契りけむ心ぞつらきたなばたの
年にひとたびあふはあふかは
年にひとたびあふはあふかは
- Roma-ji
-
Chigirikemu kokoro zo tsuraki tanabata no
toshi ni hitotabi au wa au ka wa - English Translation
-
That pledged heart—
how cruel it seems, that of hers;
for Tanabata,
to meet but once a year—
can such a meeting be called meeting?
- Meaning
- How cruel is the heart that made such a vow: for Tanabata, to meet only once a year—can such a meeting truly be called meeting?
- Commentary
-
Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
This poem was paired in a poetry contest held in the imperial court during the Kanpyō era.
It is composed from the perspective of Hikoboshi. Although it is said that he and Orihime meet only once a year at Tanabata, it is imagined that this was a vow made by Orihime. Yet her seeming coldness makes it difficult for him to accept—can meeting only once a year truly be called a meeting at all?
- Author
- Fujiwara no Okikaze
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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- Longing, longing still, the night we meet is tonight— O Heaven’s River, let the mist rise and linger, and never let the dawn break.
- Heaven’s River— not knowing the shallows, I traced the white-breaking waves; before I could cross it all, the dawn had already come.
- Year after year though they are said to meet thus— at Tanabata, the nights they lie together are but few in number.
- Like threads once lent to the Weaver Maiden’s loom— drawn out and joined thus, shall this love endure so long, stretching through the passing years?