The Beginning of Autumn
Left (Win—in a certain book Tie)
しぐれにもあめにもあらぬはつぎりのたつにもそらはさしくもりけり
shigure ni mo ame ni mo aranu hatsugiri no tatsu ni mo sora wa sashikumorikeri | Neither a shower Nor rain, The first mists Simply rise into the skies And cover all with cloud. |
11
Right
としごとにあふとはすれどたなばたのぬるよのかずぞすくなかりける
toshi goto ni au to suredo tanabata no nuru yo no kazu zo sukunakarikeru | Every year She meets him, yet The Weaver Maid’s Nights of passion Are few indeed. |
Mitsune
12
The morning after Tanabata, he received a poem which had been composed and sent to him from Mitsune’s house, so sent this in return.
あひ見ずてひとひも君にならはねばたなばたよりも我ぞまされる
aFimizute Fito Fi mo kimi ni naraFaneba tanabata yori mo ware zo masareru | Not meeting and For even a single day from you Parted, I am, so Greater than the Weaver Maid’s Are my swelling feelings. |
Tsurayuki
Sent to Mitsune’s house, the morning after Tanabata.
あさとあけてながめやすらん織女のあかぬ別のそらをこひつつ
asa to akete nagame ya suran tanabata no akanu wakare no sora wo koFitutu | With the morning comes the dawn, and Should I gaze upon, I wonder The Weaver Maid’s Unfulfilled parting Sky ever with such fond feelings? |
Tsurayuki
Left
紅の色にはいでじかくれぬのしたにかよひてこひはしぬとも
kurenai no iro ni wa ideji kakure nu no shita ni kayoite koi wa shinu tomo | The crimson Of passion I’ll not display, Beneath this hidden marsh Flow waters back and forth, Though I die of this love. |
Tomonori
162[1]
Right
契りけむ心ぞつらき織女の年に一たびあふはあふかは
chigirikemu kokoro zo tsuraki tanabata no toshi ni hito tabi au wa au ka wa | To be bound is Hard on the heart, indeed! Does the Weaver Maid But once a year Truly have a meeting? |
Okikaze
163
[1] Kokinshū XIII: 661/Shinsen man’yōshū 199/Kokin rokujō III: 1683
年ごとにあふとはすれど七夕のぬるよの数ぞすくなかりける
toshi goto ni au to wa suredo tanabata no nuru yo no kazu zo sukunakarikeru | Every single year She meets him, yet The Weaver Maid’s Number of nights spent asleep is Few, indeed! |
Mitsune
118
Left
雁がねは風をさむみやはたおりめくだまく音のきりきりとする
kari ga ne wa kaze o samumi ya hataorime kuda maku oto no kirikiri to suru | Is it the goose cries that Chill the wind so? The Weaver Maid Shuttling the weft makes A clattering sound. |
100
Right
うゑしとき花まちどほにありし菊うつろふ秋にあはんとやみし
ueshi toki hana machidō ni arishi kiku utsurou aki ni awamu to ya mishi | From planting time Did I eagerly await These chrysanthemums here: That they would fade with autumn’s passing Did I think it then… |
Ōe no Chisato
101[1]
[1] Kokinshū V: 271/Shinsen man’yōshū 351/Kokin rokujō VI: 3753
Waterfalls 滝
たなばたのおりながしたる布なれや空よりおつる滝の気色は
tanabata no orinagashitaru nuno nare ya sora yori otsuru taki no keshiki wa | Has the Weaver Maid Spun out a stream Of cloth? From the skies tumbles A waterfall – or so it looks! |
Toshiyori
Love Interrupted by a Year 経年恋
もどかしと七夕つめやおもふらんあはぬ年なきおのがならひに
modokashi to tanabatatsume ya omouran awanu toshi naki ono ga narai ni | Wretched Would the Weaver Maid Think me? For to have a year with no tryst at all Is not what she expects… |
Tadafusa
七夕のなかの緒を絶えぬ秋ごとに逢ふ言の葉ぞ奉りつる
tanabata no
naka no o taenu
akigoto ni
au koto no ha zo
tatematsuritsuru |
The Weaver Maid’s
Zither string snaps
Every autumn, so
To match her, words
Are what we offer. |
百草の花のけぶりや七夕の雲の衣の袖に染むらむ
momokusa no
hana no keburi ya
tanabata no
kumo no koromo no
sode ni shimuramu |
Are all the grasses
Blooms, a smoke, that into
The Weaver Maid’s
Robe of cloud’s
Sleeves will sink? |
Fujiwara no Shunzei
'Simply moving and elegant'