The quality of a translation from one language to another is often very important. It can mean the difference between keeping an accused in jail and releasing him (see “US Judge Sets Bail for Terror Suspects After Translation Slip-Up” — where a Kurdish word was belatedly found to mean “brother” not “commander”, as the indictment asserted). It can also turn classic Japanese haiku into awkward or antiquated poetry — or, make it as alive and effective as any modern haiku.
The anthology The Classic Tradition of Haiku. (Ed., Faubion Bowers, Dover Press, 1996) has been a
favorite of mine for years, because it’s priced at $2.00, and because it contains haiku from Japan’s greatest masters, translated by top-flight scholars in the field, with footnotes giving cultural and personal context to many offerings. A special feature is the inclusion of more than one translation for many of the poems. Grouping translations of the same poem together demonstrates how the attitude, era, and personality of the translator can greatly effect the final product and the reader’s experience.
Below, you’ll find several translations of two haiku by Kobayashi Issa. (David G. Lanoue’s name will be familiar to our visitors, as his translations appear here regularly, especially in the SideBar’s “Tea Party with Issa”. Lanoue’s translations are from his Issa website; the other translations in this posting are from The Classic Tradition of Haiku.)
tsuyu no yo wa tsuyu no yo nagara sari nagara
this world
is a dewdrop world
yes… but…
Life is but the morning dew, bards day;
‘Tis true, indeed, but well-a-day!
– Asataro Miyamori –
The world of dew is, yes, a world of dew, but even so.
The world of dew
Is a world of dew, and yet
And yet . . .
ware to kite asobe ya oya no nai suzume
come and play
with me…
orphan sparrow
Oh, won’t some orphan sparrow come and play with me.
Come with me,
Let’s play together, swallow
Without a mother
by dagosan:
soap stings my eyes —
an eight-year-old face
flashes in the mirror
[Aug. 28, 2004]
- National Law Journal has published a Letter to the Editor on the boycott, written by your Editor. [Aug. 30, 2004, subscrp. req’d, but here’s my draft]