A Pocketful of Poetry Translation
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... Read More
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,... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More
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 –... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More
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... Read More