白妙の

白妙の

Japanese

Kanji in this term
白	妙
しろ Grade: 1	たえ Grade: S
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

• 白栲の

Etymology

From Old Japanese, first attested in the Kojiki (712 CE).

Derived from 白栲(しろたえ) (shirotae, “paper mulberry cloth dyed white”) + の (no, case particle).

The use of 白妙(しろたえ) (shirotae) exemplifies the appearance of such cloth as strangely excellent.

Phrase

白(しろ)妙(たえ)の • (shirotae no) ^{←しろたへの (sirotafeno)?}

1. white as the cloth made from the bark of the 梶の木 (kaji no ki, “paper mulberry”), alludes to 衣 (koromo, “robe”), 袖 (sode, “sleeve”), 襷 (tasuki, “cord to tuck up a sleeve”), 袂 (tamoto, “sleeve pocket”), 紐 (himo, “cord, string”), 肩巾, 領布 (hire, “shawl”), etc.
2. the color white, alludes to 雲 (kumo, “clouds”), 波 (nami, “waves”), 浜の真砂 (hama no masago, “grains of sand at a beach”), 雪 (yuki, “snow”), etc.
3. homophonic wordplay element relating to the paper mulberry:
   1. as compared to cloth made from 藤 (fuji, “wisteria”) bark, alludes to 藤江の浦 (Fujie-no-ura)
   2. from 木綿 (yū, “thread made from bark fibres”), alludes to 夕 (yū, “evening”) or words containing yū