Minato no ashi ga naka naru tamakosuge kariko waga seko toko no hedashi ni

港の葦が中なる玉小菅
刈り来我が背子床の隔しに

Roma-ji: Minato no ashi ga naka naru tamakosuge kariko waga seko toko no hedashi ni
English Translation: At the river mouth,
in among the reeds there grows
the fine little sedge:
cut it, bring it, husband mine,
as a screen to shield our bed.
Meaning: Cut the fine little sedge growing among the reeds at the river mouth and bring it, my husband—to screen our bed.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3445

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Miscellaneous Poems"
A woman asks her husband to cut the little sedge growing among the reeds at the river mouth and bring it as a screen for their bed. It sings of an intimate moment of daily life, making ready the couple's sleeping place.
It is one of the miscellaneous poems. The first line has only four syllables, showing the free meter typical of the Azuma 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, "minato no": "Minato" means a river mouth; the line is short, with four syllables.
Second line, "ashi ga naka naru": "Among the reeds," with "naru" marking location.
Third line, "tamakosuge": "Tama" is an honorific prefix: the fine little sedge.
Fourth line, "kariko waga seko": "Kariko" means cut and bring, an imperative, and "waga seko" addresses her husband. The poem pauses here.
Final line, "toko no hedashi ni": "Hedashi" is a screen or partition; the inversion reveals the purpose at the end.
Source: Manyoshu
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