短歌と英語版 Tanka in Japanese and Their English Versions: Jul. 2024
↑ 能古島アイランドパーク（福岡市）にて ↑ At Noko Island Park (Fukuoka city)
輪をはずすと土星が急に沈みだした ごめん、輪っかは浮き輪なんだね When I took away
Its rings, Saturn began sinking.
The rings were its float
次々と紙飛行機を飛ばすけれどどれも空中ですうっと消える
Successively, I fly
Paper planes, but they all fade and
Disappear in the air
フライパンでホットケーキを焼くように作るんだって 丸い掛け時計
As pancakes are,
Round wall clocks are all made
On a frying pan
カタツムリの目のようなものが鼻の先に二本生えてきてきょろきょろ動く
On the tip of my nose,
A pair of stalked eyes like a snail’s
Come out and look around
いくつかの小文字のｑを引き連れてぽよんぽよんとQが跳ねていく
Q q q q q q
A large Q goes bouncing, followed
By tottering qs
動作中に止まった人々 蝶が来て留まった人から静止が解ける
Standing frozen,
People begin to move,
Touched by a butterfly
赤いものを頭に乗せて「パトカー」ってパンダが確かに言ったんだってば！
Putting a red thing
On its head, a panda truly
Said, “a patrol car”
鼻が急にガラガラヘビになった夢にうなされる象 正夢になった！
An elephant’s nightmare
In which its trunk changed into
A rattlesnake came true
起き上がった横断歩道を敏捷にはしごのように昇って行った
It climbed the crosswalk
Which had risen upright, as if
Climbing a ladder
象たちがローラースケートしているので気をつけて、象は急に止まれない
Elephants are
Roller skating. Take care;
They cannot stop short
専用の手すりにつかまり蛙たちが二足歩行を楽しんでいる
Frogs are enjoying
Two-footed walking, holding to
Their special handrail
聴診器で診察をするハンプティー・ダンプティー 医者の卵なのだった
Humpty Dumpty, an egg
Which is a doctor, is
Stethoscoping patients
もしキャベツの根っこがジャガイモだったなら一石二鳥 いいぞキャベジャガ！
A cabbage whose roots
Are potatoes would kill
Two birds with one stone
幹も枝もうろこでびっしり覆われた樹木 触るとぶにゅぶにゅしている
A tree, whose trunk and boughs
Are all covered with scales, feels soft
Like the trunk of a snake
分身に休憩させておくだけでいくら働いても疲れない
Only by letting
My alter ego rest, I can
Work untiringly
本体から疲労が常にやってきて休む分身も実は楽じゃない
As fatigue keeps coming
From me, my alter ego
Remains tired, though resting
猫の前で何度も頬をふくらます 猫も真似してふくらますかなと
In front of a cat,
I puffed my cheeks, expecting it
To mimic it
二分半でピコピコ音がし始めて三分でぱっと老人になる
In two and a half
Minutes, beep, beep; then it changes
Into an old man*
*Some huge heroes in Japanese SFX TV programs change into an ordinary human in three minutes after their advent.
蛇腹式に足を縮ませ象たちが腹這いになって休んでいるぞ
Shortening their legs
Like bellows, the elephants are
Resting on their belly
家事をするロボットたちが買い物に来ている風景 たまに人もいる
The shop is crowded
With robots which do housework;
There are some humans, too
植木鉢に植えられているバス停や交通標識 まだやや小さめ
In the plant pots are
Bus stops and traffic signs, which are
Not large enough yet
信号が青に変わると落ち葉たちが横断歩道を渡っていった
Dried fallen leaves crossed
The pedestrian crossing, when
The traffic light turned green
ベランダを巨人がぐいと引っ張ったら引き出しのように部屋が出てきた
When the titan jerked
The verandah, rooms came out
With it like a drawer
バス停でマネキンたちが並んでいた バスが着いたら動いて乗った
Mannequins were waiting
At the bus stop. When the bus came,
They got on it, moving
私は伸び縮みする 手も足も胴体もトロンボーンのように
My limbs and trunk
Can expand and contract
Like a trombone
私の短歌を読むと首をかしげワイングラスが考え込んだ
The wineglass tilted
Its head, when it read my tanka,
Pondering upon it
電線に翼をたたんだヤカンたちが並んで留まり湯気を噴いている
Kettles were perching
On an electric wire, with their
Wings folded, steaming
人間に猿ぐつわをされフガフガと口を動かしているカスタネット
Gagged, the castanets
Were unable to clack, though moving
Its mouth desperately
旅をする紙飛行機と紙風船 雨だと一緒に雨宿りする
A paper balloon and
A paper plane shelter from rain
Together on their trip
ロボットが半数くらい乗っている満員電車 ロボットは硬い
On a packed train, half of
The passengers were robots, which
Were all painfully hard
トランプにカルタが愚痴る オレたちはバシン、バシンといつもたたかれて
Karuta cards
Complain to trump cards, “we are
Always slapped hard”*
*In Karuta, a Japanese traditional card game, the players vie in speed to find a card whose “waka” (tanka) or letter written on them matches the one read. Cards are laid on the floor, and players slap the card as soon as they find it, so the cards have the reason to complain that they are always slapped hard.
文字たちが隠れん坊する 隠れたままそこで眠ってしまったZ
Letters played hide-and-seek.
Z fell asleep while it was
Hiding, and snored, “zzzzz, zzzzz”
仰向けの亀を蛙が立ち上がってよいしょよいしょとひっくり返す
Standing up, a frog
Turns over a tortoise
Which is on its back
水面の丸い波紋のようなものが天井や壁に生じては消える
On the ceiling and
The walls, ripples fans out
And disappear
カタツムリがトランペットの開口部の奥へ向かった 殻がつかえた
Heading for the depth
Of a trumpet, a snail was stopped,
Its shell being caught
ゆっくりと形を変えて踊っている遠くの銀河 早送りで見る
A distant galaxy
Is dancing, but too slowly. We
Watch it on fast-forward
ホームにいて待っている人も列車が来て降りてくる人もみな半透明
People on the platform
And people getting off trains are
All translucent
もう少し先かと思っていたけれど もっと先だとよかったけれど
I have been thinking
The time for it is not now. I
Wish it were much later
背が高くてひょろひょろとした人ばかり今日は歩いてる みんな背が伸びた？
All the walkers are
Tall and lanky today. Have
People all got taller?
砂時計をひっくり返すと落ちながら砂が空中で消えてしまった
When I turned the hourglass,
Sand vanished while falling. Shortly
All the sand vanished
もう一度ひっくり返すとくびれから砂が現れ下にたまった
When I turned the hourglass
Again, sand, appearing at the neck,
Fell and piled up
松明を掲げて走っていたのだがソフトクリームになったので食べた
I was holding a torch
Aloft, but as it changed into
Soft ice cream, I ate it
並べられたワイングラスがぶつからずにそろって首を回す運動
Without hitting each
Other, wineglasses are rolling
Their neck, sychronised
電柱の登頂を果たしカタツムリが天辺からの眺めを楽しむ
The snail reached the summit
Of a utility pole, and
Enjoyed the view
水平に切ると断面がハート形になる電柱が大人気だって？
Utility poles
Whose cross section is heart-shaped
Are very popular
雪だるまの頭と胴が別々に生きることにした 今も仲はいい
The head and the trunk of
A snowman have separated
Amicably
Kチーム、Rチームが走り回り小文字のoを蹴ってサッカー
Ks and Rs are
Playing soccer, kicking
A small letter, o
糸電話の糸が通訳してくれてどんな言葉の人とも話せる
As the string of a string
Telephone interprets, we can
Talk with any aliens
その棒の得意の芸はJ字形に身体を曲げて「J」と叫ぶこと
The stick bends one of
Its ends, shrieking “J.” That’s the trick
It too often performs
サツマイモがモグラになってトンネルを自力で掘って旅立っていった
A sweet potato
Changed into a mole and left,
Tunneling through the soil
注ぎ口で相づちを打って愚痴を聞いてくれるヤカンよ いつもありがとう
Thank you, my dear kettle.
Nodding assent with your spout, you
Listen to my complaints
スポーツジム発電 人が様々な器具で運動しせっせと発電
People go to a gym
To produce electricity
By moving machines
正確な時計を脳に埋め込まれ人は時計を持たなくなった
Having a precise clock
Implanted in their brain, humans
No longer wear watches
耳のある梨に名前がつけられた「耳梨芳一」 耳ある芳一
The pear which has ears is
Named “Ear Pear,” which sounds “Earless”
In Japanese*
*In Japanese, “a pear” is “nashi,” which is the same sound as “without,” so “Ear Pear” sounds “without ears,” or “earless.” There is a Japanese folklore “Earless Hoichi” made famous by Lafcadio Hearn. “Ear Pear Hoichi” can be a pun to “Earless Hoichi,” though “Ear Pear” has ears.
「馬鹿ウサギ」と心の中でつぶやいたらウサギが耳をピクッと立てた
The moment I muttered
“You, silly hare” in my heart,
The hare pricked up its ear
私が何か言おうとする度にオウムが一瞬先にそれを言う
Whenever I want
To say something, the parrot
Anticipates it
ヒマワリの花びらたちがウェーヴのように順番に反り返りもどる
The sunflower’s petals
Bend backward and come back in turn
Like a Mexican wave
海の中を大きな魚が泳ぐようにピアノがゆっくり空を飛んでいく
Like a large fish
In the sea, a piano is
Flying leisurely
並木道の真ん中を歩く私に両側の木々が深くお辞儀する
Trees on both sides bow
Deeply to me, as I walk
In the tree-lined street
椅子に座るマネキンたちで満席のレストラン 店の人もマネキン
The restaurant is full;
The guests on the seats and the staff
Are all mannequins
鉄塔に巨大朝顔が巻きついて大きな花を毎朝咲かせる
A huge morning glory
Has wound round the steel tower and
Blooms every morning
雪のように目覚まし時計が降ってきて分厚く積もる 全部鳴ったまま
Alarm clocks fall like snow
And cover the ground thick,
All still ringing
「このリュックを背負ってるだけで飛びたいとき自由に空を飛び回れます」
“You have only to
Shoulder this rucksack, when
You want to fly”
「ここで顔をはずしていって下さい」と靴箱ならぬ顔箱がある
“Take off your face here,”
The sign says, and there’s a face box
Like a shoe box
達人がものすごいことをやってしまう「達人事件」野次馬殺到
An adept does a feat,
Attracting mobs, which is called
“A case of an adept”*
* “An adept,” of “a master” is “tatsujin” in Japanese, and it sounds like “satsujin,” a murder.
掛け時計の文字盤のような顔をして日が昇ってきて「日時計」と言う
Rising with a face
Like that of a wall clock, the sun says,
“A sun dial”*
*In Japanese, “a sun dial” is “hi-dokei,” which is literally “a sun-clock,” which makes one imagine the sun with a clock-like face.
掛け時計がすとんと落ちたがバウンドし以前と同じ位置に掛かった
A wall clock dropped
To the floor, but bounced back
And hung as before
その酒場は朝に開店し一晩の仕事を終えた星座が集う
The bar opens at dawn
And constellations come to it
After a night’s labour
足もとに地面がちゃんとあるように宙をすたすた歩く人や猫
People and cants are
Walking in the air, as if
On the solid ground
宙を泳ぐエイが頭上へやってきて強い日差しから守ってくれた
A ray came, flying
In the air, and protected me
From the strong sunshine
「食パン」とわざわざ言うのは食べるためじゃないパンがまるであるかのようだよ
To say “bread for eating”
Is as if there were bread for
Other than eating*
*It may sound very strange, but in Japanese, a loaf of bread is ordinary called “syoku-pan,” “bread for eating.”
「食パン」はがぶっと人に噛みついて食べる「人食いパン」だったりして
“Eat bread” may be bread which
Eats, instead of bread for eating.
It may eat humans*
*In Japanese, a loaf of bread is called “syoku-pan,” which is literally “eat bread,” “shoku” meaning “eat” and “pan” meaning “bread.” “Syoku-pan” can mean “bread which eats,” besides “bread for eating.”
たくさんの靴が私についてくる 私が走ると靴たちも走る
A drove of shoes are
Following me. When I dash,
They also dash, at once
鉢植えの人々 土に足首から下が埋まってる みんな穏やか
Potted humans, standing
With their feet under the ground.
They all look very calm
完全に同じ動きを同時にするシンクロナイズド猫のみなさん
Synchronized cats:
They all move in the same way
And at the same time
人間の言葉はだいたい分かりますが分からにゃい振りをしておりますにゃ
I can understand
Almost all what humans talk, but
Only mew to humans
顔つきは全く善良そうなのに腹のあたりが黒い雪だるま
The face of the snowman
Looks quite benevolent, but
Its stomach is black*
*In Japanese, “evil-minded,” or “malicious” is “hara-guroi,” lieterally “have a black stomack.”
動物の形に剪定された木々が吠えたり激しくもがいたりする
Topiary trees
Are roaring and writhing,
Fixed to their places
コンクリート打ちっぱなしのかっこいい電柱です、と自分で言ってる
“I am a stylish
Utility pole, with exposed
Concrete finishing”
電線の端から端まで一歩ずつ移動していく「綱渡り鳥」
On a telegraph
Wire, a bird is doing
Tight rope walking
人々の頭に球が乗っている 機嫌がいいほど球は大きい
A sphere on each person’s
Head: it gets larger when she or
He is in good humour
たくさんのポヨンポヨンが跳ねている 楽しそうなので加わって跳ねる
Poyon-poyons were
Bouncing so happily that
I joined them in bouncing*
*“Poyon-poyon” in Japanese is an onomatopoeia which expresses how an elastic thing is bouncing.
「ピラミッド」と声を掛けるとピラミッドの形に砂が積もる砂時計
Call to an hourglass
“Pyramid,” and sand piles up
In the pyramid-shape
「とけい」という呼び名が好きで複合語で「どけい」になるのがいやな時計たち
Clocks and watches like
“Tokei” but dislike its change
Into “dokei”*
*In Japanese, clocks and watches are “tokei,” but in compound words it changes into “dokei.” Clocks and watches seem to dislike “dokei.”
その靴をはいて歩くと足跡がしばらくの間青白く光る
When you walk at night
In the shoes, they leave footprints which
Phosphoresce for a while
カタツムリの殻に小さなカタツムリが乗っててさらにその殻の上に・・・
On the shell of a snail
Is a smaller snail, on whose shell
Is a still smaller snail
何十もの紙飛行機がやってきて私のまわりをぐるぐると飛ぶ
Dozens of paper planes
Have come, flying, and are now
Whirling round me
小蟹が来て注文を取るレストラン 大きな蟹が厨房で料理
At the crab restaurant,
Small crabs take orders and
Large crabs do cooking
やわらかなお椀を伏せて手のひらで包んでそっと揺らしたりする
Covering with my palm
A soft inverted bowl,
I shake it gently
目に見えない人が忍び寄り私の額を指ではじいて逃げる
An invisible
Person flicks my forehead
And dashes away
重ねられていた皿たちが飛び立って一列になりくねくねと飛ぶ
Piled up plates fly off
In a line, which twists like
A snake in the air
胃にもたれる食べ物がいたり胃の壁で壁ドンをする食べ物がいたり
Some foods lean against
The wall of the stomach and others
Slam their hand into it*
*Japanese has an idiom “i-ni-motareru” which literally means “lean against the stomach.” It is used when some food sits heavy on the stomach. There is also an idiom “kabe-don,” which means slamming one’s hand into the wall in front of someone. The idiom is popular among young people.
ペンギンが歩いていたら人間に知らないうちになっててとまどう
While walking, a penguin
Changed into a human, without
knowing, and was perplexed
人間が歩いていたらペンギンに知らないうちになっててとまどう
While walking, a human
Changed into a penguin, without
Knowing, and was perplexed
地球儀を西へ回したら過去になった 七周回すと一週間前
When I turn the globe to
The west seven times, we return
To a week ago
掛け時計が一日に二度回転する 短針は常に上を向いたまま
The wall clock turns twice
A day, with its hour hand always
Pointing upward
Pは前へ倒れやすいけど倒れてもぽよんと弾んでまた元にもどる
Ps are liable
To fall forward, but each time,
They promptly bounce back
その大きな鳥がばさばさ飛び立つとき近くにいると吹き飛ばされる
When the huge bird flaps
Into the sky, you’ll be blown off,
If you are near it
自転車のサドルが亀になっていて「座らないで」と言うように見る
The bicycle saddle
Has changed into a tortoise, which
Looks at me dolefully
黄緑の雲は蛙の群だった みんなすいすい平泳ぎして
The greenish-yellow cloud
Was a swarm of frogs, each of which
Were breaststroking
人類が一人残らずセミになり間もなく死んだ 卵は残した
Humans all changed
Into cicadas and died
Presently, but left eggs
Vは足を伸ばしてYに、Yは足をたたんでVに、ちょっとなってみた
Stretching its leg, V
Changed into Y, and Y, folding
Its leg, into V
多様性がなくなり全ての植物がキャベツになった どこまでもキャベツ
With diversity lost,
Cabbages have become
The only plant
飛んできた鑓が刺さって太陽が即死 毎日夜だし寒い
A stray spear pierced the sun,
Killing it outright, so it is
Always night and cold
手で持つのにいい大きさに改良されみんなが持っている「手持ちブサタ」
Made compact enough
For a hand to hold, busatas
Are held by everyone*
*Japanese has an idiom, “temochi-busata,” which means “have time to kill.” One can put a false construction on the idiom and say that it means “a busata which is for a hand to hold,” pretending as if there were some article called “busata.”
高い空を紙飛行機が飛び交っているけど地上からは見えない
Though we cannot see them
From the ground, many paper planes
Are flitting in the sky
レストランは誰もいないのに箸、フォーク、ナイフは動き料理も消える
Though no guests are
In the restaurant, forks are
Moving, foods vanishing
逆立ちして指でとことこ走ってくる巨大手のひらに追いかけられる
I am being chased
By a huge palm, which runs
On tis fingers
水しぶきが上がって一瞬虹が見えた 湖に石が空から落ちて
A stone fell from the sky
Into the lake, in whose spray
A rainbow appeared
太陽が沈むと一部の人々は空を自在に飛べるようになる
After sunset,
Some people are enabled
To fly around
