Mano no ike no kosuge o kasa ni nuwazushite hito no tōna o tatsu beki mono ka

真野の池の小菅を笠に縫はずして
人の遠名を立つべきものか

Roma-ji: Mano no ike no kosuge o kasa ni nuwazushite hito no tōna o tatsu beki mono ka
English Translation: The little sedges
of the pond of Mano
not yet sewn as a hat,
must a name be spread so far
by the people of this world
Meaning: Before I have even sewn the little sedge of Mano Pond into a hat, must rumor about us spread so far?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2772

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Before he has even sewn the little sedge of Mano Pond into a hat, must rumor spread so far? So the speaker laments. Sewing the sedge into a hat stands for winning the beloved and making her his own, and the poem voices his discontent at being talked about before any vow has been exchanged.
Following the preceding poem, 2771, this one again speaks of the sedge of Mano. There the speaker came to the woman without a sedge hat; here sewing the sedge into a hat itself becomes a figure for love fulfilled, the same material being put to a different conceit.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather the love poems of people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "mano no ike no": "of the pond at Mano." Mano is a place in Settsu Province, thought to be near present-day Nagata Ward in Kobe. The line runs to six syllables.
Second line, "kosuge o kasa ni": "the little sedge into a hat." The sedge stands for the woman, and making the hat for making her one's own.
Third line, "nuwazushite": "without sewing it." "Zushite" is the negative "zu" with "shite," indicating that no vow has yet been made.
Fourth line, "hito no tōna o": "a far-reaching name among people." "Tōna" is a name heard far away, that is, widespread rumor.
Fifth line, "tatsu beki mono ka": "should it be raised? Surely not." "Beshi" expresses what is fitting and "mono ka" a rhetorical question, closing with indignation at undeserved gossip.
Source: Manyoshu
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