Tōki yama seki mo koekinu imasara ni aubeki yoshi no naki ga sabushisa

遠き山関も越え来ぬ今さらに
逢ふべきよしのなきが寂しさ

Roma-ji: Tōki yama seki mo koekinu imasara ni aubeki yoshi no naki ga sabushisa
English Translation: Distant mountains
and the barrier I have crossed;
now at this late hour
that there is no way to meet,
how lonely it is
Meaning: I have crossed the distant mountains and the barrier too; now that there is no way left for us to meet, how lonely I am.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Exchange Poems of Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome 3734

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome"
He sings that he has come to his place of exile across the distant mountains and the barrier, and now how lonely it is that there is no way to meet. The mountains and barrier he crossed are felt as an insurmountable wall dividing him from the capital. The barrier is thought to be the Arachi barrier of Echizen Province. The text's last line carries a note, "one version: sabishisa," recording a variant reading "sabushisa" as "sabishisa." The note has been removed from the poem's text, and the text's own reading is followed here.
The author, Nakatomi no Yakamori, was a son of Nakatomi no Azumahito, from the Nakatomi clan in charge of the rites of the gods. He was exiled to Echizen Province for an offense, but was later pardoned and returned to the capital.
A left note reads "the above fourteen poems are by Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori"; the fourteen poems from 3731 to 3744 of this book were sent by Yakamori to the young woman from his place of exile. The latter half of this book contains sixty-three poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome. According to the book's table of contents, when Yakamori took as his wife the young woman, a lady-in-waiting of the palace storehouse office, he was exiled to Echizen Province by imperial decree. The place of exile is thought to be Ajimano in Echizen, near present-day Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture.

First line, "tōki yama": mountains far from the capital, those on the road to Echizen.
Second line, "seki mo koekinu": "seki" is a barrier checkpoint, thought to be the Arachi barrier of Echizen; "nu" is perfective: I have crossed the barrier too. The poem breaks after the second line.
Third line, "imasara ni": now, at this point.
Fourth line, "aubeki yoshi no": "yoshi" is a means: of any way by which we could meet.
Fifth line, "naki ga sabushisa": "sabushisa" means loneliness; the poem ends on a noun. The variant reads "sabishisa."
Author: Nakatomi no Yakamori
Source: Manyoshu
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