The Song of Fukagawa

By Kafū Nagai

In this short, literary reflection Kafū Nagai (1879-1959) paints a vivid picture of early-20th century urban Tokyo, as well as that which has been lost in the process of modernisation and industrialisation. Translated by students in the 2016 ANU Japanese-English translation workshop (JPNS3013). Edited and with a brief introduction by Mark Gibeau

• Language: English
• Publisher: MG Literary Translation Workshop
• Release date: Jan 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215848609

Book preview

The Song of Fukagawa

By Kafū Nagai

Translated by:

Charles Boston, Hannah Bushby, Luna Crozier, Koichi Dei, Yuyan Feng, Mana Hodson, Hye Eun Jang, Yuki Kawabe, Sinead McCullough, Lina Murray, Nanumi Starke, Ji Zhe Tian, Molly Tredinnick, Lara Wojcik, Tongyuan Zhang, and Quan Zhou


Edited and with an introduction by Mark Gibeau

Translation Copyright 2023 Charles Boston, Hannah Bushby, Luna Crozier, Koichi Dei, Yuyan Feng, Mana Hodson, Hye Eun Jang, Yuki Kawabe, Sinead McCullough, Lina Murray, Nanumi Starke, Ji Zhe Tian, Molly Tredinnick, Lara Wojcik, Tongyuan Zhang, and Quan Zhou.

Introduction copyright Mark Gibeau


About this translation

The source text for this translation is Nagai Kafū's, Fukagawa no uta as published in volume 6 of the Kafū zenshū (Complete works of Kafū), by Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo, 1992.

The text was translated by students in the JPNS3013 Japanese-English translation class, run at the ANU by Mark Gibeau in 2016. Translation edited and with an introduction by Mark Gibeau.

Photo of Nagai Kafu from: 


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Kafū_Nagai2.JPG

Cover image from:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NDL1307367_江戸名所深川八幡の社.jpg

Contents

About this translation

Introduction

The Song of Fukagawa

Part 1

Part 2

Introduction

Nagai Kafū¹（永井荷風）(1879-1959) is the pen name of Nagai Sōkichi (永井壮吉), though he is also known the sobriquet Danchōtei Shujin （断腸亭主人, or Master of the house of begonias). The eldest son of Nagai Kyūichirō who, born into the samurai class before its abolition in the Meiji period, was a prominent bureaucrat and businessman and achieved considerable recognition as a classical Chinese poet. As the eldest son, Kafū was expected to follow a similarly respectable path, going either into business or government. Unfortunately for Kafū's father, the son did not share this inclination.