Shiohi no Mitsu no ama no kugutsu mochi tamamo karuramu iza yukite mimu

潮干の御津の海女のくぐつ持ち
玉藻刈るらむいざ行きて見む

Roma-ji: Shiohi no Mitsu no ama no kugutsu mochi tamamo karuramu iza yukite mimu
English Translation: At the ebb of tide,
the fisher girls of Mitsu
with their woven bags
must be reaping the fine weed—
come now, let us go and see!
Meaning: With the tide out, the fisher girls of Mitsu must be gathering seaweed with their woven bags—come, let us go and watch!
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 293

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four poems by Tsuno no Maro"
This is the second of Tsuno no Maro's four poems. Imagining the fisher girls at Mitsu in Naniwa gathering seaweed at low tide, carrying bags for the weed, he invites his companions to go and see. In contrast with the desolate Takatsu of the preceding poem, he is drawn to the lively work of the shore.
Tsuno no Maro's four poems form a sequence on the shores of Settsu—Takatsu, Mitsu, and Suminoe in Naniwa.
Nothing is known of the poet, Tsuno no Maro.

First line "At the ebb of tide" has only four syllables.
Second line "the fisher girls of Mitsu": Mitsu was a harbor of Naniwa; the line has one syllable too many.
Third line "with their woven bags": kugutsu are bags of woven straw or reed for holding seaweed.
Fourth line "must be reaping the fine weed": ramu expresses present conjecture, and the sentence breaks here.
Fifth line "come now, let us go and see": iza invites and mu expresses resolve, a cheerful close.
Author: Tsuno no Maro
Source: Manyoshu
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