Fuji no ne no keburi mo sora ni tatsu mono o nado ka omoi no shita ni moyuramu

富士の嶺の煙も空に立つものを
などかおもひの下に燃ゆらむ

Roma-ji: Fuji no ne no keburi mo sora ni tatsu mono o nado ka omoi no shita ni moyuramu
English Translation: Even the smoke
from the peak of Fuji rises
up into the sky;
why then does the fire of my love
burn only hidden down below?
Meaning: Even the smoke from the peak of Fuji rises into the sky for all to see; why, then, does the fire of my longing burn only hidden within?
Commentary: Love Poems 467

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on the theme of love at famous places"
Even the smoke of burning Fuji rises into the sky where all can see it, so why does the fire of the poet's love burn only secretly in his breast? Fuji, which was still smoking in those days, figures the fire of love.

Line 1 means "of the peak of Fuji."
Line 2 means "even the smoke, into the sky."
Line 3 means "rises, and yet," mono o being adversative.
Line 4: nado ka is interrogative, concluded by ramu in line 5; the hi of omoi carries a pun on hi, "fire."
Line 5 means "does it burn within?" taking up "the longing within" of the preceding poem.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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