Monthly Poem and Pictograph in EL (December 2004) [My hair goes] 「初国や」 by Timothy Russell


. . . .
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.
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。

Season's Greetings! Hope you've had a good year.
This haiku made me recall the dolls (in these photos) which I made more than 20 years ago. The dolls are ancient people, whose hair works for their antenna. Around that time, I was searching ancient lifestyles to see the future world, feeling nature's voice through my hair antenna above of my brain and heart. That way sometimes works better than thinking, especially for the things you don't know well.
I accidentally found this Timothy Russell haiku in   the second page of the record of his journey to Japan: he in Toronto,  Ohio was invited to Matsuyama, Japan in 1999 as the winner of the 4th Shiki  Internet Haiku Contest.
According to his writing, this must have made in September, but I thought you might want to prepare this fresh and free feeling for the first day of next year.

はやいですね、今年も最後の月になりました。
今月は、Timothy Russellさんの俳句をごいっしょに楽しみましょう。
彼は99年の第4回子規国際俳句コンテストで優勝し、オハイオから松山に招待されたそうです。
その記録をたまたま見つけて読んでいたら 旅行記の第2ページ でこの俳句に出合いました。
この俳句は、20年以上前に私が作った人形を思い出させました。未来を想像する鍵として古代びとの暮らしをリサーチしていたとき、髪をそよがせてアンテナとし、大自然とコンタクトするこんな古代びとたちを想ったのでした。未知に踏み込むとき、心や脳ではなく、上に生える髪がアンテナとなる感覚を、考えるのに忙しい最近は、忘れていたかもしれません。まもなくやってくる新年に、この感覚を呼びもどしたくなりました。一人一人がイデオロギーや宗教を包む皮の外の髪にアンテナを開けば、民族を超えてひびき合えそうな気がしてきませんか?


Original Haike by Timothy Russell:
first day
in the country
my hair goes wherever it wants

Japanese translation:
初国や髪が欲するままに行く

EL translation:




Symbols in the pictograph:
: feeling/sense (感覚), : hair (毛), : face (顔), : leg(s) (脚)

Symbols in the translation:
{ one, symbol for abstract and systematical thing}: the first (第一番(の))
{ time, a part of 'the sun'}(as a fundamental symbol): day (not for duration) (日)
{ {in (pointing inward by the EL sign), proposition mark}: in (~のうち)
{ pronoun indicater, under}: this (この)
{ stabilized, land, unit}: nation/country (国)
{ behind, pronoun indicator} (corresponding to the EL hand-sign, pointing own chest): I, 'my' modifying the following noun in this case (わたし(の))
{ hair on the head (both are picture-like fundamental characters): hair on the head (髪)
verb symbol (動詞符), { heading, move}: 'go' with verb symbol (行く)
{ heading direction, proposition mark}: to (~へ)
{ all/every, place}: everywhere, wherever in this case with the following modification (どこも)
{{ , same} follow, proposition mark}: following to/ along (~にしたがって)
{ pronoun indicator, dot}: that/it or its (pointing the subject of the topics (その)
: a want/wants (noun in this case) (もとめ)

Translations by Yoshiko

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