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君死にたもうこと勿れ [Prithee Do Not Die]

Akiko Yosano / 与謝野 晶子
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OriginalLa versione inglese.
君死にたもうこと勿れ [PRITHEE DO NOT DIE]PRITHEE DO NOT DIE
  
君死にたまふことなかれLamenting my younger brother in combat as one
旅順口包囲軍の中にある弟を歎きてof the troops besieged at Lüshun(Port Arthur)
   与謝野晶子   Yosano Akiko
  
あゝをとうとよ君を泣くOh, younger brother mine, for thee I weep,
君死にたまふことなかれPrithee do not die,
末に生れし君なればFor you were born the very last,
親のなさけはまさりしもAnd our parents loved you all the more,
親は刃(やいば)をにぎらせてYet they made thee grasp a blade in hand,
人を殺せとをしへしやTaught thee kill a man you shall,
人を殺して死ねよとてKill a man, and die you too,
二十四までをそだてしやgroomed you thus to age twenty-four.
  
堺の街のあきびと1Master now of the proud old house,
旧家をほこるあるじにてThe merchant-house of Sakai1, our town,
親の名を継ぐ君なればYou must now carry on our name,
君死にたまふことなかれSo I prithee, do not die,
旅順2の城はほろぶともThough Lüshun's2 fortress should perish,
ほろびずとても何事かShould it be saved, what of that?
君知るべきやあきびとのThou ought know, it nowhere commands
家のおきてに無かりけりOn the familial codes3 of our merchant house.
  
君死にたまふことなかれI prithee do not die,
すめらみこと3は戦ひにThe Heavenly-Prince does not himself
おほみづからは出でまさねLead by his own august presence his troop to battle.
かたみ4に人の血を流しFor to command that men shed blood of men,
獣の道に死ねよとはAnd die following the beastly path4,
死ぬるを人のほまれとはAnd tell us death be the glory of men,
大みこゝろ5の深ければIf his Highness' heart be compassionate,
もとよりいかで思(おぼ)されむHow could he truly think it so?
  
あゝをとうとよ戦ひにOh young brother mine in battle,
君死にたまふことなかれI prithee you mustn't die.
すぎにし秋を父ぎみにOur mother who has lagged behind father
おくれたまへる母ぎみはIn the passing of the autumn years of life,
なげきの中にいたましくIt sores me to watch her lament,
わが子を召され家を守(も)りDeprived of son to guard the home,
安しと聞ける大御代もAnd though she hears our Highness hale and safe,
母のしら髪はまさりぬるOur mother's gray hair grows.
  
暖簾(のれん)のかげに伏して泣くStooping in the shade of the noren5 she weeps,
あえかに6わかき新妻をThe frail young wife of yours,
君わするるや思へるやOr have you forgotten? Or do you think of her?
十月(とつき)も添はでわかれたるThink on her maidenly feeling,
少女(おとめ)ごころを思ひみよTogether ere ten months, then parted,
この世ひとりの君ならでAnd there's none another the likes of you,
あゝまた誰をたのむべきOh once again I ask,
君死にたまふことなかれPrithee do not die.
  
-1904年『明星』9月号に掲載
— pub. in Myōjō Sept. 1904.
Le note originali giapponesi
Japanese original notes


注釈:

1 あきびと=商人
2 旅順=遼東半島南端にある軍港。 ロシアの東洋艦隊の基地で要塞が築かれていた。
3 すめらみこと=天皇
4 かたみに=たがいに
5 大みこゝろ=天皇のこころ
6 あえかに=かよわく
Translation's Notes / Note alla traduzione

Notes:

1 Sakai is a merchant town with a rich history, which prospered by foreign trade in the age of Warring-States, and its merchants were proud and independent-minded. The famous tea ceremony master Sen-no-Rikyū (1522-1591) who committed harakiri was a Sakai merchant.

2 Lüshun (Port Arthur), pronounced "Ryojun" in Japanese, was a naval port for Russia's Eastern Fleet.

3 An "old family" often has something called kakun or lessons — do's and don'ts that are passed down generation to generation. The poetess is saying that since they are merchant family, dying to defend a castle is certainly not one of those lessons.

4 "Beastly path" is a reference to a course of conduct without morality or discipline; In Buddhism, if your conduct in this life is poor, you are said to be relegated to chikushōdō "way of beasts" in the next life.

5 Noren is the shop curtain, the drape of cloth hanging at the shop entrance. There is also such a curtain between the storefront and the back area.


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