Yoru mo nezu yasuku mo arazu shirotae no koromo wa nukaji tada ni au made ni

夜も寝ず安くもあらず白栲の
衣は脱かじ直に逢ふまでに

Roma-ji: Yoru mo nezu yasuku mo arazu shirotae no koromo wa nukaji tada ni au made ni
English Translation: I cannot sleep at night,
nor is my heart at ease;
this robe of white cloth
I will not take off until
I meet you face to face
Meaning: I cannot sleep at night, and my heart knows no peace; I will not take off this white robe until I meet you face to face.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2846

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
After describing the unrest of sleepless nights, the poet vows not to take off the robe until meeting the beloved. Keeping the robe on expresses both faithfulness to the lover and single-minded hope for their meeting.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet who served under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note shows that this poem was taken from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, though scholars differ on whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a song he recorded.

Line one, "yoru mo nezu," speaks of not sleeping at night, with the repeated "mo" lining up one hardship after another.
Line two, "yasuku mo arazu," means "my heart is not at peace"; together with line one it piles up the unrest of sleepless nights, and the poem pauses here.
Line three, "shirotae no," refers to white cloth woven from paper-mulberry fiber and serves here as a pillow word for "koromo," robe.
Line four, "koromo wa nukaji": "ji" expresses negative intention, "I will not take off my robe."
Line five, "tada ni au made ni": "tada ni" means directly, not through dreams or messengers. Poems 2919 and 2959 in this book end in a similar way, and the longing for a meeting in person is sung again and again.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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