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ORIGINALLY PRINTED in THE BEST COUPLING COLLECTION: THE WORLDS OF HAYAO
MIYAZAKI & YASUO OTSUKA, 1983 (?). TRANSLATED by Yohei Honda with Bryan
C. Wilkinson in September of 1992. POSTED to the Hayao Miyazaki
Discussion Group by Bryan C. Wilkinson on October 25, 1992.
An excerpt from "The Best Coupling Collection: The Worlds of Hayao
Miyazaki & Yasuo Otsuka", 1983 (?)
A translation by Yohei Honda with Bryan Wilkinson
Special thanks to Nina V. Twersky for use of her copy of the book and
enthusiasm.
A short (six page) graphic poem by Hayao Miyazaki
---- p.1
To Little Sister (Imoto He)
(panel #1: a small girl sits alone in a wheelchair outdoors, her attire
appears early 20th century European)
I have A little twin sister.
(panel #2: nighttime: the girl lies in bed, her brother sits at a desk
cluttered with model airplanes working on drawing plans)
I shall, when bigger, For you who cannot walk, An aeroplane construct.
(panel #3: the boy is building a plane inside a shed; the girl is just
outside the doors in her wheelchair and both are noticably older)
The garden shed is...my factory.
--
pg. 2
(panel #1: the girl is sitting next to a window thru which the boy is
discreetly passing a note)
A secret invitation: "Tomorrow...Dawn...Flight"
(panel #2: the girl is sitting up in bed with her things ready and has
just put on her hat--the boy has just opened the bedroom door. <note: on
her bed's headboard are stuffed pandas matching the Totoro animated
ancestors "Panda Kopanda">)
You, Already finished with getting dressed, Surprised me. The sun is
shining; Just right....
(panel #3: in the plane, the two take off from a city street, a
surprised bicyclist looking on)
While the world is still asleep, We take leave of it. Electric wires
endeavor to confine, As we graze the rooftops.
--
pg. 3
(panel #1: the two in the plane above a school and a large chimney in a
field, the boy is pointing)
At first, a little bit Frightened you may be, But you quickly adjust.
The school you should have attended, As well as the field with that
chimney, I shall show to you.
(panel #2: The plane in the clouds)
Higher, higher. As high up as we can go, I shall take you.
(panel #3: at sea, they fly above a great whale, easily visible in its
entirety from this height)
Greatest in the world, Even this creature You can see.
--
pg. 4
(panel #1: the plane beached on a small island)
An uninhabited coral reef. Here...you legs Will not be subjected to
laughter.
(panel #2: the two snorkeling underwater among the reef life)
Oh fish-- We too, Slightly less skilled swimmers, are fish.
(panel #3: the boy is holding the girl, standing in the water as they
watch the sunset)
Into this world, We both were born.
--
pg. 5
(panel #1: the plane in a rainstorm)
There could even be a storm, But, You would no longer be afraid.
(panel #2 <large sized>: the plane against a beautiful night sky, with a
shooting star--it looks like it is in space)
Oh yes, This space is...what I Have desired to give to you.
--
pg. 6
(panel #1: outside, the girl sits in her wheelchair--with a bundle of
roses in her arms--with a young, well-dressed gentleman. The boy is
bringing a tea-tray. Both appear older yet again.)
Then, of my fellows, The best, finest person I shall bring to you.
(panel #2: above a church, the boy in his plane throws a wreath; below,
the couple are leaving the church)
And on that day, from above the church, A wreath of flowers I shall
leave you.
(panel #3: the plane flying into the distance)
Thereafter, I shall Travel to...the ends of the earth.
--Hayao Miyazaki
------ Translator's note:
This brief little piece presented a couple of interesting challenges
when we put it in english. First was the unusual, poetic structure.
This structure made impossible to simply translate it direct, as the
english grammar would upset the word orders to much. Therefore, it was
necessary for me to take Yohei's straight translations and then compare
them with the original word order, and then see how I could twist and
stretch the english grammar to fit the original groupings. Second, the
language, not being just straight prose, was extremely streamlined,
eliminating excess detail. Again, I had to find ways to keep the english
from getting over- wordy and only express the points of the original, no
more, no less.
Another problem was the tense--there is seldom clear difference between
present and future tenses in Japanese, which created some minor
headaches with both Yohei and I in this piece with the different points
in relative time it occurs (or is promised to occur, often the case).
Lastly, there was an almost complete absence of punctuation, which
nonetheless remained suggested very heavily, due to Japanese grammar
rules. While I toyed with a similar approach in English, both Yohei and
I felt it was too awkward and failed to convey his intent. Also, I took
the liberty of substituting his use of gaps to seperate ideas within a
line with a "..." instead, which delivers the effect in english closer
to his in Japanese.
However, the two of us are quite satisfied with the end result. I feel
particularly rewarded, because I didn't notice the line about the fish
was meant as a metaphor until after I put it back into Miyazaki's word
order. Interesting to cross-compare this with other works, notably the
Model Graphix series and the Shuna story.
--Bryan Wilkinson