Furusato wa tōku mo arazu hitoeyama koyuru ga kara ni omoi zo waga seshi

故郷は遠くもあらず一重山
越ゆるがからに思ひぞ我がせし

Roma-ji: Furusato wa tōku mo arazu hitoeyama koyuru ga kara ni omoi zo waga seshi
English Translation: My old home is not
so very far away, yet
by one ridge of hills,
merely by crossing over,
how I was lost in longing
Meaning: My old home is not far at all, and yet just by crossing a single ridge of hills, how I fell into longing.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1038

Headnote: "Two poems by Takaoka no Muraji Kawachi"
This poem longs for a home separated by a single ridge: though the old home is not far away, merely crossing one range of hills has plunged the poet into longing. The headnote reads "Two poems by Takaoka no Muraji Kawachi," and since they are placed among the poems of the Kuni capital period, they are thought to date from around that time. "Old home" is often taken to mean the former capital of Nara as opposed to Kuni, and the "single ridge of hills" is thought to be Mount Nara, which lies between them.
The poem frankly expresses how, although the distance is small, crossing just one ridge brings the loneliness of leaving home. It also speaks for the officials who had to leave their familiar Nara when the capital was moved.
The poet, Takaoka no Kawachi, came from a family of immigrants from Paekche. Originally called Sasanami no Kawachi, he was granted the surname Takaoka no Muraji in Jinki 1 (724). He served as Assistant Master of the Right Capital, Assistant Minister of Palace Construction, and Head of the State Academy, and was known as a learned official.

This poem and the next, 1039, both include mountains: this one sings of longing for a home cut off by a single ridge, and the next of a village where the moon does not shine because the mountains are high, so that they share the conceit of mountains separating people from people and people from the scenery.
The first line, "My old home is not," refers to a familiar place or former capital, here thought to be Nara.
The second line, "so very far away, yet," uses the emphatic binding particle "mo." The sense breaks here, after the second line, stating the nearness first.
The third line, "by one ridge of hills," means a single fold of mountains, stressing that it is not range after range but just one.
The fourth line, "merely by crossing over," uses "kara ni," expressing that a slight thing becomes the cause of something, showing how a small separation gives rise to great feeling.
The final line, "how I was lost in longing," is a kakari-musubi construction in which the particle "zo" is answered by "shi," the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki," expressing strongly the longing for home.
Author: Takaoka no Kawachi
Source: Manyoshu
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