Yama takami hana no iro o mo miru beki ni nikuku tachinuru harugasumi kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

山高み花の色をも見るべきに
にくくたちぬる春霞かな

Roma-ji: Yama takami hana no iro o mo miru beki ni nikuku tachinuru harugasumi kana
English Translation: Since the hills are high,
I should be able to see
the colors of the blossoms,
yet how hatefully it rises,
this haze of the spring!
Meaning: Since the mountains are high, I should be able to see the colors of the blossoms, yet how hatefully the spring haze has risen!
Commentary: Book Seven Names of Things 398

Headnote: "Kukutachi (greens gone to stalk)"
The poet laments that though the mountains are high enough for the colors of the blossoms to be seen from afar, the spring haze has hatefully risen to cover them. Within a spring poem resenting the haze that hides the flowers, the name "kukutachi" given in the headnote is hidden in the run of sounds "nikuku tachinuru" in the fourth line. The headnote names the thing hidden in the poem.
The author, written as Sukemi, is Fujiwara no Sukemi. A son of Fujiwara no Hirotsune, he was a mid-Heian poet known as Tōroku. He excelled at poems hiding the names of things, and his personal collection is the Tōrokushū.

First line, "yama takami," means "since the mountains are high," with "mi" added to an adjective stem to express a reason.
Second line, "hana no iro o mo," means "even the colors of the blossoms."
Third line, "miru beki ni," means "though I should be able to see," with "ni" expressing concession.
Fourth line, "nikuku tachinuru," means "has hatefully risen," hiding the name "kukutachi." It continues the poems hiding names of foods from two poems earlier.
Final line, "harugasumi kana," means "this spring haze," with "kana" exclamatory.
Author: Fujiwara no Sukemi
Source: Shui Wakashu
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