Ama no kawa tōki watari wa nakeredomo kimi ga funade wa toshi ni koso mate - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

天の河遠き渡りはなけれども
君が舟出は年にこそ待て

Roma-ji: Ama no kawa tōki watari wa nakeredomo kimi ga funade wa toshi ni koso mate
English Translation: The River of Heaven
has no crossing far away,
and yet all the same,
your setting out by boat
I can only await once a year
Meaning: The River of Heaven has no distant crossing, yet your setting out by boat is something I can await only once a year.
Commentary: Book Five Autumn Poems I 239

Headnote: "Composed on Tanabata."
Speaking as the Weaver Maid, the poet says that the River of Heaven is no distant crossing, yet she can await her love's setting out by boat only once a year. It expresses the lament of the Tanabata love: near in distance, yet able to meet only once a year.
From 239 to 247, nine Tanabata poems stand under the headnote "Composed on Tanabata," taking up from many angles the meeting of the Weaver Maid and the Herdsman across the River of Heaven.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.

The first line, "Ama no kawa," means "the River of Heaven," and among the nine poems of the sequence, many place the River of Heaven in their first line.
The second line, "tōki watari wa," means "a distant crossing."
The third line, "nakeredomo," means "though there is none," giving a definite concession.
The fourth line, "kimi ga funade wa," means "your setting out by boat," showing the Herdsman crossing the River of Heaven by boat.
The last line, "toshi ni koso mate," means "I await only once a year," with the particle "koso" and the perfective "mate" forming a kakarimusubi pattern.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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