Aga tame to tanabatatsume no sono yado ni oru shirotae wa oritekemu ka mo

我がためと織女のそのやどに
織る白栲は織りてけむかも

Roma-ji: Aga tame to tanabatatsume no sono yado ni oru shirotae wa oritekemu ka mo
English Translation: "This is for my sake,"
so the Weaver in her house
there, at her dwelling,
weaves the cloth of snowy white—
has she finished weaving it?
Meaning: The white cloth the Weaver Maiden weaves in her dwelling, saying it is for me—has she finished weaving it by now?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2027

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
In this poem the Herdsman wonders whether the white cloth the Weaver has been weaving for him in her dwelling is finished. The image of the Weaver, a master of the loom, weaving cloth for her husband depicts the affection of a married couple. Whereas 2019 said the Weaver waited neglecting even her loom, this poem imagines the Weaver weaving cloth for the Herdsman.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet of the Asuka period, active under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note records that this poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, and it is uncertain whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a poem by someone else that he recorded.

The first line, "for my sake," gives the purpose of the weaving.
The second line, "the Weaver Maiden," names the Weaver Star and is hypermetric.
The third line, "in her dwelling," names the place.
The fourth line, "the white cloth she weaves," names the work.
In the last line, "oritekemu ka mo," "kemu" is past conjecture and "ka mo" a question tinged with exclamation, closing by wondering whether the cloth is done.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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