Yasu no kawa komukai tachite toshi no koi kenagaki kora ga tsumadoi no yo zo

安の川こ向ひ立ちて年の恋
日長き子らが妻どひの夜ぞ

Roma-ji: Yasu no kawa komukai tachite toshi no koi kenagaki kora ga tsumadoi no yo zo
English Translation: By the River Yasu
facing each other there they stand,
with a year of longing,
the two whose days were long—
tonight they meet as lovers.
Meaning: Standing face to face across the River Yasu, the two who have longed for each other through the long days of a year—tonight is the night they meet.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4127

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A Tanabata poem [with short poems]." "Two envoys."
The poet sings that tonight the two who have faced each other across the River Yasu and longed for a whole year at last meet. Where the preceding poem felt for the sorrow of those unable to meet, this one celebrates the meeting itself on the night of Tanabata, the joy of a reunion that comes once a year.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū.
The left note reads, "The above were composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the seventh day of the seventh month while gazing up at the River of Heaven."

First line, "Yasu no kawa": the River Yasu of Heaven, that is, the Milky Way. It takes up the long poem's "Yasu no kawa naka ni hedatete."
Second line, "komukai tachite": "ko" is a prefix, "standing face to face," taking up "mukai tachi" in the long poem.
Third line, "toshi no koi": "a year's longing," the length of the feelings of two who can meet only once a year.
Fourth line, "kenagaki kora ga": "kenagashi" means many days long, the pair who have waited so long.
Last line, "tsumadoi no yo zo": "tsumadoi" means a man visiting a woman, and "zo" is a particle of firm assertion. Against the wish "aki ni arazu tomo" in the preceding poem, it declares that the night of Tanabata in autumn is the night of meeting, so the two envoys divide between wish and reality.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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