Mimakusa ni hara no osusuki shigau tote fushido asenu to shika omouran

御秣に原の小薄しがふとて
臥所あせぬと鹿思ふらん

Roma-ji: Mimakusa ni hara no osusuki shigau tote fushido asenu to shika omouran
English Translation: For the horses' feed,
since they cut the meadow's grass,
the small silver plumes,
my bed is ruined, so
the deer must think, I suppose.
Meaning: Since the little pampas grass of the meadow is being cut for horse fodder, the deer must be thinking that its bed has been spoiled.
Commentary: Summer Poems 236

Headnote: "Grasses of the summer fields"
This poem was composed on the topic of grasses of the summer fields. In the summer meadow the pampas grass is being cut for horse fodder, and the deer that made its bed among the grass must think that its resting place has been spoiled, the poet imagines, taking the deer's point of view.
The sound of shigau in the third line and shika, the deer, in the last echo one another, showing care for the music of the words as well.

First line, “mimakusa ni”: mimakusa is fodder given to horses.
Second line, “hara no osusuki”: pampas grass growing in the meadow; o is a prefix that smooths the rhythm.
Third line, “shigau tote”: shigau is understood to mean cutting grass, and tote gives the reason, since they are cutting it.
Fourth line, “fushido asenu to”: fushido is the deer's bed and ase means to be spoiled or decline, so that its bed has been ruined.
Fifth line, “shika omouran”: ran is present conjecture, imagining the deer's thoughts; it echoes the sound of shigau in the third line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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