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Dear Reader,

Ariwara no Narihira was a ninth century poet and Japanese courtier. He was (is?) considered a genius and was famous for more than his poetry. If we weren't so western-centric with our literary references, we'd call philandering lovers "Narihira" rather than "Don Juan."

Many of his poems, especially the love poems, have been translated through the centuries. And this example of how forty-three translators have approached a particular verse so differently is eye-opening.

Yes, every literary translator has their own preferences, given their ethno-linguistic background, literary leanings, and time period. That said, the wide-ranging meanings of this simple little verse across these forty-three translations shows just how tricky language can be. I can't say which of this has succeeded best in technical terms. We all will have our own standards too. For me, as this is a work of poetry, I want the translation to be vivid and emotional enough in the English. For example, I lean more toward the translations with the word "alone" in them because that word signifies so much in this context of a lover missing their beloved. Which translation do you prefer?

Here are some interesting links:

Over to you. If you get a chance to look through the forty-three translations of that simple little verse above, which appealed the most to you and why? Please let me know via the social media links or in reply to this newsletter. I'll share it on.

Until next week.

Warmly,

Jenny Bhatt

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