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'