Sekiyama no mine no sugimura sugiyukedo aumi wa nao zo harukekarikeru - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

関山の峰の杉むら過ぎゆけど
あふみはなほぞはるけかりける

Roma-ji: Sekiyama no mine no sugimura sugiyukedo aumi wa nao zo harukekarikeru
English Translation: Past the cedar groves
on the peak of Barrier Hill
I go on my way,
and yet Ōmi, land of meeting,
still lies so very far
Meaning: I pass on beyond the cedar groves on the peak of Barrier Hill, and still Ōmi—the chance to meet you—lies so very far away.
Commentary: Book Twelve Love Poems IV 875

Headnote: "A certain man had many daughters; he courted them beginning with the eldest, but none would listen, so he sent this to the third."
The poet says that though he passes the cedar groves on the peak of Barrier Hill, Ōmi still lies far away. Courting sisters one after another and refused each time, even when he reaches the third daughter, he laments that meeting remains distant.
According to the headnote, a certain person had many daughters, and he courted them in order starting with the eldest, but none accepted, so he sent this poem to the third. The image of passing grove after grove of cedars on Barrier Hill overlaps with his having passed through the sisters one by one.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Sekiyama no," means "of Barrier Hill," the mountain of the Ōsaka Barrier, marking the road to Ōmi.
The second line, "mine no sugimura," means "the cedar groves on the peak," leading through sound into "sugi," to pass, in the third line.
The third line, "sugiyukedo," means "though I pass on," overlapping with his passing through the sisters in turn.
The fourth line, "aumi wa nao zo," means "Ōmi still," with "aumi" joining the place name Ōmi and "au mi," one who meets. "Zo" is an emphatic binding particle. 843, 858, and 859 in this book use the same pivot word.
The last line, "harukekarikeru," means "is far away," closing with the attributive "keru" in answer to "zo" in the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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