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
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
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