花 (hana)

KevinS · Post by **KevinS** » January 9th, 2021, 7:24 am

I like these poems.

CSCO · Post by **CSCO** » January 9th, 2021, 10:19 am

Hi, KevinS-san.

by KevinS » Sat Jan 09, 2021 11:24 pm
I like these poems.

Thank you very much.

These poems are from Manyoushuu (まんようしゅう, 萬葉集, or 万葉集). It is the oldest anthology in Japan. Scholars have translated it into English and the translations must be correct as a study. But, are they enough as a current poem for usual foreign readers? (I don't know that. Because I have never read the translations.) In fact, it was a current anthology at that time, to say the least.

A Japanese famous poet said, "Anyone can become a poet if he read Manyoushuu 1,000 times." So, I translate it by myself to become a poet. (But my translation must be not correct...)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man'y%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB
https://ja.wikisource.org/wiki/%E4%B8%87%E8%91%89%E9%9B%86

CSCO · Post by **CSCO** » January 23rd, 2021, 7:17 am

[45]

The young prince I serve,
The sun's son,
Wanted to be a god,
Even though he is a god.
So, he went on a hunt.
Even though the Capital loves him,
He left to Mt. Hatuse.
He went on wild mountain path.
He went under pretty big trees.
He subdued big rocks and bushes in the way.
He came in the early twitter.
When the sun was going under,
In the snow falling big Aki Field,
He subdued pampas grasses and a bamboo grove.
And he camped out,
Filling his heart with memories of his passed father.