The expression in the original poem puriwake nö kami refers to the hairstyle adopted by both male and female children prior to their offical coming-of-age. Hair was cut to shoulder-length and tied to fall in two bunches on either side of the head.

The poem suggests that the girl in question has used grasses to take her hair up in a more adult style.

In this poem the lady uses a special word for bamboo grass yusasa (rather than the normal sasa, referring to its use as a wand in Shintō ceremonies. This implies that it would be taboo for her lover to touch it, as he must, on his way home and so it would be that much better for him to stay with her.