@article{oai:jissen.repo.nii.ac.jp:00002155,
 author = {村上, まどか},
 issue = {6},
 journal = {実践女子大学下田歌子記念女性総合研究所年報, The Annual Bulletin of the Shimoda Utako Research Institute for Woman},
 month = {Mar},
 note = {"In this article, I analyze the process of translation of traditional Japanese tanka poems composed by Shimoda Utako (1854-1936). They are her five famous works, namely ‘New Year’s Day,’ ‘Evening Rain,’‘Ayanishiki [glorious kimono],’ ‘Spring Moon,’ and ‘Way of Philosophy’ in chronological order.

Before dealing with Utako’s poems, I discuss in Section 2 how tanka, consisting of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables or morae in Japanese, should be formulated into English verse. There are two points to consider: how many lines tanka should take and how many syllables it should sound in English. By examining relevant literature, I conclude, following MacMillan (2017; 2018), that it is appropriate to put Japanese tanka into free verse with five lines in English, discounting the number of syllables. Additionally, English tanka need not rhyme, but kakekotoba [pun] should be preserved in English whenever possible.

In Section 3, I describe the background of Utako’s five tanka, from ‘New Year’s Day’ in her childhood to ‘Way of Philosophy’ in the twilight of her life, by referring to her personal history as a poet. It is wellknown that in 1892, as soon as starting to work for the Meiji Court, her poetry was so highly praised that she was endowed with the name Utako [poetry-girl] by the Empress. Her colleague and best friend, Saisho Atsuko (1825-1900), was also very important in her life of poetry, with each influencing the other on their creativity.

Section 4 presents my English translations of those five tanka, while discussing the process towards the final versions. One of them, ‘Spring Moon,’ as in Tamakura wa Hana no fubuki ni Uzumorete Utatane samushi Haru no yo no tsuki, is translated as follows:

In the moonlight of spring
I found myself slumbering
With my head upon my arm,
Cold as cherry petals are snowflakes
Fluttering down over me.

Summing up, as illustrated in ‘Evening Rain’ and ‘Spring Moon,’ Utako often admired scenic beauty in her poetry. On the other hand, she expressed her strong willpower throughout her life, as seen in such poems as ‘Ayanishiki’ and ‘Way of Philosophy.’ I hope I have conveyed in my translations how impressive her tanka are and how distinguished a poet she was as well as an educator."},
 pages = {1--18},
 title = {下田歌子の短歌を英訳する試み},
 year = {2020}
}