Hitotose ni hitoyo to omoedo tanabata no aimimu aki no kagiri naki kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

一年に一夜と思へどたなばたの
逢ひ見む秋の限りなきかな

Roma-ji: Hitotose ni hitoyo to omoedo tanabata no aimimu aki no kagiri naki kana
English Translation: Once in every year,
for a single night, I thought,
yet the Weaver's autumns,
when she meets her love again,
go on and never end.
Meaning: I thought of it as one night in a year, yet the autumns when the Weaver meets her love go on without end.
Commentary: Book Three Autumn Poems 150

Headnote: "For a folding screen at the house of Minamoto no Kiyokage, Commander of the Right Gate Guards"
The Tanabata meeting is only one night a year, the poet says, yet the autumns when they meet return without end. Turning the fragility of a once-a-year meeting into an endless repetition, the poem celebrates the everlasting bond of the two stars. According to the headnote, it accompanied a folding screen at the house of Minamoto no Kiyokage, Commander of the Right Gate Guards. Kiyokage was a son of Emperor Yōzei.
The author, written as Tsurayuki, is Ki no Tsurayuki. The leading compiler of the Kokinshū, he wrote its Kana Preface and the Tosa Diary, and he is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "hitotose ni," means "in one year," pairing with "hitoyo" (one night) in the second line.
Second line, "hitoyo to omoedo," means "though I think of it as one night," with the concessive particle "do." Like "hitoyo imo ni au" in 148 of this book, it uses the contrast of one year and one night.
Third line, "tanabata no," means "of the Weaver."
Fourth line, "aimimu aki no," means "of the autumns when they will meet," with "mu" as an auxiliary of conjecture.
Final line, "kagiri naki kana," means "they are without end," with the exclamatory particle "kana." Turning the brief time of one night into the long span of endless autumns, the poem treats Tanabata on the different scales of a single night and eternity.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Shui Wakashu
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