Thoughts on Blossom-Viewing
> This selection contains the opening section of the essay.
Japanese title:
お花見雑感《おはなみざっかん》
Author:
Izumi Kyōka
泉鏡花《いずみきょうか》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
Japanese title:
お花見雑感《おはなみざっかん》
Author:
Izumi Kyōka
泉鏡花《いずみきょうか》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
> Bilingual text
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四五年というもの逗子の方へ行っていたので、お花見には御無沙汰した。
四五年《しごねん》というもの逗子《ずし》の方《ほう》へ行《い》っていたので、お花見《はなみ》には御無沙汰《ごぶさた》した。
It had been four or five long years since I had moved to Zushi, so I had been uninvolved in cherry blossom viewing for quite a while.
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全体彼地では汐風が吹くせいか木が皆小さくて稀に二三株有っても色も褪せて居るようだから、
全体《ぜんたい》彼地《あちら》では汐風《しおかぜ》が吹《ふ》くせいか木《き》が皆《みな》小《ちい》さくて稀《まれ》に二三株《にさんしゅ》有《あ》っても色《いろ》も褪《あ》せて居《い》るようだから、
Generally speaking, over there in Zushi—perhaps because the salty breeze blows in from the sea—the cherry trees are all small, and even in those rare cases where there are two or three of them together, their color looks faded;
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摘草などをこそすれついつい花を見る事は先ずすくないのである、
摘草《つみくさ》などをこそすれついつい花《はな》を見《み》る事《こと》は先《ま》ずすくないのである、
So while I did do things like picking wild herbs, it was exceedingly uncommon for me to just happen to see cherry flowers.
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と言って花時に出ても来ないし、愈々以て遠々しくは成ったものの、
と言《い》って花時《はなどき》に出《で》ても来《こ》ないし、愈々《いよいよ》以《もっ》て遠々《とおどお》しくは成《な》ったものの、
In light of this, I avoided going to viewing activities during the blossoming season, and admittedly drifted further and further away from this practice; regardless,
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何もお花見だからと言って異装なんかする事はそう別に奨励するにも及ばなければ、恐しく取緊る事もないと思う。
何《なに》もお花見《はなみ》だからと言《い》って異装《いそう》なんかする事《こと》はそう別《べつ》に奨励《しょうれい》するにも及《およ》ばなければ、恐《おそろ》しく取緊《とりしま》る事《こと》もないと思《おも》う。
I think that viewing cherry blossoms does not justify dressing up in any unusual way; there is absolutely no need to encourage it or to go to extremes to follow rigid rules in this matter.
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そうしなければ楽めないという訳もなし、普通の身装で普通の顏で、歓楽を擅にする事ができるのだから。
そうしなければ楽《たのし》めないという訳《わけ》もなし、普通《ふつう》の身装《みなり》で普通《ふつう》の顏《かお》で、歓楽《かんらく》を擅《ほしいまま》にする事《こと》ができるのだから。
There is no reason why you cannot enjoy yourself without doing so; after all, it is quite possible to go out with ordinary dress and an ordinary expression on your face while fully enjoying the experience to your heart's content.
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四五年というもの逗子の方へ行っていたので、お花見には御無沙汰した。
四五年《しごねん》というもの逗子《ずし》の方《ほう》へ行《い》っていたので、お花見《はなみ》には御無沙汰《ごぶさた》した。
It had been four or five long years since I had moved to Zushi, so I had been uninvolved in cherry blossom viewing for quite a while.
- というもの: Emphasizes the length of a certain period of time. When attached to 四五年, the resulting shade of meaning is similar to "four or five long years".
- 逗子: A resort town in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo.
- の方へ: Emphasizes the change of place and atmosphere—in this case, relative to Tokyo.
- お花見: The traditional seasonal activity of going to scenic spots in the spring to view sakura (cherry) blossoms and have a picnic under the trees. This is as much a social event as it is about appreciating the cherry flowers themselves, and the writer expresses both of these aspects in the text.
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全体彼地では汐風が吹くせいか木が皆小さくて稀に二三株有っても色も褪せて居るようだから、
全体《ぜんたい》彼地《あちら》では汐風《しおかぜ》が吹《ふ》くせいか木《き》が皆《みな》小《ちい》さくて稀《まれ》に二三株《にさんしゅ》有《あ》っても色《いろ》も褪《あ》せて居《い》るようだから、
Generally speaking, over there in Zushi—perhaps because the salty breeze blows in from the sea—the cherry trees are all small, and even in those rare cases where there are two or three of them together, their color looks faded;
- せいか: Marks an uncertain conjecture about the cause of the following statement. "Perhaps because", "maybe due to", etc.
- 株: Counter word for planted trees.
- 色も: The も indicates the addition of one more aspect with relevance to the trees: in addition to the trees being small, their color is faded. The color is that of the flowers, not of the trees themselves.
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摘草などをこそすれついつい花を見る事は先ずすくないのである、
摘草《つみくさ》などをこそすれついつい花《はな》を見《み》る事《こと》は先《ま》ずすくないのである、
So while I did do things like picking wild herbs, it was exceedingly uncommon for me to just happen to see cherry flowers.
- 摘草: Picking wild herbs. This too is a traditional seasonal activity associated with the spring.
- をこそすれ: This grammatical construction comes from the older, literary Japanese language. It is an expression of concession and contrast: XをこそすれY means "While X is something [I] indeed do, Y is not". すれ is the verb する, which changes its form due to the presence of the particle こそ according to the grammatical rules of literary Japanese.
- ついつい: Inadvertently. To just happen to do something.
- 花: Cherry blossoms. The word 花 on its own is strongly associated with these specific flowers, and it is often understood to refer to them in certain contexts.
- 先ず: When used with negative statements (whether in form or in substance, as in this case), this adverb indicates the practical non-existence of something, i.e., there is extremely little of it.
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と言って花時に出ても来ないし、愈々以て遠々しくは成ったものの、
と言《い》って花時《はなどき》に出《で》ても来《こ》ないし、愈々《いよいよ》以《もっ》て遠々《とおどお》しくは成《な》ったものの、
In light of this, I avoided going to viewing activities during the blossoming season, and admittedly drifted further and further away from this practice; regardless,
- と言って: Marks the content of the writer's thoughts and feelings.
- 出ても来ない: The verb 出て来る in negative conjugation and with も inserted.
- 以て: Intensifies the meaning of the word that precedes it (愈々).
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何もお花見だからと言って異装なんかする事はそう別に奨励するにも及ばなければ、恐しく取緊る事もないと思う。
何《なに》もお花見《はなみ》だからと言《い》って異装《いそう》なんかする事《こと》はそう別《べつ》に奨励《しょうれい》するにも及《およ》ばなければ、恐《おそろ》しく取緊《とりしま》る事《こと》もないと思《おも》う。
I think that viewing cherry blossoms does not justify dressing up in any unusual way; there is absolutely no need to encourage it or to go to extremes to follow rigid rules in this matter.
- 何も: An intensifier linked to ない. Together they mean "no [need, case, etc.] whatsoever".
- お花見だからと言って: Lit. "saying it is blossom-viewing [as a justification]".
- 異装: An unusual way of dressing. Wearing eccentric clothes. The writer refers to the common practice of dressing up lavishly (whether in good or bad taste) when going out to view cherry blossoms.
- 及ばなければ: This is not a conditional but part of a も...ば construction, which is used to indicate representative aspects of something. The expression ~に(も)及ばない means "~ is quite unnecessary", "there is no need for ~".
- 取緊る: Enforce, follow strict rules. The usual way of writing this word is 取り締まる.
▼
そうしなければ楽めないという訳もなし、普通の身装で普通の顏で、歓楽を擅にする事ができるのだから。
そうしなければ楽《たのし》めないという訳《わけ》もなし、普通《ふつう》の身装《みなり》で普通《ふつう》の顏《かお》で、歓楽《かんらく》を擅《ほしいまま》にする事《こと》ができるのだから。
There is no reason why you cannot enjoy yourself without doing so; after all, it is quite possible to go out with ordinary dress and an ordinary expression on your face while fully enjoying the experience to your heart's content.
- そうしなければ楽めない: Lit. "if not doing so, it is impossible to enjoy" ("doing so" refers to wearing unusual clothes). The first clause counters the notion that blossom-viewing is not enjoyable without dressing up for the occasion.
- なし: An older form of ない used for ending sentences. In this case it is more a pause than a clear-cut ending, and supports the following clause.
- 擅にする: To do as one pleases. To your heart's content (when used with an object, as here). The entire expression ほしいままにする is considered to be the kun reading of the character 擅, so it may also be written simply as 擅 without being followed by the hiragana part. This is one of the longest kun-yomi in Japanese.
- 歓楽を擅にする is literally "to let [your] enjoyment run free as much as you like".
> Original non-annotated text
お花見雜感
泉鏡花
四五年というもの逗子の方へ行っていたので、お花見には御無沙汰した。全體彼地《あちら》では汐風が吹くせいか木が皆小さくて稀に二三株有っても色も褪せて居るようだから、摘草などをこそすれついつい花を見る事は先ずすくないのである、と言って花時に出ても來ないし、愈々以て遠々しくは成ったものの、何もお花見だからと言って異裝なんかする事はそう別に奬勵するにも及ばなければ、恐しく取緊る事もないと思う。そうしなければ樂めないという譯もなし、普通の身裝《みなり》で普通の顏で、歡樂を擅にする事ができるのだから。
お花見雜感
泉鏡花
四五年というもの逗子の方へ行っていたので、お花見には御無沙汰した。全體彼地《あちら》では汐風が吹くせいか木が皆小さくて稀に二三株有っても色も褪せて居るようだから、摘草などをこそすれついつい花を見る事は先ずすくないのである、と言って花時に出ても來ないし、愈々以て遠々しくは成ったものの、何もお花見だからと言って異裝なんかする事はそう別に奬勵するにも及ばなければ、恐しく取緊る事もないと思う。そうしなければ樂めないという譯もなし、普通の身裝《みなり》で普通の顏で、歡樂を擅にする事ができるのだから。