Yamazato ni yadorazariseba hototogisu kiku hito mo naki ne o ya nakamashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

山里に宿らざりせば郭公
聞く人もなき音をや鳴かまし

Roma-ji: Yamazato ni yadorazariseba hototogisu kiku hito mo naki ne o ya nakamashi
English Translation: If in this mountain
village I had not stayed,
then would the cuckoo
have sung its song here alone
with no one there to hear it?
Meaning: Had I not stayed in this mountain village, would the cuckoo have sung its song with no one to hear it?
Commentary: Book Two Summer Poems 99

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Thanks to staying in a mountain village, the poet has heard the cuckoo, and imagines that had he not stayed, the cuckoo would have sung unheard by anyone. The joy of happening upon its song through a chance lodging is expressed in the form of a contrary-to-fact supposition.

First line, "yamazato ni," begins with the same words as the preceding poem, and the two form a pair. Whereas that poem wished for an acquaintance in a mountain village, in this one the poet himself stays there and hears the cuckoo.
Second line, "yadorazariseba," means "had I not stayed," with "seba" marking a contrary-to-fact condition that answers to "mashi" in the final line.
Third line, "hototogisu," names the cuckoo singing in the mountain village.
Fourth line, "kiku hito mo naki," means "with no one to hear," showing the loneliness of the village where, but for the poet, no one would listen.
Final line, "ne o ya nakamashi," means "would it have sung its song," with "ya" as a questioning particle and "mashi" as a contrary-to-fact auxiliary, closing in the attributive form.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Yamazato ni shiru hito mo gana hototogisu nakinu to kikaba tsuge ni kuru gani
Next Poem: Honoka ni zo nakiwataru naru hototogisu miyama o izuru kesa no hatsukoe