Ari to kiku Otowa no yama no hototogisu nani ka kakururan naku koe wa shite - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

ありと聞く音羽の山の郭公
何か隠るらん鳴く声はして

Roma-ji: Ari to kiku Otowa no yama no hototogisu nani ka kakururan naku koe wa shite
English Translation: Said to be there,
the cuckoo of Otowa,
the mountain of sound—
why should it hide away
when its song is plainly heard
Meaning: O cuckoo of Mount Otowa, said to be there—why should you hide yourself away when your song can plainly be heard?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems IV 1261

Headnote: "Sent when someone, annoyed that he was always coming, hid from him."
The poet asks why the cuckoo said to be on Mount Otowa should hide when its song is heard. Likening one who hid in annoyance at his frequent visits to a mountain cuckoo whose voice is heard though it is never seen, he lightly reproaches her.
According to the headnote, someone grew annoyed that he was always coming and hid, so he sent this.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Ari to kiku," means "said to be there."
The second line, "Otowa no yama no," means "of Mount Otowa" in Yamashiro, whose name contains "oto," sound, echoing "hear" in the first line and "voice" in the last.
The third line, "hototogisu," is the cuckoo, a bird sung of for being heard but not seen, standing for the one who hid.
The fourth line, "nani ka kakururan," means "why should it hide," with the interrogative binding particle "ka" closed by the attributive "ran." The poem pauses here.
The last line, "naku koe wa shite," means "though its song is heard," inverted with the fourth line.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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