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- Shika Wakashu
Mushi no ne mo mada uchitokenu kusamura ni aki o kanete mo musubu tsuyu kana
In the grass where the insects have not yet begun to sing freely, the dew is already forming, as if preparing ahead of time for autumn.
Shika Wakashu - Sone no Yoshitada
Yamashiro no Tobata no omo o miwataseba honoka ni kesa zo akikaze wa fuku
When I look out across the rice fields of Tobata in Yamashiro, I can faintly tell that this morning the autumn wind is blowing.
Shika Wakashu - Sone no Yoshitada
Kimi sumaba towamashi mono o Tsu no kuni no Ikuta no mori no aki no hatsukaze
If you were still living here, I would have come to visit you. Through the forest of Ikuta in the land of Tsu, the first wind of autumn is blowing.
Hagi no ha ni sugaku ito o mo sasagani wa tanabata ni to ya kesa wa hikuramu
Is the spider drawing out even the threads it spins on the bush clover leaves this morning as an offering to the Weaver Maid?
Tanabata ni koromo mo nugite kasubeki ni yuyushi to ya mimu sumizome no sode
I ought to take off my robe and lend it to the Weaver Maid, but would she find these ink-black sleeves of a monk ill-omened?
Shika Wakashu - Retired Emperor Kazan
Tanabata ni kokoro wa kasu to omowanedo kureyuku sora wa ureshikarikeri
I do not think I have lent my heart to the Weaver Maid, and yet the sky darkening on Tanabata evening fills me with joy.
Ika nareba todaesomekemu ama no gawa ause ni watasu kasasagi no hashi
For what reason did it first begin to break off, that bridge of magpies laid across the River of Heaven for the lovers' meeting?
Ama no gawa yokogiru kumo ya tanabata no soradakimono no keburi naruramu
Could the cloud drifting across the River of Heaven be the smoke of incense the Weaver Maid burns to scent her rooms?
Shika Wakashu - Fujiwara no Akisuke
Obotsukana kawari ya shinishi ama no gawa toshi ni hitotabi wataru se nareba
How uneasy it makes me! Might the fords of the River of Heaven have shifted? After all, the lovers cross them only once a year.
Shika Wakashu - Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
Ama no gawa tamahashi isogi watasanamu asase tadoru mo yo no fukeyuku ni
I wish someone would hurry and lay a jeweled bridge across the River of Heaven, for while the lovers grope their way through the shallows, the night is wearing on.
Shika Wakashu - Fujiwara no Akisue
Au yo to wa tare ka wa shiranu tanabata no akuru sora o mo tsutsumazaranamu
Who does not know that tonight is the night the stars meet? So, Weaver Maid, do not try to hide even the sky as it brightens into dawn.
Shika Wakashu - Ryōzen
Tanabata no machitsuru hodo no kurushisa mo akanu wakare to izure masareri
The pain the Weaver Maid felt all the while she waited, or the sorrow of this parting that leaves her longing still: which is the greater?
Ama no gawa kaeranu mizu o tanabata wa urayamashi to ya kesa wa miruramu
Does the Weaver Maid, this morning, gaze with envy on the waters of the River of Heaven that flow away and never return?
Mizu kiyomi yadoreru aki no tsuki sae ya chiyo made kimi to sumamu to suramu
The water is so clear that even the autumn moon reflected in it seems to intend to dwell here with you, shining clear, for a thousand years.
Shika Wakashu - Minamoto no Shitagō
Ika nareba onaji sora naru tsukikage no aki shimo koto ni terimasaruramu
Why is it that the moonlight in the very same sky shines so much brighter in autumn than at any other time?
Haru natsu wa sora ya wa kawaru aki no yo no tsuki shimo ikade terimasaruramu
The sky does not change in spring or summer. Why, then, does the moon on autumn nights alone shine so much brighter?