Ame ni mo Makezu
Encyclopedia
Ame ni mo makezu is a famous poem written by Kenji Miyazawa
, a poet from the northern prefecture of Iwate
in Japan
who lived from 1896 to 1933. The poem was found posthumously in a small black notebook in one of the poet's trunks.
, as a transliteration
using romaji, and in translation
. While this version includes some kanji
, the poem was originally written in Katakana
(see style).
. This is stylistically odd from a modern perspective, as katakana is nowadays (usually) only used in Japanese writing
to denote foreign words
. However, at the time, katakana rather than hiragana
was the preferred syllabary
. The limited use of kanji
might be viewed as a move to make his poem more accessible to the rural folk of northern Japan with whom he spent his life, or perhaps as similar to American
poet E. E. Cummings
's style in using primarily lower case.
Kenji Miyazawa
was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature in the early Shōwa period of Japan. He was also known as a devout Buddhist, vegetarian and social activist.-Early life:...
, a poet from the northern prefecture of Iwate
Iwate
Iwate can refer to:* Iwate Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan.* Iwate, Iwate, a town in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.* Japanese cruiser Iwate, an armored cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1900 to the end of World War II....
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
who lived from 1896 to 1933. The poem was found posthumously in a small black notebook in one of the poet's trunks.
The poem
The text of the poem is given below in JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, as a transliteration
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
using romaji, and in translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
. While this version includes some kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
, the poem was originally written in Katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
(see style).
| Japanese | Phonetic | Transliteration | |
|---|---|---|---|
雨ニモマケズ 風ニモマケズ 雪ニモ夏ノ暑サニモマケヌ 丈夫ナカラダヲモチ 慾ハナク 決シテ瞋ラズ イツモシヅカニワラッテイル 一日ニ玄米四合ト 味噌ト少シノ野菜ヲタベ アラユルコトヲ ジブンヲカンジョウニ入レズニ ヨクミキキシワカリ ソシテワスレズ 野原ノ松ノ林ノ蔭ノ 小サナ萱ブキノ小屋ニイテ 東ニ病気ノ子供アレバ 行ッテ看病シテヤリ 西ニツカレタ母アレバ 行ッテソノ稲ノ束ヲ負ヒ 南ニ死ニソウナ人アレバ 行ッテコワガラナクテモイイトイイ 北ニケンカヤソショウガアレバ ツマラナイカラヤメロトイイ ヒデリノトキハナミダヲナガシ サムサノナツハオロオロアルキ ミンナニデクノボウトヨバレ ホメラレモセズ クニモサレズ ソウイウモノニ ワタシハナリタイ |
アメニモマケズ カゼニモマケズ ユキニモナツノアツサニモマケヌ ジョウブナカラダヲモチ ヨクワナク ケッシテイカラズ イツモシズカニワラッテイル イチニチニゲンマイヨンゴウト ミソトスコシノヤサイヲタベ アラユルコトヲ ジブンヲカンジョウニイレズニ ヨクミキキシワカリ ソシテワスレズ ノハラノマツノハヤシノカゲノ チイサナカヤブキノコヤニイテ ヒガシニビョウキノコドモアレバ イッテカンビョウシテヤリ ニシニツカレタハハアレバ イッテソノイネノタバヲオイ ミナミニシニソウナヒトアレバ イッテコワガラナクテモイイトイイ キタニケンカヤソショウガアレバ ツマラナイカラヤメロトイイ ヒデリノトキワナミダヲナガシ サムサノナツワオロオロアルキ ミンアニデクノボウトヨバレ ホメラレモセズ クニモサレズ ソウイウモノニ ワタシワナリタイ |
ame ni mo makezu kaze ni mo makezu yuki ni mo natsu no atsusa ni mo makenu jōbu na karada wo mochi yoku wa naku kesshite ikarazu itsu mo shizuka ni waratte iru ichi nichi ni genmai yon gō to miso to sukoshi no yasai wo tabe arayuru koto wo jibun wo kanjō ni irezu ni yoku mikiki shi wakari soshite wasurezu nohara no matsu no hayashi no kage no chiisa na kayabuki no koya ni ite higashi ni byōki no kodomo areba itte kanbyō shite yari nishi ni tsukareta haha areba itte sono ine no taba wo oi minami ni shinisō na hito areba itte kowagaranakute mo ii to ii kita ni kenka ya soshō ga areba tsumaranai kara yamero to ii hideri no toki wa namida wo nagashi samusa no natsu wa oro-oro aruki minna ni deku-no-bō to yobare homerare mo sezu ku ni mo sarezu sō iu mono ni watashi wa naritai |
not losing to the rain not losing to the wind not losing to the snow nor to summer's heat with a strong body unfettered by desire never losing temper cultivating a quiet joy every day four bowls of brown rice miso and some vegetables to eat in everything count yourself last and put others before you watching and listening, and understanding and never forgetting in the shade of the woods of the pines of the fields being in a little thatched hut if there is a sick child to the east going and nursing over them if there is a tired mother to the west going and shouldering her sheaf of rice if there is someone near death to the south going and saying there's no need to be afraid if there is a quarrel or a lawsuit to the north telling them to leave off with such waste when there's drought, shedding tears of sympathy when the summer's cold, wandering upset called a nobody by everyone without being praised without being blamed such a person I want to become |
Style
Miyazawa chose to write the poem using katakanaKatakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
. This is stylistically odd from a modern perspective, as katakana is nowadays (usually) only used in Japanese writing
Japanese writing system
The modern Japanese writing system uses three main scripts:*Kanji, adopted Chinese characters*Kana, a pair of syllabaries , consisting of:...
to denote foreign words
Gairaigo
Gairaigo is Japanese for "loan word" or "borrowed word", and indicates a transliteration into Japanese. In particular, the word usually refers to a Japanese word of foreign origin that was not borrowed from Chinese, primarily from English. Japanese also has a large number of loan words from...
. However, at the time, katakana rather than hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
was the preferred syllabary
Syllabary
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent syllables, which make up words. In a syllabary, there is no systematic similarity between the symbols which represent syllables with the same consonant or vowel...
. The limited use of kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
might be viewed as a move to make his poem more accessible to the rural folk of northern Japan with whom he spent his life, or perhaps as similar to American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet E. E. Cummings
E. E. Cummings
Edward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
's style in using primarily lower case.
External links
- Be not Defeated by the Rain, a translation by David Sulz
- Unperturbed by the Rain, a translation by Steven P. Venti
- Standing Up to the Rain, a translation from