noun
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: 茅 (ちがや)
浅茅が生い茂る野原は、どこか寂しげな趣がある。
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.
茅 (ちがや) is the general term for cogon grass, while 浅茅 (あさじ) specifically refers to sparse or short growth, often with a literary, desolate nuance.
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.