一年に七日の夜のみ逢ふ人の
恋も過ぎねば夜は更けゆくも
恋も過ぎねば夜は更けゆくも
- Roma-ji
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Hitotose ni nanuka no yo nomi au hito no koi mo sugineba yo wa fukeyuku mo
- English Translation
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Only once a year,
on the seventh day's one night,
those two lovers meet—
while their longing is not spent,
oh, the night grows late and deep.
- Meaning
- For those who meet only on the night of the seventh day in a whole year, their longing is not yet spent, and still the night grows late.
- Commentary
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Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2032
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
This poem laments that for the two stars, who meet only on the night of the seventh day of the Seventh Month each year, the night grows late before their longing is spent. The contrast of time scales, a year and a single night, sets off the shortness of the meeting. The kundoku also carries a variant, "tsukineba sayo zo akenikeru," saying the night has dawned while longing is not exhausted. It uses the same phrase "koi mo sugineba" as 2023.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet of the Asuka period, active under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note records that this poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, and it is uncertain whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a poem by someone else that he recorded.
The first line, "in one year," sets the span.
The second line, "only on the night of the seventh," refers to the seventh night of the Seventh Month.
The third line, "the ones who meet," refers to the two stars.
In the fourth line, "koi mo sugineba," "ne" is the perfective of the negative and "ba" a condition with adversative force: while longing is not spent. It is the same as the last line of 2023.
In the last line, "yo wa fukeyuku mo," "mo" is exclamatory, closing with a lament at the passing night.
- Author
- Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
- Source
- Manyoshu
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