Ashihiki no yama no tokage ni naku shika no koe kikasu ya mo yamada morasu ko

あしひきの山の常蔭に鳴く鹿の
声聞かすやも山田守らす子

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yama no tokage ni naku shika no koe kikasu ya mo yamada morasu ko
English Translation: On the rugged hills
in the ever-shaded dells,
the deer crying there—
do you hear its voice, I wonder,
girl who guards the mountain fields?
Meaning: The deer crying in the ever-shadowed depths of the mountain—do you hear its voice, you girl who watches over the mountain paddies?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2156

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the Calling of Deer"
This poem wonders whether the girl guarding the mountain paddies hears the deer crying in the mountain's shade, and it closes the group on the calling of deer. The image of a girl guarding fields in a lonely mountain shade overlaps with the deer's voice calling for its mate, faintly suggesting love for the girl. Like the makeshift hut among bush clover in 2100, it sings of a scene of farm work, guarding mountain fields.

The first line, "ashihiki no," is a pillow word attached to "mountain."
In the second line, "yama no tokage ni," "tokage" means a place always in shade.
The third line, "the deer that cries," names the caller.
In the fourth line, "koe kikasu ya mo," "su" is honorific and "ya mo" a question: do you hear its voice? The poem breaks here.
In the last line, "yamada morasu ko," "moru" means to guard and "su" is honorific: you girl who guards the mountain fields.
Source: Manyoshu
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