Au koto no koyoi suginaba tanabata ni otori ya shinan koi wa masarite - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

逢ふことの今宵過ぎなば織女に
劣りやしなん恋ひはまさりて

Roma-ji: Au koto no koyoi suginaba tanabata ni otori ya shinan koi wa masarite
English Translation: If this night should pass
without the two of us meeting,
than the Weaver Maid
would I then be the lesser,
though my longing is the greater
Meaning: If tonight passes without our meeting, will I fall behind even the Weaver Maid—though my longing surpasses hers?
Commentary: Book Five Autumn Poems I 237

Headnote: "Sent to Echigo no Kurōdo on the seventh."
The poet pleads that if this night, when even the Weaver Maid meets her love, should pass without their meeting, he would fall behind the Weaver Maid though his longing surpasses hers. Using Tanabata as a pretext, he presses her to meet him tonight of all nights.
According to the headnote, it was sent on the seventh of the Seventh Month to a lady-in-waiting known as Echigo no Kurōdo.
The poet, Fujiwara no Atsutada, was the third son of the Minister of the Left Fujiwara no Tokihira and rose to Junior Third Rank and Provisional Middle Counselor. Also called the Biwa Middle Counselor and the Hon'in Middle Counselor, he excelled at music as well. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, and his "aimite no nochi no kokoro ni kurabureba" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

The first line, "Au koto no," means "our meeting." 225 of this book also opens with "au koto wa."
In the second line, "na" is the irrealis form of the completive auxiliary "nu," and "ba" gives a hypothetical condition: "if tonight should pass."
The third line, "tanabata ni," means "compared to the Weaver Maid," citing her who meets her love at least once a year.
In the fourth line, "ya" is an interrogative particle and "nan" combines intensification and conjecture: "will I fall behind?" "Ya" and the attributive "nan" form a kakarimusubi pattern, and the poem pauses here.
The last line, "koi wa masarite," means "though my longing is greater," standing in inversion with the fourth line. "Otori," falling behind, and "masari," surpassing, form a pair.
Author: Fujiwara no Atsutada
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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