Aburi hosu hito mo are ya mo nureginu o ie ni wa yarana tabi no shirushi ni

あぶり干す人もあれやも濡れ衣を
家には遣らな旅のしるしに

Roma-ji: Aburi hosu hito mo are ya mo nureginu o ie ni wa yarana tabi no shirushi ni
English Translation: To dry it by the fire,
is there anyone here at all?
this sodden robe of mine
I will send off to my home
as a token of my journey.
Meaning: Is there anyone here to dry it over a fire? No one at all. I will send this soaked robe home as proof of my journey.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1688

Headnote: "Two poems composed at the Naki River"
With no one to dry his wet robe, the traveler decides to send it home as evidence of his hardships. The loneliness of travel is expressed with a touch of humor.
The Naki River is thought to have flowed near present-day Uji, Kyoto. Poems 1696 to 1698 of this book form another group of three on the Naki River, and 1698 opens, like this poem, with "to dry it by the fire, is there anyone here at all?"
The author, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, was a court poet active in the reigns of Jitō and Monmu. This poem is taken from the Hitomaro Collection, which is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he gathered.

The first line, "to dry it by the fire," means to hold something over flames to dry it.
The second line, "is there anyone here at all?" is a rhetorical question implying there is no one, and the poem pauses here. These two opening lines are the same as those of 1698.
The third line, "this sodden robe of mine," refers to a garment soaked by rain and dew on the road.
The fourth line, "I will send off to my home," uses na to express intention.
The final line, "as a token of my journey," gives the purpose at the end in inversion.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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