classic waka stream

真玉つく越智の菅原我れ刈らず
人の刈らまく惜しき菅原
Roma-ji

Matama tsuku ochi no sugahara ware karazu hito no karamaku oshiki sugahara

English Translation
Strung with jewels fine,
the sedge fields of Ochi,
I have not cut them;
that others should cut them down—
how I grudge those fields of sedge
Meaning
The sedge fields of Ochi—I have not cut them myself, yet how I would grudge it if others were to cut those sedge fields.
Commentary
Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1341

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Grasses"
The speaker has not cut the sedge fields of Ochi himself, yet would grudge their being cut by others. The sedge field stands for the woman he loves and cutting it for making her his own, expressing regret that she may be taken by another man while he has not dared approach her.
It is one of the poems on grasses. The word "sedge fields" is repeated in the second and final lines, strengthening his sense of loss. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Strung with jewels fine," renders "matama tsuku," a pillow word for Ochi, from the "o" (cord) on which jewels are strung.
The second line names the sedge fields of Ochi, said to be in Takechi District of Yamato.
The third line, "I have not cut them," states his restraint.
In the fourth line, "karamaku" is the nominalized form of "mu": "that others should cut them."
The final line, "how I grudge those fields of sedge," ends on the noun "sugahara," the same word as in the second line.
Source
Manyoshu
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