Nubatama no yami no kuraki ni amagumo no yaekumogakure kari zo nakunaru

ぬばたまの闇の暗きに天雲の
八重雲隠れ雁ぞ鳴くなる

Roma-ji: Nubatama no yami no kuraki ni amagumo no yaekumogakure kari zo nakunaru
English Translation: Black as jet berries,
in the darkness of the night,
in the clouds of heaven
hidden by their eightfold layers,
I hear the wild geese crying.
Meaning: In the pitch-dark night, hidden behind the many-layered clouds of heaven, I hear the wild geese crying.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 702

Headnote: illegible in the source as displayed
In the pitch-dark night, wild geese cry unseen behind layers of cloud. Since only their voices can be heard, the depth of the darkness and the loneliness of their cries stand out. Against the pitiful goose seen in the preceding poem, this one sings of geese known only by their voices. Kamo no Mabuchi marked it with a sign of praise.
The text transmitted by Teika reads line 1 as ubatama ya. The Jōkyō text's naku nari in line 5 is thought to be an error.

Line 1, nubatama no, is a pillow word for "darkness."
Line 2 means "in the darkness of night."
Line 3 means "of the clouds of heaven."
Line 4 means "hidden in the eightfold clouds," like "far off among the clouds" in the preceding poem.
Line 5 means "I hear the geese cry," naru inferring from sound and concluding zo. Against the goose seen in the preceding poem, this one is only heard, and the two form a pair.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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