About this work
An inherited ring links grandmother, mother and daughter, bringing childhood tenderness into the present. This English version is an editorial translation for access; the Japanese text remains available alongside it for comparison.
Parallel reading
日本語と英語で読む
Read the Japanese original and its English translation together. On smaller screens, each language follows in sequence.
日本語原文 Japanese original
物に溢れ満たされすぎると
本当に大切なものが見えなくなる
必要なものは、それ程多くはないのだし。
祖母の黒サンゴの指輪は
無くなる少し前に母が受け取った
母も年老いて私に来た黒珊瑚
黒サンゴの指輪物語か。
私の心に住む祖母は優しさを教えてくれた人
子供時代を思い出す
石鹸の香りの前掛けに寝転んだ
祖母の膝上は私の特等席
「おまんは、いい眉してるな」と笑顔で見下ろし
私の眉を撫でる。
山梨訛りが耳元でたゆたい、やがて泣きじゃくる。
在りし日の祖母と母。
そのやり取りが鮮明に蘇ると
滲んでいた涙が大雨になった。
黒サンゴの指輪は逃げ出しそう。
夕焼け雲に向かって、私の鼓動と滂沱にこらえ切れず、
くるめき転回しながら飛んで行ってしまいそう。
English translation 英訳
AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
The Story of a Black Coral Ring
Naoko Takatori
2023.11.3
When things overflow and fill up too much,
the truly important things become invisible.
The things we need are not that many.
The black coral ring from my grandmother
was received by my mother just before it disappeared.
My mother, now aged, came to me with the black coral ring.
"The Story of a Black Coral Ring,"
the grandmother who lives in my heart taught me kindness.
Recalling my childhood,
I lay on my back on the apron with the scent of soap.
The top of grandmother's knees was my VIP seat.
"You have nice eyebrows," she smiled down at me,
and ran her fingers over my eyebrows.
The dialect of Yamanashi whispered in my ear,
and soon I was crying uncontrollably.
The grandmother and my mother of the past.
That exchange between them clearly comes back to me,
and the tears that had blurred became a downpour.
The black coral ring seems about to flee.
Heading toward the sunset clouds, my heartbeat and the deluge
cannot be contained, spinning and turning,
it seems about to fly away.
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.