Nothingness: Talk to a Stone

I browsed through the Japanese language and literature section of the library while I was successfully avoiding doing some reading for my history classes. I finally came a cross this book. The book is a compilation of poetry gathered by Tetsuzan Shinagawa and his caligraphy. The first thing that is noticable about the book after it has been opened is that it is writen in Japanese and English. I was origionally looking for a compilation of Japanese poetry so that I could give a try at translating some, but I wasn't able to find exactly what I was looking for. However, since this book is already translated I can try and translate some of them and still be able to enjoy the poems that I would not have been able to translate.

Here are some excerpts from the book that I liked:


首 尾良く歴史のクラスの読み物を躱す間に、図書館で日本文学と日本語の部門を立ち読みしていて、結局この本を通り合わせた。　集めた品川哲山の表意文字と詩 歌の巻です。開けた後で即座に認められることは英語でも日本語でも書きました。初めは訳すようにしてみるために詩集を探していましたが、ちょうど欲しかっ たような本を見つけられなかった、けれどもすっかり翻訳してしまったから、まだ訳すようにできて、翻訳できない詩を楽しめる。

本から好きな数抜粋：


A stone, however large it may be, cannot be enought to build a tall castle.
A man, however great he may be, cannot be a hero by himself.
A tall castle can be so tall because there are foundation stones that remain unknown. A man can be such a great hero because there are many heroes that remain unknown.

Journalist & Historian Tokutomi Soho (1863-1957)

かの一片の石は大なりといえども　もっと高城を築くに足らず。
一個の人物は偉大なりといえども　もっと英雄となるに足らず。
高城をしてかくのごとく　高からしめたるものは　無名の礎石あればなり。
英雄をして彼かごとく　大ならしめたるものは　無名の英雄あればなり。

徳富蘇峰



Let all the people
Of the world
Say what they please;
I alone know what I do

Tanka by loyalist samurai Sakamoto Ryoma (1835-1867)

世のなかの人は何ともいわばいへ
我がなすことは我のみぞ知る

坂本竜馬



A maple leaf scatters
showing both sides of itself

Haiku by Ryokan (1758-1831)

裏を見せ表も見せて散るみじ

良寛



Someone else is someone else, I am I;
Whatever the case, I take the very road that I take

Tanka by Philosopher Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945)

人は人吾はわれ也
とにかくに吾行く道を我は行なり

西田幾多郎



Love recognizes neither East nor West.

Shinagawa Tetsuzan

愛無東西　　　あいに　とうざいなし
愛は　国境を越えて　生きている

品川哲山

Image not by me
私のイメージではない