Sanoyama ni utsu ya onoto no tōkadomo nemo to ka koro ga omo ni mietsuru

左努山に打つや斧音の遠かども
寝もとか子ろが面に見えつる

Roma-ji: Sanoyama ni utsu ya onoto no tōkadomo nemo to ka koro ga omo ni mietsuru
English Translation: On the hills of Sano,
the sound of axes chopping
comes from far away:
"Let us sleep," does she say?—my girl's
face appears before my eyes.
Meaning: Though she is far away as the sound of axes on Mount Sano, my girl's face rose before my eyes—as if to say, "Let us sleep together."
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3473

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
As the sound of axes on Mount Sano carries from afar, so though far away, the singer sees his beloved's face before him. The distant axe strokes and the rising image overlap, showing a love that reaches across distance.
It is one of the love exchanges. Mount Sano is thought to be at Sano in Kōzuke or Sano in Shimotsuke; Sano is also sung in 3406, 3418, and 3420 among the Kōzuke poems.
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, "sanoyama ni": The hills of Sano, a scene of woodcutting.
Second line, "utsu ya onoto no": "Onoto" is the sound of an axe striking wood; the first two lines form a preface leading to "tōka."
Third line, "tōkadomo": "Tōkadomo" is an eastern form of "tōkedomo," though far.
Fourth line, "nemo to ka koro ga": "Nemo" is an eastern form of "nemu": as if wishing to sleep together.
Final line, "omo ni mietsuru": "Her face appeared," closing in the attributive "tsuru," answering "ka."
Source: Manyoshu
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