In the Edo Period, Keichu and KAMO no Mabuchi believed that Hitomaro ended his life as a subordinate official of the sixth grade or lower, for the following reasons which are based on historical sources.
江戸時代、契沖、賀茂真淵らが、史料に基づき、以下の理由から人麻呂は六位以下の下級官吏で生涯を終えたとされた。