Niodori no katsushika wase o niesu tomo sono kanashiki o to ni tateme ya mo

にほ鳥の葛飾早稲をにへすとも
その愛しきを外に立てめやも

Roma-ji: Niodori no katsushika wase o niesu tomo sono kanashiki o to ni tateme ya mo
English Translation: The diving grebe's—
Katsushika's early rice
though I offer it,
could I leave the one I love
standing out beyond the door?
Meaning: Even on the night I offer Katsushika's early rice to the gods, could I leave the one I love standing outside the door?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3386

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
The night of the harvest offering, when new rice is given to the gods, was a night of seclusion when no one was let into the house; yet, a woman asks, could she leave her beloved standing outside? It voices a passion strong enough to break a sacred taboo.
It is one of the Shimōsa poems. Poem 3460 of this book also sings of a wife who sends her husband out on the night of the harvest offering, and both are valuable records of eastern harvest customs.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "niodori no": "Niodori," the grebe, dives often, so it serves as a pillow word for Katsushika through "kazuku," to dive.
Second line, "katsushika wase o": Early rice grown in Katsushika, the new rice offered at the harvest festival.
Third line, "niesu tomo": "Niesu" is offering new rice to the gods, and "tomo" is a concessive supposition.
Fourth line, "sono kanashiki o": The one she loves; the restraint of the harvest rite is set against her longing.
Final line, "to ni tateme ya mo": "Me ya mo" is rhetorical: could I leave him out there? No, never.
Source: Manyoshu
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