Kusamakura tabi ni wa tsuma wa itaredomo kushige no uchi no tama o koso omoe

草枕旅には妻は率たれども
櫛笥のうちの玉をこそ思へ

Roma-ji: Kusamakura tabi ni wa tsuma wa itaredomo kushige no uchi no tama o koso omoe
English Translation: Pillowed on the grass,
on my journey, true, my wife
I have brought along;
yet the jewel in my comb-box,
it is that I think upon
Meaning: True, I have brought my wife along on my journey, but it is the jewel in my comb-box that I think of.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 635

Headnote: "Two more poems sent by Prince Yuhara"
Prince Yuhara answers her teasing: he has brought his wife on the journey, but what he treasures in his heart is she, like a jewel kept in a comb-box. He deftly expresses a divided heart, married yet devoted to the maiden.
The author, Prince Yuhara, was a son of Prince Shiki and a poet of the Nara period known for the fresh clarity of his style.

First line, "Pillowed on the grass," is kusamakura, a pillow word for "journey."
Second line, "on my journey, true, my wife," takes up "on your journeys, too, your wife" from the preceding poem.
Third line, "I have brought along," uses iru, "to bring along": though I have brought her.
Fourth line, "yet the jewel in my comb-box," means within the comb box.
Fifth line, "it is that I think upon," closes koso with the perfective omoe; the jewel stands for the precious maiden.
Author: Prince Yuhara
Source: Manyoshu
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