Kanikaku ni hito wa iu tomo oritsugamu waga hatamono no shiroasagoromo

かにかくに人は言ふとも織り継がむ
我が機物の白麻衣

Roma-ji: Kanikaku ni hito wa iu tomo oritsugamu waga hatamono no shiroasagoromo
English Translation: Whatever they say,
however others may talk,
I will weave it on—
here upon my weaving loom,
this robe of pure white hemp
Meaning: Let people say what they will—I will keep on weaving it, this robe of white hemp upon my loom.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1298

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Robes"
Whatever others may say, the speaker will go on weaving the white hemp robe on her loom. Weaving on the robe is taken to express her resolve to see her love through in spite of gossip, and the poem is regarded as spoken by a woman.
It is the third poem of the series on robes. Where the preceding poem feared being found out, this one declares that others may say what they like, and the two stand in contrast. According to the left note it comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection.

The first line, "Whatever they say," means "this way and that."
The second line, "however others may talk," corresponds to "would the world not come to know?" in the preceding poem.
The third line, "I will weave it on," states her resolve, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "here upon my weaving loom," refers to her own loom.
The final line, "this robe of pure white hemp," names by inversion what she weaves and ends the poem on a noun.
Source: Manyoshu
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