Translate some handwritten kanji i got as a gift please?
- Thread starter kibishi
- Start date
undrentide
Japa'n vagyok
- 18 Jan 2006
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- 310
First of all, it is not in the right direction... it should be rotated 90 degree (clockwise). 
It is written from top to down, and from right to left.
The text is the first part of 竹取物語（taketori monogatari/The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) which is supposed to have been written in the 10th century. Like Canterbury Tales are very different from the present English, Japanese language at that time is very different from the modern Japanese.
今は昔、竹取の翁といふ者
ありけり
野山にまじりて、竹を
とりつゝよろずのことに
使ひけり
名をばさかきの造となむ
言ひける
その竹の中にもと光る竹
なむ一筋ありける
あやしがりて寄りて
見るに、筒の中光たり
それを見れば三寸ばかり
なる人いとうつくしうて
ゐたり
(rough translation)
Once upon the time, there was a person called the Old Bamboo Cutter.
He went into the fields and mountains, cutting bamboos to make them into various utensils.
His name was Sanuki no miyatsuko.
Among the bamboos he found the one which glowed at the base.
He wondered and went up to it, to see its inside was shining.
He looked into it and found a person of 3 sun (= approx. 9cm) who is very beautiful.
http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~Taiju/taketori.htm
Original text of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Japanese)
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter - Wikipedia
About the story (Wikipedia)
It is written from top to down, and from right to left.
The text is the first part of 竹取物語（taketori monogatari/The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) which is supposed to have been written in the 10th century. Like Canterbury Tales are very different from the present English, Japanese language at that time is very different from the modern Japanese.
今は昔、竹取の翁といふ者
ありけり
野山にまじりて、竹を
とりつゝよろずのことに
使ひけり
名をばさかきの造となむ
言ひける
その竹の中にもと光る竹
なむ一筋ありける
あやしがりて寄りて
見るに、筒の中光たり
それを見れば三寸ばかり
なる人いとうつくしうて
ゐたり
(rough translation)
Once upon the time, there was a person called the Old Bamboo Cutter.
He went into the fields and mountains, cutting bamboos to make them into various utensils.
His name was Sanuki no miyatsuko.
Among the bamboos he found the one which glowed at the base.
He wondered and went up to it, to see its inside was shining.
He looked into it and found a person of 3 sun (= approx. 9cm) who is very beautiful.
http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~Taiju/taketori.htm
Original text of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Japanese)
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter - Wikipedia
About the story (Wikipedia)
Attachments
- 15 Mar 2002
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JimmySeal
Tubthumper
- 5 Mar 2006
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Where did this come from? It looks like a January birth announcement or something.
- 15 Mar 2002
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More like a New Year's card, judging by the content.
undrentide
Japa'n vagyok
- 18 Jan 2006
- 3,652
- 310
窶堋?窶堙ｧ窶堋ｽ窶堙懌?堙個 aratamano
窶堙??堋ｵ窶堙 toshino
窶堙坂?堋ｶ窶堙溪?堙娯?堋ｨ窶堙ｦ窶堙ｫ窶堋ｱ窶堙鯛?堙ｰ hajimeno oyorokobi wo
窶堙?窶堋､窶堋ｵ窶堋?窶堋ｰ窶堙懌?堋ｷ moushiagemasu
It's a very polite and a little old-fashioned greeting for the New Year, which is roughly translated as "I would like to express the joy for the New Year".
窶堋?窶堙ｧ窶堋ｽ窶堙懌?堙個（ﾂ新窶ｹﾃ岩?堙個） ... this is called makura-kotoba, it's a kind of old rituals to add a certain word to a specific word, but does not always means any specific thing.
窶堙??堋ｵ窶堙娯?堙坂?堋ｶ窶堙溪?堙個（窶扼窶堙個鞘?ｰ窶堙溪?堙個） of the start of the year
窶堋ｨ窶堙ｦ窶堙ｫ窶堋ｱ窶堙鯛?堙ｰﾂ（窶堋ｨﾅ?ﾃｬ窶堙鯛?堙ｰﾂ） joy, pleasure, celebration
窶堙?窶堋､窶堋ｵ窶堋?窶堋ｰ窶堙懌?堋ｷﾂ（ﾂ申窶堋ｵﾂ湘｣窶堋ｰ窶堙懌?堋ｷﾂ） to express
窶堙??堋ｵ窶堙 toshino
窶堙坂?堋ｶ窶堙溪?堙娯?堋ｨ窶堙ｦ窶堙ｫ窶堋ｱ窶堙鯛?堙ｰ hajimeno oyorokobi wo
窶堙?窶堋､窶堋ｵ窶堋?窶堋ｰ窶堙懌?堋ｷ moushiagemasu
It's a very polite and a little old-fashioned greeting for the New Year, which is roughly translated as "I would like to express the joy for the New Year".
窶堋?窶堙ｧ窶堋ｽ窶堙懌?堙個（ﾂ新窶ｹﾃ岩?堙個） ... this is called makura-kotoba, it's a kind of old rituals to add a certain word to a specific word, but does not always means any specific thing.
窶堙??堋ｵ窶堙娯?堙坂?堋ｶ窶堙溪?堙個（窶扼窶堙個鞘?ｰ窶堙溪?堙個） of the start of the year
窶堋ｨ窶堙ｦ窶堙ｫ窶堋ｱ窶堙鯛?堙ｰﾂ（窶堋ｨﾅ?ﾃｬ窶堙鯛?堙ｰﾂ） joy, pleasure, celebration
窶堙?窶堋､窶堋ｵ窶堋?窶堋ｰ窶堙懌?堋ｷﾂ（ﾂ申窶堋ｵﾂ湘｣窶堋ｰ窶堙懌?堋ｷﾂ） to express
- 15 Mar 2002
- 16,758
- 2,298
I never would have guessed the あらたまの. Given the context, and knowing that あらた likely meant "new" (as in 改めて）, it was pretty easy to work out that it was a New Year's card.
This is actually one of the easiest to read of all the calligraphic things I've seen. It really helps once one knows that し usually gets dragged straight down with no curve at all.
This is actually one of the easiest to read of all the calligraphic things I've seen. It really helps once one knows that し usually gets dragged straight down with no curve at all.
undrentide
Japa'n vagyok
- 18 Jan 2006
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- 310
Japanese Wikipedia about 窶督最ｽﾅ has a list, maybe not a complete but might be interesting.
枕詞 - Wikipedia
枕詞 - Wikipedia
- 15 Mar 2002
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JimmySeal
Tubthumper
- 5 Mar 2006
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I guess I kept reading 窶扼窶堙個鞘?ｰ窶堙溪?堙固?ﾃｬ窶堙鯛?堙ｰﾂ申窶堋ｵﾂ湘｣窶堋ｰ窶堙懌?堋ｷ and kept hearing "Announcing the first joy of the new year" in my head, which did seem a bit of a strange thing to say, but it didn't make sense to me as a New Year's card either.
Incidentally, aside from being a 窶督最ｽﾅ? the combination 窶堋?窶堙ｧ窶堋ｽ窶堙懌?堙娯?扼 has the specific meaning ﾂ新窶扼.
Nagato
後輩
- 14 Feb 2007
- 58
- 4
Thanks, I've read it.
But my question is that some times I read hiragana-only text.
Is there any special meaning (polite, elegant, etc)?
When we use hiragana-only text, and when use kanji is better
P.S.
Error message:
"You do not have enough posts yet to add URLs to third-party websites."
So, I can't insert URLs yet, no?
JimmySeal
Tubthumper
- 5 Mar 2006
- 1,516
- 78
I believe in this case it's probably because hiragana is seen as intimate and simple, and therefore well suited for a New Year's card. Unless you're planning on designing greeting cards or writing children's books, you don't need to worry about writing things in all hiragana.
I think you need 20 posts to start posting URLs. But you can be sneaky and, for example, put a space between ht and tp, or something like that.
epigene
相変わらず不束者です
- 10 Nov 2004
- 4,354
- 179
If you see the image, you can see that is it not only written in hiragana but in calligraphic style. It is called "cursive kana calligraphy," sometimes called "onna-de (women's writing)" because women of Heian court wrote in hiragana.
It was written intentionally so as a form of art.
From: Calligraphy styles
