Styles of Shinto shrines (arts of Japan cycle)

The heart of every sanctuary is without doubt honden. It is always built in one of the traditional styles, although the word “style” has different meaning than in the case of European architecture. Normally there is no connection between a style and the time when the building was built. Most of the styles were used very long ago, but it is difficult to date any because of the custom of regular rebuilding. In theory the new building should be an exact copy of the previous one, but we know that the sanctuary of Izumo Taisha changed its size, whereas in Ise Jingu we know that brass fittings have been added during Meiji era and removed after the last war. We know this about the most important sanctuaries, the less important ones could have been changed, but we know nothing about it. The difference between styles is more akin to the difference between basilica and hall churches. A honden always has a gabled roof, but the entry can be either from the gable wall, or from the eaves wall.

ROOF TRUSS

Taisha-zukuri seems to be the oldest in the first group. The best example of it is Izumo Taisha in Shimane prefecture in western Japan. Honden in Izumo Taisha is a building on a roughly square plan, on high stilts, with a gabled roof covered with a thatch. A characteristic feature of this style is a pole going through the centre of the gable wall and supporting a ridge pole. The door is not in the centre but on a side of this pole. The floor is quite high above the earth so stairs are needed to get there. These are in front of the door (which means they are not in the centre) and have a separate roof above it. There is a balustraded balcony around the building, the roof is slightly curved and on the very top of the roof there are three short beams across the ridge (they are called katsuogi) and two wooden crosses (called chiigi). Izumo Taisha has been rebuilt several times, last time in 1744. In the town of Matsue in the same prefecture stands a sanctuary built in the same style, called Kamosu Taisha, whose last rebuilding took place in 1346. There is one feature in Kamosu that is significantly different: the poles supporting the ridge pole are not incorporated into the gable wall, but placed outside. Considering the dates, we are entitled to suppose that Kamosu represents the earlier version of that style. The construction is very different not only from the one used in Europe, but also in Japan from the time when Buddhism was introduced. A house in taisha style is built like an old-fashioned tent: first you fix the ridge pole, then the rest is built around it. Beams of the roof truss rest on the ridge pole, not the ridge pole being supported by truss.

YEARLY MONSOON

The taisha style seems to be very archaic. It appears to be a reminiscence of not only pre-Buddhist times, but of the times before the builders arrived in the Japanese archipelago. The main argument to support this theory is a fact that Japan experiences snowy winters, houses have to be heated and houses on high stilts are not very practical here. As scholars looked for analogies, they found on Ryûkyû islands granaries on stilts used until quite recent times. There are also analogies much more distant in space. On Sulawesi island, among the Toraja people, houses are built with a pillar supporting a ridge pole standing outside the gable wall. These houses are also built on stilts, which there is not impractical at all: the yearly monsoon causes regular floods, whereas houses do not need to be heated at any time. In Japan this style of building come out of use long ago, now only houses for gods are built like that. Gods, as is well known, do not need any heating.

SRAIGHT ROOFS

Doors in the gable wall are also in the style called sumiyoshi-zukuri, the example of which is Sumiyoshi Taisha in Ôsaka. In this style the door is in the gable wall, but placed centrally, so there is no pillar supporting the ridge pole. Sumiyoshi Taisha is supposed to have been built by empress Jingû in 3^rd century AD. It shows many archaic features, like straight roofs (both Izumo Taisha and Kamosu Taisha have slightly curved roofs, which is considered Chinese influence introduced in one of the rebuildings). There is also no balcony around the building and no separate roof over the stairs. The stairs are not very big, as the floor is just above the ground. On the top of the roof there are katsuogi logs across the ridge pole and chigi crosses, purely for decoration here. The present buildings are relatively new, as they have been rebuilt regularly, and are painted white and red. In front of each honden (there are 4 of them) there is a haiden, or hall of priestly offerings, built in a much later style.

RED PAINT

Simmei zukuri, one of the shrines in Ise

Kasuga-zukuri is the style in which Kasuga Taisha in Nara has been built. It also has a door in the gable wall. Sanctuaries in this style are smaller so the door covers the whole façade. Roofs are slightly curved. There are a few steps before the door and an extra roof over the steps. Chigi and katsuogi are not always there. In Kasuga Taisha there are four shrines for four deities worshipped by the Fujiwara family. Wherever the same deities are worshipped, there are four sanctuaries standing next to each other, but this is not the integral part of the style; there are also single sanctuaries in kasuga-zukuri. Kasuga Taisha has been built in Nara times, but the last rebuilding was in 1863. A small sanctuary Kasuga-dô next to Enjô-ji near Nara is older, the present building dates from 12^th century. For some reason most of the shrines in this style are painted in red.

BRASS FITTINGS

Kasuga zukuri, one of the shrines of Fushimi Inari Taisha

In the second group of sanctuaries, with the door in the eaves wall, shimmei-zukuri seems to be the oldest. The sanctuaries of Ise Jingu are built in this style. According to the tradition, Naiku shrine, where Sun is worshipped, was built in the 3^rd century AD. It is being rebuilt every 20 years, so the present buildings are quite new. In theory the new version is the exact copy of the old building, but we know that in the Meiji era new brass fittings were added, only to be taken down after the last war. What other small changes could have been introduced earlier, we don't know. Nevertheless the buildings standing now are just as archaic as taisha-zukuri: the floor is raised on relatively tall stilts, a pillar supporting the ridge pole is standing outside the gable wall, and truss beams are longer than the roof and piercing the thatch stick out above it. In this style the name chigi applies to those beams that stick out above the thatch. The katsuogi, the logs that lie across the ridge pole, here appear as weights keeping the thatch in place (which would mean that they have a practical function, not only symbolic). Roofs are straight and the whole is made from unpainted wood. This clearly archaic style, raw wood of the buildings and the whole thing being placed in the wood of ancient cedars – all make an impression that the place is very old. However, the buildings are quite new. The oldest shrine in this style, Nishina Shimmei Jinja in Nagano prefecture, is not very old either, last rebuilding dates from 1636. There are buildings older than this in nagare-zukuri, even though the style itself is considered younger.

SMALL CHAPELS

Nagare zukuri, a shrine in Uji

In nagare-zukuri the door is also in the eaves wall and the roof is curved, which is crucial, because the sides are not equal: the roof over the door is longer, sometimes twice as long. It protects not only the stairs, but also some area in front. Thre are sometimes (though not always) chigi and katsuogi, purely decorative. This is the most common style especially of small chapels, but not only. As a model for this style served two sanctuaries of Kamo Jinja in Kyôto, though they were rebuilt in 1863. There is, however, a sanctuary of Ujigami in Uji, built in the 11^th century and never rebuilt.

IDENTICAL HOUSES

Sanctuaries dedicated to the god of the bushi are usually built in the style called hachiman-zukuri. They look like two identical houses joined at the eaves. The front building is actually a hall of priestly offerings, the back building is the actual sanctuary. The model for this style is the sanctuary of Usa Hachiman-gû on Kyûshû island. It was built there in 708, but the present buildings are much younger, the last rebuilding took place in 1855.

TWO TRANSEPTS

Tokugawa Ieyasu was supposedly an incarnation (gongen in Japanese) of a war deity, so a sanctuary was built to him in Nikkô. It was in the style called gongen-zukuri. It was not the earliest building in this style. A model for the style is Kita-no Temman-gû in Kyôto, which was originally built in 947 for Sugawara Michizane, who (as was decided after his death) was also an incarnation. In this style honden and heiden are joined with a wide corridor, covered with a separate roof. Using Western terms, the corridor looks like a nave and heiden and honden look like two transepts. The roof of the corridor is continued over the façade and forms a little pediment.

SOUND OF CICADAS

Gongen zukuri, a shrine in Matsumoto

Apart from the styles described above there are others, used less often, there are also sanctuaries built in a style of their own, not seen elsewhere. In most sanctuaries, regardless of style, there is a tendency to use nature to add to the aesthetic effect. Even in the middle of a city wooden buildings stand among ancient trees. As a rule there is silence there, broken only by sound of steps on a gravel path and (in summer) noise of cicadas among trees. If this is impossible, there is at least a hedge around a city chapel. In a Shintô sanctuary one does not have to be a believer to feel some inexplicable Presence. This aesthetic power of a sanctuary is the only power of this religion.

AWARENESS OF PRESENCE

Shintô is a religion without any sacred scriptures, ethical system, theology. The oldest chronicle of Japan, called Kojiki, is not a sacred text. At least it is written in old Japanese, the next oldest chronicle, called Nihongi, is written in Chinese. Both are basically historical texts glorifying the ruling dynasty. Both cite old myths, especially those which confirm divine origin of the ruling dynasty, but there are no instruction what to do in life. There is no imperative to read them regularly or spread them among others. Some people do consider them sacred, but they don't have status anywhere near as important as among the believers have the Bible, Koran or Vedas. There are no scriptures that would contain any commandments or prohibitions, there is no ethical system. There is an idea of “purity of heart”, but it is by no means clear what it means. Perhaps every human should know what to do and what not to do. There is no theology ether, no writings on what kami (deities or gods) are, no definitions or proofs. There are, however, certain expectations. These are not saving the soul, nothing about afterlife; the expectations are about here and now. No divinity is omnipotent, but they are expected to somehow influence one's destiny. These expectations can be quite specific: a childless couple will give offerings in a sanctuary of a fertility goddess (or god for that matter; a phallic symbol will be in a shrine of a male god, I guess), a poet with ambitions will ask a patron of poets for help. This is, however, always unspecified protection. The most important thing is the Presence, the Divine Presence among people, especially in the sanctuary especially prepared for this purpose.

LANGUAGE AND ATTIRE

There are no sacred scriptures, no doctrines, no theology; Shintô is passed on from one generation to another by ritual only. Beginning of Shintô ritual reach prehistory. The ancient language and the attire of priests that appears dating from Heian times suggest that it was finally formed in that epoch.

ANTICS OF HOOLIGANS

Interior of the shrine in Matsumoto. 
An exposed brass mirror is visible.

It is by no means a dead ritual, it is being lived today by millions of people. For the Japanese it plays the role similar to the holy book for Christians or Muslims. The excesses of the last war, like sending young pilots to a certain death, were antics of a bunch of hooligans that had as much common with Shintô as – say – pogroms of Jews with Christianity. The spirit of Shintô is an undercurrent of Japanese culture in all its history. Buddhist temples, which in China are often built of stone and not very clean, in Japan are almost always wooden and spotlessly clean, with gravel paths around. Tea ceremony, which in China uses elaborate utensils, in Japan becomes dramatically simple. And maybe a lack of progress in propagating Christianity in modern times has something to do with Japanese understanding of holiness: huge pseudo-gothic churches, where one enters in shoes like to a railway station (a Japanese takes his or her shoes off even entering his or her own house), do not appear as places where divine presence could be found.

The creators of the ritual must have seen the effect it had on their contemporaries. I wonder whether they foresaw how durable it would be. 

A shinto priest in ceremonial robes.

What is Shinto? (arts of Japan cycle)

 

INVISIBLE WORLD

In a place called Izumo on the western coast of Honshû island, in a forest of gigantic cedars, stands a wooden house covered in a thatch. It is not any old house, its very size amazes, it is 24 metres tall. Which is nothing, they say that in the past it was several times taller. Several times in its history it was dismantled and rebuilt, each time the new version was smaller than the previous one. In Heian times it was supposedly 48 metres tall and before that it was reaching almost 100 metres! This is, at least, what they say. You can't see its inhabitant, which is hardly surprising, because it is Ôkuninushi, the lord of the invisible world of Japanese islands. Once a year he invites all other gods to his place, so nobody should be surprised about the size of the house. The visitors come on invisible mounts, sacred stables have been built for them.

IN THE FORM OF A MIRROR

In a place called Ise on the eastern coast of Kii peninsula, in a similar cedar forest, stands a much smaller house, also thatched. It may be smaller sizewise, but not less important, as the person who lives there is Sun herself. Sun (a woman of course) lives normally in the sky, but in her house she is present in the form of a mirror. Sun is the ancestress of the imperial family, she herself gave this mirror to her descendants as insignia of their imperial power. This is perhaps why there is money to rebuild it regularly every 20 years. Only in the years 1462-1585, during the difficult period for the divine rulers, there was a longer break. It was probably built sometime mid- 7^th century.

POO ON THE THRONE

In another wooden building, in a place called Kumano on Kii peninsula, lives Blizzard, the younger brother of Sun. He used to live in heaven, but he was a mischief, once he made a poo on the throne of his venerable sister, she sat in it and as a punishment he was sent down. He actually went to the netherworld, but in Kumano he is present in the form of an object, although nobody remembers what the object is. The holy object is hidden from mortals and nobody has seen it for hundreds of years. In Kumano also the parents of Sun and Blizzard are present. They fished out Japan from the sea in the very beginning of time. It is interesting that although Sun is the higher divinity, Kumano was always more popular pilgrimage destination. Emperors did not move from Kyôto for centuries except on a pilgrimage to Kumano.

FOUR LITTLE HOUSES

In Kasuga Taisha in Nara in a wooden little house lives Amenokoyane, the divine ancestor of the Fujiwara family. It is not an unimportant spirit, according to Kojiki he played the chief role in wooing Sun from the cave when the young lady was sulking one day and hid there. In Kasuga actually there are four little houses, in each one a deity is present in a sacred object. All those deities are somehow connected to the ancestors of the imperial family. One of those deities travelled on a deer, therefore sacred deer are kept in Nara.

FOXY MESSANGERS

In Fushimi Inari Taisha the deity present is Fertility under the name of Inari. Inari has foxes as messengers, therefore one sees plenty of stone foxes there. There are thousands shrines dedicated to this deity in Japan, you can tell them by the stone foxes you see there. The Kojiki chronicle does not mention Inari, even though it is one of the most popular deities in Japan. Sometimes Inari is identified with Toyouke, Fertility of Rice Fields, who has a sanctuary in Ise, close to the one dedicated to Sun. This is, however, just a guess; Shintô does not have theologians who would try to prove such things.

EIGHT BANNERS

Emperor Ôjin is present under a form of an object in his sanctuary in Usa on Kyûshû island. He was a son of empress Jingu, who being pregnant with him supposedly conquered Korea. Perhaps this is why he is worshipped as a deity of warriors, because he didn't have any wars during his lifetime. His cult started some years after his death, when he manifested himself in blood curdling circumstances in a place called Usa on Kyûshû. Shintô deities appear to the worshippers like Our Lady to Catholics. Ôjin appeared in Usa as a child and said “my name is Eight Banners”, which is Hachiman in Japanese. A huge sanctuary was built on the spot of the manifestation. This sanctuary later became famous for its miracles. Hachiman is considered a protector of the bushi and has thousands of sanctuaries all over Japan. One of the biggest is, of course, in Kamakura.

EMPEROR'S COURTIER

Japanese deities not only appear in extraordinary circumstances, they can also take a normal human body. For example Sugawara Michizane, a poet and emperor's courtier of Heian times, was actually a god, which his fellow courtiers realised when it was too late. He was unfairly sent to Kyûshû and died there, but after his death calamities fell on the court in Kyôto. For example a palace went up in smoke and when it was rebuilt – woodworms gnawed a poem of the dead poet on a pillar. To remedy it, the emperor built a sanctuary for him, called Kitano Temmangu, and another one in the place of his death on Kyûshû. This helped. Ever since Michizane is worshipped as a god named Tenjin. He is popular as a protector of poets and calligraphers. There are many of his sanctuaries throughout Japan, they all are called Temmangu.

STATE PROPAGANDA

Santuary in Nikkô is not only a masterpiece of architecture and sculpture, it is a masterpiece of state propaganda. Shôgun Tokugawa Iemitsu decided that his grandfather, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was an incarnation of a god. After all he has proved his divine political talents. So a sanctuary for him was built in Nikkô and in every place where Tokugawas lived.

LITTLE FIELDS OF RICE

The divine protector of the country in a form of ordinary human being is of course tennô, or emperor. He is supposed to celebrate a number of rituals to make sure prosperity does not leave the country. For example he is supposed to cultivate two little fields of rice, so the country has good crop. He has to offer the rice he has grown to gods. And every year on palace grounds a house of unbarked timber is erected; inside that house the tennô performs rituals so secret that ordinary mortals are not supposed to know they exist.

INACCEPTABLE INDISCRETION

For Europeans it is very difficult to understand Shintô. The ceremonies seem to be religious, but without and salvation theory or moral code – is it really a religion? The ancient book relating old myths is really a chronicle. It does say what some deities did in the beginnings of time, but other deities are not even mentioned there. There are a few thousands deities and probably a small theological treatise would be enough to show that all deities are emanations of The One, The Most High. The chronicle Kôjiki starts with a statements that in the beginning a deity called Amenominaknushi created himself out of nothing and hid himself soon after. A European does not understand this, but it is obvious for the Japanese: Shintô does not have theology. All speculation about the nature of deities is considered unacceptable indiscretion. Shintô is passed on from one generation to another only as a ritual.

FEAST WITH GODS

Visitors from outside Japan are struck by cleanliness of sanctuaries. Keeping them clean is one of the key elements of the ritual. All sanctuaries are cleaned every day and every day new offerings are put on the altar. Many things can be used as offerings: food, flowers, twigs of sacred sakaki tree, paper, clear water, rice wine. Big sanctuaries have priests responsible for cleanliness, smaller ones are looked after by lay people who live nearby. Cleanliness and purification often appear in Shintô rituals. A believer should appear before a deity “with a pure heart”, so before going to a sanctuary a purification ritual is performed. Some people before visiting a sanctuary fast from the morning and take a ritual bath. Sometimes it is no more than rinsing a mouth and washing hands, for this purpose a water container is placed on a path leading to a sanctuary. Ladles are also placed on it, so it is easier to wash one's hands. Nobody is obliged to visit a sanctuary regularly, people go there only when they feel a need. Often a purpose of a visit is a silent prayer with folded palms, ended with a loud clap, deep respectful bow and throwing a coin to a money box. One can also leave a votive figure or plaque bought in a sanctuary shop. Only in especially important situations – like a wedding, or a birth of a child, or buying a new car – a priest is asked to conduct a ceremony. The priest knows prayers in old Japanese, he also knows what gestures should be made. Usually any bigger ritual ends with naorai, or “feast with gods”. In this ritual participants gather in front of the most holy building and everybody sips from a bowl of rice wine that has previously been offered to the god of the sanctuary. The believers expect unspecified protection, but they should not ask a deity for a particular outcome of a particular situation. Prayers in one's own intention are considered egoist, egoism is a blemish, a faithful should come to the sanctuary with pure heart.

TOTAL DARKNESS

In big sanctuaries every year there is a matsuri, a big festival, and every sanctuary has its own date. Priests prepare themselves for this, in some sanctuaries they fast for a week or longer. The most important element of a matsuri is reisai, a very formal ceremony of giving offerings with the door of the most holy building open, otherwise this door is never opened. More visible part is a procession of a sacred palanquin called mikoshi through the streets, or sometimes even outside a town. A visible sign of the presence of the deity is put into this palanquin. Another accompanying ceremony is kagura, sacred dances illustrating old myths, performed by miko, young ladies of the parish especially prepared for this role. The dances are performed to the accompaniment of ancient gagaku music. However, the most important event, performed only once in the history of every sanctuary, is the ceremony of transubstantiation, when an object especially made for the purpose becomes shintai, or the body of god. This ceremony is always performed at midnight, always in total darkness, not only lights of the sanctuary are to be off, but in the houses around as well. From this moment only the highest priests can touch or even look at the Body of God. It is placed in the holiest building (called honden) and only in exceptional circumstances taken out. It is thanks to this ceremony that the sanctuary becomes a House of God.

RED TROUSERS

Functions of a priest are only performing elaborated rituals correctly and saying prayers in old Japanese. It is a hereditary position, in some sanctuaries dynasties of priests go back many centuries. In general a Shintô priest is called kannushi, but a main priest of a sanctuary can have helpers called negi. Girls of the parish until they are married can be a miko, whose function is to perform the kagura dances and to assist in bigger ceremonies. Priests during ceremonies wear funny attires that appear to be of Heian times, whereas miko wear white blouses and red trousers.

BODY OF GOD

Shintô sanctuaries, called in Japanese miya, jinja, jingu or taisha, are of different sizes, from roadside chapels to huge complexes. They differ by the number and size of buildings, all however (if you exclude roadside chapels) have five necessary elements: torii, sandô, temizuya, gohei and shintai. Torii is a characteristic gate meaning that there is a sanctuary behind it. It is usually (not always) painted red and sometimes there is quite a lot of them leading to one sanctuary. Sandô is the path on which a believer approaches in silence. It is usually of white gravel and has a bend at one point, as approaching a deity in a straight line would mean lack of respect. Temizuya is a water container, usually made of stone, to ritually wash hands and mouth; normally a bamboo ladle lies on the top. Gohei is a wooden stand with paper folded into a characteristic zigzag; it stands in front of the holiest building and is the sign of divine presence. Shintai is the most important thing in any sanctuary, it is an object in whose form the deity is present. It is sometimes called a relic, but really it is more like a Catholic host, which (after transubstantiation) is also a Body of God. Shintai is so holy that normally nobody can even see it, only in special circumstances priests can approach it. Various objects can become shintai, it can be a brass mirror or an ancient double-edged sword. It could be a sculpture, although in such case it can never be shown. Whatever the case, most of the time it is hidden in a building called (if there are more buildings) honden.

STRAW ROPE

There are more buildings in big sanctuaries as a rule. The most important of them are heiden, where the priests conduct their ceremonies, haiden, or an oratory for the faithful, sometimes there is also a kaguraden, where the sacred dances are performed. Gohei is the most important sign of the divine presence, but sometimes there are others, like shimenawa, or a straw rope hanged from the eaves of the shrine, or around a sacred tree, or between sacred rocks. It may also be a brass mirror, which if it is exposed, it certainly is not shintai.

Fifty rubai'yat (poems of Rumi cycle)

 

I never tried to publish the English versions of the rubaiyat, they were a kind of by-product of my work on a Polish translation. However, I sometimes read them at poetry meetings, for example at London's Poetry Café. As it happened, at one of those meetings a publisher was present, Isabel del Rio, owner of "Friends of Alice" publishing house. She liked them enough to suggest that they may be published in a book. Which happened and the book can now be purchased at Amazon.

At one point, long before the book was published, my Persian friend Ziba introduced me to a calligrapher named Morteza. He himself was a dervish, although not of the same order as Maulana Rumi. When I had a proposition to publish my collection of translations, I asked Morteza to illustrate it with his calligraphy. So here it is, the calligraphy in the style called nastaliq, although Morteza sometimes makes modern impression of that.

708.

I glimpsed your face and my sadness is gone;

To your face I am faithful, all others are gone.

I asked my heart about its desire,

But it didn’t have any, all my desires were gone.

708

دیدم رخت از غم سر موییم نماند

جز بندگی ی روی تو روییم نماند

با دل گفتم که آرزویی در خواه

دل گفت که هیچ آرزویی م نماند

1798.

You want goodness, but goodness is not what you bring,

If you’re creating evil, evil you will meet.

The compassion of God cannot change much here:

If you are sowing barley, you will not reap wheat.

1798

بد می‌کنی و نیک طمع می‌داری

هم بد باشد سزای بدکرداری

با این که خداوند کریم و است و رحیم

گندم ندهد بار چو جو می‌کاری

The book "Fifty Rubai'yat" can be purchased at Amazon

Kuliyat-e Divan-e Shams (poems of Rumi cycle)

 

I was proud of myself not only because I found "Kuliyat-e Divan-e Shams" without help, but also because the author of "Kuliyat" was not Rumi, but ostensibly one Jalaluddin Balkhi (and I knew it was the same person).

The book was published in Iran and the Iranians don't like to call him Rumi. The name "Rumi" suggests that he came from Rum, which is a Persian name for Anatolia, then newly conquered by Turks. So this name suggests that he was somehow Turkish (which is what the Turks claim). But of course Rumi wrote in Persian, he is considered one of the greatest poets of that language; how could he be a Turk? However, Rumi was born in Balkh, which now is in Afghanistan but at least it is a Pesrian-speaking town. Let's call him Balkhi, then.

"Kuliyat" in this context means something like "complete", so the whole title would be "Complete Divan-e Shams". It is a collection of ghazals and rubaiyat which are in an alphabetical order and numbered. Alphabetical order, but counting letter from the end of the rhyme (which in most cases is the same word repeated three or four times).

Here I am presenting two rubaiyat with the same rhyme مترس matars, which means "fear not", although I decided to translate it into two different phrases.

Rubaiyat often had an extra word ending each line, often separate from the phrase that each line was, called redif. I am presenting here one rubai with a redif بیا biya (which I translated into a phrase "come to us")

977.

This world is being born, you don’t need to worry.

What comes will go away, you don’t need to worry.

Treat as a precious treasure every breath of life;

Forget the past, about the future you don’t need to worry.

977

از حادثه ی جهان زاینده مترس

وز هرچه رسد چو نیست پاینده مترس

این یکدم عمر را غنیمت می دان

از رفته میندیش وز آینده مترس

984.

Go forward on our path and have no fear,

Make sure you stay on the path and have no fear.

Even if the whole world wants you to die,

Don’t lose faith, stay with us and have no fear.

984

رو در صف بندگان ما باش و مترس

خاک در آسمان ما باش و مترس

گر جمله ی خلق قصد جان تو کنند

دل تنگ مکن از آن ما باش و مترس

15.

You who are as bright as the sun - come to us.

Without you leaves fall down from trees - come to us.

The world without you is covered in dust - come to us.

Meetings of friends are frosty without you - come to us.

15

ای آنکه چو آفتاب فرد است بیا

بیرون تو برگ و باغ زرد است بیا

عالم بی‌تو غبار و گرد است بیا

این مجلس عیش بی‌تو سرد است بیا

Unseen Rain (poems of Rumi cycle)

 Many years ago, when Rumi was not as well known as he is now, I went to a bookshop in London and found a book of poems titled "Unseen Rain". It was translated from Persian into open verse, or rather into bits of prose, as is often done in English in recent years, but nevertheless it made an impression on me. I thought I would like to read these poems in their original language one day. So I started to learn Persian.

Some years later, with some knowledge of Persian already, I went to another bookshop in London, one that only sold books in Arabic and Persian. I went to the Persian section and found there a book titled "Kuliyat-e Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi", a large collection of ghazals and ruba'iyat of Rumi. I was very proud of myself that I could find it without anybody's help. However, my knowledge of Persian was not enough to translate these poems into Polish as I intended.

Still some years later I met somebody who helped me do just that. They were Persian-speaking poets Bashir from Afghanistan and Ziba from Iran. They explained the original so I could understand it and produce a Polish version. We communicated in English and by force some English versions also appeared.

All this exercise proved that I was right - one has to read these poems in their original language to really appreciate them. There is an unearthly rhythm in them, something like Bob Marley's reggae. Some Persian people even say that one can get drunk on Rumi. I tried to produce something approximate in English. I present some of them here. I also present the same poems as they appear in the "Unseen Rain". By no means I claim my versions are better, or anything like that. They are just my versions, that's all. I also present here the original Persian version, just in case any reader knows that language.  

67.

(my version)
I used to boast that I am the lord of myself;
Used to complain that I’m a slave of myself.
This is past, now I do not trust myself.
I understand: I don’t understand myself.

("Unseen Rain" version)

I thought I had self-control
so I regretted times I didn't.
With that considering over, the one thing I know
is I don't know who I am. 

(original)

گه می‌گفتم که من امیرم خود را

گه ناله‌ کنان که من اسیرم خود را

آن رفت و از این پس نپذیرم خود را

بگرفتم این که من نگیرم خود را

The rhyme (AAAA) is  خود را khod ra (of myself)

152

(my version)

A love without a lover – there is no better,

It’s like work without profit – there is no better.

You should stop being clever, forget all your cunning:

This is the real cunning – there is no better.

("Unseen Rain" version)

No better love than love with no object,

no more satysfying work than work with no purpose. 

If you could give up tricks and cleverness,

that would be the cleverest trick!

(original)

از بی‌یاری ظریف تر یاری نیست

وز بی‌کاری لطیف تر کاری نیست

هرکس که ز عیاری و حیله ببرید

والله که چو او زیرک و عیاری نیست

The rhyme here (AABA) is  نیست nist (is not)

681.

(my version)

In the shambles of love the best are being killed,

The bad mannered and disfigured are not being killed.

Don’t be afraid of death if you’re a true lover;

Only walking cadavers are scared of being killed.

("Unseen Rain" version)

In the shambles of love they kill only the best, 

none of the weak or deformed. 

Don't run away from this dying. 

Whoever is not killed for love is carrion.

(original)

در مطبخ عشق جز نکو را نکشند 

روبه صفتان زشت خو را نکشند

 گر عاشق صادقی ز مردن مگریز

 مردار بود هر آن که او را نکشند

The rhyme here (AABA) is  نکشند  nakoshand (they do not kill)

For whom did Jan Kochanowski write? (poetry from Poland cycle)

 

Jan Kochanowski (pronounce Yan Ko-hanofskee) (1530-1584) is the best known poet of the Polish Renaissance. A son of a noble family affluent enough to send him to the best universities, first to Cracow, later to Padua in Italy. Padua at that time was one of the best European universities, a centre of humanism, Kochanowski would meet there the best minds of the continent. After he returned to Poland he had a career in administration, for some time he was a secretary to king Sigismund Augustus. After the king’s death he retired from official duties and lived in his manor in a village called Czarnolas.

The Kingdom of Poland was at the hight of its power at that time. It was one of the great powers of Europe, the one that stopped the expansion of the Ottoman empire. Consequently in Kochanowski’s poetry there are no worries about the independence of the motherland, so typical of the later Polish poetry. On the other hand it seems that Kochanowski aimed at including Polish poetry in the broader European stream. He also wrote in Latin, which in his time would gain him educated readers in other countries. When he wrote in Polish, he seemed to write in a style not dissimilar from Horace, albeit in a different language. Also important is the fact that he wrote his poems so they could be published in books; it seems obvious today, but at the time a printed book was a new technology, the printing press having only been invented. Which meant of course that even when he wrote in Polish, he wrote for the educated, at least enough to read a book.

Below an example of a poem not dissimilar from Horace, albeit written originally in Polish.

SONG 5 (of the First Book of Songs)

He who has his bread

All that one can need

Does not need to worry about high incomes

About villages, towns and walled castles.

A lord is someone (this is what I say)

Who is satisfied with whatever he has.

Whoever seeks more, shows himself

That in his own opinion he is still inferior.

Great riches has gained

Who has got rid of greed.

It is more difficult than to conquer Turks

Or to make fierce Tartars pay tribute.

The king of Macedon

Won in a short time,

A big chunk of the world, but still he thought

That it won't be enough to have the whole world.

What's the use of armour

Or temporal power?

Gold is no medicine for your heart.

It won't drive worries away from your head.

Mrs. Death is nasty

Grabs by their throats

Both lowly servants and their rich lords

Won't give you time to pay all you owe.

Most people (I think),

Worry about one thing:

How to acquire more silver and gold.

A glutton will never have enough to eat.

It will all stay here

When you are deceased

And somebody else's house will decorate

All that you hoarded here with such greed.

This supposed safe house

One day will fall apart

And the wine that today you worry so much about

Will be given to horses by your own grandchild.

If you would like to read these poems (and some more) on paper, 

You can get a printout of my book "POLISH INSPIRATIONS"