Ono no Komachi by Kano Tan'yu, 1648 |
Ono no Komachi by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, 1886 |
Masterpieces of Japanese Art opened at the
Cincinnati Art Museum this month. It’s a
fabulous exhibit with over 100 artworks from the tenth to the twentieth
centuries, including hanging scrolls, folding screens, ceramics, metal works,
armor and a spectacular Friendship Doll.
On
March 18 Dr. Gergana Ivanova and I will present a program at the museum, Art and Japanese Court Life. We’ll illustrate our talk with the fifteen
artworks from the exhibit that are based on the imperial court life of the
Heian Period (794-1185). Courtiers were
expected to be excellent poets.
Translations
from a foreign language are always a challenge.
One poem of Ono no Komachi (843-880) is a perfect example. She was renowned for her beauty and is
counted as one of the “Six Great Poets,” the only woman among them. Below I quote from Hokusai One Hundred Poets (Hokusai created prints to illustrate the
great poets) by Peter Morse, George Braziller, Inc. Publishers, 1989.
Color of the flower Hana
no iro wa
Has already passed away Utsuri ni keri ni
While on trivial things Itazawa ni
Vainly I have set my gaze, Waga mi yo ni furu
In my journey in the world. Nagame
seshi ma ni
Ono no Komachi (translated by
MacCauley 1917)
“This
is among the most famous poems of all times.
A great deal of its meaning comes from wordplay, which renders it
difficult to translate. No fewer than
thirty-six English translations have been found. (Below are two of those
thirty-six from the book’s appendix.) This
totals perhaps more different translations of a text from another language into
English than any work except the Bible.
It provides poetry lovers with an unparalleled chance to understand a
poem better by seeing it through different eyes.”
“The
poet sets her scene in early summer, the time of rains. Iro
means not only “color,” as in flowers, but also a woman’s facial beauty. Furu
means “passing through,” but also “to fall” or “to grow old.” Nagame
means “to gaze for a long time” but also “long rains.” This whole poem is an intricate comparison of
fading flowers’ color in the rains and the poet’s sense of her own fading
beauty in old age.” Another translator,
Noguchi, suggests a lament for a lost love.
Ono no Komachi continues to be a frequent subject for Japanese artists.
The flowers and my love As the constant rain
Passed away under the rain, Fades the color of the cherry blossoms
While I idly looked upon them; I reflect time’s beating
Where is my yester-love? On my beauty.
Noguchi
(1914) Myerscough
(1984)
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