Kiji ni koso imoyama ari to ie tamakushige futakamiyama mo imo koso arikere

紀道にこそ妹山ありといへ玉櫛笥
二上山も妹こそありけれ

Roma-ji: Kiji ni koso imoyama ari to ie tamakushige futakamiyama mo imo koso arikere
English Translation: On the road to Ki
there is Imoyama, they say,
yet, like a comb-box's lid,
Futakami Mountain too
has its sister standing by
Meaning: They say there is Mount Imo, the "sister mountain," on the road to Kii—but twin-peaked Mount Futakami has its sister too.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1098

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Mountains"
Mount Imo on the road to Kii is famous, but the poet delights in discovering that Mount Futakami, with its two peaks side by side, also has a "sister" mountain. Treating mountains as man and woman, the poem sees the male and female peaks of Futakami as a married pair.
Like the preceding poem on Mount Kose, it captures the name or shape of a mountain in the language of love. Mount Kose lies on the route to Kii, so invoking Mount Imo on the Kii road also ties it to the preceding poem. The poet is unknown.

In the first line, "On the road to Ki," the particle "koso" is answered by the perfective form "ie" in the second line.
The second line, "there is Imoyama, they say," continues the sentence with a perfective form after "koso," implying a concessive "though." It refers to Mount Imo beside the Ki River. The line has an extra syllable.
The third line uses "tamakushige," a fine comb box, as a pillow word for "futa" (two), since it sounds like "futa," the box's lid.
The fourth line, "Futakami Mountain too," names the mountain on the border of Yamato and Kawachi with its two peaks, the male and the female. "Mo" (too) sets it beside Mount Imo on the Kii road.
The final line, "has its sister standing by," is a kakari-musubi construction in which "koso" is answered by the perfective "kere," expressing the joy of discovery. "Imo" is repeated in the second and final lines.
Source: Manyoshu
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