Worlding Sei Shônagon: The Pillow Book in Translation

Takéshi Ishikawa (1909) French

77 Takéshi Ishikawa Le Makoura no Soshi (pp. 146–169) Étude sur la littérature impressionniste au Japon. Thèse pour le doctorat de l’Université de Paris présentée à la Faculté des Lettres Paris: A. Pedone, Editeur, 1909 Ishikawa (1883–1951) obtained a doctorate from the Sorbonne for his thesis on the zuihitsu genre, providing explanation , analysis and partial translation of Kenkô’s Tsurezuregusa and Kamo no Chômei’s Hojôki, as well as The Pillow Book. Invited to speak about Sei Shônagon before the Société Franco-japonaise de Paris shortly after the defence of his thesis, he was unfortunately called back to Japan just one week before the lecture was scheduled. That talk, titled “Une Poétesse japonaise et son œuvre” (A Japanese Poetess and Her Work”), was instead delivered in absentia by the society’s librarian and subsequently published in their Bulletin in March 1910. Ishikawa spent a total of three years in France; the cover page of his thesis identifies him as a Professor at the University of Tokyo, where he taught until 1943. In the introduction to this study of Japan’s “impressionist literature”, Ishikawa writes as follows: “Something that should be underscored is that it is almost impossible to translate Japanese texts faithfully into a European language. Takéshi Ishikawa (1909) 78 The huge difference between French and Japanese often left me discouraged” (10; my translation). Although he does consider these “Mémoires de l’oreiller” (“pillow memoirs”) to be a masterpiece of Japanese literature in general, Ishikawa cannot resist disparaging its female author. Arguing that Sei Shônagon was a woman of loose virtue and excessive pride, he states: “Her intelligence would have meant greater glory had she been more circumspect in her conduct. But she personified the universal character of woman: modest and shy when her career in the imperial palace began, she became proud as fortune favoured her. It was only natural that she would end her days in a miserable old age” (183). Ishikawa begs his reader’s indulgence for having concentrated , as a non-native speaker of French, more on simply being understood than on achieving an elegant style. He also insists on the difficulty of the Heian language for a Japanese of the modern age and the need to consult numerous commentaries : “with changes in the language, customs and institutions , even the best educated have had trouble penetrating the author’s thoughts” (183). French 79 La jeune dame d’honneur commence son livre d’impressions en décrivant les quatre saisons :« Au printemps, j’aime l’aurore, lorsque le ciel couvert de brouillards s’éclaire peu à peu et que de fins nuages violacés s’étendent flottants sur les montagnes.« En été, j’aime la nuit : sans doute, quand la lune y brille ; mais aussi lorsqu’elle est obscure et que les lucioles tantôt s’entrecroisent ça et là, tantôt, par une ou deux, voltigent en répandant une faible lueur. Et même quand il bruine, comme cette nuit me semble belle !« En automne, j’aime le soir, lorsque, le soleil couchant lançant ses brillants rayons, les crêtes des montagnes semblent moins lointaines et que les corbeaux qui s’en vont vers leurs nids s’envolent par trois, par quatre et par deux. Quoi de plus gracieux que de voir les bandes d’oies sauvages apparaissant toutes petites dans le ciel qui s’assombrit ! Puis, quand le soleil a complètement disparu, les soupirs du vent, le bourdonnement des insectes, tout m’inspire une mélancolie délicieuse.« En hiver, j’aime le matin. Sans parler des paysages ravissants produits par la neige accumulée et par la blancheur extrême de la gelée, j’aime le grand froid, lorsqu’on se hâte d’allumer le feu et d’apporter le charbon du brasier. Cela convient bien à la saison. Cependant, à mesure que le jour s’avance et qu’il fait moins froid, la neige disparaît et le feu des brasiers se couvre de cendres blanches. Voilà ce qui est triste ! » (pp. 150–151) Takéshi Ishikawa (1909) 80 The young lady-in-waiting begins her notebook by describing the four seasons: “In spring, I love the dawn, when the mist-covered sky clears little by little and delicate violet clouds stretch out floating on the mountains. “In summer, I love the night: for...