Fuji no ne o yoso ni zo kikishi ima wa waga omoi ni moyuru keburi narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

富士の嶺をよそにぞ聞きし今はわが
おもひに燃ゆる煙なりけり

Roma-ji: Fuji no ne o yoso ni zo kikishi ima wa waga omoi ni moyuru keburi narikeri
English Translation: Of Fuji's high peak
I had heard as of something
far away, but now
it is the smoke that rises
from the fire of my love
Meaning: I used to hear of the peak of Fuji as a thing far removed from me; now I know its smoke is the smoke that burns from the fire of my own longing.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Love Poems VI 1014

Headnote: "Sent to a woman he had set his heart on."
The poet says that he once heard of Fuji's smoke as something that had nothing to do with him, but now it is the smoke of his own burning love. What he knew only by report he now feels rising from his own breast, and so he tells of the fire of his love.
According to the headnote, it was sent to a woman he had set his heart on, and her reply is placed in the next poem, 1015. Likening love to the smoke of Fuji is an old pattern, as the Japanese preface to the Kokinshu speaks of longing for someone through the smoke of Fuji. 1017 in this book also speaks of a self burning within the fire of love.
The poet, listed as "Asayori no Ason," is Fujiwara no Asayori. A son of the Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Sadakata, he rose to Senior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade, and Director of the Office of Audit.

The first line, "Fuji no ne o," means "the peak of Fuji," sung of as a mountain that sends up smoke. It is carried into the third line of the next poem.
The second line, "yoso ni zo kikishi," means "I heard of as far from me," closing the binding particle "zo" with the attributive "shi." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "ima wa waga," means "but now, my," setting the present against the past of the second line.
The fourth line, "omoi ni moyuru," means "burning in the fire of longing," with the "hi" of "omoi" also meaning fire.
The last line, "keburi narikeri," means "it was the smoke," with "keri" expressing the exclamation of a realization. "Keburi naruran" at the end of the next poem takes it up.
Author: Fujiwara no Asayori
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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