also: しらたえ
Refers specifically to cloth made from the fibers of the paper mulberry (楮) tree, historically used for clothing. Now a literary or historical term.
In the Man'yōshū, there are poems that sing of robes of white cloth.
Used as a poetic epithet (makurakotoba) for things associated with whiteness, such as snow, clouds, or sleeves. Not used in everyday conversation.
The pure white snow falls and piles up quietly.
dusty miller; silver ragwort
Standard kanji form; the reading しろたえ is the most common modern pronunciation.
Kana spelling is sometimes used, especially in poetic or literary contexts.
Alternate kanji form using 栲, which originally referred to a type of tree whose bark was used to make cloth. Rare in modern usage.
Older reading variant, now largely replaced by しろたえ. Still encountered in classical poetry.
The older form is 白栲・白妙, historically しらたえ, from 白 “white” and 栲 “cloth made from plant fiber”; 妙 is a substitute spelling for the second element. The reading しろたえ developed beside しらたえ.