Unbeaten by the rain

"If in the east there’s a sick child
He goes there and nurses him
If in the west there is a tired mother
He goes there and carries bundles of rice for her
If in the south there’s someone dying
He goes there to tell him not to be afraid,
If in the north there’s a quarrel or a lawsuit
He goes there to tell them it’s not worth it.
When there's drought, he sheds tears of sympathy
When the summer's cold, he feels the farmers’ pain
Everyone calls him a fool
He is not praised
He is not blamed either
Such a person,
I want to be."


The above is an excerpt from a famous Japanese poem "Ame ni mo makezu" which I prefer to translate as "Unbeaten by the rain". It was written by Miyazawa Kenji.


Almost every Japanese knows this poem because it is taught in school. It is said that students have to memorize this poem. It is a beautiful poem about altruism and self-sacrifice.

The first few lines of the poem read thus in Japanese:

ame ni mo makezu
kaze ni mo makezu
yuki ni mo natsu no atsusa ni mo makenu
jōbu na karada wo mochi
yoku wa naku
kesshite ikarazu
itsu mo shizuka ni waratte iru
..........

Which may be translated as:


Unbeaten by the rain
Unbeaten by the wind
Unbeaten by the snow or summer's heat
with a strong body
unfettered by desires
never losing temper
Always smiling quietly
........


I liked it the first time I read it. It is not difficult for Bhutanese to understand what the poet wants to convey because it has direct resonance with the Buddhist way of thinking.

There are many translations of the poem.

Here is a translation by Hiroaki Sato and Burton Watson from the book "From the Country of Eight Islands":


Neither yielding to rain

nor yielding to wind

yielding neither to

snow nor to summer heat

with a stout body

like that

without greed

never getting angry

always smiling quiet-

ly

eating one and a half pieces of brown rice

and bean paste and a bit of

vegetables a day

in everything

not taking oneself

into account

looking listening understanding well

and not forgetting

living in the shadow of pine trees in a field

in a small

hut thatched with miscanthus

if in the east there’s a

sick child

going and nursing

him

if in the west there is a tired mother

going and for her

carrying

bundles of rice

if in the south

there’s someone

dying

going

and saying

you don’t have to be

afraid

if in the north

there’s a quarrel

or a lawsuit

saying it’s not worth it

stop it

in a drought

shedding tears

in a cold summer

pacing back and forth lost

called

a good-for-nothing

by everyone

neither praised

nor thought a pain

someone

like that

is what I want

to be




About the Poet:

"Miyazawa Kenji has transcended the generations to become one of Japan's most read and best loved authors. Born over a hundred years ago in 1896 in Iwate Prefecture, he was only 37 at the time of his death. Kenji's literary works received scant attention during his lifetime and only two books were published before his passing: a collection of children's tales entitled "The Restaurant of Many Orders" and the first section of his most famous work of poetry, "Spring and Ashura." The remainder of the great number of children's stories and poems that he left behind was edited and published only posthumously, after which the richness and depth of his art finally gained wide recognition." - from http://www.kenji-world.net