classic waka stream

布留山ゆ直に見わたす都にぞ
寝も寝ず恋ふる遠くあらなくに
Roma-ji

Furuyama yu tada ni miwatasu miyako ni zo i mo nezu kouru tōku aranaku ni

English Translation
From Mount Furu's side
I can see straight across to
the capital's streets,
yet sleepless still I long for her,
though it is not far away.
Meaning
The capital lies in plain view from Mount Furu, yet I long for it without sleeping, though it is not far away.
Commentary
Book Nine Love Poems 1788

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem from the twelfth month, winter, of the first year of Tenpyō, tsuchinoto-mi, with tanka"; envoy
The capital is so close that it can be seen straight from Mount Furu, yet the speaker lies sleepless, longing for his wife there. The frustration of being near yet unable to meet only deepens his longing.
This is the envoy to the long poem 1787 in this book. The long poem says that, sleeping in his clothes without untying his sash at the village of Furu in Isonokami at the sovereign's command, his robe has grown worn; his longing mounts, but he cannot let it show lest others know, so through the long winter nights he lies awake yearning for his wife. It is thought to date from a stay at Furu on official business in the twelfth month of the first year of Tenpyō (729).
The author, Kasa no Kanamura, was a court poet of the early Nara period who composed many poems while attending royal progresses in the reigns of Genshō and Shōmu. This poem is taken from the Kanamura Collection, and the left note says it appears among the poems of Kasa no Ason Kanamura.

The first line, "from Mount Furu's side," uses yu to mark the starting point.
The second line, "I can see straight across to," describes the direct view.
The third line, "the capital's streets," carries the particle zo, which looks ahead to the fourth line.
The fourth line, "yet sleepless still I long for her," answers zo with the attributive kouru and echoes the long poem's "sleepless still I long."
The final line, "though it is not far away," uses nakuni, a concessive exclamation.
Author
Kasa no Kanamura (from the Kanamura Collection)
Source
Manyoshu
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