早さ乙女おとめ

noun

young female rice planter; young maiden; young girl

Traditional and literary word. It most specifically refers to young women or girls planting rice, especially in an older rural or ceremonial setting; it can also mean a young girl or maiden in poetic usage.

• 早さ乙女おとめたちが田た植うえ歌うたに合あわせて苗なえを植うえた。

  The young rice-planting girls planted seedlings in time with the rice-planting song.

• 古ふるい歌うたでは、若わかい娘むすめを早さ乙女おとめと呼よぶことがある。

  In old songs, a young girl may be called a saotome, a maiden.