Shika no ama wa me kari shio yaki itoma nami kushige no ogushi tori mo minaku ni

志賀の海女は藻刈り塩焼き暇なみ
櫛笥の小櫛取りも見なくに

Roma-ji: Shika no ama wa me kari shio yaki itoma nami kushige no ogushi tori mo minaku ni
English Translation: The fisher girls of Shika,
reaping seaweed, boiling salt,
with no time to spare,
the small comb in their comb-box
they never take out to see.
Meaning: The fisher girls of Shika are so busy cutting seaweed and boiling salt that they never even take out the little combs in their comb boxes.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 278

Headnote: "A poem by Ishikawa the Younger"
The poem describes the fisher girls of Shika Island in Chikuzen, so busy gathering seaweed and making salt that they have no time to comb their hair. The working women are drawn with sympathy and curiosity, as if set against the women of the capital. A left note says that Ishikawa no Ason Kimiko was called "the Younger."
The poet, Ishikawa no Kimiko, was an official of the early Nara period appointed Junior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu in the Jinki era. He is said to have been called "the Younger."

First line "The fisher girls of Shika": Shika is Shika Island in Chikuzen; the line has one syllable too many.
Second line "reaping seaweed, boiling salt": me is seaweed, and salt-making meant boiling down seawater—a list of the women's busy days.
Third line "with no time to spare": nami, from nashi with mi, means "since there is none."
Fourth line "the small comb in their comb-box": kushige is a box for combs, and ogushi a small comb.
Fifth line "they never take out to see": nakuni ends with a sigh—"they never even take them up."
Author: Ishikawa no Kimiko
Source: Manyoshu
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