Composed on the conception of Tanabata.
あまの川きみわたりなばかささぎのはしうちみだるなみもたたなん
ama no kaFa
kimi watarinaba
kasasagi no
Fasi utimidaru
nami mo tatanan | The River of Heaven
Should you cross, my lord,
The magpies’
Bridge might be disturbed
By the rising waves. |
Dharma Master Sōen
鵲のはにおくつゆの丸きばしふみみぬさきにきえやわたらん
kasasagi no
ha ni oku tsuyu no
marokibashi
fumi minu saki ni
kie ya wataran | Upon magpie
Wings fall dewdrops, while
Upon a log-bridge, I
Set foot; no letter from you before me, so
Shall I vanish, in my crossing? |
416
On frost forming in the moonlight.
月影のしろきをみればかささぎのわたせるはしに霜ぞ置きける
tsukikage no
shiroki o mireba
kasasagi no
wataseru hashi ni
shimo zo okikeru | When the moonlight,
White, I see,
Upon the magpie
Crossed bridge
Frost has fallen! |
343
The moon in the four seasons.
天河夜わたる月もこほるらん霜にしもおくかささぎのはし
ama no kawa
yo wataru tsuki mo
kōruran
shimo ni shimo oku
kasasagi no hashi | The River of Heaven, and
The night-traversing moon, too,
Seem to freeze—
Frost atop of frost falls
On a bridge of magpie wings. |
Teika
天の川扇の風に雲晴れて空澄みわたる鵲の橋
ama no kaFa
aFugi no kaze ni
kumo Farete
sora sumiwataru
kasasagi no Fasi |
Upon the River of Heaven,
The breeze of her fan
Clears the clouds, and
Soaring ‘cross the skies goes
A bridge of magpies. |
Kiyowara no Motosuke
This poem is also Wakan rōeishū 202.
'Simply moving and elegant'
