English Original
in this world
love has no color --
yet how deeply
my body
is stained by yours
The Ink Dark Moon, 1990
Izumi Shikibu
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
在這個世上
愛情是沒有顏色 --
然而我的身體
卻被你的愛
深深地染紅
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
在这个世上
爱情是没有颜色 --
然而我的身体
却被你的爱
深深地染红
Bio Sketch
A renowned poet and diarist from the 10th-11th century, Izumi Shikibu married twice and was the lover of both Prince Tametaka and Prince Atsumichi, Tametaka’s brother. Her poems and correspondence, part of a tradition of court love poetry, frequently combine erotic and romantic longing with Buddhist contemplation.
In this tanka, Izumi Shikibu demonstrates a masterful use of the “tanka twist,” pivoting from a broad philosophical claim to an intimate, embodied realization.
ReplyDeleteLs 1&2, “in this world / love has no color,” present a familiar, almost axiomatic idea of love as universal and abstract, something beyond physical qualities; however, this expectation is immediately unsettled by the turn in L3. The tanka shifts from abstraction to corporeality in Ls 3-5: “yet how deeply / my body / is stained by yours.” The verb “stained” is especially striking. It introduces a sense of permanence and physicality that contradicts the supposed “colorlessness” of love. What was initially framed as pure and intangible becomes something that marks, alters, and lingers on the body.
The movement from the generalized “love” to the specific “my body” gives the tanka its emotional force. “Stained” also carries layered connotations—intimacy, passion, and even a hint of transgression—suggesting that love is not merely an abstract ideal but an experience that leaves tangible, and perhaps irreversible, traces. In this way, the tanka doesn’t simply describe love; it reveals its paradox: though said to be without color, it nevertheless leaves the deepest impressions.