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larryhammerPosting this here only because I'm rather fond of it.
The image of horsemen in period costumes cantering through a cinematic whirl of cherry petals? -- that, I find rather romantic. At least, I'm pretty sure the generic flowers are supposed to be sakura. If they aren't, they ought to be. And likewise, although koma, now an old-fashioned synonym for uma ("horse"), seems to have been at the time in the standard rather than elevated register, I still want render it as "steed."
Submitting to that romanticism is perhaps not the best translation practice. But in this one thing, at least, I can recognize my biases, however much I may fall down ignorant in others.
* KKS #90: "Even in Nara, / the capital that became / an old village, / the colors aren't changing: / the flowers are still blooming."
---L.
| Kokinshu #111. Author and topic unknown. | |
| koma namete iza mi ni yukamu furusato wa yuki to nomi koso hana wa chirurame |
Our steeds are lined up, so come now, let's go and see -- in the old village, flowers must be scattering like nothing so much as snow. |
The image of horsemen in period costumes cantering through a cinematic whirl of cherry petals? -- that, I find rather romantic. At least, I'm pretty sure the generic flowers are supposed to be sakura. If they aren't, they ought to be. And likewise, although koma, now an old-fashioned synonym for uma ("horse"), seems to have been at the time in the standard rather than elevated register, I still want render it as "steed."
Submitting to that romanticism is perhaps not the best translation practice. But in this one thing, at least, I can recognize my biases, however much I may fall down ignorant in others.
* KKS #90: "Even in Nara, / the capital that became / an old village, / the colors aren't changing: / the flowers are still blooming."
---L.