万代に君ぞ見るべき七夕の
行き合ひの空を雲の上にて
行き合ひの空を雲の上にて
- Roma-ji
-
Yorozuyo ni kimi zo mirubeki tanabata no yukiai no sora o kumo no ue nite
- English Translation
-
For ten thousand ages
my lord is sure to behold
the Tanabata sky
where the two stars meet at last,
here above the clouds at court
- Meaning
- For ten thousand ages my lord will surely look upon the sky where the two stars of Tanabata meet, here above the clouds at the palace.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Autumn Poems 158
The poet declares that his lord will gaze for ten thousand ages, from the palace, at the Tanabata sky where the Herdsman and the Weaver Maid meet once a year. Onto the scene of the festival night he lays a wish for his lord's long life and lasting reign.
The wit lies in 'above the clouds', which evokes both the heavens and the court, joining the two stars above with the lord below. Poem 210 in this book also calls the court 'above the clouds'.
From poem 158 through poem 167 in this book come poems on Tanabata, singing of the yearly meeting of the Herdsman and the Weaver Maid, the custom of lending robes to the Weaver, and the tears of parting at dawn.
First line, 'yorozuyo ni', means for countless ages, expressing a spirit of celebration.
Second line, 'kimi zo mirubeki', means my lord will surely see, the particle zo binding with the attributive beki. The poem breaks after the second line and the lower half is inverted.
Third line, 'tanabata no', is the star festival of the seventh night of the Seventh Month, when the Herdsman and the Weaver Maid meet.
Fourth line, 'yukiai no sora o', means the sky where they meet, the yearly tryst.
Final line, 'kumo no ue nite', uses kumo no ue, above the clouds, for the court, recalling the heavens while pointing to the palace where the lord dwells.
- Source
- Kinyo Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Makuzu hau ada no ōno no shiratsuyu o fuki na midari so aki no hatsukaze
- Next Poem
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Tanabata no koke no koromo o itowazu wa hito naminami ni kashi mo shitemashi