Niitayama ne ni wa tsukanana wa ni yosori hashi naru kora shi ayani kanashimo

新田山嶺にはつかなな我に寄そり
はしなる子らしあやに愛しも

Roma-ji: Niitayama ne ni wa tsukanana wa ni yosori hashi naru kora shi ayani kanashimo
English Translation: Mount Nitta stands
apart from all other peaks:
linked with me by talk,
left between, with nowhere to turn—
how dear that girl is to me.
Meaning: As Mount Nitta stands apart, unjoined to other peaks, so she, linked with me by gossip and left in between, is dearer to me than words can say.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3408

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
As Mount Nitta stands alone, unconnected to any other peak, so the girl rumored to be his and left with no place to stand is unbearably dear to the singer. Sympathy and tenderness for a beloved put in a hard position by gossip are expressed.
It is one of the Kōzuke poems. Mount Nitta is thought to be Kanayama in present-day Ōta, Gunma, a hill rising alone from the plain. "Little Mount Nitta" is also sung in 3436 of this book.
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, "niitayama": A mountain in Nitta District of Kōzuke, thought to be Kanayama in Ōta.
Second line, "ne ni wa tsukanana": "Tsukanana" is an eastern form of "tsukanai," not joining other peaks. The first two lines form a preface.
Third line, "wa ni yosori": "Yosori" is being linked by rumor, the same idea as "ware ni yosu tou" in 3384.
Fourth line, "hashi naru kora shi": "Hashi" means halfway, describing a girl caught in between.
Final line, "ayani kanashimo": "Ayani" means beyond reason, and "kanashimo" means how dear she is.
Source: Manyoshu
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