Tanabata ni nitaru mono kana ominaeshi aki yori hoka ni au toki mo nashi - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

織女に似たるものかな女郎花
秋よりほかに逢ふ時もなし

Roma-ji: Tanabata ni nitaru mono kana ominaeshi aki yori hoka ni au toki mo nashi
English Translation: How much it resembles
the Weaver Maid, it seems—
the maiden flower,
for apart from autumn there is
no time at all for meeting
Meaning: How like the Weaver Maid the maiden flower is—apart from autumn, there is no time to meet her.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 344

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that the maiden flower is like the Weaver Maid, for apart from autumn there is no time to meet it. It is a witty poem likening the maiden flower, which blooms only in autumn, to the Weaver Maid, who can meet her love only once a year in autumn.
276 of this book likewise explains the maiden flower's meeting only in autumn by the fickleness of the flower's heart. The poem also accords with the sequence of Tanabata poems in Book Five.
The poet, called "Mitsune," is Ōshikōchi no Mitsune. He was one of the compilers of the Kokin Wakashū and served as junior clerk of Kai and senior secretary of Izumi, among other posts. Though of low rank, he was ranked alongside Ki no Tsurayuki as a poet and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets. His "kokoroate ni oraba ya oramu hatsushimo no" is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

The first line, "Tanabata ni," means "to the Weaver Maid," the star who meets the Herdsman once a year, on the night of the seventh of the Seventh Month.
In the second line, "kana" is an exclamatory particle: "how alike it is." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "ominaeshi," means "the maiden flower," standing in inversion with the second line.
The fourth line, "aki yori hoka ni," means "apart from autumn."
The last line, "au toki mo nashi," means "there is no time to meet," the same conceit as "aki ni nomi koso aiwatarikere" in 276 of this book.
Author: Oshikochi no Mitsune
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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