sparse cogon grass; short cogon grass
Literary term for thinly growing or short cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica), often used in classical Japanese literature to evoke a bleak, desolate landscape.
See also: チガヤ (ちがや)
A field overgrown with sparse cogon grass has a somewhat lonely charm.
古い和歌には、浅茅を詠み込んだものが多い。
Many old waka poems incorporate the image of sparse cogon grass.
Standard kanji spelling for this literary term.
Compound of 浅 (asa, 'shallow, sparse') and 茅 (chi, 'cogon grass'), with rendaku voicing chi → ji. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term has been used in classical Japanese poetry to describe thin, short grass on bleak landscapes.