Natsume Soseki: Ten Nights of Dreams: Dream Six (rough draft translation)

So I've finally found the time to update this and determined what my final thesis paper will be. A translation, of course! Okay so that was a duh, but here's my first chunk done.

第六夜

Dream Six

   運慶が護国寺の山門で仁王を刻んでいると云う評判だから、散歩ながら行って見ると、自分より先にもう大勢集まって、しきりに下馬評をやっていた。

            Because Unkei had a reputation for carving the Nio statue at Gokokuji’s temple’s gate, while on a walk I went to see it. Another crowd had gathered ahead of me, constantly spreading rumors.

　山門の前五六間の所には、大きな赤松があって、その幹が斜めに山門の甍を隠して、遠い青空まで伸びている。

            About 30 or 40 feet before the temple, there was a large Japanese red pine. That tree’s trunk slants to conceal the temple gate’s roof tiles and stretches up to the blue sky.

松の緑と朱塗の門が互いに照り合うってみごとに見える。その上松の位地が好い。門の左の端を眼障にならないように、斜に切って行って、上になるほど幅を広く屋根まで突出しているのが何となく古風である。鎌倉時代とも思われる。

            The pine tree’s greenery and the vermillion lacquered gate together shed light on each other and looked brilliant. So that the edge of the gate cannot obstruct the view, the trunk was cut diagonally and the width on top protruding up to the roof is somehow an old custom. It also seems to be from the Kamakura period.
　ところが見ているものは、みんな自分と同じく、明治の人間である。その中でも車夫が一番多い。辻待をして退屈だから立っているに相違ない。
「大きなもんだなあ」と云っている。

            However, all the sight-seers like me were from the Meiji era. Among them were many rickshaw men. Without a doubt, there were vehicles standing there from boredom. “What a big thing!” They were saying.
「人間を拵えるよりもよっぽど骨が折れるだろう」とも云っている。
　そうかと思うと、「へえ仁王だね。今でも仁王を彫るのかね。へえそうかね。私ゃまた仁王はみんな古いのばかりかと思ってた」と云った男がある。

            “It is probably more difficult to do than a person could make.” They were also saying. When I think so, “Really, it’s Nio. Really? Is that so? Even now, to carve a statue of Nio? I thought all Nio statues were only things of old.” A man said.
「どうも強そうですね。なんだってえますぜ。昔から誰が強いって、仁王ほど強い人あ無いって云いますぜ。何でも日木武尊よりも強いんだってえからね」と話しかけた男もある。この男は尻を端折って、帽子を被らずにいた。よほど無教育な男と見える。

            “It looks also very strong. From old days, who can be that strong? I say, a person as strong as Nio cannot exist. By all means, he is stronger than Yamatodake no Mikoto.” The man also said. The man’s skirt was tucked up and he wore no had. He appeared to be a very uneducated man.
　運慶は見物人の評判には委細頓着なく鑿と槌を動かしている。いっこう振り向きもしない。高い所に乗って、仁王の顔の辺をしきりに彫り抜いて行く。

            Unkei, not concerned about the details of the spectator’s rumors, kept working with his chisel and hammer. Not at all turning to face them. Up on a high spot, he incessantly carved out an area of Nio’s face.
　運慶は頭に小さい烏帽子のようなものを乗せて、素袍だか何だかわからない大きな袖を背中で括っている。その様子がいかにも古くさい。わいわい云ってる見物人とはまるで釣り合が取れないようである。自分はどうして今時分まで運慶が生きているのかなと思った。どうも不思議な事があるものだと考えながら、やはり立って見ていた。

            Unkei wore a small eboshi like hat on his head and I don’t know if it was a suou or what that he wore with its large sleeves tied up together at his back. His appearance was good and old fashioned and out of balance with the noisy crowd. I wondered how Unkei had lived up to now. While I thought it was somehow a miracle, I continued to stand and look at him.
　しかし運慶の方では不思議とも奇体ともとんと感じ得ない様子で一生懸命に彫っている。仰向いてこの態度を眺めていた一人の若い男が、自分の方を振り向いて、
「さすがは運慶だな。眼中に我々なしだ。天下の英雄はただ仁王と我れとあるのみと云う態度だ。天晴れだ」と云って賞め出した。

            However, Unkei was carving with all his effort, appearing unable to sense anything mysterious or strange. A young man who had been looking up at Unkei’s behavior turned to face me, “As one would expect, this is Unkei, He doesn’t consider us. His attitude says that it is just Nio and I. It is splendid!” He praised.
　自分はこの言葉を面白いと思った。それでちょっと若い男の方を見ると、若い男は、すかさず、
「あの鑿と槌の使い方を見たまえ。大自在の妙境に達している」と云った。

            I thought this remark interesting. Therefore, I turned in the exact direction of the young man and without delay he said, “Look at the way he uses that chisel and mallet. He reaches a beautiful place of complete freedom.” 
　運慶は今太い眉を一寸の高さに横へ彫り抜いて、鑿の歯を竪に返すや否や斜すに、上から槌を打ち下ろした。堅い木を一と刻みに削って、厚い木屑が槌の声に応じて飛んだと思ったら、小鼻のおっ開いた怒り鼻の側面がたちまち浮き上がって来た。その刀の入れ方がいかにも無遠慮であった。そうして少しも疑念を挟んでおらんように見えた。

            In just a minute, Unkei had horizontally carved tall, thick eyebrows and no sooner had returned the tooth of the chisel vertical, hitting the hammer from under it. The hard wood was cut and shaved, the thick wood chips thought to jump in response to the hammer’s voice and the flared nostrils at the side of the opened nose at once became visible. The way the chisel entered was also rude and not one doubt seemed to enter him.
「よくああ無造作に鑿を使って、思うような眉や鼻ができるものだな」と自分はあんまり感心したから独言のように言った。するとさっきの若い男が、
「なに、あれは眉や鼻を鑿で作るんじゃない。あの通りの眉や鼻が木の中に埋っているのを、鑿と槌の力で掘り出すまでだ。まるで土の中から石を掘り出すようなものだからけっして間違うはずはない」と云った。

            “He often uses his chisel so casually, able to make the eyebrows and nose he thought of,” I said to myself in admiration. Then, the young man said, “What? He does not make the eyebrows and nose with the chisel. The way the eyebrows and the nose are buried in the wood, he forces them out with the chisel and hammer. As if like he digs stone from inside the earth, he can by no means make a mistake.
　自分はこの時始めて彫刻とはそんなものかと思い出した。はたしてそうなら誰にでもできる事だと思い出した。それで急に自分も仁王が彫ってみたくなったから見物をやめてさっそく家へ帰った。

            I recalled the time he began carving and sure enough I recalled thinking anyone could do it. Thereupon, I suddenly also wanted to try carving a Nio statue so I quit watching and immediately returned home.
　道具箱から鑿と金槌を持ち出して、裏へ出て見ると、せんだっての暴風で倒れた樫を、薪にするつもりで、木挽に挽かせた手頃な奴が、たくさん積んであった。

            I took out my chisel and hammer from my toolbox and went behind the house. In a recent storm an evergreen oak had fallen and from the wood which I had intended to use as fire wood which a handy sawyer and cut up and piled a lot up, I took a piece.
　自分は一番大きいのを選んで、勢いよく彫り始めて見たが、不幸にして、仁王は見当らなかった。その次のにも運悪く掘り当てる事ができなかった。三番目のにも仁王はいなかった。自分は積んである薪を片っ端から彫って見たが、どれもこれも仁王を蔵しているのはなかった。ついに明治の木にはとうてい仁王は埋っていないものだと悟った。それで運慶が今日まで生きている理由もほぼ解った。

            I chose the largest piece and began carving vigorously, but unfortunately Nio could not be found. In the next piece he was unluckily not found either. In the third one, there was also no Nio. I stacked up every last piece of firewood, trying to carve from them and each and every one also did not contain Nio. Finally, I realized that Nio was not buried in any wood from the Meiji Era. And now I understood the reason Unkei existed.

Starting something new here... yet again

So, for my one follower, (HI!) I'm going to start adding something more to this blog. I know, exciting, huh?!

First of all, I'm going to continue with my translations, right now being my major thesis project (hopefully) as I work through it. It's called "I Am a Cat" by Natsume Soseki. It's about the changes in Japan during the westernization and industrialization in the Meiji period via the views of a pretentious house cat. It's a very famous novel and will be rather hard for me, but I welcome the challenge. I will post it here, in pieces as I work through it. I may not get through all of it, but this summer I might do the rest if you are enjoying it :)

Secondly, I've decided that I want to start baking more. I've been working in a dining hall this semester, cutting fruit, which is next to the bakery. It's made me want cookies a lot and I want to try new goodies so I think, if we have the cash, each week I will try a new goodie recipe and bake it. I plan on using my hubby and his coworkers as guinea pigs and to keep me from eating ALL the goodies.

So, that's the plan. I only have two sentences done on the translation so far so I'm going to wait until I have something a little more substantial than that to post!

My sumo paper

大相撲

リア・へニング

私の選んだトピックは日本の大相撲です。このトピックを選んだ理由は時々、アメリカのテレビで大相撲を見るのが好きだからです。しかし、アメリカに大相撲がありません。世界のスポーツの中で大相撲はとても違うと思います。私のパートナーは田中将巳さんという日本の大学生です。今、田中さんは横浜住んでいますが、広島生まれです。卓球と本を読むことテレビゲームは田中さんの興味があります。

田中さんからたくさん大相撲について分かりました。大相撲の試合では勝つための九十一の取り口があるそうです。田中さんによると、土俵の外に相撲とりの足が出れば、この人は試合に負けます。大相撲の生活は相撲とりと所によって違います。二十歳ぐらいから、相撲とりは大相撲を始めます。相撲とりには特別な食べ方があります。田中さんは、「ご飯を食べるときに一般人の３～４倍ぐらいのご飯の量を食べる」と言っていました。一般的に相撲とりは四十歳前に退きます。毎年、大相撲の試合は一月、三月、五月、七月、九月、十月にあって、十五日から五十以上試合があります。大相撲は日本固有の宗教や神道に基づいたので、人気がある日本のスポーツになりました。田中さんによると、今、白鵬という相撲とりは日本で一番人気があります。

アメリカのスポーツとくらべて、日本の大相撲はとても違うと思います。アメリカのスポーツにくらべて、大相撲は歴史的なくて、信仰的なくて、伝統的なスポーツです。

私の研究によると、相撲取りの家は「部屋」そうです。色々な大相撲の部屋が東京にあるようです。部屋で三十人以上の大相撲から三人大相撲があります。相撲とりは部屋に住んで、大相撲のための練習をします。

アメリカのスポーツにくらべて、大相撲はとても違うから、面白いと思います。大相撲は伝統的な日本のスポーツですから、大相撲は日本でとても大切だと思います。

これから、大相撲の取り口について知りたいと思います。将来、で私はもっと大相撲を見たいです（よ）。

Sumo

Leah H.

The topic that I chose is Japan's sumo. The reason that I chose sumo is because sometimes on American TV I like to watch sumo. However, America does not have sumo. I think of all the sports of the world, sumo is very different. My partner (in this project) is a Japanese college student named Mayumi Tanaka. Now, Tanaka-san lives in Yokohama but, she was born in Hiroshima. Tanaka-san's interests are ping pong, reading, and video games.

I learned a lot about sumo from Tanaka-san. I hear that in a sumo match, there are 91 moves the sumo can do in order to win. According to Tanaka-san, if the sumo's foot goes outside of the ring, that person loses the match. A sumo's life is different depending on what place they are in. A sumo begins practicing sumo from age 20. A sumo as a special way of eating. Tanaka-san said that when they eat, they eat 3-4 times the amount a typical person would eat. Typically a sumo will retire before age 40. Every year there are sumo matches in January, March, May, July, September, and October. For 15 days there are 50 or more matches. Because sumo is based in religion or shinto, it has become a popular Japanese sport. According to Tanaka-san, a sumo named Hakuhou is the most popular right now.

Compared to American sports, I think Japan's sumo is very different. Compared to American sports, sumo is a historical, religious, and traditional sport. 

According to my research, a sumo's house, I heard, is called a "heya". It seems there are various sumo heya in Tokyo. In a heya, there are from 30 or more sumo to 3 sumo. Sumo live in the heya and use it in order to practice. 

Compared to American sports, because sumo is very different, I think it is interesting. Because sumo is a traditional Japanese sport, I think sumo is very important. 

After this, I think I would like to know about sumo moves. In the future, I want to watch more sumo!

Ch. 5 Translation... and school registration

日本の高校生は、大学に入るために入学試験にパスしなければならない。そのため、有名な大学に入りたい学生は一生けんめい勉強する。有名な大学に入れば、将来一流の会社などに就職しやすいからである。日本高校では、三年生が一番上が、三年生になると、部活動をやめて勉強ばかりする生徒が増える。毎日学校へ行くのはもちろんだが、授業が終わっても、すぐには家へ帰らず、塾は予備校へ行って勉強する。入学試験にパスし、希望の大学に入れた場所はいいが、試験に落ちた生徒は、もっとやさしい大学に入るか、卒業後一年間浪人する。つまり、一年間予備校などで勉強しながら、次の年の入学試験を持つのである。

Japanese high school students must pass an entrance exam in order to enter college. Hence, students who want to enter famous colleges study very hard. If they enter famous colleges, in the future it will be easy to get a job at a first rate company. In Japanese high schools, third year students are the highest, but when they become third year students the number of students who quit club activities and just study, increases. Every day they go to school of course, but even when class is over they go to cram school or entrance exam school and study without immediately going home. When they pass the college entrance exam they are entered into the college they wish, but the students who fail the entrance exam enter a more easy college or for a year after they graduate, spend a year studying for entrance exams. In other words, while studying at schools designed to help students with entrance exams, they have the following year’s entrance exam.

Haruki Murakami "White Lies" translation

真っ白な嘘

村上春樹

僕は嘘をつくのは得意ではない。でも嘘をつくこと自体はそれほど嫌いではない。変な言い方だけど、つまり「深刻な嘘をつくのは苦手だけど、害のない出鱈目を言うのはけっこう好きだ」ということです。

昔、ある月刊誌で書評を頼まれたことがある。僕は本を書く人間で、批評する人間じゃないから、書評ってできればやりたくないんだけど、そのときは事情があって、「まあいいや、やりましょう」と引き受けた。でも普通どおりにやっても面白くないから、架空の本をでっちあげて、それを詳しく評論することにした。実在しない人の伝記の書評とかね。これはやってみると、なかなか愉快でした。でっちあげをするぶん頭は使うけれど、本を読む時間は節約できる。それに取り上げた本の著者に「あのやろう、ろくでもないことを書きやがって」と個人的に恨まれたりすることもないですしね。

この偽書評を書いたときには、あとで誰かから「ろくでもない嘘をつくな」という苦情の手紙とか、「どこに行けばこの本が手にはいるのか」といった問い合わせが来るんじゃないかと覚悟していたんだけど、一通も来なくて気が抜けたというか、まあそれはそれでほっとした。結局のところ、月刊誌の書評なんて誰も真剣に読んでないんだろうという気もしなくはないんだけれど、どうなんだろうね。

それから、今はわりにまじめに答えているけど、生意気盛りの若い頃は、インタビューでもしばしばいい加減なことを言っていた。どんな本を読んでいるかときかれて、「そうですねえ、最近は明治時代の小説をよく読んでいます。初期言文一致運動に関わったマイナーな作家が好きで、具体的に言うと、牟田口正午(むたぐちしょうご)とか、大坂五兵(おおさかごへい)なんかの作品は、今読んでも刺激的だと思いますよ」とか答えたりしてね。

もちろんどっちの作家も実在しない。完全なでっちあげである。でもそんなこと誰にもわからない。僕はそういう口からでまかせのことをすらすらと並べ立てるのがわりに得意です。得意というか、苦労がないというか。

日本語では「真っ赤な嘘」っていうけど、どうして嘘は赤いのか知っていますか？奈良時代の日本では、悪質な嘘をついて世間を惑わせた人には、赤い大福餅を１２個口に詰め込んで窒息死させるという酷い刑罰があったからです――というのは例によって嘘だ。どうして嘘が赤いのか、昔から気になっていて、いつか調べようと思っていたんだけど、この数十年ずっと忙しくて手がはなせなくて（嘘つけ）まだ調べていない。

英語にはwhite lieという言葉がある。これは「罪のない（方便の、儀礼的な）嘘」のことです（これはほんと）。文字どおり「真っ白な嘘」。僕の嘘はどっちかというとこっちに近い。害はない、と思う。だって赤い大福餅を１２個無理に食べさせられたりしちゃ、たまらないものね。

Lying is not my strength. However, I do not hate lying itself. It is strange to say, but, in other words, I am not good at making serious lies, although I quite like harmless nonsense.

In the past, I was asked by a monthly magazine to write a book review. Because I am a person that writes books, but I am not a critic, so, if possible, I do not want to do book reviews. At that time, there were circumstances, so I accepted saying, “Well and good, I’ll do it.”  However, because doing it as usual was not interesting, I decided to fabricate a fictional book and that criticism would be done in detail. It’s people who don’t exist’s life story’s book review, among other things. I tried this and it was quite pleasant. Although I was able to save the time of reading a book, I used my head to fabricate sentences. Moreover, it is not as if I resent the book’s author saying,  “Doing that, is not a good thing to write.”

After the time this review was written, from no one “That is not a good like at all” type of complaint letters and “Where can I get this book” type of queries did not come. However, I was ready for them, but not one letter came, which I was relieved about. In the end, I no longer cared if no one read it or how it was.

After that, I now answer seriously instead, but in my brazen youth, I often spoke sloppily in interviews. I was asked what kind of books I read, “Ah, recently I often read Meiji Era novels. I like early unification forms influenced minor authors, specifically speaking, the works of Mataguchi Shiyogo and Osaka Gobei, I now have read and I think are also stimulating, I think.”

Of course, which authors are also not real. It is a complete fabrication. However, no one also understood that. Letting things line up naturally from my mouth is good instead. There is no good or bad.

In Japanese it is called a “red lie”, but do you know why the lie a red one?  Because in Nara Period Japan, there was a terrible type of judgment for people who were caught in the world malicious lying, having 12 red rice cakes with bean jam stuffed into their mouths and choking them to death, is a usual example. Why is the lie a red one? The past weighs on my mind and sometime I was thinking of examining it, but in several decades I am still always busy and my hands are tied(telling lies) so I have not yet examined it.

In English it is called a “white lie.” This is a “sinless (justified, courteous) lie” (This is really true). Literally “white lie.”Between the two, my lie is closer to this. It is not harmful, I think. Because being forced to eat 12 red rice cakes with jam is unbearable.