Cleaver - Cleaver

Japanese: ヤエムグラ - やえむぐら

An annual or biennial plant of the Rubiaceae family (APG classification: Rubiaceae). The stem is well branched and has four ridges. The downward-pointing thorns on the ridges grow and entwine with other plants, reaching a length of 60-90 cm. The leaves are narrow lanceolate and 1-3 cm long, arranged in whorls of 6-8. Of the whorls, two that branch out from the axils are true leaves, and the rest are leaf-like stipules. In May and June, many small flowers bloom in the axils and at the ends of the stems. The corolla is yellow-green, 1 mm in diameter, and has four lobes. The fruit is like two balls stuck together, split into two, and is scattered on clothes and other surfaces by the hook-shaped thorns. It grows in bushes and fields near houses from Hokkaido to Okinawa. It is widely distributed in Asia, Europe, and Africa.

[Makiyuki Fukuoka, May 21, 2021]

Cultural history

The name of Yaemugura appears in two poems in Volume 11 of the Manyoshu, where it is used to describe one's own house in a derogatory manner, such as "A hut with eight-story, six-storey storehouses." The monk Egyo wrote, "The lodging house, overgrown with eight-story weeds, is so lonely that no one can be seen, as autumn has come" (Shuui Wakashu), and focuses on Yaemugura growing in autumn. Today, Yaemugura is a biennial plant that grows luxuriantly in spring, but dies in summer and is not noticeable in autumn. In the "Manyoshu," Mugura is used in the same way as Yaemugura, such as "Mugurafu's dirty hut" (Volume 4) and "Mugurahafuiyashiki hut" (Volume 19). This suggests that the ancient Yaemugura was not a specific plant, but a thick weed that grew overgrown with other plants. There is also a theory that it refers to Kanamugura, a member of the Cannabaceae family that grows in autumn.

[Hiroshi Yuasa May 21, 2021]

[Reference] | Mugura

Cleaver
It grows on roadsides, in vacant lots, and in thickets, and produces many small flowers in the leaf axils and at the ends of stems from May to June. The corolla is yellow-green and 1 mm in diameter. ©Shogakukan Photo by Okuyama Hisashi ">

Cleaver

Cleaver fruit
It looks like two balls stuck together, and is densely covered with hook-shaped thorns. It is scattered on clothing, etc. ©Shogakukan Photo by Okuyama Hisashi ">

Cleaver fruit

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

アカネ科（APG分類：アカネ科）の一年草または越年草。茎はよく分枝し、4稜(りょう)がある。稜に生える下向きの刺(とげ)が、他物に絡まって伸び、60～90センチメートルになる。葉は6～8枚が輪生し、狭い披針(ひしん)形で長さ1～3センチメートル。輪生する葉のうち、腋(えき)から枝を出す2枚が本当の葉で、ほかは托葉(たくよう)が葉状になったものである。5～6月、葉腋や茎の先に多数の小さい花をつける。花冠は径1ミリメートル、黄緑色で4裂する。果実は二つの球がくっついたようになっていて、二つに割れ、鉤(かぎ)状の刺により衣服などについて散布される。北海道から沖縄の、人家の近くの藪(やぶ)、畑などに生える。アジア、ヨーロッパ、アフリカに広く分布する。

［福岡誠行　2021年5月21日］

文化史

ヤエムグラの名は『万葉集』の巻11に2首詠まれ、「八重六倉(やへむぐら)おほへる小屋(をや)」などと、自分の家を卑下する描写に使われている。恵慶(えぎょう)法師は「八重葎(やへむぐら)茂れる宿の寂しきに人こそ見えね秋は来にけり」（『拾遺(しゅうい)和歌集』）と詠み、秋に茂るヤエムグラを取り上げる。現在のヤエムグラは越年一年草で、春には繁茂するが、夏に枯れ、秋は目だたない。『万葉集』には、単にムグラも「牟具良生(むぐらふ)のきたなき屋戸(やど)」（巻4）、「牟具良はふいやしき屋戸」（巻19）と、ヤエムグラ同様に用いていることからして、いにしえのヤエムグラは特定の植物ではなく、重なりあって茂った雑草とする見方がある。また、秋に茂るアサ科のカナムグラをあてる説もある。

［湯浅浩史　2021年5月21日］

[参照項目] | むぐら

ヤエムグラ

ヤエムグラの果実

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

<<: Yaeyama scorpion (Liocheles australasiae)

>>: Yaedake - Yaedake