Nani ni tatoemu
Asaborake
Kogiyuku fune no
Ato no shiranami!”
by the priest Mansei (ca 720/730), also called Kasamaro
It's puzzling how two translations of a Japanese poem can differ so greatly:
1.
“If pressed to compare
this brief life, I might declare:
It’s like the boat
that crossed this morning’s harbour,
leaving no mark on the world”
(tr. Sam Hamill)
2.
“To what shall I compare
This world?
To the white wake behind
A ship that has rowed away
At dawn!”
(tr. Arthur Waley).
I wonder which is closer to the original?
On Japan :
“Trees possess souls. An old tree is almost as greatly
revered as an old grandmother.
The Japanese think it a sin or a crime to cut down an old
tree”.
The Living Past,
Ivar Lissner. Penguin edition, 1965.
No comments:
Post a Comment