stars of Tanabata

... Milky Way). One night a year (Tanabata night), they cross the starry river to be together. Vega is the "Weaver Star," working diligently at her loom. Lewis Mackenzie translates the opening phrase onomatopoetically: "clap! clap!" See The Autumn Wind: A Selection from the Poems of Issa (London: John Murray, 1957; rpt. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1984) 67. Since shan to can denote a ringing sound...