Iwane fumi henareru yama wa aranedomo awanu hi manemi koiwataru kamo

岩根踏みへなれる山はあらねども
逢はぬ日まねみ恋ひわたるかも

Roma-ji: Iwane fumi henareru yama wa aranedomo awanu hi manemi koiwataru kamo
English Translation: Though there's no mountain
with rock-roots that we must tread,
no mountain to part us,
the days we do not meet are many,
and I go on longing still
Meaning: There is no mountain of rocks to tread between us, yet the days we do not meet are so many that I go on longing.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2422

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
There is no steep mountain standing between them, yet the days without meeting pile up and the speaker goes on longing. The poem conveys the pain of a separation that has no visible cause.
Speaking through a mountain, this poem pairs with the preceding poem, 2421. While 2421 waits in fear of a mountain with "if only there were no mountain where one treads on rocks," this poem says there is no mountain, yet they do not meet. Poem 2420 in this book also laments being parted by mountains with "yama henari," so the separation of mountains is sung both where they exist and where they do not.
The author is unknown; according to the left note, the poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection. That collection is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he recorded. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet active in the reigns of Empress Jito and Emperor Monmu, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "iwane fumi": "treading on great rocks." It corresponds to "iwa fumu" in the preceding poem.
Second line, "henareru yama wa": "a mountain that parts us." "Henaru" means to separate, the same word as in "yama henari" in poem 2420 of this book.
Third line, "aranedomo": "though there is none." The realis "ne" of the negative "zu" followed by the concessive "domo" turns to the lower half of the poem.
Fourth line, "awanu hi manemi": "since the days we do not meet are many." "Maneshi" is an adjective meaning numerous, and "mi" is a suffix giving cause or reason.
Fifth line, "koiwataru kamo": "how I go on longing." "Wataru" added to a verb means to keep doing something, and "kamo" expresses lament.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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