Miyako made oto ni furikuru Shirayama wa yukitsukigataki tokoro narikeri - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

都まで音にふりくる白山は
ゆきつきがたき所なりけり

Roma-ji: Miyako made oto ni furikuru Shirayama wa yukitsukigataki tokoro narikeri
English Translation: Shirayama, whose fame
falls as far as the capital
like the falling snow,
is a place that one can hardly
reach through all its drifts
Meaning: Shirayama, the White Mountain whose fame reaches all the way to the capital, is a place hard to arrive at—buried as it is in snow.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Parting Poems 1353

Headnote: "When making a pilgrimage to Shirayama, sent from partway along the road by someone carrying letters."
The poet says that Shirayama, whose fame reaches the capital, proves hard to reach. On the way to the famous White Mountain, joining "yuki," going, with "yuki," snow, the poet writes back to the capital of how hard the road is to a mountain deep in snow.
According to the headnote, on a pilgrimage to Shirayama, the poet sent this from partway along the road, entrusting it to someone bound for the capital.
The poet is anonymous and the name is not known.

The first line, "Miyako made," means "as far as the capital."
The second line, "oto ni furikuru," means "whose fame comes to be heard," with "furu" echoing falling snow, linked with "Shirayama" and "yuki."
The third line, "Shirayama wa," means "Shirayama in Kaga," a mountain whose name bears the whiteness of snow.
The fourth line, "yukitsukigataki," is a pivot word on "yuki," both going and snow: hard to reach, and deep in snow.
The last line, "tokoro narikeri," means "is such a place, I find," with "keri" for realization.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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