Translation of Japanese quote in novel ''Omon Ra''

[ALauris]

Hello Everyone,

I am doing some research on Russian author Victor Pelevin's novel Omon Ra.

In the passage I am interested in, a Japanese character says a phrase that the other characters translate as being nonsense. Since Pelevin is an author that incorporates a lot of hidden meanings in his novels, I would like a translation of the phrase to see if there is more to it. I couldn't translate it with any online dictionaries or translation programs, but I thought that the Japanese language, in our alphabet, could be written many different ways, which might explain why.

Here is the sentence. It is divided into two fragments in the book:

Ioi o tenki ni narimasita ne, (...) Hana va sakuragi, hito va fudzivara.

If anyone could translate it or tell me if it really it nonsense, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Audrey

 

[Toritoribe]

The sentences would be written as "Yoi o tenki ni narimashita ne" and "Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa Fujiwara" in common romaji. The meaning is "It's cleared up/We're having good weather", "The best flower is cherry blossoms, the best man/clan is Fujiwara(= a Japanese surname)", respectively. (Incidentally, the second one is a parody of a popular verse "Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi(= The best flower is cherry blossoms, the best men are samurai )" composed by Ikkyu.)

Out of curiosity, the title "Omon Ra" has a meaning in Russian or any other languages used in the novel?

 

[ALauris]

Thank you so much! This helps a lot!

The title Omon Ra is a reference to the main character in the novel. His first name is Omon (after OMON: Soviet and Russian special police forces, pronounced "Amon"). Ra is the name Omon chose as his code name as a cosmonaut. He chose the name of the Egyptian sun God, because he is represented with a falcon's head and pilots and cosmonauts are often called falcons.

It is very interesting information you gave me. I will research Ikkyu.

Regards,
Audrey