Tanka Translation 91: Yoshimi Kondo

91  Yoshimi Kondo（近藤芳美）

たちまちに君の姿を霧とざし或る楽章をわれは思ひき

tachimachini kimi no sugata o kiri tozashi aru gakushô o ware wa omoiki

fog closing swiftly

your silhouette

I imagine a movement

in the music

 

森くらくからまる網を逃れのがれひとつまぼろしの吾の黒豹

mori kuraku karamaru ami o nogare nogare hitotsu maboroshi no ware no kurohyô

a forest escaping and escaping

from a dark twined net

one phantom black panther

of mine

 

収容所長ヘスをして償わしむる絞首台屍体焼却所と地平昏れぬま

shûyôjochô hesu o shite tsugunawashimuru kôshudai shitai-shôkyakujo to chihei kurenu ma

atoned by Rudolf Hess

slow dusk

to gallows and crematorium

and a horizon

from “Gendai Tanka No Kansho 101” (Appreciation of Contemporary Tanka 101) edited by Ken Kodaka, Shinshokan, 1999, Tokyo, Japan

Tanka Translation 90: Hohdai Yamazaki

90  Hohdai Yamazaki（山崎方代）

宿無しの吾の眼玉に落ちて来てどきりと赤い一ひらの落葉

yadonashi no ware no medama ni ochitekite dokirito akai hitohira no ochiba

                                to  the eye of myself

                                who doesn’t have home

                                one falling leaf

                                in shocking red

 

ねむれない冬の畳にしみじみとおのれの影を動かしてみる

nemurenai fuyu no tatami ni chimijimito onore no kage o ugokashite miru

insomnia

on the winter tatami me

steadily,  I try to move

my own shadow

                               

寂しくてひとり笑えば卓袱台（ちゃぶだい）の上の茶碗が笑い出したり

sabishikute hitori waeaeba chabudai no ue no chawan ga waraidashitari

 so lonely

I laugh at myself

 a teacup on the small round table

 starts to laugh                  

 

from “Gendai Tanka No Kansho 101” (Appreciation of Contemporary Tanka 101) edited by Ken Kodaka, Shinshokan, 1999, Tokyo, Japan

Tanka Translation 89: Katsumi Kato

89  Katsumi Kato（加藤克己）

濁流に杭一本が晩秋のあらき光をうけとめてゐる

dakuryû ni kui ipponn ga banshû no araki hikari o uketometeiru

                              in a muddy stream

one stake  receiving

a harsh light

of the late autumn

                                

永遠は三角耳をふるわせて光にのって走りつづける

eien wa sankaku mimi o furuwasete hikari ni note hashiritsuzukeru

                                the eternity

                                is a triangle-shape

                                quivering the ears

                                it continues to run on the light

核弾頭五万個秘めて藍色の天空に浮くわれらが地球

kakudantô gomanko himete ai’iro no tenkû ni uku warera ga chikyû

                                50,000 nuclear warheads

                                hidden inside its chest

                                our earth floats

                                in the blue sky

from “Gendai Tanka No Kansho 101” (Appreciation of Contemporary Tanka 101) edited by Ken Kodaka, Shinshokan, 1999, Tokyo, Japan

Tanka Translation 88: Kei’ichiro Okabe

88  Kei’ichiro Okabe（岡部桂一郎）

落暉いまさびしき屋根にとどまれり主よエンピツを返してください

rakki ima sabishiki yane ni todomareri shu yo enpitsu o kaeshite kudasai

                                the setting sun now

                                stays on the lonely roof

                                God, please return

                                my pencil

葡萄酒にパン浸すとき黒々とドイツの樅は直立をせり

budôshu ni pan hitasu toki kuroguroto doistu no momi wa chokuritsu o seri

                                when I dip bread in wine

                                a fir tree in Germany

                                stands straight

                                in jet black

シャガール展閑散として会場に馬の臭いの充満したり

shagaaru ten kansan toshite kaijô ni uma no nioi no jyûman shitari

                                Chagall Exhibition

                                not crowded—

                                the place filled with

                                a smell of horses

from “Gendai Tanka No Kansho 101” (Appreciation of Contemporary Tanka 101) edited by Ken Kodaka, Shinshokan, 1999, Tokyo, Japan

Tanka Translation 87: Sadaka Morioka

87  Sadaka Morioka（森岡貞香）

流弾のごとくしわれが生きゆくに撃ちあたる人間を考へてゐる

nagaredama no gotokushi ware ga ikiyuku ni uchiataru ningen o kangaete iru

                                I live like a stray bullet

                                and think about

                                people hit by me

                                as a target

 

鋪道は透明となりいてふ裸木の歩きくるときわれはとどまる

hodô wa tômei to nari ichô-hadakagi no arukikuru toki ware wa todomaru

when a  sidewalk becomes

transparent and a leafless ginkgo tree

walks toward me

I stop

 

きのふまたけふ厨の方へ行かむとし尻尾のごときを曳きてをりけり

kinô mata kyô kuriya no kata e yukan to shi shippo no gotoki o hikite orikeri

                                yesterday, like today

                                I waked to the kitchen

                                dragging something

                                like a tail

 

from “Gendai Tanka No Kansho 101” (Appreciation of Contemporary Tanka 101) edited by Ken Kodaka, Shinshokan, 1999, Tokyo, Japan