The old pond;
a frog jumps in —
the sound of the water.
Furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
Old pond!
frog jumps in
water’s sound
Now. Six more translations:
A lonely pond in age-old stillness sleeps . . .
Apart, unstirred by sound or motion . . . till
Suddenly into it a lithe frog leaps.
Translated by Curtis Hidden Page
Into the ancient pond
A frog jumps
Water’s sound!
Translated by D.T. Suzuki
The old pond;
A frog jumps in —
The sound of the water.
Translated by R.H. Blyth
An old pond —
The sound
Of a diving frog.
Translated by Kenneth Rexroth
Pond, there, still and old!
A frog has jumped from the shore.
The splash can be heard.
Translated by Eli Siegel
Old pond
and a frog-jump-in
water-sound
Translated by Harold G. Henderson
To read the other twenty-four translations, along with Robert Aitkin's commentary and analysis, go to the Bureau of Public Secrets' "Matsuo Bashô: Frog Haiku."
Darn if I can distinguish between Aitken's and R. H. Blyth's translations, except for an uppercase and a comma. Aitken did some heavy borrowing.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's a recent collaborative riff from the Japanese and Chinese translator (and friend) Jan Walls and Donna Fleischer (and the colophon for word pond):
A frog looks around
leaps into ancient waters
word pond
And, finally, my very own variation:
plop
frog swims
an omstroke
Thanks, Sarah, for keeping the song going. xx
Donna
I love your translations and interpretations, Donna!!! Thank you. I didn't realize you know Chinese. (Or work on it.) (Or whatever.)
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