This tanka is written by one of Japan’s great poets, Otomo no Yakamochi (718-785). A magpie is a black-and-white bird. The bridge that magpies cross could refer to arc of the skies or heavens (since birds fly across the sky). As they are black-and-white and it is set at night, you can imagine the black-and-white of the Milky Way’s arc. Reference to white frost adds to that picture, if you imagine the “milk” of the Milky Way as white frost.

Another level of interpretation is to view “magpies” as a symbol for the people that secretly cross the bridge leading to the palace to meet their lovers, the bridge covered with white frost as the night wore on and time for their trysts ran out. Most likely the poet wrote it with both meanings in mind as this mode of communication between lovers was very common in aristocratic Japan.

By Otomo no Yakamochi

On the bridge

That magpies cross

I can see laying across

The white frost—

As night is growing late

かささぎの

渡せる橋に

置く霜の

白きを見れば

Otomo no Yakamochi

Kasasagi no

Wataseru hashi ni

Oku shimo no

Shiroki o mireba

Yo zo fuke ni keru

Magpie’s

Crossing bridge on [Could also mean “laying across bridge on”]

Put frost’s

White can see

Night is growing late