Hatsuobana hana ni mimu to shi amanogawa henarinikerashi toshi no o nagaku

初尾花花に見むとし天の川
へなりにけらし年の緒長く

Roma-ji: Hatsuobana hana ni mimu to shi amanogawa henarinikerashi toshi no o nagaku
English Translation: Like first pampas plumes,
to see each other but in bloom:
for this, it seems,
the River of Heaven parts us
through the long cord of the years
Meaning: Because we were to see each other only fleetingly, like the first plumes of pampas grass, it seems the River of Heaven has come between us through the long years.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4308

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems on the Tanabata festival, eight poems."
Because they were to see each other only fleetingly, like first pampas plumes, it seems the River of Heaven has parted them through the long years: the poem reflects on the fate of the two stars who may meet only once a year. It is the third of eight poems Yakamochi composed alone beneath the River of Heaven.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was at this time Junior Assistant Minister of Military Affairs.

The first line, "hatsuobana," names the pampas grass putting out its first plumes of the year; the repeated sound leads into hana ni.
The second line, "hana ni mimu to shi," uses hana ni, "as a flower, only for a moment, superficially," with the intensifier shi, showing that the meeting is brief.
The third line, "amanogawa," is the river dividing the two stars, the setting of the whole set.
The fourth line, "henarinikerashi," uses henaru, "to be parted," and kerashi, inference about the past with a sigh. The poem pauses here.
The closing line, "toshi no o nagaku," is inverted, adding afterward that the parting stretches over long years. It is the same line that closes Ōtomo no Chimuro's poem near the beginning of this book.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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