Fuji no ne no naranu omoi ni moeba moe kami dani katanu munashi keburi o - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

富士の嶺のならぬおもひに燃えば燃え
神だに消たぬむなし煙を

Roma-ji: Fuji no ne no naranu omoi ni moeba moe kami dani katanu munashi keburi o
English Translation: Like the peak of Fuji,
with a love that cannot be
burn then, if you must—
it is empty smoke that even
the gods will not put out
Meaning: If you must burn with a love that cannot be, like the fires of Fuji's peak, then burn. It is only empty smoke that not even the gods will quench.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1028

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Addressing someone burning with hopeless love, the poet brushes them off: such love is as futile as the smoke of Fuji that not even the gods extinguish, so burn if you will. Comparing a love to Fuji's plume with such grandiosity gives the poem its haikai quality.
The author, "Ki no Menoto," is the Ki Nurse, whose name is said to have been Matako. She was the wet nurse of Emperor Yōzei.

First line, "Fuji no ne no," means the summit of Mount Fuji, which was then still smoking and served as a symbol of burning love.
Second line, "naranu omoi ni," joins "naranu," unfulfilled, with a pivot on "omoi," hiding "hi," fire.
Third line, "moeba moe," means burn if you will, a curt dismissal. The poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "kami dani katanu," uses "dani," even: not even the gods put it out.
Fifth line, "munashi keburi o," ends with exclamatory "o," leaving the sense of futile smoke lingering.
Author: Ki no Menoto
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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