Omoshiroki no o ba na yaki so furukusa ni niikusa majiri oi wa ouru gani

おもしろき野をばな焼きそ古草に
新草交り生ひは生ふるがに

Roma-ji: Omoshiroki no o ba na yaki so furukusa ni niikusa majiri oi wa ouru gani
English Translation: This moor so lovely—
do not set fire to it now:
with the old grass there,
let the new grass mix and grow,
spring up thick, as grass will grow.
Meaning: Do not burn this lovely moor—let the new grass mingle with the old and grow as grass will grow.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3452

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Miscellaneous Poems"
The singer asks that the beloved moor not be burned, so that new grass may mingle with old and grow naturally. Against the custom of burning the fields, a heart that cherishes the old and new growing together shows through.
It is one of the miscellaneous poems. It is thought to have been sung at the spring burning of the fields; some read the old and new grass as figures for old and new lovers.
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, "omoshiroki": "Omoshiroki" means charming, appealing.
Second line, "no o ba na yaki so": "Na ... so" forbids: do not burn the moor. The poem pauses here.
Third line, "furukusa ni": Old withered grass.
Fourth line, "niikusa majiri": New grass sprouting in among it, pairing with the third line.
Final line, "oi wa ouru gani": "Gani" means so that: let it grow thick of itself. The line is hypermetric.
Source: Manyoshu
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