More of Basho

As a brief introduction to the following translation of one of Basho's famous poems "Akebono ya.", I would like to make it clear that it is a transcreation and there is no intention from my part in dealing with language in a conventional way of grasping meaning. Without losing the freedom to play with the words, the translation is focused on the original poem's sound and overall meaning. As a result I created a poem using super-position of images, which I hope can give us another interpretation for Basho's "Akebono ya."


Poem in Japanese (transliterated):

akebono ja
shirauo shiroki
koto issun

Matsuo Basho


Translation:

wake-bone rise

snow-white achovy

one pale inch

Karinna A. Gulias