/lit/ - Literature

>>23308947
A couple of famous Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) poems.

>Kyou nitemo
>kyou natsukashi ya
>hototogisu
trans.
>Even in Kyoto—
>hearing the cuckoo’s cry—
>I long for Kyoto
Something which, as I understand it, is lost in translation: hototogisu, the name of the bird, like many things in Japanese, is onomatopoetic.

>Furu ike ya—
>Kawazu tobikomu—
>Mizu no oto.
trans.
>The old pond—
>A frog jumps in.
>The sound of water.
There are a few things here. "Furu," also has the meaning of ancient. "Kawazu," is not merely a frog. It is a Spring frog—a frog which has just awoken from hibernation under the ground from Winter. And "oto," "sound," can be looked at almost graphically here as a reflection of the first two lines itself. O-T-O. A singular vowel or sound, momentarily broken, by the tapping of the tongue to make the "t" sound. I won't tell you what to think of it, but with that information, I hope you'll get more out of it.

Otomo Yakamochi (718-785), translations by Paula Doe.

>Kyo yori wa
>kaerimi nakute
>okimi no
>shiko no mitate to
>idetatsu ware wa
trans.
>From today on,
>With never a look back,
>I go to be the emperor's damn shield.
"Shiko," which is sometimes here translated as "strong" or "humble," is often written with the character "ugly" in the Man'Yoshu, and implies "stupid," "damn," or "cursed," and so here has been translated as "damn."

>Chichi haha ga
>kashira kakinade
>saku are te
>iishi ketoba ze
>wasurekanetsuru
trans.
>I cannot forget my parents' words
>As they stroked my head
>And prayed that I be safe
Something which I feel might be lost by this translation, though my Japanese is not perfect, is that this poem begins with Father and Mother, moves to the sensation of his head, then to the words, and finally to their unforgettableness. It begins with the concrete and moves into the abstract; it unfolds into the conclusion of "wasurekanetsuru," and is very powerful in this way—more powerful than the English rendering.

Okay, here's a longer one because it's fun to read aloud.

>Sumeroki no toki miyo ni mo
>oshiteru naniwa no kuni ni
>ame no shita shirashimeshiki to
>ima no you ni taezu iitsutsu
>kakemaku mo aya ni kashikoshi
>kamu nagara wa go okimi no
>uchinabiku haru no hajime wa
>yachi kusa ni hana saki nioi
>yama mireba mi no tomoshiku
>kawa mireba mi no sayakeku
>mono goto ni sakayuru toki to
>meshitamai akirametamai
>shikamaseru naniwa no miya wa
>kikoshi osu yomo no kuni yori
>tatematsuru mitsuki no fune wa
>horie yori miobikitsutsu
>asa nagi ni kaji hiki nobori
>yu shio ni sao sashi kudari
>aji mura no sawaki kioite
>hama ni idete unahara mireba
>shiranami no yae oru ga ue ni
>ama obune harara ni ukite
>omike ni tsukaematsuru to
>ochikochi ni izari tsurikeri
>sokidaku mo ogironaki kamo
>kokibaku mo yutakeki kamo
>koko mireba ubeshi kamiyo yu
>hajimekerashi mo
trans. (con't)

>>22816265
I just read A Midsummer Night's Dream for the first time this year, anon. It was so fun! I recommend Hamlet as well, of course. As soon as I finish Agamemnon, I intend to read King Lear and Coriolanus. You may join me in spirit, by doing the same, if you wish. I'm sure our solidarity, however distant would amplify the fruits of our inquest.