Mukashi yori kurama no yama to iikeru wa waga goto hito mo yoru ya koeken - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

昔よりくらまの山と言ひけるは
我がごと人も夜や越えけん

Roma-ji: Mukashi yori kurama no yama to iikeru wa waga goto hito mo yoru ya koeken
English Translation: That from long ago
this has been called Kurama,
the Mountain Dark—
was it that others, like me,
had to cross it in the night
Meaning: Has this been called Kurama, the Mountain of Darkness, since long ago because others too, like me, crossed it in the night?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1140

Headnote: "Composed while crossing the Kurama slope at night."
The poet wonders whether the mountain has long been called Kurama because others, like her, crossed it at night. Reading "dark" into the name Kurama, she turns the unease of a night crossing into a witty question about the origin of the name.
According to the headnote, it was composed while crossing the slope of Kurama at night.
The poet is described as "the one called Imaako at the Teiji-in," a lady-in-waiting known as Imaako at the Teiji-in, the residence of Cloistered Emperor Uda. Her name and life are otherwise unknown.

The first line, "Mukashi yori," means "since long ago."
The second line, "kurama no yama to," means "as Mount Kurama," with "kurama" joining the place name and "kurashi," dark.
The third line, "iikeru wa," means "that it has been called so."
The fourth line, "waga goto hito mo," means "others too, like me," with "goto" meaning "like."
The last line, "yoru ya koeken," means "did they cross at night," with "ya" an interrogative binding particle closed by the attributive "ken." It seeks the origin of the name in crossings by night.
Author: Imaako
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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