Miyoshino no yama no anata ni yado mogana yo no uki toki no kakurega ni semu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

み吉野の山のあなたに宿もがな
世の憂き時の隠れ家にせむ

Roma-ji: Miyoshino no yama no anata ni yado mogana yo no uki toki no kakurega ni semu
English Translation: Would I had a lodge
beyond the fair Yoshino
mountains far away:
when the world grows hard to bear,
I would make it my retreat.
Meaning: If only I had a lodging beyond the mountains of Yoshino! I would make it my hiding place when the world becomes too painful.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems II 950

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet wishes for a lodging even farther beyond the mountains of Yoshino, a place to hide when the world grows painful. Yoshino had long been thought of as a place of refuge from the world, and the wish to hide still deeper within it is strongly felt.
The next poem, 951, also names Yoshino, so two poems in a row treat the Yoshino mountains as a refuge from the world.
The author is recorded as anonymous, and the name has not come down to us.

The first line, "fair Yoshino," refers to Yoshino in Yamato; mi is an honorific prefix.
The second line, "beyond ... the mountains," means on the far side of the mountains.
The third line, "would I had a lodge," uses the wish particle mogana; the poem breaks after this line.
The fourth line, "when the world grows hard to bear," sets the occasion.
The last line, "I would make it my retreat," uses mu to express intention.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Yo no naka o itou yamabe no kusaki to ya ana u no hana no iro ni idenikemu
Next Poem: Yo ni fureba usa koso masare miyoshino no iwa no kakemichi fumi narashitemu