Ofudesaki 04:120

Ofudesaki
Author: Miki Nakayama Date Published: 1998 Pages: 486 (English ed.) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 unnumbered set

Ofudesaki 04:120 is a verse from the Ofudesaki. The English translation below is the sixth edition translation.

Content

Until now, the high mountains have been boastful	ima made wa takai yama ya to yūte iru	いまゝでハ　高い山やと　ゆうている
while the low valleys withered.	tani soko ni te wa shiken bakari o	たにそこにてハ　しけんばかりを

Alternate English translations

Third Edition

Hitherto some have been boasting on the high mountains, and others were going wither at the bottoms of the valleys.

Inoue/Eynon

Hitherto, those in high places have boasted of themselves, and those in the low places have only been downcast.

Commentary

Ofudesaki chushaku

This section contains translated material that has not yet been subjected to peer-review to check for accuracy and clarity. While the translator(s) have given their best effort to render Japanese text into English, we would like readers to keep in mind that the present translation may require further revising and refining. Any input to improve the present translation is greatly welcomed. Translator(s): Roy Forbes

4:120 Until today the people of the upper classes have done nothing but bossed everyone around and the people of the low classes have remained at the bottom and have but only left to almost completely waste away. *Note: Unusual Japanese expression—“shiken bakari” (withered) means “to atrophy” or “to become passive.”

『おふでさき註釈』、p. 69–70 一二〇、今日までは上流の人々は威張り次第であって、下流の人々は下積みになってほとんどい縮せんばかりになっている。 註　しけんばかりは、しけて終わんばかりに意であって、しけるとはい縮、いじける意。

Commentary by Yoshitaro Ueda (2009)

From Michi no dai: Foundation of the Path 34:65

The phrase “the high mountains have been boastful” refers, of course, to members of the ruling classes. On the other hand, there are those who are struggling to get by in “the low valleys.” Those in “the high mountains” are arrogant and overbearing while those in “the low valleys” are, as it were, withering. The word “withered” in verse 120 is a translation of “shiken,” a derivative of the Japanese verb “shikeru,” which means to “be dejected, disheartened, or dispirited” and which may come from its homophone meaning to “become damp, moist, or stale.” The people in the low valleys are depressed.

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