Kokin Wakashu

Kokin-15-0747

Anthony H. Chambers, della Arizona State University, (con l'ausilio di Weinberger e Paz, nonché di Wallace Stevens) ha raccolto ben 43 traduzioni in inglese della poesia 747 del Kokinshu, in un articolo intitolato "FORTY-THREE WAYS OF LOOKING AT NARIHIRA".

La poesia è anche la numero 4 dell' "Ise monogatari" ed autore ne è Ariwara no Narihira 在原業平朝臣 (825-880). L'argomento della poesia è "Amore" e viene introdotta così (la traduzione è di Steven D. Carter):

Una volta, quasi senza pensarci, Narihira cominciò ad amoreggiare con una signora che viveva nell'ala occidentale di un palazzo appartenente alla imperatrice Gojo. Poco dopo il giorno 10 del primo mese, la signora se ne andò, senza dirgli nulla. Egli seppe dove ella era andata, ma non fu in grado di comunicare con lei. Nella primavera dell'anno seguente, quando i fiori del prugno were at their finest, i ricordi dell'anno precedente lo ricondussero nell'ala occidentale memories, durante una bella notte illuminata dalla luna. Egli si sdraiò sul pavimento della stanza spoglia, finché la luna scomparve dal cielo.

五条のきさいの宮のにしのたいにすみける人にほいにはあらてものいひわたりけるを、む月のとをかあまりになむほかへかくれにける、あり所はききけれとえ物もいはて、又のとしのはるむめの花さかりに月のおもしろかりける夜、こそをこひてかのにしのたいにいきて月のかたふくまてあはらなるいたしきにふせりてよめる

tsuki ya aranu haru ya mukashi no haru naranu waga mi hitotsu wa moto no mi ni shite

LE 43 TRADUZIONI IN INGLESE

1. Moon? There is none. / Spring? 'Tis not the spring / Of former days: / It is I alone / Who have remained unchanged
(Aston, 1899 - Aston: W. G. Aston, A HISTORY OF JAPANESE LITERATURE, 1899. Reprinted by Reprint Services, 1985.)

2. No moon! / The spring / Is not the spring of the old days, / My body / Is not my body, / But only a body grown old.
(Pound and Fenollosa, 1917 - Pound: Ezra Pound and Ernest Fenollosa. KAKITSUBATA, in 'NOH' OR ACCOMPLISHMENT, A STUDY OF THE CLASSICAL STAGE OF JAPAN. New York: Knopf, 1917.)

3. Can it be that there is no moon / And that spring is not / The spring of old, / While I alone remain / The same person?
(Waley, 1919 - Waley: Arthur Waley, JAPANESE POETRY, THE 'UTA'. Honolulu: University Pressof Hawaii, 1976; reprint of 1919 Clarendon Press edition, p. 67.)

4. The moon and spring come round as in old days, But I alone am changed in earthly ways.
(Wakameda, 1922 - Wakameda, Takeji. EARLY JAPANESE POETS: COMPLETE TRANSLATION OF THE KOKINSHIU. London: The Eastern Press Ltd., 1922. p.173.)

5. And the light of the moon was not so serene / Or the spring quite the same as the springs of yore, / Yet still is he the Narihira of old
(Sadler, 1934 - Sadler: A. L. Sadler, translator, KAKITSUBATA, in JAPANESE PLAYS: NO-KYOGEN-KABUKI. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1943.)

6. Is it then true that / There is no longer a moon, / That the Spring is not / The Spring of former days--that / I alone remain unchanged?
(Whitehouse, 1938 - Whitehouse: Wilfred Whitehouse, translator. "Ugetsu Monogatari: Tales of a Clouded Moon, by Uyeda Akinari: II. Asajigayado." Monumenta Nipponica 1:2 (1938).)

7. Is the moon changed? / Is spring no longer / What it was of yore, / While I remain my old self?
(NGSKK, 1955 - NGSKK: Nippon Gakujutsu Shink?kai. THE NOH DRAMA (translation of IZUTSU). Rutland, VT, and Tokyo: Tuttle, 1955.)

8. This is not the moon, / Nor is this the spring, / Of other springs, / And I alone / Am still the same.
(Rexroth, 1956 - Rexroth: Kenneth Rexroth, ONE HUNDRED POEMS FROM THE JAPANESE. New York: New Directions, 1956.)

9. Is not that the moon? / And is not the spring the same / Spring of the old days? / My body is the same body-- / Yet everything seems different.
(Vos, 1957 - Vos: Frits Vos, A STUDY OF THE ISE-MONOGATARI. The Hague: Mouton, 1957.)

10. What now is real? / This moon, this spring, are altered / From their former being-- / While this alone, my mortal body, remains / As ever changed by love beyond all change.
(Brower and Miner, 1961 - Brower and Miner: Robert H. Brower and Earl Miner, JAPANESE COURT POETRY. Stanford University Press, 1961.)

11. Can it be that the moon has changed? / Can it be that the spring / Is not the spring of old times? / Is it my body alone / That is just the same?
(Bownas and Thwaite, 1964 - Bownas and Thwaite: Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite, THE PENGUIN BOOK OF JAPANESE VERSE. Baltimore: Penguin, 1964.)

12. This is not the moon / And it cannot be this is the spring / Such as the spring I knew; / I myself the single thing / Remaining as it ever was.
(Miner, 1968 - Miner: Earl Miner, AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE COURT POETRY. Stanford University Press, 1968.)

13. Is not the moon the same? / The spring / The spring of old? / Only this body of mine / Is the same body . . .
(McCullough, 1968 - McCullough: Helen Craig McCullough, trans., TALES OF ISE. Stanford University Press, 1968.)

14. Is it not the moon-- / is it not the spring-- / of yesteryear? / And oh, myself too as I used to be.
(Honda, 1970 - Honda: H. H. Honda, translator, THE KOKIN WAKA-SHU. The Hokuseido Press, the Eirinsha Press, 1970.)

15. The moon: is it not . . . / The spring: is it not . . . last year's / spring yet unchanged? no, / This body of mine alone / seems the same as once before.
(Harris, 1972 - Harris: H. Jay Harris, THE TALES OF ISE. Tokyo: Tuttle, 1972.)

16. The moon, the spring, are the moon and spring of old. / And only I remain as I was then.
(Seidensticker, 1974 - Seidensticker: Edward G. Seidensticker, translator. THE TALE OF GENJI (chapter 48), by Murasaki Shikibu. New York: Knopf, 1974.)

17. The moon is not the same, / And spring is not the spring / Of olden days-- / It is only I, / I alone, who remain unchanged.
(Zolbrod, 1974 - Zolbrod: Ueda Akinari, UGETSU MONOGATARI: TALES OF MOONLIGHT AND RAIN, translated by Leon Zolbrod. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1974.)

18. The moon--is it gone? / Spring, the by-gone days' / Spring no longer, / While I alone among all / Remain the same as of old?
(Shimazaki, 1977 - Shimazaki: Chifumi Shimazaki, translator, IZUTSU, in THE NOH: VOLUME THREE: WOMAN NOH 2. Tokyo: Hinoki Shoten, 1977.)

19. The moon is not the moon of that year! / Spring is not the spring of that year! / I alone am the same as I was then.
(Walker, 1979 - Walker: Janet Walker, "Conventions of Love Poetry in Japan and the West." JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF JAPANESE 14:1, 31-65 (1979).)

20. Is not the moon the same? / And is not the spring the same / As other springs? / I alone, though still myself, / (have not remained unchanged).
(Hochstedler, 1979 - Hochstedler: Carol Hochstedler, translator, THE TALE OF NEZAME. Cornell University East Asia Papers Number 22, Cornell China-Japan Program, 1979.)

21. It is not the moon of old / Nor has the spring become the spring of old / Only I am still the same.
(Chibbett, 1979 - Chibbett: Kato Shuichi, A HISTORY OF JAPANESE LITERATURE: THE FIRST THOUSAND YEARS, translated by David Chibbett. NY: Kodansha International, 1979, 135.)

22. Surely this is the moon, / surely this spring / is the spring of years past-- / or am I the only one / the same as before?
(Watson, 1981 - Watson: Burton Watson (with Hiroaki Sato), FROM THE COUNTRY OF EIGHT ISLANDS. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor, 1981.)

23. is this not that moon / is this spring not that spring we / shared so long ago / it seems that I alone am / unaltered from what was then
(Rodd, 1984 - Rodd: Laurel Rasplica Rodd, with Mary Catherine Henkenius, KOKINSHU. Princeton University Press, 1984.)

24. This is not that moon! / Nor is this spring the spring that was / In those days bygone! / My being the single thing / Remaining as it ever was . . .
(Gatten, 1986 - Gatten: Jin'ichi Konishi, A HISTORY OF JAPANESE LITERATURE, VOLUME TWO: THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES, translated by Aileen Gatten. Princeton University Press, 1986.)

25. That is not the moon, / Nor is this / The spring of years gone by. / I alone remain / As I was before.
(Hare, 1986 - Hare: Thomas Blenman Hare. ZEAMI'S STYLE: THE NOH PLAYS OF ZEAMI MOTOKIYO. Stanford University Press, 1986, p. 281-2 note 20.)

26. Is not the moon-- / or the spring, / the spring of the past? / Alone I remain / my selfsame self.
(Field, 1987 - Field: Norma Field, THE SPLENDOR OF LONGING IN THE TALE OF GENJI. Princeton University Press, 1987.)

27. Is not that the moon? / Is this not the spring of old? / Is it only my body / which remains as it was?
(Jackson, 1988 - Jackson: Earl Jackson, Jr., translator. URIN'IN, in Karen Brazell, ed., TWELVE PLAYS OF THE NOH AND KYOGEN THEATER. Cornell University Press, 1988.)

28. Is it not the same moon? / Is this spring not the same / Spring of old? / Myself alone remains / A self unchanged as ever.
(Huey, 1989 - Huey: Robert Huey, KYOGOKU TAMAKANE. Stanford University Press, 1989.)

29. Is this not the moon? / And is this not the springtime, / the springtime of old? / Only this body of mine / the same body as before . . .
(Carter, 1991 -  - Carter: Steven D. Carter, TRADITIONAL JAPANESE POETRY, AN ANTHOLOGY. Stanford University Press, 1991.)

30. Is that not the moon / and the spring not the spring / of long ago? / Yet only I remain / as I was before.
(Goff, 1991 - Goff: Janet Goff, NOH DRAMA AND THE TALE OF GENJI. Princeton University Press, 1991.)

31. This is not that moon. / And this spring is not that spring / Of long ago. / While I myself / Am just as I was before . . .
(Pekarik, 1991 - Pekarik: Andrew J. Pekarik, translator, in THE THIRTY-SIX IMMORTAL WOMEN POETS. New York: Braziller, 1991.)

32. Is that the same moon? / Is this the same old springtime, / the same ancient spring? / And is this not my body / the same body you once knew?
(Hamill, 1992 - Hamill: Sam Hamill, translator. ONLY COMPANION: JAPANESE POEMS OF LOVE AND LONGING. Boston and London: Shambhala, 1992.)

33. Is this not the moon, this spring not the spring of old? Am I alone the one I ever was? (Tyler, prose translation, 1992 - Tyler, 1992: Royall Tyler, editor and translator, IZUTSU, in JAPANESE NO DRAMAS. London and New York: Penguin, 1992. - Tyler, 2001: Royall Tyler, trans., THE TALE OF GENJI (chapter 48). New York: Viking, 2001.)

34. Is that moon the same? / Are these plum blossoms the same / as those of last year? / Only this body of mine / remains unchanged as ever.
(Ueda, 1993 - Ueda: Makoto Ueda, "Tradition and Innovation in Japanese Poetry," in John K. Gillespie, ed., JAPAN: A LITERARY OVERVIEW. Review of National Literatures, volume 18. New York: Griffon House Publications,1993, p. 59.)

35. Is there no moon? / And is this springtime not the spring / Of times gone by? / Myself alone remaining / Still the self I was before . . .
(Cranston, 1996 - Cranston: Edwin A. Cranston, "'Mystery and Depth' in Japanese Court Poetry." In Thomas Hare, et al, eds., THE DISTANT ISLE. Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan, 1996.)

36. Here, here is the moon / And the spring that always comes -- / Here, here is that spring / Yet, my body, my body / Is just the same as before
(Wallace, 1997 - Wallace:  John Wallace, translator, in Nichibunken Newsletter No. 27, April 1997.)

37. There's not a moon, is there? This spring is not the spring of old, is it? Am I myself, the only thing remaining as before
(Brazell, prose translation, 1998 - Brazell: Karen Brazell, translator, IZUTSU, in TRADITIONAL JAPANESE THEATER: AN ANTHOLOGY OF PLAYS. Columbia University press, 1998.)

38. Is that not the moon? / And is the spring not the spring / Of a year ago? / This body of mine alone / Remains as it was before.
(Keene, 1999 - Keene: Donald Keene, SEEDS IN THE HEART. Columbia University Press, 1999.)

39. Is there not the moon? / And is not the spring / The spring of old? / My self alone / Remains as it was . . .
(Rubin, 1999 - Rubin: Jay Rubin, "Five Japanese Portraits" (course handout, Harvard University, 1999))

40. Is this not the moon, is this spring not the spring of old, while only I remain just as I was then? (Tyler, prose translation, 2001)

41. Is this not that moon? / And Spring: is as the Spring of old / Is it not? / Only this body of mine / Is as it ever was . . .
(McAuley, 2001 McAuley: Thomas McAuley, 2001 WAKA FOR JAPAN 2001. http://www.shef.ac.uk/japan2001/waka0670.shtml)

42. The moon is not that moon, nor the spring the spring of old / and I alone am as I was before.
(Chambers, 2002 - Chambers: Anthony H. Chambers, trans., "The Reed-Choked House." In Haruo Shirane, ed., Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900. Columbia University Press, 2002.  Note:  In this compilation I've given the original form of my translation.  The version in the anthology has been mangled by editors.)

43. Moon? Is that not you? / Spring? Are you not the spring of long ago? / My body is the one thing / That is as it once was
(Wilson, 2002 - Wilson: Bradley Wilson, ASU class of 2002. Translated in ASU course JPN 485, spring 2002)