Oto ni nomi koe o kiku kana ashihiki no yamashitamizu ni aranu mono kara - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

音にのみ声を聞くかなあしひきの
山下水にあらぬものから

Roma-ji: Oto ni nomi koe o kiku kana ashihiki no yamashitamizu ni aranu mono kara
English Translation: Only in rumor
do I come to hear your voice,
and yet you are not
the stream beneath the mountain
heard but never seen
Meaning: I hear your voice only in rumor, though you are not some hidden stream flowing beneath the mountain trees.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 823

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that he hears the other's voice only through rumor, though the other is no stream beneath the mountain trees. Likening the beloved to a hidden mountain stream whose sound is heard but whose form is never seen, he voices the frustration of knowing the other only through hearsay.
860 and 861 in this book, an exchange that sings of "yamashitamizu" and "oto ni koso kike," share the same image and expression.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," indicating that the poem is anonymous.

The first line, "Oto ni nomi," means "only in rumor," with "nomi" limiting. It corresponds to "oto ni koso kike," the last line of 861 in this book.
The second line, "koe o kiku kana," means "do I hear your voice," with "kana" expressing emotion. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "ashihiki no," is a pillow word modifying "yama," mountain.
The fourth line, "yamashitamizu ni," means "a stream that flows unseen in the shade of the mountain and its trees." 860 in this book also sings of "yamashitamizu."
The last line, "aranu mono kara," means "though you are not," with "mono kara" adversative.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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