Maybe the bank of the River of Heaven isn't that lonely after all ...

[larryhammer]

The autumn Tanabata arc isn't the only place the myth is used in the Kokinshu. Here's an exchange of poems that's also given in Tales of Ise chapter 82 -- I translate the Kokinshu headnotes, but they convey substantially the same thing as the Tales of Ise prose context.

418. When Prince Koretaka went hunting with some friends, they came to the bank of a place called Ama-no-gawa ("river of heaven") whereupon they drank sake. When the prince said, "Offer me up a cup while reciting a poem in the spirit of arriving at the bank of the River of Heaven while hunting," Ariwara no Narihira recited:
karikurashi tanabata-tsu-me ni yado karamu ama no kawara ni ware wa kinikeri	We've hunted till dark: let's seek out lodgings from     the Weaver Maiden -- for we have come to the bank of the River of Heaven.
419. The Prince repeatedly recited this poem but was unable to reply, so Ki no Aritsune, who was with them, composed this for him.
hitotose ni hitotabi kimasu kimi mateba yado kasu hito mo araji to zo omou	Given she awaits a husband who visits     but one time a year, I rather think she isn't someone who'd give us lodgings.

(Things useful to know: The Prince is Narihira's patron and friend, insofar as possible given their difference in rank, Aritsune is both the Prince's maternal uncle and Narihira's father-in-law, and according to Ise, this takes place in cherry blossom season, a few months before Tanabata.)

Needless to say, I totally want the fanfic about a strayed hunter ending up at the Weaver Maiden's house at the bank of the Milky Way. It need not be Acteon, though that would make an awesome crossover. It just needs to exist RIGHT NAO.

ETA: Ask, and thou shalt receive.

---L.