Mi o ushi to hito shirenu yo o tazunekoshi kumo no yae tatsu yama ni ya wa aranu - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

身を憂しと人知れぬ世を尋ね来し
雲の八重立つ山にやはあらぬ

Roma-ji: Mi o ushi to hito shirenu yo o tazunekoshi kumo no yae tatsu yama ni ya wa aranu
English Translation: Finding life a grief,
I came seeking out a world
where none would know me—
is this not the mountain where
the clouds rise eightfold high
Meaning: Weary of myself, I came in search of a life unknown to others—is this not the very mountain where the clouds rise layer upon layer?
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems II 1173

Headnote: "Reply."
The poet asks whether this is not the mountain, wrapped in eightfold clouds, that she came seeking, weary of herself, for a life unknown to others. In answer to the preceding poem's sympathy, she replies that life in the mountain village is not against her will but a dwelling she sought herself to escape the sorrows of the world.
It is the woman's reply to the preceding poem.
The poet is listed as anonymous, and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Mi o ushi to," means "finding myself wretched."
The second line, "hito shirenu yo o," means "a life unknown to others," answering "hitome mare naru" in the preceding poem.
The third line, "tazunekoshi," means "that I came seeking," with "shi" the attributive of the past "ki."
The fourth line, "kumo no yae tatsu," means "where clouds rise in eight layers," expressing deep mountains far from human dwellings.
The last line, "yama ni ya wa aranu," means "is it not the mountain," with "ya wa" rhetorical. Taking up the mountain village of the preceding poem, she answers that this is the very mountain she desired.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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