Suma no ama no shioyakiginu no fujigoromo madō ni shi areba imada kinarezu

須磨の海女の塩焼き衣の藤衣
間遠にしあればいまだ着なれず

Roma-ji: Suma no ama no shioyakiginu no fujigoromo madō ni shi areba imada kinarezu
English Translation: Fisher girls of Suma
wear for boiling salt a robe
woven of wisteria—
its weave is so loose and wide,
I am not yet used to it.
Meaning: The wisteria robe that the fisher girls of Suma wear to boil salt is so loosely woven that I am not yet used to wearing it.
Commentary: Book Three Allegorical Poems 413

Headnote: "A poem recited by Ōami no Kimi Hitonushi at a banquet"
This poem belongs to the section of Allegorical Poems in Book Three. It was recited at a banquet. The wisteria robes worn by the fisher girls of Suma for boiling salt are so coarsely woven that they have not yet softened to the body. With madō, "loosely woven," also meaning "at long intervals," it hints at a love in which the lovers meet so seldom that they have not yet grown close. The first three lines form a preface leading to madō.
The poet, Ōami no Hitonushi, lived in the Nara period, but little is known of him.

First line "Fisher girls of Suma": Suma was a shore of Settsu, around present-day Suma Ward, Kobe. The line has one syllable too many.
Second line "wear for boiling salt a robe" names the garment worn for salt-making.
Third line "woven of wisteria": a coarse robe of wisteria fiber; up to here is the preface to madō.
Fourth line "its weave is so loose and wide": madō means coarsely woven, punning on meetings far apart.
Fifth line "I am not yet used to it" hints that they have not yet grown intimate.
Author: Ōami no Hitonushi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Inadaki ni kisumeru tama wa futatsu nashi ka ni mo kaku ni mo kimi ga manimani
Next Poem: Ashihiki no iwane kogoshimi suga no ne o hikaba katami to shime nomi zo yuu