Random Kotowaza #1
若い時に流さなかった汗は、年をとってから涙になる。
What you don't sweat out when young turns to tears with years.
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May
31
Yakozen: Juujika
This one has a unique wordplay. The Japanese for "Cross" and "Is it Ten O'Clock?" are nearly homophones ("Juujika" or じゅうじか; Kanji: 十字架 and 十時か). During the chorus, he transitions from the former, to a vague pronunciation (and phonetic spelling) that could be interpreted either way, and then to...
2 min read
Apr
06
Takuboku Tanka #3
花散れば
先づ人さきに白の服着て家出づる
我にてありしか
When the flowers fell,
The first to put on white clothes, and go outside
was me.
Mar
11
Takuboku Tanka #2
東海の小島の磯の白砂に
われ泣きぬれて
蟹とたはむる
On this small Pacific isle’s coast
on the rocky shore’s white sand,
I’m wet
Jan
28
Kenji Miyazawa: Not beaten by rain
Translation
Piece: Not beaten by rain
Writer: Kenji Miyazawa
Not beaten by rain,
Nor beaten by wind,
Nor beaten by
1 min read
Jan
23
Takuboku Tanka #1
はたらけど
はたらけど猶わが生活楽にならざり
ぢっと手を見る
I work
and I work,
but life gets no better;
I look fixedly at my hands.