Nushi nakute saraseru nuno o tanabata ni waga kokoro to ya kyō wa kasamashi - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

主なくてさらせる布を七夕に
我が心とや今日は貸さまし

Roma-ji: Nushi nakute saraseru nuno o tanabata ni waga kokoro to ya kyō wa kasamashi
English Translation: This cloth left bleaching
with no owner to claim it—
to the Weaver Maid,
as a token of my heart,
shall I lend it on this day?
Meaning: Shall I lend this cloth, left bleaching with no owner, to the Weaver Maid today as a token of my heart?
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems I 927

Headnote: "Composed when the Suzaku-in Emperor went to see the Nunobiki Falls on the seventh day of the seventh month and had his attendants compose poems"
When the Suzaku-in Emperor went to view the Nunobiki Falls on the seventh day of the seventh month and had his attendants compose poems, the poet offered this. The ownerless cloth left bleaching, that is, the waterfall, he would lend to the Weaver Maid as a token of his heart in honor of Tanabata, joining the figure of the falls to the festival.
The author, "Tachibana no Nagamori," is Tachibana no Nagamori, an official of the early Heian period whose life is little known.
The "Suzaku-in Emperor" of the headnote is thought to be Retired Emperor Uda, who lived at the Suzaku-in after abdicating.

First line "nushi nakute" means having no owner, likening the falls to cloth belonging to no one; it shares the idea of "toru hito mo naki" in poem 924 in this book.
Second line "saraseru nuno o" uses the attributive of the continuative ri, cloth left bleaching.
Third line "tanabata ni" means the Weaver Maid of Tanabata. The idea of lending cloth to the weaving goddess answers the Tanabata poem 863 that opens the book.
Fourth line "waga kokoro to ya" means as a token of my heart; the question ya forms a kakari-musubi with the last line.
Fifth line "kyō wa kasamashi" closes with the attributive of mashi expressing hesitant intention: shall I lend it today? It draws on the custom of offering cloth to the stars on Tanabata.
Author: Tachibana no Nagamori
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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