Waga seko wa kariho tsukurasu kaya naku wa komatsu ga shita no kaya o karasa ne

我が背子は仮廬作らす草なくは
小松が下の草を刈らさね

Roma-ji: Waga seko wa kariho tsukurasu kaya naku wa komatsu ga shita no kaya o karasa ne
English Translation: My dear one, I see
you are building us a lodge;
if thatch should run short,
beneath the little pine trees
cut the grasses growing there.
Meaning: My dear, as you build our makeshift lodge, if you are short of thatching grass, why not cut the grass that grows beneath the little pines?
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 11

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem by Nakatsu-sumeramikoto on her way to the hot springs of Ki"
Speaking warmly to her husband as he builds a makeshift lodge for the night, the poet suggests that if the thatch runs short he might cut the grass beneath the little pines. Capturing a small moment of life on the road, it reveals a tender, attentive affection. Like the hut "thatched with grasses we cut" in poem 7 of this book, it conveys how travelers lodged on royal journeys. The left note records that the Ruiju Karin calls it the Sovereign's own poem.
Nakatsu-sumeramikoto is a title whose bearer has never been settled. The leading view identifies her as Princess Hashihito, daughter of Emperor Jomei and consort of Emperor Kōtoku; another names Yamatohime, consort of Emperor Tenji. The title is understood to mean a noble woman who mediates between sovereign and gods, or an interim sovereign.

The first line, waga seko wa, uses seko, a woman's fond word for her husband or lover, to name the one addressed. It appears to take up the "you" of the preceding poem.
The second line, kariho tsukurasu, "you build a makeshift lodge," uses the honorific su. While respectful, it depicts the concrete labor of making a shelter on the road.
In the third line, the character for "grass" is read kaya, grass for thatching. Naku wa is a supposition: "if there should be none."
The fourth line, "beneath the little pines," points to something close at hand, adding intimacy and a sense of the young pines' vitality.
In the last line, karasu is the honorific of "to cut" and ne a particle of wish addressed to another: "please cut it." Repeating the kaya of the third line, it urges him gently in a light cadence.
Author: Nakatsu-sumeramikoto
Source: Manyoshu
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