only hearsay.
Fifth line, "kikiwataru kana": wataru means to keep on doing, and kana is exclamatory. Like "nakiwataru kana" in 585 of this book, it closes with "wataru kana."
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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