an incident
has occurred in Shanghai,
while the red flowers
of balsam
scatter on the ground
The Prism of Mokichi, 2013 (trans. by Aya Yuhki et al)
Saito Mokichi
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
一件事端
發生在上海
就在那時候
鳳仙花紅
散落在地上
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
一件事端
发生在上海
就在那时候
凤仙花红
散落在地上
Bio Sketch
Saito
Mokichi (May 14, 1882 -- February 25, 1953) was a psychiatrist and one
of the most successful practitioners of the new tanka. In 1913, he
published Shakko (Red Lights), a book that created a great
impression not only on tanka poets but also on the literary world in
general. In 1951, he received the Order of Culture.
Below is excerpted from The Prism of Mokichi, p 177:
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, from the viewpoint of tanka history, [Saito Mokichi] introduced a new horizon to the tanka world by uniting two disparate things -- such as "conflict in Shanghai and red flowers of balsam," or "hens and a knife sharpener" in one tanka,... which produced a spark from the collision.
Note: "hens and a knife sharpener" refers to the following tanka by Saito Mokichi
past the hens
bathing in the dirt
soundlessly
a knife sharpener
walks and is gone
Technically speaking, this is a good example of what American poet, Archibald MacLeish, calls a "coupling of images:"
ReplyDelete"One image is established by words which make it sensuous and vivid to the
the eyes or ears or touch-to any of the senses. Another image is put beside it.
And a meaning appears which is neither the meaning of one image nor the
meaning of the other nor even the sum of both but a consequence of both-a
consequence of both in their conjunction, in their relation to each other."
It is in the "space between'" that the poem grows. I'll further explore this technique in my forthcoming "To the Lighthouse" post.
And emotionally speaking, the two parts of the poem is linked by "scent" (understood in Basho's sense of word") and the color, red, carries symbolic significance.