Tsukubane ni sogai ni miyuru ashihoyama ashikaru toga mo sane mienaku ni

筑波嶺にそがひに見ゆる葦穂山
悪しかるとがもさね見えなくに

Roma-ji: Tsukubane ni sogai ni miyuru ashihoyama ashikaru toga mo sane mienaku ni
English Translation: From Mount Tsukuba,
seen behind it, on the far side,
Mount Ashiho stands:
yet no ashiki—no fault at all
can I see in you, my love.
Meaning: Mount Ashiho rises behind Tsukuba—but no "ashiki" fault at all can I see in the one I love.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3391

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
From the name of Mount Ashiho, seen behind Tsukuba, the singer draws out "ashiki" (bad) and declares that not the least fault can be seen in the beloved. It can also be read as a retort to people speaking ill of the pair.
It is one of the Hitachi poems. Mount Ashiho is Mount Ashio, north of Tsukuba, straddling present-day Ishioka and Sakuragawa in Ibaraki.
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, "tsukubane ni": Mount Tsukuba, here serving as the reference point for Ashiho's position.
Second line, "sogai ni miyuru": "Sogai" means behind, at one's back.
Third line, "ashihoyama": Mount Ashio, whose sound "ashi" leads to "ashiki," bad. The first three lines form a preface.
Fourth line, "ashikaru toga mo": "Toga" is a fault, paired with "ashikaru" to mean anything bad.
Final line, "sane mienaku ni": "Sane" means not at all, answering the negative; "naku ni" is an exclamatory negative.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Tsukubane ni kaka naku washi no ne nomi o ka nakiwatarinamu au to wa nashi ni
Next Poem: Tsukubane no iwa mo todoro ni otsuru mizu yo ni mo tayura ni waga omowanaku ni