Hototogisu fukaki yamabe ni sumu kai wa kozue ni tsuzuku koe o kiku kana

郭公深き山辺に住むかひは
梢に続く声を聞くかな

Roma-ji: Hototogisu fukaki yamabe ni sumu kai wa kozue ni tsuzuku koe o kiku kana
English Translation: O cuckoo,
the reward of dwelling here
by the deep mountain
is to hear your voice that runs on
from treetop on to treetop.
Meaning: O cuckoo, the reward for living deep in the mountains is to hear your voice running on from treetop to treetop.
Commentary: One Hundred Poems 1470

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten Poems on the Cuckoo"
The eighth of the ten poems on the cuckoo. The worth of living deep in the mountains lies in hearing the cuckoo calling on from treetop to treetop.
Even amid the loneliness of mountain life there is a joy not found in the village, and the poem expresses it through the cuckoo's voice. Sharing the word yamabe with the preceding poem, it sets a voice that runs on without pause by the deep mountain against the dawn voice by the old mountain.

First line, “hototogisu”: an address naming the subject.
Second line, “fukaki yamabe ni”: by the deep mountain, answering “furuki yamabe no” in the preceding poem.
Third line, “sumu kai wa”: kai is worth, "the worth of living there."
Fourth line, “kozue ni tsuzuku”: the voice continuing from treetop to treetop.
Fifth line, “koe o kiku kana”: kana marks exclamation, "to hear that voice."
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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