Translation Help...

[slavia631]

Greetings old friends.  I recently acquired an antique Japanese scroll that I would very much like help translating.  However I understand that this request is not Nihonto related per-se.  I am humbly posting here to ask the mods whether this is an appropriate place to make such a request, before sharing and doing so.  If not, perhaps there is someone willing to help via private message?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

slav

[ROKUJURO]

Andrew,

if the scroll's subject is not NIHONTO relatetd, many experts here on NMB might not be able to help you as the writing, reading and meaning of the KANJI could be quite different from what we are used to here.

Did you think of hiring someone like Steve or Markus Sesko or even our Japanese friends?

[Brian]

If it is just a few words, I don't mind it being posted here, and our wonderful and helpful guys will always see if they can assist.
If it is longer or more complicated, then there are paid translation services like Markus Sesko offers and maybe a few others.

[slavia631]

Thank you Brian!  I think it should be pretty simple: Just a single line of handwritten characters.  Per your post I'll share a photo below just in case it's easy....

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[SteveM]

I can't help much with this. More blanks than words for me

一囗年囗囗囗囗

 

My guess is that this is a zen maxim or aphorism, but I can't find any that begin with ichi followed by something-year. I was guessing at 一万年 (ten-thousand years) as the opening three words with no luck. The last one is clear enough that it should be decipherable - I have yet to figure it out though. 

[slavia631]

Thank you for the help so far!

 

It seems to me the second-last character might be "jou" (常).  I have found that this is commonly seen in "mujou" (無常) meaning impermanence.  Which begs the question, could the character above it actually be just that, "mu"?

 

If we are both right, then the scroll says "Ten thousand years of impermanence" plus a word at the end.  This would make sense, as 10,000 years is a metaphor for "eternity" and impermanence is a core concept of zen/Buddhism.

 

But that still leaves the last character.  My best guess for it is 袮.  Which is a character not found very often.  Definitions I've found for it include "you", "hast", "ancestral shrine" and "embroidery".  Not sure if any of these fit.  Then again, not sure if any of this is correct...

 

Thanks again for the assistance!

[SteveM]

I can't see 無常 in there. The second to the last one has the same strong vertical line that 常 has, but I feel that is the only thing it has, and its missing too many of the other bits that a 常 should have. I think it might be 事. 無 is a word that often appears in zen phrases, so its a good guess. But 無 has a distinct style. I don't think the fourth word on your scroll shares any elements that a calligraphic 無 should have. So...it was a good enough guess to get me looking again, but in the end I think 無常 is a dead end. 

 

 

The last kanji is frustrating. Your suggestion is very close - at least the right side is close. Its the same as 你 or 弥. I actually think the radical of the kanji on your scroll is water (sanzui-hen), but I've hit a brick wall. The right side of 弥 is in itself a simplified version of 爾, but after going down all these side streets I'm convinced the one on your scroll is something probably much more common. A calligraphic form of 漂 or something. 

[slavia631]

Thank you so much for your help.  I'm going to try and reach out to an expert who may be able to help.  I'll post my findings here!

[ROKUJURO]

I am no expert at all, but I am interested to learn. Could the last KANJI be something like

   Special KANJI.doc

Please excuse my clumsy attempt!

[SteveM]

I think 源 or possibly 漂 but that doesn't bring me too much closer to the answer. 

[Brian]

I am pretty sure Morita san could nail it instantly, just need to hope he is around.

[slavia631]

For those interested, I consulted an expert translator and here is what he sees:

 

一千年色空中彌

 

Pronunciation: is sen (phonetic change from “ichi sen”) nen shiki kū chū mi (last syllable can also be read “amaneshi.”)

 

Word by word meaning: one, thousand, years, form, emptiness, in, prevailing

 

Translation: Omnipresent in form and emptiness for one thousand years.

[SteveM]

I've got it. Your translator was close, and he/she helped me get the right one. But his/hers was slightly off, and a bit too random. These things are rarely random, and they are often set phrases found in zen literature, or from Chinese poetry. In any event, the phrase ought to come up in a search. If it doesn't come up in a search, you are looking at something like a unicorn. So when I couldn't find the phrase you'd been given, it is like a itch that needs to be scratched. 

 

Anyway, the phrase on your scroll is:

 

一千年色雪中深

いっせんねんのいろはゆきのうちにふかし

 

It is from a waka poetry compilation from Heian era (the poem is from the Heian era, not necessarily the scroll). It is a seasonal poem, for the new year or mid-winter (right about now, actually). It alludes to how the pine tree continues to grow and show its green colors for a thousand years, even in the middle of the white snow of winter. It makes us think of the spring to come, the resilience of the pine, and strength and persistence. 

 

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/otsumitsu/e/9abe8afc6b22d6f1bb9674c82b59c5fb

 

I knew 彌 was too obscure. The strokes were right, but the character itself is so unusual, it would not likely be found in a saying, unless it were a very well-known saying. 色 is the kanji for "color", and a few other things, but I haven't seen it used as "form". This is one of those cases where I can believe it might take on a meaning different to one I am used to, but the whole ensemble of 色空中彌 requires too much "fuzzy thinking", and so I went back to 一千年 and worked from there. Anyway, its a nice saying, and a nice bit of calligraphy.   

[Stephen]

Bravo Steve Bravo!!

[slavia631]

Very interesting!  Thank you for the research and follow up, I hope it has been a little bit fun...

 

Is there a chance it could be a pun of sorts?  I've seen some play with dual meanings in zen literature before; along with lots of fuzzy thinking in general, ha.  I've also heard of the character for "color" used to represent the concept of "form" in translations of the Heart Sutra (which is where form/emptiness would come from).       

[Brian]

Wow Steve! :clap:
Your abilities are both persistent and remarkable. We really do owe you a huge debt for all you do here.

[slavia631]

I consulted another expert and got a corroboration:

 

The cursive font is usually very hard or next to impossible to read. Especially for a single work. However, we are lucky with this one.

This is part of a poem from "Wakan Roueishuu"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakan_r%C5%8Deish%C5%AB

和漢朗詠集：巻下　松・四二五　　源順

　　「十八公栄霜後露　一千年色雪中深」

和漢朗詠集
wakan roueishuu

The Chinese is:
一千年色雪中深

The Japanese equivalent is:

一千年の色は雪の中に深し
issennen no iro wa yuki no uchi ni fukashi

A very, very rough translation: The color of a thousand years deepens in the snow.

 

 

 

Case closed, I'd say.  Thanks again all!  See you around!