Ame wa furu kariio wa tsukuru itsu no ma ni ago no shiohi ni tama wa hiriwamu

雨は降る仮廬は作るいつの間に
吾児の潮干に玉は拾はむ

Roma-ji: Ame wa furu kariio wa tsukuru itsu no ma ni ago no shiohi ni tama wa hiriwamu
English Translation: The rain is falling,
the rough hut must be put up—
so when, I wonder,
on the ebb-tide flats of Ago
shall I gather pretty pebbles?
Meaning: The rain keeps falling, and the shelter must be built—so when am I ever to gather pebbles on the tide flats of Ago?
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1154

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed in Settsu"
With rain falling and a shelter to build, the poet laments that he has no time to gather pebbles on the tide flats of Ago. The busyness of travel chores and his regret at missing the pebble gathering are expressed with humor.
Where the preceding poem recalled gathering pebbles on the beach at Nago, this one laments having no time to do so, so two contrasting poems on gathering pebbles stand side by side. One view holds that Ago is the same place as Nago. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "The rain is falling," is a flat statement.
The second line, "the rough hut must be put up," is set beside the first like a parallel phrase, piling up the chores of travel.
The third line, "so when, I wonder," is a question answered by "mu" in the final line.
The fourth line, "on the ebb-tide flats of Ago," refers to the exposed beach at low tide.
The final line, "shall I gather pretty pebbles?" takes up the question of the third line and laments the lack of time.
Source: Manyoshu
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