Tsukubane no konomo kanomo ni kage wa aredo kimi ga mikage ni masu kage wa nashi - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

筑波嶺のこのもかのもにかげはあれど
君がみかげにますかげはなし

Roma-ji: Tsukubane no konomo kanomo ni kage wa aredo kimi ga mikage ni masu kage wa nashi
English Translation: On Mount Tsukuba,
on this side and on that,
though there is shade,
than your sheltering shade, my lord,
there is no greater shade.
Meaning: On every side of Mount Tsukuba there is shade, yet no shade is greater than the shelter of your kindness, my lord.
Commentary: Book Twenty Poems of the Bureau of Court Song 1095

Headnote: "Songs of the East: Hitachi Song"
There is shade on every side of Mount Tsukuba, the singer says, but no shade surpasses the shelter of his lord. The shade of the mountain trees is overlaid with the "shade" of protection, expressing gratitude and trust toward the lord. No author is recorded.
The Azuma-uta, songs of the East, are folk songs of the eastern provinces taken into the court, arranged by province: Michinoku, Sagami, Hitachi, Kai and Ise.

The first line, "of Mount Tsukuba," names the mountain in Hitachi. The next poem, 1096, begins with the same line, so two poems with a shared opening stand together.
The second line, "on this side and on that," means every face of the mountain.
The third line, "though there is shade," uses do for concession; the line has an extra syllable.
The fourth line, "than your sheltering shade, my lord," has the honorific prefix mi.
The last line, "there is no greater shade," praises the lord by joining the two senses of kage, tree shade and protection.
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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