Kimi ga ne ni kurabu no yama no hototogisu izure adanaru koe masaruran - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君が音にくらぶの山の時鳥
いづれあだなる声まさるらん

Roma-ji: Kimi ga ne ni kurabu no yama no hototogisu izure adanaru koe masaruran
English Translation: Against your voice
the cuckoo of Kurabu,
weigh them side by side—
which of the two, I wonder,
sings the more faithless song
Meaning: If I compare your voice with that of the cuckoo on Mount Kurabu, which, I wonder, would prove the more fickle?
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 867

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet asks which voice would prove more fickle, the beloved's or that of the cuckoo of Mount Kurabu. Comparing a fickle lover to the cuckoo that sings from place to place, the poet reproaches that faithlessness half teasingly.
Like "kurama no yama" in 832 in this book, it names Kurabu-yama, said to be an old name for Mount Kurama.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Kimi ga ne ni," means "with your voice," referring to the beloved's wooing voice.
The second line, "kurabu no yama no," means "of Mount Kurabu," with "kurabu" joining the place name and "kurabu," to compare. It is said to be the same mountain as "kurama no yama" in 832 in this book.
The third line, "hototogisu," the cuckoo, is sung as a fickle bird because it calls from place to place.
The fourth line, "izure adanaru," means "which is the more fickle."
The last line, "koe masaruran," means "whose voice would excel," with "ran" a conjecture about the present.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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