光から生まれてきたり露の玉 ー久保るみ子
Born from light
Drops of dew
–Kubo Rumiko
俺たちはみんな蓑虫空をみる －児山正明
We are
all of us bagworms
staring at the sky
–Koyama Masaaki
あなたが死んで宿り木に雪我に雪 －原雅子
When you died
snow on the mistletoe
snow on me
–Hara Masako
NOTES:
All poems taken from the Gendai Haiku Association Database.
I go to an island with no people
To live on an island with no people
I don’t see anyone or talk to anyone
My white skin floats on the water
And I fall in love with myself
Deep within the island with no people
I drift on a boat in a small cove
With a broken flute and glass shoes
Along with a little rouge bird
I sway atop the dark waves
The island with no people is far away
Near a graveyard of ships from strange lands
Deep is the sea, and stagnant
Stars fall through the night sky. Buried
in the sand, alone, I fall asleep
人のいない島に行って
人のいない島に住んで
誰にも會わず誰とも話さず
水面にうかぶ白き肌の
われとわが身に戀をする
人のいない島の奧の
小さな入江に船をうかべ
こわれた笛とガラスのくつと
紅がらいろの小鳥をつれて
暗い波間をただょひゆれる
人のいない島わ遠く
異國の船の墓場近)く
海なお深く 海なおよどみ
星ふる夜わ 銀の砂に
埋もれてひとリ 眠リにつく
Sai Yoshiko is a folk singer-songwriter who was primarily active in the mid- to late-70s. Her albums include 萬花鏡 (A Myriad of Flowers and Mirrors, 1975), 密航 (Secret Passage, 1976), and 胎児の夢 (Embryonic Dreams, 1977). She retired from music in 1979 but made a comeback in 2001.
Listen to “An Island With No People” here.
Special thanks to Yumi Hori for a few modifications.
I wonder what will happen when I turn twenty
I wonder what will happen when I turn twenty
When I turn twenty, I’ll quit smoking
and get married
I want people to say
what a lovely girl, what a wonderful woman
When I turn twenty, I’ll cut my long hair
When I turn twenty, I’ll be nicer
When I turn twenty, I’ll quit smoking
and get married
He’ll be a kind man, and I’ll want him to hold me
always and forever
When I turn twenty, I’ll grow out my hair,
his face will be unshaven, and I’ll leave him
When I turn twenty, I’ll quit smoking
and get married
I’ll get married to a kind man
nine years older
I wonder what will happen when I turn twenty
I wonder what will happen when I turn twenty
When I turn twenty, I’ll quit smoking
and get married
I’ll live the rest of my days quietly
surrounded by children
when I turn twenty, when I turn twenty
二十才になれば 何が起こるかな
二十才になれば 何が起こるかな
二十才になれば タバコをやめて
結婚するの
かわいいむすめと 素敵な女と
いわれていたい
二十才になれば 長い髪を切るの
二十才になれば 優しくなるの
二十才になれば タバコをやめて
結婚するの
優しい人に いつもいつでも
抱かれていたい
二十才になれば 長い髪をした
ひげづらのあの人 捨てていくの
二十才になれば タバコをやめて
結婚するの
九つ年上の 優しい人と結婚するの
二十才になれば 何が起こるかな
二十才になれば 何が起こるかな
二十才になれば タバコをやめて
結婚するの
子供にかこまれて 静かにひっそりと
暮らして死ぬの
二十才になれば 二十才になれば
NOTES:
Listen to the song on YouTube.
Standing next to you, I’m speechless, I just stare
Hoping you’ll turn to me and smile, if only for a moment
She’s so fine, she’s so fine
Whatever anyone else may say, only I understand your virtues
I’m drowning in love and you’re the only one who can save me
She’s so fine, she’s so fine
But it’s useless, I’ll never be with you, and it makes me cry
I can hold you and whisper in your ear, but only in my dreams
She’s so fine, she’s so fine
何も言わず黙ってそばでお前を見つめているから
こちらを向いて笑ってほしいほんの少しだけ
いい娘だね いい娘だね
誰が言おうとお前のよさは俺しかわからない
恋に落ちた助けてほしい お前がひとりだけ
いい娘だね いい娘だね
わがままいっぱいの駄目な俺だがこのままだと泣いてしまう
お前を抱いて囁く言葉 それは夢の中でも
いい娘だね いい娘だね
NOTES:
Listen to the song on YouTube.
We were born after the war ended
We were raised not knowing war
We take our first steps into adulthood
Humming this song of peace
We want you to remember our names
We are the children who don’t know war
If you reject us because we’re too young
If you reject us because our hair is long
Then all that’s left for us to do now
Is dry our tears and sing this song
We want you to remember our names
We are the children who don’t know war
We were born in a time of war
Haneda No. 1, Haneda No. 2
10.21, Sanrizuka
And the fighting continues
Let us tell you our names
We are the children who know only war
We grew up longing for peace
Sticks, spears, helmets
Pipe bombs, dynamite
The fighting continues today and tomorrow
We want you to remember our names
We are the children who know only war
戦争の時代に僕らは生まれた
第一羽田、第二羽田
１０．２１三里塚
そして今でも戦い続ける
僕らの名前を聞かせてあげよう
戦争しか知らない子供達さ
平和にあこがれ 僕等は育った
ゲバ棒 竹やり ヘルメット
パイプ爆弾 ダイナマイト
今日も明日も 闘い続ける
僕等の名前を 覚えてほしい
戦争しか知らない子供達さ
NOTES:
This song was Zunou Keisatsu’s take on the popular song “Children Who Don’t Know War” (戦争を知らない子供たち) by Jiros (ジローズ). It was written in response to the Sanrizuka conflict of the 60s and 70s, a dispute between the government and farmers in Narita over the opening of an international airport that would potentially destroy the livelihoods of the locals. After years of protests and fighting, the airport opened in 1978.
In Giacometti’s portrait of Teriade
he is sitting
in the ruins of an atelier
The other day on the train
though I had no way of knowing what was going on inside
of this man sitting with his legs crossed and arms folded
I wanted to be closer to him
It was
not the same as meeting
a man at a cafe in the morning
who speaks to himself as though to calm someone down
Not the same as writing a letter
next to an old man slumped over a marble desk at the post office
It feels like
breathing regularly
Both the background and Teriade are water stain brown
I imagine
this passenger’s voice
is surprisingly bright
ジャコメッティのテリアッド像は
廃墟みたいなアトリエに
テリアッド氏が坐っている
いつか列車で
脚をくみ両腕をくんで坐っていた男の人の
内にめぐっているものを知ることもできなかったが
その人の前にもっと居たい と思った
それは
誰かをなだめるようにひとりごとをいいながら
朝のカフェにいる人に
会うのとちがい
郵便局の大理石の机につっぷした老人のそばで
手紙を書くのとはちがう
規則正しい呼吸の
つたわってくるような気がする
テリアッド氏も背景も 雨のしみみたいな茶色
列車で乗り合わせたひとの
意外に明るい声を
空想する
Entry No. 1 