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stormsewerSo, I've been reading the Hyakunin Isshu lately, which is a famous collection of Japanese poetry written between 600 and 1250. There are 100 poems in there, and I've gotten through the first 25. Here are my translations of my favorites from the first 25 (plus the original text).
All of these are tanka (sometimes called waka), which have a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure. Each line in the English is a fairly direct translation of the corresponding line in the Japanese. I've tried to maintain the simple, spare style of the original, without trying too hard to match the meter.
15
歌人：光孝天皇
Poet: Emperor Koukou (Bright Thought)
lived 830-887, reigned 884-887
君がため
春の野に出でて
若菜摘む
我が衣手に
雪は降りつつ
kimi ga tame
haru no no ni idete
wakana tsumu
wagakoromode ni
yuki wa furitsutsu
for your sake
i went out to a spring field
to pick the new shoots
on my sleeve
snow is falling
(Note: Wet sleeves are a common reference to tears in poetry from this era.)
23
歌人：大江千里
Poet: Ooe no Chisato (A Thousand Miles of the Great Bay)
active late 800s, early 900s
月見れば
千々に物こそ
悲しけれ
我が身一つの
秋にあらねど
tsuki mireba
chiji ni mono koso
kanashikere
wagami hitotsu no
aki ni aranedo
looking at the moon
the thousand things around me
seem sad and forlorn
but i am not the only one
who feels this way in autumn
24
歌人：菅家
Poet: Kanke (Grass House)
lived 845-903
このたびは
幣も取りあえず
手向山
もみぢの錦
神のまにまに
kono tabi wa
nusa mo toriaezu
tamukeyama
momiji no nishiki
kami no manimani
on this trip
i lack the usual gift
for Mount Offering
but these fine red leaves
are well suited for a god
(Notes:
"Kanke" is a name used by Sugawara no Michizane, who is probably the most famous person in this collection. The disasters that followed his death in exile so frightened the imperial court that they deified him. He is the god of learning in Japan to this day.
The nusa is a stick with strips of paper or cloth attached to it that is given as an offering at Shinto shrines. I translated it as "the usual gift" to try and convey the poet's intended meaning in a way that would be simple and clear to native English speakers. "Mount Offering" (tamukeyama) is a mountain between Kyoto and Nara where people traveling between the two would leave offerings for the gods.)
All of these are tanka (sometimes called waka), which have a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure. Each line in the English is a fairly direct translation of the corresponding line in the Japanese. I've tried to maintain the simple, spare style of the original, without trying too hard to match the meter.
15
歌人：光孝天皇
Poet: Emperor Koukou (Bright Thought)
lived 830-887, reigned 884-887
君がため
春の野に出でて
若菜摘む
我が衣手に
雪は降りつつ
kimi ga tame
haru no no ni idete
wakana tsumu
wagakoromode ni
yuki wa furitsutsu
for your sake
i went out to a spring field
to pick the new shoots
on my sleeve
snow is falling
(Note: Wet sleeves are a common reference to tears in poetry from this era.)
23
歌人：大江千里
Poet: Ooe no Chisato (A Thousand Miles of the Great Bay)
active late 800s, early 900s
月見れば
千々に物こそ
悲しけれ
我が身一つの
秋にあらねど
tsuki mireba
chiji ni mono koso
kanashikere
wagami hitotsu no
aki ni aranedo
looking at the moon
the thousand things around me
seem sad and forlorn
but i am not the only one
who feels this way in autumn
24
歌人：菅家
Poet: Kanke (Grass House)
lived 845-903
このたびは
幣も取りあえず
手向山
もみぢの錦
神のまにまに
kono tabi wa
nusa mo toriaezu
tamukeyama
momiji no nishiki
kami no manimani
on this trip
i lack the usual gift
for Mount Offering
but these fine red leaves
are well suited for a god
(Notes:
"Kanke" is a name used by Sugawara no Michizane, who is probably the most famous person in this collection. The disasters that followed his death in exile so frightened the imperial court that they deified him. He is the god of learning in Japan to this day.
The nusa is a stick with strips of paper or cloth attached to it that is given as an offering at Shinto shrines. I translated it as "the usual gift" to try and convey the poet's intended meaning in a way that would be simple and clear to native English speakers. "Mount Offering" (tamukeyama) is a mountain between Kyoto and Nara where people traveling between the two would leave offerings for the gods.)
