Tanabata no urayamashiki ni Amanogawa koyoi bakari wa ori ya tatamashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

織女のうらやましきに天の川
今宵ばかりはおりや立たまし

Roma-ji: Tanabata no urayamashiki ni Amanogawa koyoi bakari wa ori ya tatamashi
English Translation: Since the Weaver Star
fills me so with envy now,
the River of Heaven,
for this one night at least,
shall I go down and stand in it?
Meaning: So envious am I of the Weaver Star that I wonder whether, for this one night at least, I should go down and stand in the River of Heaven.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Autumn Poems 1086

Headnote: "Written by the emperor on a fan painted with the Tanabata festival"
The poet, envying the Weaver Star who meets her love once a year, wonders whether for this one night he too should go down into the River of Heaven. The headnote shows that Emperor Murakami wrote it on a fan painted with the Tanabata festival. It expresses envy of the Weaver, whose meeting is granted, through the generous fancy of stepping down into the River of Heaven.
The author, written as "Tenryaku gyosei, the composition of the Tenryaku emperor," is Emperor Murakami, a son of Emperor Daigo, whose reign was praised as the Tenryaku era of good rule. A lover of poetry, he set up a poetry bureau in the Pear Chamber and ordered the compiling of the Gosenshū.

First line, "tanabata no," written with the characters for the Weaver Star, means "of the Weaver Star." Like the first line of 1083 in this book, "tanabata no," and the third line of 1084, it sings of the Tanabata star.
Second line, "urayamashiki ni," means "since I envy," with "ni" giving the cause.
Third line, "Amanogawa," is the River of Heaven that parts the Herdsman and the Weaver. 1088, 1089, and 1093 in this book also begin with "Amanogawa," so poems on the River of Heaven follow on.
Fourth line, "koyoi bakari wa," means "for tonight at least."
Final line, "ori ya tatamashi," means "shall I go down and stand," with "ori" a pivot word joining "ori," to step down into the river, and "ori," to weave, in keeping with the Weaver. "Ya" is a questioning binding particle resolved by the attributive form of "mashi," an auxiliary of hesitant intention.
Author: Emperor Murakami
Source: Shui Wakashu
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