Furusato no mikasa no yama wa tōkeredo koe wa mukashi no utokaranu kana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

古里の三笠の山は遠けれど
声は昔のうとからぬかな

Roma-ji: Furusato no mikasa no yama wa tōkeredo koe wa mukashi no utokaranu kana
English Translation: Mount Mikasa,
my old home, is far away
from me now, and yet
the voices are, as of old,
nowise strangers to my ear
Meaning: Mount Mikasa, my old home, now lies far away, and yet the voices there still sound as close and familiar as in the days of old.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1106

Headnote: "When Lord Kanesuke had risen from Consultant and Middle Captain to Middle Counselor, he went the next year to the victory banquet after the archery contest, and on the occasion when everyone was voicing their thoughts."
The poet says that Mount Mikasa, his old home, is now far away, yet the voices there are as familiar as of old. Likening the Palace Guards to Mount Mikasa, he fondly recalls how, though he has moved from Middle Captain to Middle Counselor and left the Guards, the voices of his former colleagues still sound close to him.
According to the headnote, the year after Kanesuke rose from Consultant and Middle Captain of the Palace Guards to Middle Counselor, he attended the victory banquet after the archery contest and composed this as everyone voiced their thoughts. Mount Mikasa was used as a figure for the Palace Guards.
The poet, Fujiwara no Kanesuke, rose to Middle Counselor and was called the Tsutsumi Middle Counselor because his mansion stood on the bank of the Kamo River. He was the great-grandfather of Murasaki Shikibu.

The first line, "Furusato no," means "of my old home," likening the Palace Guards he once served in to a native place.
The second line, "mikasa no yama wa," means "Mount Mikasa" in Yamato, pointing to the Palace Guards.
The third line, "tōkeredo," means "though far," referring to his having left the Guards, with "do" adversative.
The fourth line, "koe wa mukashi no," means "the voices, as of old," referring to his former colleagues.
The last line, "utokaranu kana," means "are not strange to me," with "kana" exclamatory.
Author: Fujiwara no Kanesuke
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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