Kako no shima matsubara goshi ni naku tazu no ana naganagashi kiku hito nashi ni - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

加古の島松原越しに鳴く鶴の
あな長々し聞く人なしに

Roma-ji: Kako no shima matsubara goshi ni naku tazu no ana naganagashi kiku hito nashi ni
English Translation: On Kako Island,
beyond the pine-covered shore,
the crane that cries out—
ah, how long its calling goes,
though there is no one to hear.
Meaning: The crane crying beyond the pine grove on Kako Island—ah, how long its call goes on, though there is no one to hear it.
Commentary: Book Eight Miscellaneous Poems I 459

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet sings that the crane crying beyond the pine grove on Kako Island calls on and on, though no one is there to hear. In the crane's long calling on a deserted shore, the poet senses the loneliness of not being heard by anyone. Taking up the pines of the preceding group, it sings of a pine grove, and poems on cranes also appear in 465, 497 and 498 of this book.

First line, "Kako no shima," is the name of an island said to have lain near the mouth of the Kako River in Harima.
Second line, "matsubara goshi ni," means "beyond the pine grove," continuing the pines of the preceding group.
Third line, "naku tazu no," means "of the crying crane."
Fourth line, "ana naganagashi," means "ah, how long," with "ana" an interjection. The poem breaks here.
Final line, "kiku hito nashi ni," means "though there is no one to hear," adding, as if inverted, the reason for lamenting the length of the cry.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Shui Wakashu
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