Shank’s Mare

[nedkelly]

Shank's Mare is a translation by Thomas Satchell of Tokaidochu Hizakurige by Jippensha Ikku (Tuttle, 1960). The book includes images of the Fifty Three Stages of Tokaido (Sanoki edition). These images include poems for each stage. The book does not include translations of these poems. Would someone know whether translations exist in any publication?

 

[Majestic]

I don't know if there exists a published English translation, but AI translation has gotten quite good. If you are just looking for a quick and dirty English version of these poems (and can live with a bit of odd, AI-generated awkwardness), you can input each poem (kyōka) to get a fairly serviceable translation. Each one of the Sanoki prints (with poems in machine-readable text) is here

歌川広重・東海道五十三次 - 佐野喜版・狂歌入東海道・狂歌東海道・狂歌入り東海道五十三次【みんなの知識 ちょっと便利帳】

歌川広重の東海道五十三次・佐野喜版・狂歌入東海道・狂歌東海道・狂歌入り東海道五十三次です。拡大して見ることができます。『浮世絵・錦絵』などを見る。『みんなの知識 ちょっと便利帳』の一部です。

www.benricho.org

 

[thomas]

I have Satchell's translation published by Tuttle. It includes the comic poems (狂歌 kyōka) as part of the narrative, often with notes, though not all.

There is no single source of translations. I asked ChatGPT:

1. Thomas Satchell (trans.), Shank's Mare (1960)
   Still, the essential full English translation. Not an article, but unavoidable. It translates many of the embedded comic verses in context and often explains puns or literary allusions. For actual poem translation, this is still the base text.
2. Haruo Shirane (ed.), Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900 (2002)
   Excellent selections from Hizakurige, with notes that help unpack parody, kyōka and allusive play. Often more useful than a straight translation because of commentary.
3. Matthew Shores, "Jippensha Ikku, Hizakurige, and Comic Storytelling" (2012)
   Probably the best English-language article directly on how humour and verbal play function in the work. Not solely about the poems, but very relevant to understanding them.
4. Lawrence E. Marceau, Behind the Scenes: Narrative and Self-Referentiality in Edo Illustrated Popular Fiction (2010)
   Useful for parody, meta-humour and self-referential techniques, including Ikku. More literary criticism than poem translation, but valuable.
5. J. McGlory, "A Translation and Analysis of Jippensha Ikku's Togakushi Ze" (2018)
   Not Hizakurige itself, but a serious example of English scholarship on translating Ikku's wordplay and comic-poetic technique. Very worth reading.
6. Donald Keene, World Within Walls (1976)
   Older, but still useful on Ikku and Edo comic literature, including poetic parody traditions behind Hizakurige.

If your specific interest is translations of every kyōka in the work, honestly, English scholarship is thin. Satchell remains the closest thing to a practical answer. If your interest is understanding the poems and allusions properly, Shores + Shirane + Marceau is the stronger route.

 

[nedkelly]

Thank you for the suggestions!