Basho’s poem, Even in Kyoto
Robert Haas’s translation
I believe that Haas’s translation is far from literal since the last line simply simply names the cuckoo, but it is far and away the most beautiful translation in English. However, there are others.
Even in Kyoto
| 京 | にて | も |
|---|---|---|
| kyou | nite | mo |
Hearing the cuckoo cry
| 京 | なつかし | や |
|---|---|---|
| kyou | natsukashi | ya |
I long for Kyoto
| ほととぎす | ||
|---|---|---|
| hototogisu |
read by our daughter-in-law
some other trasnlation
- Even in Kyoto / longing for Kyoto / the cuckoo (© Jane Reichhold) (I suspect this is the most literal translation)
- Even in Kyoto, / I miss Kyoto very much / when I hear a cuckoo. (© Toshiharu Oseko)
- Even in Kyoto, / how I long for old Kyoto / when the cuckoo sings (© Sam Hamill)
- In Kyoto even / For Kyoto I yearn - / A little cuckoo. (© Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson)
A funny comment about the poem
I can’t find the name of this commentator, but these are some very enlightening comments about the poem