Koko ni arite tsukushi ya izuchi shirakumo no tanabiku yama no kata ni shi arurashi

ここにありて筑紫やいづち白雲の
たなびく山の方にしあるらし

Roma-ji: Koko ni arite tsukushi ya izuchi shirakumo no tanabiku yama no kata ni shi arurashi
English Translation: Staying here as I do,
where, I wonder, is Tsukushi;
where the white clouds trail
over mountains far away,
in that direction, it seems
Meaning: From here, in which direction lies Tsukushi? It must be over there, beyond the mountains where the white clouds trail.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 574

Headnote: "Two poems by Lord Ōtomo, Major Counselor, in reply"
Back in the capital, Ōtomo no Tabito answered the Novice Mansei's poems from Tsukushi with two poems, of which this is the first. From here in the capital, he wonders, which way lies Tsukushi? It must be beyond the mountains where the white clouds trail, he muses, longing for distant Tsukushi. His thoughts of a faraway friend are expressed through a grand landscape.
The author, Ōtomo no Tabito, was a son of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and father of Ōtomo no Yakamochi. He went down to Tsukushi as Governor-General of the Dazaifu and later returned to the capital as Major Counselor.

First line, "Staying here as I do," runs to six syllables: being here in the capital.
Second line, "where, I wonder, is Tsukushi," uses the questioning ya and izuchi, "in which direction": which way is Tsukushi? The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "where the white clouds trail," first sets forth a distant scene.
Fourth line, "over mountains far away," names the mountains where the clouds trail in long bands.
Fifth line, "in that direction, it seems," uses the emphatic shi and rashi, an inference with grounds: it must lie that way.
Author: Ōtomo no Tabito
Source: Manyoshu
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