milky

 "The Milky Way? Beautiful, isn't it? But it's not like this every night. It's not usually so clear."
 The Milky Way flowed over them in the direction they were running, and seemed to bathe Komako's head in its light.
 The shape of her slightly aquiline nose was not clear, and the color was gone from her small lips. Was it so dim, then, the light that cut across the sky and overflowed it? Shimamura found that hard to believe. The light was dimmer even than on the night of the new moon, and yet the Milky Way was brighter than the brightest full moon. In the faint light that left no shadows on the earth, Komako's face floated up like an old mask. It was strange that even in the mask there should be the scent of the woman.
 He looked up, and again the Milky Way came down to wrap itself around the earth.
Yasunari Kawabata

「天の河？　きれいね、毎晩じゃないでしょう。　よく晴れてるわ。」
　天の河は二人が走って来たうしろから前へ流れおりて、駒子の顔は天の河のなかで照らされるように見えた。
　しかし、鼻の形も明らかでないし、唇の色も消えていた。空をあふれて横切る明りの層が、こんなに明るいのかと島村は信じられなかった。満月夜よりも淡い星明りなのだろうが、どんな満月の空よりも天の河は明るく、地上になんの影もないほのかさに駒子の顔が古い面のように浮かんで、女の匂いのすることが不思議だった。
　見上げていると天の河はまたこの大地を抱こうとしておりて来ると思える。
川端康成

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