Aoi Hitorigoto - 44. Poem - by Katô Shigeaki
It's one of the newer essays, that according to the list, was still not translated...and I couldn't resist.
Note: This was a bit tricky to translate because it's partly about tongue twister and how something is written in Japanese, but I tried my best to make it as understandable as possible.
Aoi Hitorigoto - 44. Poem
“I like language!!“ is what I think everyday. The aesthetic of of my own words. The aesthetic of people's own words. If it's in a mixture
like that, I sense how wonderful the literature of Japan must be. There are also people who say that the modern language is
impoverished, but it puts me in a peaceful mood, that I'm still okay (with it). It's like that and therefore I want to publish a phrase that I
recently couldn't forget. Because it's too good to only be used by myself, you know. Hahaha. The first one is from the lyrics of a certain
song. It's a song from the album "Ai no wa" by a band called Hanaregumi*, that I admire and respect.
aimai ni amai ai no mani mani
(あいまいにあまいあいのまんまに >>> At the mercy of a vague, sweet love)
One might not comprehend what it means right away, but when written in easy-to-understand kanji, it means "曖昧に甘い愛のまにま
に (At the mercy of a vague, sweet love)”. It seems like “sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi”.** However, there is a proper meaning
to the phrase, and something like the tenderness behind that is conveyed. Faithfully representing the impression of a great song, this
verse seems to be playful, yet by no means shallow. Thus, I challenge it, too.
rôbai suru rôba ni bai bai
(ろうばいするろうばにばいばい >>> Bye Bye to an old upset woman)
…..It's " 狼狽する老婆にバイバイ(Bye Bye to an old upset woman) ”. Somehow surreal, isn't it. Just like an ordinary tongue twister. No
no, it's difficult. There's another one that is a bit similar to this. I like the literary work of singer and actress Kawakami Mieko***, who is
multi-active in the writing business, and I was got to read several of them, but there was one title of a collection of poems, that I
couldn't get out of my head again.
sentan de, sasuwa sasareruwa soraeewa
(先端で、さすわ さされるわ そらええわ
In her work, the little poisonousness and fetish-like erotic demurely sits as a melody on the rhythm with a pleasantly innocent feeling.
That's why one is put into a mood similar of wanting to peek just a little bit. In this case, the hiragana**** also play a big part for the visual
side. Alright, again a challenge.
kekkane, rekkayo kekkanyo nannanoyo
(けっかね、れっかよ けっかんよ なんなのよ >>> consequence, degradation, deficiency, what is it really. )
….. Surprisingly, I might not dislike it. In hiragana it's hard to understand, isn't it. " 結果ね，劣化よ 欠陥よ なんなのよ (consequence, degradation, deficiency, what is it really. )". It's spiteful, isn't it. Though I'm quite inspired, I can't win. It's dreadful, Kawakami-sensei*****.
This “先端で、さすわ さされるわ そらええわ” won the 14th Nakahara Chûya Prize******. Nakahara Chûya. A poet
who even now attracts a lot of fans. His view of the world is unique, and I was quite influenced by it, too. He interpreted things like
poems that are limited, as something infinite. I love the admonishingly, yet monologue-like atmosphere which at the same time is not
rushed too much. Speaking of his masterpieces, there are “Yogore chimatta kanashimini (汚れちまった悲しみに...)” and “ Circus
(サーカス)”, but the first one I was choked up about, is “Beach of a Moonlit Night (月夜の浜辺)”. At the beach in the evening of a
moonlit night, there he found a button. Some might know that his works even appear in textbooks. This poem for some reason
regularly peeks from the corner of my head. The language of Japan is not hazy in the least, because there is always something like
the transmigration of the soul of literature. Though an homage to Nakahara Chûya is somewhat pretentious, after all, I will write a
poem as well. Because I like language.
snow has fallen on the saddle
fluttering on my bicycle
gradually melting
coming again
snow has fallen on the saddle
fluttering on my bicycle
without melting this time
the form remains
though it is not necessarily what I think
I gave up on that
I will walk
humming an ordinary song
_________________________________________________________
* The official website of the band Haregumi - the album title 'Ai no wa' translates to 'ring of love'
** this is a japanese tongue twister:すももももももももものうち >>> 李も桃も桃のうち >>> means something like “Both plums and
peaches are a sort of plum.”
*** She is a singer and writer from Ôsaka, who was even awarded the Akutagawa Prize - be educated here
**** is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet
***** “sensei” means “teacher” and is used as a honorific with the names of teachers, he's showing his respect for that woman here
****** A literary award, which is presented annually to an outstanding collection of contemporary poetry characterized by a "fresh sensibility" (shinsen na
kankaku). The winner receives a cash award of 1 million yen, and the winning collection is also published in an English language translation. Read
more about Nakahara Chûya here, if you like.
Please note that English is not my native language. Although it doesn't feel like a foreign language to me, I'm aware that sometimes the phrasing might not be completely correct. So, I'm open for any corrections, regarding the Japanese-English translation or just the English in general.
And please don't take/re-post my translation without my permission, thanx.
Even though this felt a little like a Japanese Literature class, I really enjoyed this essay. I like it when he talks/writes about wich band he likes or who has influenced him and so on. and the poem at the end was nice.
Oh and in case you wanna read the poem by Nakahara Chûya , which Shige mentioned he was choked up about ,
here it is translated by Ry Beville
月夜の浜辺
月夜の晩に、ボタンが一つ
波打際に、落ちてゐた。
それを拾つて、役立てようと
僕は思つたわけでもないが
なぜだかそれを捨てるに忍びず
僕はそれを、袂に入れた。
月夜の晩に、ボタンが一つ
波打際に、落ちてゐた。
それを拾つて、役立てようと
僕は思つたわけでもないが
月に向つてそれは抛れず
浪に向つてそれは抛れず
僕はそれを、袂に入れた。
月夜の晩に、拾つたボタンは
指先に沁み、心に沁みた。
月夜の晩に、拾つたボタンは
どうしてそれが、捨てられようかBeach of a Moonlit Night
On a moonlit night, a lone button
Lay fallen by the edge of the foam.
Picking it up, I had no real intention
Of giving it a purpose to serve
But finding myself unable to toss it away
I slipped it into my sleeve.
On a moonlit night, a single button
Lay fallen by the edge of the foam.
Picking it up, I had no real intention
Of giving it a purpose to serve
And neither tossing it to the moon
Nor skipping it across the waves,
I slipped it into my sleeve.
On a moonlit night, this lone button I picked up
Pressed its way into my fingers, into my heart.
On a moonlit night, this lone button I picked up?
How could it possibly be tossed away?
:)
Note: This was a bit tricky to translate because it's partly about tongue twister and how something is written in Japanese, but I tried my best to make it as understandable as possible.
Aoi Hitorigoto - 44. Poem
“I like language!!“ is what I think everyday. The aesthetic of of my own words. The aesthetic of people's own words. If it's in a mixture
like that, I sense how wonderful the literature of Japan must be. There are also people who say that the modern language is
impoverished, but it puts me in a peaceful mood, that I'm still okay (with it). It's like that and therefore I want to publish a phrase that I
recently couldn't forget. Because it's too good to only be used by myself, you know. Hahaha. The first one is from the lyrics of a certain
song. It's a song from the album "Ai no wa" by a band called Hanaregumi*, that I admire and respect.
aimai ni amai ai no mani mani
(あいまいにあまいあいのまんまに >>> At the mercy of a vague, sweet love)
One might not comprehend what it means right away, but when written in easy-to-understand kanji, it means "曖昧に甘い愛のまにま
に (At the mercy of a vague, sweet love)”. It seems like “sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi”.** However, there is a proper meaning
to the phrase, and something like the tenderness behind that is conveyed. Faithfully representing the impression of a great song, this
verse seems to be playful, yet by no means shallow. Thus, I challenge it, too.
rôbai suru rôba ni bai bai
(ろうばいするろうばにばいばい >>> Bye Bye to an old upset woman)
…..It's " 狼狽する老婆にバイバイ(Bye Bye to an old upset woman) ”. Somehow surreal, isn't it. Just like an ordinary tongue twister. No
no, it's difficult. There's another one that is a bit similar to this. I like the literary work of singer and actress Kawakami Mieko***, who is
multi-active in the writing business, and I was got to read several of them, but there was one title of a collection of poems, that I
couldn't get out of my head again.
sentan de, sasuwa sasareruwa soraeewa
(先端で、さすわ さされるわ そらええわ
In her work, the little poisonousness and fetish-like erotic demurely sits as a melody on the rhythm with a pleasantly innocent feeling.
That's why one is put into a mood similar of wanting to peek just a little bit. In this case, the hiragana**** also play a big part for the visual
side. Alright, again a challenge.
kekkane, rekkayo kekkanyo nannanoyo
(けっかね、れっかよ けっかんよ なんなのよ >>> consequence, degradation, deficiency, what is it really. )
….. Surprisingly, I might not dislike it. In hiragana it's hard to understand, isn't it. " 結果ね，劣化よ 欠陥よ なんなのよ (consequence, degradation, deficiency, what is it really. )". It's spiteful, isn't it. Though I'm quite inspired, I can't win. It's dreadful, Kawakami-sensei*****.
This “先端で、さすわ さされるわ そらええわ” won the 14th Nakahara Chûya Prize******. Nakahara Chûya. A poet
who even now attracts a lot of fans. His view of the world is unique, and I was quite influenced by it, too. He interpreted things like
poems that are limited, as something infinite. I love the admonishingly, yet monologue-like atmosphere which at the same time is not
rushed too much. Speaking of his masterpieces, there are “Yogore chimatta kanashimini (汚れちまった悲しみに...)” and “ Circus
(サーカス)”, but the first one I was choked up about, is “Beach of a Moonlit Night (月夜の浜辺)”. At the beach in the evening of a
moonlit night, there he found a button. Some might know that his works even appear in textbooks. This poem for some reason
regularly peeks from the corner of my head. The language of Japan is not hazy in the least, because there is always something like
the transmigration of the soul of literature. Though an homage to Nakahara Chûya is somewhat pretentious, after all, I will write a
poem as well. Because I like language.
snow has fallen on the saddle
fluttering on my bicycle
gradually melting
coming again
snow has fallen on the saddle
fluttering on my bicycle
without melting this time
the form remains
though it is not necessarily what I think
I gave up on that
I will walk
humming an ordinary song
_________________________________________________________
* The official website of the band Haregumi - the album title 'Ai no wa' translates to 'ring of love'
** this is a japanese tongue twister:すももももももももものうち >>> 李も桃も桃のうち >>> means something like “Both plums and
peaches are a sort of plum.”
*** She is a singer and writer from Ôsaka, who was even awarded the Akutagawa Prize - be educated here
**** is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet
***** “sensei” means “teacher” and is used as a honorific with the names of teachers, he's showing his respect for that woman here
****** A literary award, which is presented annually to an outstanding collection of contemporary poetry characterized by a "fresh sensibility" (shinsen na
kankaku). The winner receives a cash award of 1 million yen, and the winning collection is also published in an English language translation. Read
more about Nakahara Chûya here, if you like.
Please note that English is not my native language. Although it doesn't feel like a foreign language to me, I'm aware that sometimes the phrasing might not be completely correct. So, I'm open for any corrections, regarding the Japanese-English translation or just the English in general.
And please don't take/re-post my translation without my permission, thanx.
Even though this felt a little like a Japanese Literature class, I really enjoyed this essay. I like it when he talks/writes about wich band he likes or who has influenced him and so on. and the poem at the end was nice.
Oh and in case you wanna read the poem by Nakahara Chûya , which Shige mentioned he was choked up about ,
here it is translated by Ry Beville
月夜の浜辺
月夜の晩に、ボタンが一つ
波打際に、落ちてゐた。
それを拾つて、役立てようと
僕は思つたわけでもないが
なぜだかそれを捨てるに忍びず
僕はそれを、袂に入れた。
月夜の晩に、ボタンが一つ
波打際に、落ちてゐた。
それを拾つて、役立てようと
僕は思つたわけでもないが
月に向つてそれは抛れず
浪に向つてそれは抛れず
僕はそれを、袂に入れた。
月夜の晩に、拾つたボタンは
指先に沁み、心に沁みた。
月夜の晩に、拾つたボタンは
どうしてそれが、捨てられようかBeach of a Moonlit Night
On a moonlit night, a lone button
Lay fallen by the edge of the foam.
Picking it up, I had no real intention
Of giving it a purpose to serve
But finding myself unable to toss it away
I slipped it into my sleeve.
On a moonlit night, a single button
Lay fallen by the edge of the foam.
Picking it up, I had no real intention
Of giving it a purpose to serve
And neither tossing it to the moon
Nor skipping it across the waves,
I slipped it into my sleeve.
On a moonlit night, this lone button I picked up
Pressed its way into my fingers, into my heart.
On a moonlit night, this lone button I picked up?
How could it possibly be tossed away?
:)