Ama no gawa kyō no nanuka wa nagaki yo no tameshi ni mo hiki imi mo shitsu beshi

天の川今日の七日は長き世の
ためしにも引き忌みもしつべし

Roma-ji: Ama no gawa kyō no nanuka wa nagaki yo no tameshi ni mo hiki imi mo shitsu beshi
English Translation: Heaven's River now,
and this seventh day of all:
for a long, long world
one might cite it as a model,
yet should shun it too, it seems.
Meaning: This seventh day at the River of Heaven is one we might cite as an example of a bond that lasts through long ages, and yet one we ought also to shun as ill-omened.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 260

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
This is the third poem in the Tanabata sequence. The seventh day, when the two stars meet across the River of Heaven, may be cited as a model of a bond that lasts unchanged year after year, yet it is also a day to be shunned, since the lovers can meet only one night in the year. The poem divides within itself the auspicious and the fleeting sides of the meeting.
The device lies in setting side by side two opposing views of the two stars, as an emblem of an enduring pledge and as an emblem of a sad separation.

First line, “ama no gawa”: the River of Heaven, which the Weaver and the Herdsman cross to meet once a year.
Second line, “kyō no nanuka wa”: today, the seventh day of the seventh month, singling out the day of the festival.
Third line, “nagaki yo no”: of a long-lasting world, modifying tameshi in the fourth line.
Fourth line, “tameshi ni mo hiki”: tameshi is a model or precedent and hiku is to cite, to hold it up as an example of a lasting bond.
Fifth line, “imi mo shitsu beshi”: imu is to avoid as ill-omened, and tsu beshi expresses strong likelihood or duty, one ought to shun it too, set in balance against the fourth line.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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