妹に逢ふ時片待つとひさかたの
天の川原に月ぞ経にける
天の川原に月ぞ経にける
- Roma-ji
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Imo ni au toki katamatsu to hisakata no ama no kawara ni tsuki zo henikeru
- English Translation
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To meet with my love,
single-heartedly I wait—
far away the sky,
on the Heavenly River's shore
months on months have passed me by.
- Meaning
- Waiting single-mindedly for the time to meet my wife, I have let the months pass by on the shore of the Heavenly River.
- Commentary
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Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2093
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata: Envoy"
This poem, in the Herdsman's voice, says that waiting single-mindedly for the time to meet his wife, he has spent many months on the shore of the Heavenly River, and it is an envoy to the preceding long poem. The length of the months spent waiting shows the urgency of his longing for the meeting. It closes the long series of Tanabata poems, ending with the length of the time of waiting. It uses the same word "katamatsu" as "katamachigateri" in 1900 of the spring love poems.
The first line, "to meet my wife," names the purpose.
In the second line, "toki katamatsu to," "katamatsu" means to wait single-mindedly.
The third line, "hisakata no," is a pillow word attached to "heaven."
The fourth line, "on the shore of the Heavenly River," names the place.
In the last line, "tsuki zo henikeru," "zo" is an emphatic particle in kakari-musubi with the attributive "keru," closing with the length of months gone by.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Hikoboshi no kawase o wataru saobune no e yukite hatemu kawazu shi omōyu
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Saoshika no kokoro aiomou akihagi no shigure no furu ni chiraku shi oshi mo