Midaregami

Yosano Akiko’s poetry presents an interesting challenge insofar as it is tanka, but deviates from traditionally tanka-like diction. The translator’s task when bringing Akiko into another language is, as I see it, to somehow communicate this unconventionality while retaining the essential tanka-like qualities of the poems.

Uta ni kike na
Tare no no hana ni
akaki inamu
omomuki aru kana
haru tsumi motsu ko

My translation project for Japanese 466. Be gentle, internet. Note the gorgeous bilingual typesetting.

That is all.

I posted the following reminders above my desk because I can’t seem to remember this stuff to save my life.

I do more translating and reading of Japanese text now that I ever have—ironically, though, most of it goes unpublished. I’ll be writing on Miyazawa Kenji soon, though, and to that end here’s a translation of one of his poems, “Itinerant Mirage.” It’s unquestionably a first draft; comments on the diction and flow are welcomed.

Ah, Kenji, you morose bastard, you.

He’s not saying “beetle,” he’s saying VTOL.

I’m either an idiot or a genius, but either way, I’m made for this work.

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water is hardly the most difficult anime series to translate. Does a good editing job cost that much? There are fansub scripts out there, and nobody would’ve known if you’d taken a look at them. Or you could’ve asked me—I’d keep your secret.

It’s bad enough that you’ve managed suck the vigor out of Hanson and Sanson’s wacky exchanges on love and life. You also suceeded, amazingly, in diluting Gargoyle’s pompous speeches to starved shadows of their former selves. This isn’t Mishima or Tanizaki, guys, this is pulp action. It’s not that hard.

But hey, sometimes it happens, and sometimes the editor isn’t paying attention. But could you try to avoid out-and-out mistakes? Because stuff like this is just sad:

Minion: The blast destroyed the airships Dius, Ekis, and Makina!

You don’t have to be an Arthur Waley or a Frederick Schodt to figure out that it’s one airship named “Deus Ex Machina.” And I don’t even have a major in Japanese. I’m so embarrased for you.

Love, Paul.

PS – give me a job. I work cheap.

Here’s the last part of the interview. I plan to do more translation of stuff like this in the future.

Here’s part two of the Nana 7.8 fanbook interview. There are some editorial notes this time, which are clearly marked. I actually did research for this section. For this, I petition my audience for tribute in the form of goldfish crackers. I love goldfish crackers so very very much.

Rolling out a new category here at Midaregami is part one of an interview with Ai Yazawa, creator of the stupendously amazing girls’ comic “Nana.” This is from the “7.8” fanbook published between (yes) volumes 7 and 8 of the comic. The interviewer is supposedly a character from the comic; I don’t know who it really is. Perhaps Ms. Yazawa herself. In any case, there are some interesting tidbits for fans to be found here.

I may not have mentioned Nana previously in this space, but that’s because I was too busy reading it. I have finished the first 8 volumes and am well on my way to demolishing 9. It is the tale of two girls named Nana, who live in Tokyo. One’s a flightly, girl-next-door type who loves too easily and too much, and the other is a take-no-prisoners punk rock girl on the verge of stardom.

It reminds me of Strangers in Paradise, but prettier, and Japanese.

As far as I know, it is not available in English. I have heard tell of a rare and mysterious bird known as a “scanlation,” that you may know by its Roman Alphabet-shaped plumage. I have never seen this creature, though. My decade of Japanese study serves me in its stead.

There are vague spoilers through volume 7. Parts two and three of the translation will be posted tomorrow and the next day, respectively.

Siezed by the translation demons as I was last night, I cranked through “Sunny” by The Back Horn.

Yesterday was incredibly great, by the way. More on that soon.

I think this song is about loss of childhood innocence.