Haiku and the Pictograph in EL, "in my body" by Kiyomi Sato - June 2008 -


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This is an EL (Earth Language) experimental page to enjoy
the image of a haiku/short poem originally in English/Japanese.
When you can't see the Japanese parts, please don't mind and just skip those parts, or see here to view Japanese.
地球語の文字や文字絵を用いて詩的表現や翻訳を試みる実験のページです。

In this haiku, where do you think is the place to meet the summer solstice in the body?
In each body cell? Or the womb?
"The summer solstice" sounds like symbolizing the highest sun season in a woman's life.
The author seems firmly to try receiving it.
This haiku is from Kiyomi Sato's first haiku book "sora no umi/ the sea in the sky" (1998);
also the author's website has her many haiku and her blog etc. in Japanese.
She was born in 1968 in Japan.

この俳句の、夏至を迎える体内の場所とはどこでしょうか?
細胞のひとつずつ?子宮?
「夏至」は、女性にとっての人生の最も日の高いシーズンを指しているようにも聞こえます。
作者はそれをしっかりと受け止めようとしていらっしゃるのを感じました。
今月は、佐藤清美さんの第一句集『空の海』(邑書林刊 1998)からの一句です。
佐藤さんの個性的なたくさんの俳句やプロフィールその他は、
彼女のウェブサイト「水澄みて羊肥える所」でご覧になれます。


The original Japanse haiku by Kiyomi Sato:

体内に夏至を迎える場所ありぬ

The English translation:

there is a place
to meet the summer solstice
in my body


The EL translation:

The symbols in the pictograph:

: the sun, : I/my/me, : the body, : place

The symbols in the translation:

: place (場所)
{preposition-mark, heading direction}: to, for (~へ/ための)
(grammatical notation): to form a verb, meaning that the subject becomes in the condition shown by the following character/phrase; or the subject does the following action.
(主語が、この後続語の状態になるという意味で動詞を構成する動詞符)
{receive, relating, situation}: meet, welcome (迎え)
: (vt.) welcome/meet (someone following ) (迎える)
(grammatical mark): to show that the following character or phrase is an accusative case of a d-verb
(続く文字がD動詞の対象になる格であることを示す文法記号)
or (the longest daytime) = summer solstice (夏至)
*see more detail below.
: existence (存在)
: (vi.) exist, be (ある、いる)
{preposition-mark, inner direction}: in, inside of (~の中の/に)
: I/my/me ("my" in this case, modifying the following noun) (私)
(The original verse doesn't have this word, but I added as her personal discovery in her body.)
{ life, tangible thing}: the body (of a living creature) (身体)

* Ideograms about solstice and equinox:

Summer solstice (夏至): or
Winter solstice (冬至): or
Spring equinox (春分): {spring-equinox}
Autumn equinox (秋分): {autumn-equinox}

(The contents of the above ideograms)
{daytime, limitation}: solstice (太陽時間の極限点)
{ duration including (the-sun-up-time) noon}: day-time (昼間)
: up, : time, : a part of the sun; and symbolizes the sun
{{polar, limit} limitation, much}: the most (最多)
{, little}: the least (最少)
{daytime and nighttime, equal}: equinox (昼夜平分点)
{up, {nature, time} season}: spring (春)
{down, }: fall/autumn (秋)

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