Sea Roar: Spring Dreams

島崎藤村『若菜集』詩「潮音」英語訳(English Translation)

Toson Shimazaki (1872-1943) has been considered a founder of Japanese modern poetry. In this poem with beautiful imagery of the sea, not only did he sing about the arrival of spring but also ushered in the new era of poetry with subtle metaphor. So what’s behind the social change and subsequent arrival of the new era?
島崎藤村(1872-1943)は、日本の近代詩の創始者とされています。春の海を詠ったこの詩は、春の訪れだけでなく、仄かな比喩によって新しい時代を迎えたことを宣言してもいます。社会が新しい時代を迎え入れるとは、どのようなことなのでしょうか。

Just as the tides sweep in, creative minds and sources abound out there. Each of them has unique quality but has stayed dormant. Roars of the sea, rich and resonant, toll the arrival of the new season. Then comes a poetic statement to let open the outlet for new voices, which then merge into one big sonorous roar to let them heard.

潮が押し寄せるように、創造の志や源泉が世の中には溢れています。それぞれが個性を持ってはいるが、声を上げるには至っていない。深く豊かな潮の音が新しい季節を感じさせるように、詩人の声は、新たな表現の糸口を開き、人々に声を与え、やがて結集したその声は大きな響きとなる。

This interpretation of mine definitely refers to artistic, social and political changes that often start with one small but sincere, powerful voice. Give a listening ear to voices around you, you will find likely-minded people and then make a difference in the world. Listen. Did you hear them speak out? Appreciating the broad and clear imagery and phonetics of this poem helps us stay generous and broad-minded and appreciate what spring brings.

この解釈は、芸術や社会や政治の変化を指しています。多くの場合、一人の小さな、しかし誠実で力強い声から始まる社会の変化。身の回りの声に耳を傾ける。志を同じにする人が必ずいる。そして、世の中のためにできることがある。そんな響きが耳に届いてきませんか。清々しくおおらかな詩のイメージと音の響きが、心を豊かにしてくれる、春の趣を一層味わい深くしてくれますね。

潮音

わきてながるゝ
やほじほの
そこにいざよふ
うみの琴
しらべもふかし
もゝかはの
よろづのなみを
よびあつめ
ときみちくれば
うらゝかに
とほくきこゆる
はるのしほのね

Sea Roar

From deep waters
Tides rushing
Here and there
Harps singing
Never ceasing
Sonorously speaking
To the streams
And their waves
In the fullness of time
Deep notes wafting
In the clear air
Over the vernal sea

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter: Spring in Your Step

泉谷しげる、歌詞(Lyrics)『春夏秋冬』(English Translation)

Throughout this series, Spring in Your Step, we’ve been examining varied ways of ending and starting things, especially setting out. Many of them involve bittersweet aspects of life. Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter (1972) by Shigeru Izumiya should be another great song of this kind.
本シリーズ「春に跳ぶ」を通じて、主に旅立ちを主題として、物事を終えること・始めることを考えています。そこには人生の甘酸っぱさがついてくるのですが、泉谷しげるの春夏秋冬(1972)も、そうしたことを歌った名曲と言えるでしょう。

We often start because of hope, expectations or promise. Other times we start because we get tired of, sick of or fed up with what we’ve been doing. This song is about the latter type of start.

希望や期待を抱いて、私たちは旅立つわけですが、ある時はこれまでの日々に嫌気がさして、旅立つこともあります。この歌は後者の旅立ちを歌っています。

This song starts by giving us a new insight into our look at the nature and changing seasons, whose beauty is sometimes oversimplified. Many Japanese people are very proud of the natural beauty and seasonal charms of this country, but it’s not always appreciated by everyone. It’s not because of their lack of taste or sensitivity. Sometimes everything gets so hectic that people, even the most aesthetically sensitive people, don’t even notice natural beauty. At times we are, physically and emotionally, so drowned in the depth of cares and duties that it feels like everything just passes us by. It doesn’t mean we are not capable of appreciating beauty of the nature. The same sensitivity, when directed toward human society, overwhelms us. Sadly cares and concerns over human relationships and professional duties and whatsoever overshadow the beauty of flowers, birds and heavenly bodies. This song gives a warm embrace to people of this kind, who are just honest enough to look at an uncomfortable, sometimes ugly, truth.

ときに単純化されがちな自然や季節の美しさに、透徹した目を向けて、この歌は始まります。多くの日本人が季節の移り変わりや花鳥風月の美しさを称えますが、すべての人がそれを愛でているわけではありません。それは、教養がないからでも、感性を持ち合わせていないからでもありません。日常があまりにもドタバタと降りかかる中で、どんなに感受性豊かな人も、自然の美しさに目をとめることもなく、人のためにすべきことで身も心も疲弊する毎日の中で、ただすべてが自分を通り過ぎて行ってしまう感覚。自然の見せる美しさに気づく感性を持ち合わせているかどうかではなく、その人間らしい感性こそが、人の世の中に向けられたとき、私たちを疲弊させてしまう。悲しいかな、人間関係や職業生活やらの前では、花鳥風月もかすんでしまう。あまりにも正直で懸命だから、ときに醜く不都合な真実に目が向いてしまう、そんな人を優しく抱くような歌となっています。

Making conscious decisions makes us honest but living an honest and diligent life doesn’t seem to pay off. But these people know that ugliness is a part of human nature, that you learn by first-hand experience involving a lot of conflict and frustration, and that beauty shines through sighs you give out, tears you hold back and hands with which you grab mud. This song tells much about such a down-to-earth approach to life.
意識的な選択を重ねて私たちは誠実になる。しかし、そんな生き方は必ずしも報われない。しかし、そんな人は知っているものです。醜さは人間の一部で、葛藤と焦燥を経た実体験にこそ学び、ため息に、堪えた涙に、泥を掴んだその手に美が輝くと。そんな地に足の着いた人生が、こんな歌からも見えてきませんか。

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter

Born in a town, a town with no season
Raised on the hill, the hill with no wind
Leaving home, home with no dream
Meeting people, people with no love

Just for the sake of others
From east to west
Slaving myself away
Nice things I got to find
Wither away so easily

Too busy to savor the beauty of spring
Too tired to get through the fieriness of summer
Raking fallen leaves to warm myself in fall
This bag of bones gets chilled in the cold of winter

Everything will come to end today
Everything will be different today
Everything will pay off today
Everything will get started today

Born in a town, a town with no season
Raised on the hill, the hill with no wind
Leaving home, home with no dream
Meeting people, people with no love

Out of the corner of my eye
Wondering if I’m on the right track

Get streetwise
It’s not something to despise
Crack a self-conscious smile
It’s something to put up with for a while

There’s nothing great about my place
Why don’t you come over on your way
Such being the case
Seeing you will make my day

Then, Now and Tomorrow: Spring in Your Step

吉田拓郎、歌詞(Lyrics)『今日までそして明日から』(English Translation)

Then, Now and Tomorrow (1971) is one of the best songs of Takuro Yoshida, who was a pioneer of singer-songwriter in Japan. Using simple language, laying out words just as murmuring, he achieved maximizing uniqueness of Japanese phonetics and wording. In 70’s, when a lot of musicians were exploring musical and lyrical expressions in Japanese language, Takuro Yoshida established himself as a truly original musician and led the music industry to the next stage.
『今日までそして明日から』(1971)は、シンガーソングライターという言葉を定着させた吉田拓郎の代表曲と言えるでしょう。平易な言葉を用いて、つぶやくように言葉を次々と並べていく、そこに日本語らしい語感が響く。多くのミュージシャンがそれぞれのやり方で、日本語の音楽表現を探っていた時期に、彼もまた独自の世界を築き上げ、音楽界を新たな次元へと導いた一人でした。

The very first line shows what you can pull out of Japanese language. What a difference one single word makes ! Instead of just telling the fact, the replacement of “ikite-kimashita (I’ve been living)” with “ikite-mimashita (I’ve been doing my best in living)” adds a cute twist to expressing opinions, which makes lyrics much more relatable to listeners. Natural and everyday language takes on a catchy melody in a good way. There is no need to use items like slide doors or a public bath to arouse imagery unique to Japanese language. This song particularly plays a perfect role in expressing images and messages that a songwriter has in his or her mind.

何よりも冒頭の「わたしは今日まで生きてみました」に、日本語らしさが最大限に生かされています。「生きてきました」でなく「生きてみました」という表現が伝える語感。意見や主張を、こうした表現で「外す」ところが特徴的で、それにより聴き手により共感を抱かせます。そうした自然で日常的な日本語が、ごく自然にメロディに乗る心地よさ。障子やら銭湯やらの和のテイストを持ち込まなくても、掻き立てられる日本語のイメージ。自分の心の中にあるイメージやメッセージを、他人に伝えるという歌の機能を存分に果たしています。

The uniqueness of this song – the message itself and how the message is expressed through unique wording – makes it particularly difficult to translate the feel that native Japanese speakers would have. The beauty of expressing everydayness by using an everyday language should not be dramatized or reduced to cliche. Below is my translation, which may sound moralistic but make you feel how a single word makes a big difference in creating an overall tone of the lyric.

歌詞の内容もさることながら、その言葉遣いを特徴とするこの曲の雰囲気を、外国語に訳しきるのは非常に困難に感じます。ありきたりのことをありきたりの言葉で伝えることの魅力を、いかに脚色じみていなく、かつ凡庸でない翻訳として伝えるか、悩ましいですね。今回は、教訓的な調子で訳してみましたが、言葉一つで歌詞全体の雰囲気が変わることを体感できますね。

The repeated refrain seems to symbolize our repeating day-to-day existence. The past can be interpreted and evaluated in whatever way and the future can not be predicted enough. Then, patiently and with certainty, you just have to live through everyday challenges. The song resonates with listeners heart when they need to get determined and self-assured.

繰り返されるリフレインが、繰り返される毎日の積み重ねである人生を象徴しているようにも聴こえます。これまでのことはどのようにでも評価でき、また、この先のことは誰にも予測できない。ならば辛抱強く日々を積み重ね行く。その決意を自分に言い聞かせているようにも聴こえます。

There will be some tomorrows that would help you move on because of a big change and other tomorows that would duplicate what it is today. The sound and lyric of this song tells much about how people get to take on this responsibility. All of these have made this song a great song. Then, we wonder how he pulled out all of these in his 20’s after all.

何かが大きく変わって動き出す明日もあれば、今日までと変わらず続く明日もある。そんな明日へと向き合う責任の重さを、自分なりに背負っていく。そういう人の佇まいをも感じさせる。やはり名曲ですね。そして何よりも、こうした歌を20代のうちに世に送り出したことに改めて驚嘆させられます。

Then, Now and Tomorrow

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
At times I called on someone to help me
At times I needed someone really badly
Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
At times I got contemptuous
At times I got challenged
Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
At times I felt betrayed
At times I felt warm hand in hand
Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

You’ve got your own way of living
Well, nothing starts
Before you get to know who you are
Well, but things change
You have no idea when and how
Beyond your control
That’s how you get to move on
Tomorrow and beyond

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

Young, Reckless and Kandagawa: Spring in your Step

南こうせつとかぐや姫、歌詞(Lyrics)『神田川』(English Translation)

Lyrics stand out when they convey the feel of a certain generation. Kandagawa (1973) by Minami Kosetsu & Kaguyahime is one of the best songs of that kind. The imagery throughout the song is nothing but a young couple spending a certain period of time together, leading a humble, intimate life that simplicity and frugality made possible and eventually breaking up. All the details of lifestyle depicted in this song could be relatable to people of a certain age group as well as modern listeners who know of what it used to be like.
ある時代の雰囲気を伝える歌詞というものがあります。南こうせつとかぐや姫による「神田川」はその代表と言えるでしょう。歌詞全体に描かれているのは、ある一組の若い男女。一定期間を共に過ごし、簡素で慎ましやかなことで生まれた、こじんまりとした温かな暮らし、そして別れ。ある年代の人間にとっては、大いに共感できる暮らしぶりでしょう。また、その時代の雰囲気を少しでも知っていれば、現代でも大いに感じるところはあるのではないでしょうか。

One of the mysteries this song left is the meaning of its lines from the chorus: I was young and reckless, full of conceit/But when you were simply nice and sweet/It felt too mellow/I got cold feet. To put it simply, you feel intimidated when your partner is simply nice and sweet. To explore this meaning, let’s get back to the days when this song was written, days when people always had something to question, challenge and stand up to.

最も大事な数行には、しかし、まだ謎が残るのではないでしょうか。なぜ「あなたのやさしさがこわかった」のでしょうか。相手がただただいい人であることで感じる不安とでもいうのでしょうか。その意味を考えるために、この歌詞が生まれた時代に戻る必要があります。人々が常に何かに疑問を持ち、異議を唱え、何かのために立ち上がった、そんな時代に。

Tadashi Kitajo, a writer of this song, started wading into social activism when he was young. He got home, exhausted after one long day and saw his partner cooking at the kitchen in a calm, homely manner, which struck him alarming because it was something that could pull him out of furious, frantic and frenzied activism and lure him into a rustic, safeguarded and peaceful nest. He was intimidated at what seemed to be too mellow, or a simple way of life, contrary to what he devoted himself to..

この歌の作詞者である喜多條忠氏は、社会活動に身を投じた若者でした。ある長い一日を終え戻ると、恋人が台所で料理をしているのが目に入りました。その穏やかで家庭的な空気に、彼は恐れを感じたというのです。大きな目的に身を燃やす生き方をやめてみようか、簡素で暖かい穏やかさの中に身を落ち着けてもいいのではと。現在自分が心血注いでいるものとは正反対の穏やかな日常のやさしさ、それが怖かったのだと。

Is this because of youth or because of devotion to a great cause at the expense of simple, if not naïve, happiness one could enjoy? The change of seasons never withers the luminosity of a truly relatable song that arouses particular images the moment a certain word comes out. That is why this song really stands the test of time.

若かったからなのか、純朴とは言わないまでも、素朴な暮らしの中にある幸せを犠牲にしてまでも、大きな目的に身を捧げてしまうからなのか。季節がめぐり、時代が移り変わっても、ある単語が聞こえた瞬間から胸を熱くさせるイメージの力、そんなものが伝わる名曲ですね。

Kandagawa

Do you remember
With a red towel instead of a scarf to wear
Going to a bath around the corner
Saying you wouldn’t come out any later
But all too often it was me to wait outside
And got a chill with my hair undried
A small piece of soap clattering in the pail
Holding close my shoulder that turned pale
And you said “Don’t you feel cold?”

I was young and reckless, full of conceit
But when you were simply nice and sweet
It felt too mellow and I got cold feet

Do you remember
Crayons in 24 colors you got somewhere
My portraits you promised to draw perfect
Never as good as I could expect
Under the window ran the Kandagawa
My place small as a sheltered bower
With only one single room to equip
Turning your gaze at my fingertip
And you said “Are you feeling sad?”

I was young and reckless, full of conceit
But when you were simply nice and sweet
It felt too mellow and I got cold feet

 

Unbearable Sadness and Sonnet Of A Fool: Spring in Your Step

さだまさし、歌詞(Lyrics)『道化師のソネット』(English Translation)

Released in 1980, Sonnet of a Fool has been considered one of the best songs by Masashi Sada. Exploring our life journey with striking imagery, this song highlights underlying and inevitable sadness we go through in spite of our thirst for pushing away negativity.
1980年発表の『道化師のソネット』は、さだまさしの代表曲の一つと言えるでしょう。胸を打つイメージの力で人生という旅路を描きながら、悲しみから逃れたいという願望とは裏腹の、根底にある悲しみの避けられなさについて歌っています。

It starts with prayers for smile. There are two kinds of smile: Smile that you give to others and to yourself. You smile to someone in the hope of making a positive influence on the situation when you feel powerless in the face of difficulty. You can also give a smile to yourself, a smile of affirmation. You know you are the first and last person to say yes to who you are.

微笑みを望む気持ちで幕を開けるこの歌ですが、微笑みには2種類あるようです。誰かに対する微笑みと自分に向けた微笑み。誰かに向けて微笑むとき、私たちは自分にできることがないとわかっていながら何とか状況を良くしたいと願う。また、自分に微笑みを向けることもある。「それでいいんだよ」とでもいうような自分を認めてやるような微笑み。自分に対して「大丈夫」と、最初にも最後にも言えるのは自分だけだと。

The song delves into the meaning of sadness by depicting our existence with powerful imagery. Our existence is absurdly small, so incapable and hopeless that we sometimes get lost wondering how to unload overwhelming sadness. The song, however, claims that we are destined to load our life down with sadness. All we can do is let it go just as letting a boat go down the stream. We tend to believe we need to resolve our feelings and get over ourselves at each stage of our life course but our journey doesn’t allow us to tidy things up.

この歌は、聴く人の心にイメージを湧き上がらせながら、人生と悲しみの意味に分け入っていきます。生きていても、私たちの存在はあきれるほどちっぽけで無力、悲しみという荷を降ろしたくもなるものです。しかし、この歌が訴えるのは、むしろ、私たちは悲しみという荷物を積み続けるということです。人生に悲しみを積み続けながら、人生という流れにまかせていくしかない。気持ちに整理をつけようとか、乗り越えようとか、人生の節々に思うわけですが、そうはいかない。

In the office, on the street and at home, we are more or less frustrated and disappointed and need a thrill of a smile, but a fake smile disheartens us all the more. Smile is not there for driving away negativity but for getting us to face the reality in a fun and ridiculous way. We need to start from this understanding that we sometimes have to play out a fool to confront challenges and a fool knows our existence is weak, small and sorrowful.

職場で、街で、家庭で、葛藤や失望を味わい、微笑みの温かさを求めるものですが、作り笑いではもっと惨めになる。微笑みは、嫌な気持ちを忘れるためにあるのでなく、笑ってしまうようなやり方で現実に向き合うためにある。困難に向き合うためには、道化師を演じ切る必要も時にはあり、道化師こそが人生の弱さと卑小さと悲しみを知っているのだと、そう思えたら始められるのです。

Sonnet Of A Fool

I wanna see your smile
So both of us can go another mile

Our existence is like a tiny boat
Loaded with sadness
With each of us at the helm
Steering down the passage of time

Your hands, so small
With overwhelming sadness
If a smile could help you out,
I would be a fool

Because
I wanna see your smile
So both of us can go another mile
All of us have our own journey to go
Walking along the same stream

Our existence is like a climb
To each summit to conquer
As tireless as wayfarers
Toiling over the vast expanse

Your arms, so weak
Filled with unbearable sadness
If a smile could help you out,
I would be a fool

 

Days That Used To Be: Spring in Your Step

山口百恵、歌詞(Lyrics)『いい日旅立ち』(English Translation)

Released in 1978, written by Shinji Tanimura and sung by Momoe Yamaguchi, Days That Used To Be has soon reached lyrical milestone by its imagery and lyricism in depicting the arrival of spring and emotional landscape of leaving for another place. The main character gets to find some kind of closure about the past and make a step forward.
「いい日旅立ち」は、過去に整理をつけ、当てのない未来へ踏み出そうとする、そんな主人公の姿を描いています。春の訪れと旅立ちの情景を抒情的に描いた歌謡曲の金字塔ですね。

Winter passes and spring is on its way when you look up the sky and throw your past plans and anticipations away. You used to have people around, with whom you shared your dreams and memories. You are alone now and determined to step forward on your own.

季節は確実に巡り、芽吹きを感じさせている。そんな時、過去の計画や期待やらを空に投げかけます。過去の夢を分かち合った人たちは、今はもうここにいない。つまり、自分は一人で歩まなければならない、そう決意するのです。

It feels like you have lost your home. Well then, you just can leave the past behind and start to make memories. Though your outlook seems as fickle as going somewhere else, you still have some confidence in what future will bring. You just seek something that would warm you heart.

自分には帰るところがないようにも思える。ならば、その思い出をこれから作っていこうという決意を込めて、過去に別れを告げる。あてのなさは、「日本のどこか」というほど頼りないものであっても、心のどこかで未来を確信している。求めるのは心を暖めるような原風景。

It’s no easy translating these sentiments, or nostalgia, in a way that the lyricism speaks to readers of another language. It’s still a universal human tendency to use songs to think of days that used to be.

こうした日本情緒を英語の語感にのせて訳すのは非常に難しく感じます。しかし、歌の力によって原風景を心に浮かべるとことは普遍的なものと感じられもするのではないでしょうか。

Days That Used To Be

When snow starts to melt
With spring thaw on its way
I call out for the northern sky
To bring back all dreams lost in time
I feel warm inside
With all those gone crossing my mind
All I can do is just set out all by myself

Ah, somewhere on this land, not across the sea,
There must be someone ready to meet me

No better day for leaving
For a sunset I saw
On the back of my dear mom
All those songs will stay in my mind

Fishing at the rocky beach is a small boy
Going home through the green plume grassland
From here my memories are to made
Leaving a good bye message on the sand

Ah, somewhere on this land, not across the sea,
There must be someone ready to meet me

No better day for leaving
For cotton-wool clouds I saw
What I learned from my dad
All those songs will stay in my mind

Ah, somewhere on this land, not across the sea,
There must be someone ready to meet me

No better day for leaving
For happiness
What I loved to sing
All those songs will stay in my mind

Black Eyed Dog: Lost and Found

Nick Drake、歌詞(Lyrics)『Black Eyed Dog』日本語訳(Japanese Translation)

Nick Drake (1948-1974) released just three albums before his early death. This enigmatic song inevitably foreshadows his tragedy but also tells much about our universal, emotional challenge – sporadic renewals of negative feelings.

ニック・ドレイクは、3枚のアルバムだけを発表してその短い生涯を閉じました。ここで紹介する歌は、彼の早すぎる死を予感させもしますが、同時に、私たちを悩ませる普遍的な心の苦しみ、折に触れて私たちを襲う暗い感情についても多くを語っています。

Repeated over again in the song is a symbolic figure, “a black eyed dog.” Let’s just define it as a negative feeling that comes up in our mind every so often. Just as a black eyed dog comes at the door and makes more demands, our unresolved conflict, whether it be inner or with someone else, bugs us with renewed sense of disruption and intrusion. Your efforts to create your own life are often interrupted by uneasy negotiation with reality, overshadowed by your past mistakes or challenged by your old enemies. Negative feelings catch up with you just when you feel you have run far away enough. You feel scared to see your old enemy track you down. It could be sadness or regret in the silence. You just can’t let down your guard.

黒い眼をした犬が、この歌に繰り返し登場する象徴的な存在となっています。これを、たびたび心に湧き上がる暗い気持ちとして考えてみましょう。黒い眼をした犬は、私たちの心の戸口にやって来ては要求を突きつけるのですが、自分自身の葛藤であれ、他人との関係であれ、未解決の闘いが繰り返し心に侵入し、私たちを悩ませるのです。自分自身の人生を築き上げようとすると、現実との不愉快な交渉が絡んでくる、忘れたはずの過ちが再び影を落とす、相変わらず嫌な相手が難癖をつけてくる。遠くまで逃げ切ったかと思うと、苦しみが追いかけてくる。静寂の中の悲しみか、後悔か。逃げても逃げても追ってくる怖さに、気持ちが落ち着かなくなる。

This recurrent emotional turn-offs are so exhausting that we just crave for time and space where we could breathe and unwind. Home is supposed to be a place where you feel right in your own skin. But as we grow old, we drag more of our past shadows and persisting, incurable pains. Negative emotional experiences wake up uncomfortable memories, highlight your inner bitter spot and make you feel inadequate, weak and miserable. Your attempt to settle down stays incomplete at best and seems impossible at worst.

こうして繰り返しやる気をそがれているうちに疲れ果ててしまう。息をついて落ち着ける場所や時間を必死に求める。自分らしくいられる場所があるはずなのですが、年齢を重ねると、引きずる過去の影も増え、苦しみがいつまでも消えそうにないと感じる。暗い気持ちにさせるような出来事があると、いやな思い出が蘇えったり、心の傷が疼いたり、何もかもうまくいかない、弱くみじめな気持ちになってしまったりもするものです。ただただホッとしたいという思いも、良くて道半ば、最悪不可能とも思えるわけです。

The lyrics and imagery are somewhat grim and somber. His voice is no powerful. But it’s genuine and warms our hearts like an emotional pat on the shoulder.

歌詞とそれが呼び覚ますイメージは暗く重苦しいのですが、決して力強くはないけれど血の通った真摯な歌声が、そっと肩を抱いてくれるようにも思えませんか。

Nick Drake – Black Eyed Dog

黒い目をした犬が 戸口にやってきたんです
これ以上 どうしろと言うんでしょうか
そいつは わたしの名前を知っていたんです

もう年ですし
もう休ませてくれませんか
もうこれ以上知りたかないんです
もう休ませてくれませんか

Exuberance and Kanoko Okamoto: Lost and Found

岡本かの子『老妓抄』和歌「年々にわが悲しみは深くしていよよ華やぐいのちなりけり」英語訳(English Translation)

Where does sadness come from? It doesn’t emerge only from the darkness. It is with exuberant vitality. Here we have Kanoko Okamoto (1889-1939), a novelist and a poet, with her powerful poetic statement.
悲しみはどこからやってくるのか。暗がりから現れるのみではない。悲しみは、溢れる命の輝きとともにある。そう高らかに歌いあげたのが、岡本かの子(1889-1939)です。

年々にわが悲しみは深くしていよよ華やぐいのちなりけり

Years pass.
Deeper sadness
Adds a touch of excess
Of existence.

Sadness is generally considered to be a harmful emotion. It is associated with those apparently downhearted and upsets others. It deprives you of vivacity and it is a particular state of mind that you must get out of by all means.

悲しみは、避けるべき暗い感情と考えられがちです。いかにも暗い表情を浮かべた人に結び付けられ、周りを不安にさせる感情であると。人から活力を奪い、抜け出すべき感情であると。

However, this song has achieved inspirational embrace of both sadness and happiness. The deeper sadness grows, the more vigorous life becomes. The more keenly you are aware of vivacity, the deeper you feel sadness. As you get old, everything, from misfortunes to exhilarations, adds to your experience. There’s a bunch of deep emotions, both bitter and sweet, experienced in seeing significant meanings that you were too young to perceive. The acuteness and graveness of sadness emboss and enrich your life. Deep wrinkles make your years of physical experience genuine and real.

この歌では、悲しみが深いからこそ命に華やぎがもたらされ、また、命の華やぎを自覚するからこそ悲しみは深くなる、そんな美しい一体性を読み取ることができます。年齢を重ねるからこそ味わえる経験があります。若いころには気づかなかったような深大な意味を経験の中に見出し、それによって味わう深い悲しみがあり喜びがあるのです。悲しみの深さが、生の彫りを深くし、生の豊かさを感じさせる。そうして立ち現れる生き様が、より存在感を放つ。

Why is it that we feel abundance in seeing wind patterns on the barren desert dunes, bleak heights of the icy mountains? Rich history is alive and felt in the desolation. Abundance of life is also felt in the bleakness. Time you spent, voices you listened to and every possible scenario you speculated. All of these resonate loud and deep in the void left in your heart.

人けのない砂漠の丘に連なる風紋、氷に覆われた険しい高山、これらを目にして豊饒さを感じるのは何故でしょうか。豊かな歴史が息づいていることを、荒涼さの中に感じるからでしょう。人生の豊かさもまた、寂しさの中に見出すこともあるでしょう。過ごした時間、耳を傾けてきた声、巡らしてきた想い、そうしたものが心の隙間に深く響くのです。

Some people show us that exuberance strikes sorrow into their heart. The world teems with vigour of people. Sadness surfaces when you recognize there are so many different stories that people really have to say. They see great sadness in both themselves and people and their presence takes on limpid depths of beauty. Do you ever feel this thrill every once in a while?

命の横溢がまた、悲しみの深さを感じさせる。世界は人間の作り出すエネルギーに満ち溢れていますが、世の中を広く見渡し、人々が語るべき様々な物語があるとわかると、悲しみが炙り出される。他人や自分の悲しみを深く味わい噛みしめた人から滲み出る、決して重苦しくない清明とした佇まい。そんなことに気づかされる瞬間が、日常の中にありませんか。

Crossing the Water and Sylvia Plath: Lost and Found

Sylvia Plathシルヴィア・プラス詩「湖水を渡る」日本語訳(Japanese Translation)

Just as the water surface reflects light and shadows, our everyday life is an arena of a bitter-sweet conflict between excitement and disappointment. In her bleak poem, Crossing the water, Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) uses symbols to depict shades of our existence, whose contradictory nature is highlighted in tension with the outer world.
波立ち光を揺らめかせる水面のように、私たちの日々には明暗が交差します。暗く寂寞としたイメージを漂わせるシルヴィア・プラスのこの詩は、私たちを取り巻く世界との緊張関係の中で浮かび上がる明暗を、象徴的に描いています。

The apparent imagery here is a herd of dark trees casting shadows over the lake water. The trees are personified in the shape of cut-paper people; human beings lose their presence in the shadowy, tenebrous natural surroundings. Lights flicker in the darkened world. There should be hope. We try to move on. But obstacles come over just as the thick leaves on the water keep us from moving forward. A little glimmer of hope seems liberating but such anticipation pushes us down the emotional descent in the shape of a disappointment. Frequent disappointments discourage us from moving forward physically and emotionally.

この詩が呼び覚ますイメージは、湖水に影を落とす黒い大木たち。木々は一様な切り紙のようでもあり、人のような存在感を放つ。人は、自然の陰影の中で、存在が希薄にもなる。そんな暗い世界に明滅する仄かな光。しかし、水面にひしめく葉が、行く手を阻む。先にあるはずの希望を目指す中で、いくつもの困難に見舞われる。微かな希望に胸躍らせたりもしますが、そんな淡い期待こそが暗き失望の発端ともなる。そして、失望の多い暮らしの中で、心も身体も身動きが取れなくなってくる。

It sounds pretty encouraging when people say that whatever you do each moment definitely creates its ripple effect on what surrounds you and that’s the way you make a difference in the world. But deep down there is some space in our hearts, where stagnant memories and emotions devour our optimism. We sometimes get stunned and overwhelmed by the enormity of darkness within us and others.

世界に投げかける一挙手一投足が、波紋となって自分の周囲へ広がる。しかし、自分の心の中の澱みは、変わることなく、心を沈ませる。覗き込みたくない影が心の中にはあり、また誰の心にも見出すものでもある。そんな自分自身や周囲に見出す暗さに、不意打ちを食らったように、一瞬身動きできなくなる。

Sylvia Plath is often associated with a tragic end of her life and the bleak tone throughout her works. But as we can find in this poem, she captures shades of our emotions. Our troubled hearts are vulnerable but real. Our daily emotional challenges are made up of something more than a fit of desperatipon. It’s in the silence that we touch our innermost emotion. The darkness and silence arouses thoughts, regrets and frustrations that are kept and stored in our mental “Lost and Found”.

シルヴィア・プラス自身は、彼女自身の暗い作品世界や悲劇的な最後の印象とともに語られることも少なくないのですが、この詩にあるように、人の心の揺れや明暗を素直に見て取ったとも言えるでしょう。誰もがざわつく心を胸に生きているわけですが、それは悲嘆に暮れたり、怒りに任せたりといった仰々しいものでは決してなく、もっと静謐なものでもあったりするのです。暗く静かな刺激の少ない世界でこそ心に浮かぶ思いや迷い、それが心の「遺失物保管所」にあるものとも言えるのです。

Crossing the Water

Black lake, black boat, two black, cut-paper people.
Where do the black trees go that drink here?
Their shadows must cover Canada.

A little light is filtering from the water flowers.
Their leaves do not wish us to hurry:
They are round and flat and full of dark advice.

Cold worlds shake from the oar.
The spirit of blackness is in us, it is in the fishes.
A snag is lifting a valedictory, pale hand;

Stars open among the lilies.
Are you not blinded by such expressionless sirens?
This is the silence of astounded souls.

 

湖水を渡る

黒い湖水、黒いボート、黒い二人の切り紙人形
ここで水を飲む黒い木立はどこへ行くのだろう
その影はカナダさえ覆うだろう

水花から洩れる 微かな光
葉が止どめるのは 私たちの焦り
暗き忠言が 柔らかなその葉のひとつひとつに

寒々とした世界が いくつにもなって オールに揺れる
闇黒の精霊が 私たちの中に 魚たちの中に 生きている
立ち枯れた木が 告別の淡き手を 振り上げている

百合のあいだに 星々が
無表情な水の精に 目を眩ませられていないか
驚愕した魂 そのしじま

In Retrospect and Michizo Tachihara: Lost and Found

立原道造『萱草に寄す』詩「のちのおもひに」英語訳

This series aims at visiting our mental “Lost and found,” calling for a poetic help to take back a certain emotion we bury away at some point in our life. We lose some things along the way. It might be what you were as a child. This poem, In Retrospect, by Michizo Tatehara (1941-1939) helps us figure out what to do after tracing back our life journey down to where we were.
詩の力を借りて、埋もれてしまった感情を見出だす。そんな「心の遺失物保管所」を訪ねることを本シリーズの目的としています。無くしたものは何かと問われると、自分の原風景とも言える子供時代を思い返すこともあるのではないでしょうか。そうして心の原風景を辿った後どうするのかを考えるのが、立原道造(1914-1939)の「のちのおもひに」です。

In this poem he revisits where he was, including the imagery of younger days along with what he experienced during the course of his life. But he suddenly stops and says “My fancy won’t go any further”, letting his fancy frozen in reminiscence. This can be interpreted as his preparing himself for death because he died at the age of 24.

この詩のなかで、主人公は自分自身の原風景と経験に思いを馳せています。しかし、「そのさきには もうゆかない」と突然宣言し、こうした思いを追憶の中で凍らせ不動のものとします。これを、24歳の若さで亡くなった立原道造自身の死への覚悟とする見方もあります。

It definitely means physical death but it can be also interpreted, in a more positive way, as a mental death and rebirth. We can capsulate in our reminiscence what we have been through, then move on. Opening the door, we walk down the road less traveled. It might be off the beaten track but full of opportunities that you wouldn’t otherwise even imagine.

もちろんこれを肉体的な死と捉えることもできますが、精神的な死と再生と捉えると前向きにも読み取れます。今までの自分を追憶の中にだけとどめ、扉を開けて、不安ではあるが可能性に溢れた新しい道を進むこととも考えられるのではないでしょうか。

Every now and then we take a trip down our memory lane lined with woods and rivers. After the pastel childhood tunnel unfolds the vivid path of later years. We all have particular life experiences whose brilliance take on their own unique hues.

私たちも、心の原風景である故郷の山野であったり、幼年時代の暮らしであったりを、折に触れて心に思い浮かべることがあります。淡い色調の子ども時代を越えると、より鮮明な人生の旅路が思い出されます。自分の見聞や経験はそれなりにあって、そういった思い出の一つ一つはそれぞれ独特の輝きを放っている。

Whether it be bitter or sweet, what you remember about your early days is definitely a bedrock of who you are, upon which you put pieces of experience as you pass each day. This spade work does you good, but at some point you feel boxed up. A set of mindsets is so deeply ingrained that you can hardly envisage a different life course and the idea of pulling out your keystone sounds like losing a part of you and scares you.

こうした原風景は、苦いものであれ甘いものであれ、自分の基盤となっていて、その上に今の自分を築き上げていくのは事実なのですが、しかし、こうした自分の土台そのものが、今の自分を窮屈にすることもあります。自分の原風景と信じるもののイメージに囚われ、異なる生き方をイメージできない。自分の一部となっている土台を崩すのは、自分という人間の一部が無くなるようで不安を感じる。

Nevertheless, once you take one single step away from where you have been, the infinity unfolds before you. The galaxy you’re living in is not the only galaxy that exists in the whole universe. It’s hard to leave behind your psychological fauna and flora that you are familiar with as well as the galaxy encompassing your planet where things are laid out in a particular order. The outer space, in contrast, looks bleak and vacant. But that vast space outside of your galaxy accommodates even more galaxies, which await your visit. That’s how you “make your way under the starry skies.”

しかし、その枠組みから離れてみると、無限の宇宙が広がっているとも考えられます。自分の銀河が宇宙の全てではない。確かに、自分という星を取り巻く銀河、小宇宙を離れるのは辛い。そこにはある種の秩序があり、道もわかっているので、その外の宇宙は寂寥としているようにも思える。しかし、それは新たな銀河に出会う旅の始まりでもある。そんなことを最終行の「星くづにてらされた道」という言葉から感じられもするのです。

 

のちのおもひに

夢はいつもかへつて行つた 山の麓のさびしい村に
水引草に風が立ち
草ひばりのうたひやまない
しづまりかへつた午さがりの林道を

うららかに青い空には陽がてり 火山は眠つてゐた
──そして私は
見て来たものを 島々を 波を 岬を 日光月光を
だれもきいてゐないと知りながら 語りつづけた……

夢は そのさきには もうゆかない
なにもかも 忘れ果てようとおもひ
忘れつくしたことさへ 忘れてしまつたときには

夢は 真冬の追憶のうちに凍るであらう
そして それは戸をあけて 寂寥のなかに
星くづにてらされた道を過ぎ去るであらう

 

In Retrospect

My fancy always took me
To the lonesome village
To the hills at a distance
To the grass in the wind
To the calm woodland trails
Tireless crickets chirring
In the warmth of the afternoon

Clear and blue was the sky above
The mountain lay dormant
And I was
A tireless storyteller
On isles, waves, capes
All that I have seen
In the sun and the moon
With no one listening to me

My fancy won’t go any further
In the attempt of nullifying
All the memories
But what did I forget anyway?

Let it get frozen in wintery reminiscence!
From the open door
Into the desolation
Under the starry skies
Make your way