Tōyama ni kasumi tanabiki iya tō ni imo ga me mineba are koi ni keri

遠山に霞たなびきいや遠に
妹が目見ねば我れ恋ひにけり

Roma-ji: Tōyama ni kasumi tanabiki iya tō ni imo ga me mineba are koi ni keri
English Translation: As over far hills
the haze lies trailing, so ever
farther are we kept;
not seeing my dear one's face,
I have come to long for her
Meaning: As haze trails over distant hills, ever more distant grows the time since I saw my beloved, and I find myself filled with longing.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2426

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Just as haze trailing over distant hills makes them look still farther away, the speaker has gone ever longer without seeing his beloved, and his longing has grown. The hazy view of far mountains serves as a preface, overlaying the distance of separation with the deepening of love.
This poem speaks through haze. The fourth line, "imo ga me mineba," has the same form as "kimi ga me mineba" in poem 2423 of this book, differing in whether the beloved is called "kimi" or "imo." Poem 2423 speaks of a brief while with "shimashiku mo," and this one of a long separation with "iya tō ni," treating the same theme on a different scale.
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, "tōyama ni": "on the distant hills."
Second line, "kasumi tanabiki": "haze trailing." The first two lines form a preface, and because haze makes hills look farther away, they lead to "iya tō ni" in the third line.
Third line, "iya tō ni": "ever farther." "Iya" means more and more, and here it speaks of the lengthening days without meeting.
Fourth line, "imo ga me mineba": "since I do not see my beloved." It has the same form as "kimi ga me mineba" in poem 2423 of this book.
Fifth line, "are koi ni keri": "I have come to long for her." The perfective "nu" and the exclamatory "keri" express the realization that longing has grown.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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