Mi naku tomo hito ni shirareji yo no naka ni shirarenu yama o shiru yoshi mogana - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身なくとも人に知られじ世の中に
知られぬ山を知るよしもがな

Roma-ji: Mi naku tomo hito ni shirareji yo no naka ni shirarenu yama o shiru yoshi mogana
English Translation: Though I lose my life,
I'd not have others know of it—
a mountain somewhere
unknown to all the world:
if only I knew the way
Meaning: Even if my life should end, I would not have anyone know; if only there were some way to find a mountain unknown to all the world.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1163

Headnote: "When I was found out visiting another man's wife."
The poet says that even if he should die he would not have it known, and wishes there were a way to find a mountain unknown to the world. Exposed in his visits to another man's wife, he laments in his shame that he would like to hide away in some mountain no one knows.
According to the headnote, it was composed when he was found out visiting another man's wife. The reply of the woman's husband follows in the next poem, forming an exchange.
The poet, the monk Gachō, was a priest of the early Heian period, but little more is known of his life.

The first line, "Mi naku tomo," means "even if I perish," with "tomo" an adversative supposition. The third line of the next poem repeats it.
The second line, "hito ni shirareji," means "I would not be known," with "ji" negative intention. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "yo no naka ni," means "in this world."
The fourth line, "shirarenu yama o," means "a mountain unknown," repeating the verb of "shirareji" in the second line. The same line appears in the second line of the next poem.
The last line, "shiru yoshi mogana," means "if only I knew a way," with "mogana" a wish. It plays on repeating "shiru," to know.
Author: The Monk Gachō
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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