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Hyakunin Isshu #9
This flower's beauty
has faded away it seems
to no avail
have I spent my time staring
into space at the long rains.
hana no iro wa
utsuri ni keri na
itazura ni
waga mi yo ni furu
nagame seshi ma ni
has faded away it seems
to no avail
have I spent my time staring
into space at the long rains.
—10 November 2009
Original by Ono no Komachi. This one of the most famous classical Japanese poems, and one of the most-translated texts of any language: in 1989 an editor found 36 into English alone, which is pretty amazing considering just how many double-meanings Komachi packed into this thing (starting with the beauty/color that can be both the literal flower's and the speaker's). Grammatically, though, it's relatively simple, so it's possible to render at least a surface meaning without too much work, so maybe it's not so amazing. I found some equivalent double meanings in English, but ended up double-translating the actual pivot words. The implied context, btw, is that she has been waiting for a lover who never visited. Original:hana no iro wa
utsuri ni keri na
itazura ni
waga mi yo ni furu
nagame seshi ma ni
Happy birthday
Best,
Paul
Re: Happy birthday
---L.