A Collection of Beautiful Translated Poems [Cafe Romanticism 3]

[Cafe Romanticism]
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Before the war, the three great collections of translated poetry were considered to be "Kaichoon" (Bin Ueda), "Sangoshu" (Kafū Nagai), and "Gekka no Ichigun" (Daigaku Horiguchi), and I made sure to collect their first editions first.

However, they are a bit too large and heavy to carry on a stroll in the pleasant spring sun or on a wandering journey, so I would prefer a slightly smaller poetry collection if possible.

The best small-sized translated poetry collections are the selections of Western masterpieces published by Ars in the Taisho era, featuring high-toned literary-style rhythmic translations by the leading poets of the time. The binding, handled by Koshiro Onchi, is also finished with great elegance.

The series of translated poetry collections in the photo are beautiful, cloth-bound books with gilt edges that are even smaller than paperback books, and it is a bibliophile's dream to collect all five volumes.

I managed to collect four volumes—Blake, Symons, Samain, and Verlaine—in a short period, but the last one remaining, "English Mystical Poetry" translated by Kōnosuke Hinatsu, could not be found for many years, and even when it occasionally appeared, it was too expensive, so I was finally lucky enough to acquire it within my budget the other day.

Ars was run by the younger brother of Hakushu Kitahara and published many poetry-related books with luxurious bindings that seemed to disregard profitability. These beautiful books have now become popular items that bibliophiles and book hunters compete to collect.

The contemporary Shincho-sha paperback-sized poetry series also has cloth bindings and is reasonably priced, so I can recommend it.

On the other hand, modern translated poetry books have become nothing but cheap paperback editions with colloquial prose translations for the masses, and I don't think it's possible to create luxury translated poetry collections of this level anymore.

Among these, the "Blake Selection" by the founder of the English Romantic school is my favorite, and I would like all book lovers to experience the bliss of putting such a lovable book in their pocket and going for a walk through the changing seasons. You will surely realize that your own life is not something to be thrown away.

This passage about the spring mountains and rivers at the beginning is exactly the scene of my own valley, which is just now beginning to sprout and bustle before my eyes.

The BGM for such a spring stroll is Elgar's "Romance." In Japan, Elgar is heard almost exclusively for "Pomp and Circumstance," but there are many masterpieces among his small string pieces. The "Romance" introduced here is a violin piece with accompaniment, Opus 1.

The performance is by Ulf Wallin (violin) and Roland Pöntinen (piano accompaniment), and it is the latest sound source using Dolby Atmos for spatial audio. The soloist has a name like a comic book hero, but his performance is truly lyrical and aesthetic, suitable for a stroll on a pleasant spring day.

String chamber music for violin and cello is particularly compatible with this Dolby Atmos, allowing one to fully enjoy the beauty of the instrument's tone and the singer's heart of the performer. If you listen to such a great performance of Romantic music while opening a small book of translated poetry during a short break in your walk, you will be able to find the small world that poets of the past cherished.

The three great translated poetry collections mentioned earlier are exceptionally elegant translations, but Sojo Yasushi and Kōnosuke Hinatsu were among those who were active in translated poetry a little later than those three.

Among them, Yasushi Sojo's "White Peacock" is a beautiful collection of translated poems, and this title was later inherited as the name of a magazine launched by a group of translated poets.

If someone says that if there is no dignified rhythmic translation in a book of Western poetry, one should just read it in the original language, they are correct; however, for example, in England, a first edition of a poetry book from 100 years ago is usually priced at more than ten times that of a Japanese poetry collection from the same era, so it is something that someone like me simply cannot afford.

Conversely, Japanese antiquarian books are abnormally cheap compared to their cultural value. Since the collapse of the bubble economy, old books, along with antique art objects, have been stuck at rock-bottom prices, but in recent years, novels by Ken'yusha members like Kyoka Izumi and Shunyo Yanagawa have soared in price, partly due to the popularity of their woodblock print frontispieces. Well, the genre of poetry I prefer has not become that expensive, but I cannot let my guard down.

From the end of the Meiji era to the early Showa era, it was the translated poetry of British Romantics like Keats, Yeats, and Rossetti that had a great influence on our country's poets, but after the dissolution of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1923, it seems that there were no good translators of English poetry compared to French poetry.

Furthermore, from the publisher's perspective, it was perhaps unavoidable, as literary rhythmic styles would likely not be well understood by the general public.

For that reason, small books from around the Taisho era with elegant rhythms and lovely bindings are the best choice for the translated poetry collections I should love to read.

[Cafe Romanticism]
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