mgwatson.bsky.social
Premodernist. Retired from teaching but not from research (nō drama, medieval Japanese prose writings). Moved to Iwaki, Fukushima-ken, after 44 years living in Yokohama and Tokyo. Photos of sea, mountains etc. posted to Pinksky and Instagram (wldnsmkt).
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As a W…. Just published from Brill: Yamanaka, Bethe, Grossmann, Hare, Pellecchia, and Watson, eds. The project was initiated and led by Prof. R. Yamanaka so it was only right to list her first and then the other co-editors in alphabetical order.
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Unashamedly wearing PJ and dressing gown, I takeout the gomi three times a week, all seasons! What does that make me? By age I am an ojiisan.
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Let us know if you spot the 龍宮, the Dragon Palace. Should be somewhere near Chikubushima according to my (medieval) sources. So to your south?
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Not often, actually. Only a few snowflakes all winter in “sunny Iwaki” (as it call itself) whereas the Aizu area 120 km to the west is under meters of snow: 豪雪!
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二十一世紀の筧(かけい)かな
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Hope to see someone post a summary here! Bullet points, please.
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LOL. Good question!
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The English question got the usual hit and miss answers even for prolific scholars in my field. Said that someone who wrote a short intro to Genji monogatari had translated the whole work. Publications ascribed to wrong person. Likely-sounding fictitious titles. Check AI on areas you know, sobering.
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DeepSeek confidently stated that two of the female academics worked in the field of child development (way off). In-built gender bias? DeepSeek said my name was fairly common so wanted more details (then guessed wrongly). At least it suggested using databases like CiNii and J-Stage, both relevant.
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News readers? Sun loungers? Curiously modern sounding! I found the same passage in a translation of 2011 by A. S. Kline. web.ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/Hist_...
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I am a Japan resident too. Disappointed not to find the app on the Japanese Apple store.
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“Story of Yanxi Palace"(Chinese: 延禧攻略; pinyin: Yánxǐ Gōnglüè). The drama set off a boom in “palace intrigue” spin offs. Saw a long trailer for one and a few episodes of another. Neither nearly as well acted, cunningly plotted, or beautifully filmed as this one with Wei Yingluo played by Wu Jinyan.
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Written in 1912-13 when French author was living in Peking. First-person narrator tries to learn secrets of Forbidden City. My interest sparked by superb Chinese drama series about Wei Yingluo 魏瓔珞(Jp ギ・エイラク) set in imperial court of Qing Emperor Qianlong 清の乾隆帝 (1711-99, r. 1735-96).
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Tut tut, Brian. You of all people should know better. Credit the translator.
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Sawako 佐波古 and its hot springs are mentioned by the C12 poet Saigyō 西行: 陸奥 Michinoku no / さはこの御湯に Sawako no miyu ni / 仮寝して karine shite / 明日は勿来の asu wa Nakoso no / 関を越えてん seki wo koeten. “A brief sleep at Sawako hot springs in the Northern Provinces, tomorrow I will cross Nakoso barrier.”
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… the mention of snow at the window suggests an allusion to a poor scholar Sun Kang 孫康 (the Jin Dynasty) who studied in winter by the light reflected from the snow and in summer from the light of fireflies. Statues of the diligent man reading as he is walking are found in many Japanese schoolyards.
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A poem by Naitō Rosen is quoted in Bashō’s Oi no kobumi (“Knapsack Notes” as Barnhill’ translates it, see Bashō’s Journey, p. 317).
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The eight 句碑 kuhi were erected as recently as 2009—informative notice boards with a QR code to defunct website! Could find a list elsewhere. kankou-iwaki.or.jp/spot/10219
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Correction: the poem was chosen by Rosen, Bashō’s patron. It was composed by his disciple Senbai 沾梅 for a series of eight local views. I have come across some of the monuments for the rest of the series. Must visit them all.
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Well argued! Persuasive.
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Why do monks get a bad rap in the genre, do you think? There must be specific reasons but I see monks as a target elsewhere in early modern / premodern literature in Japan. Like their Christian counterparts in Boccaccio and Chaucer.
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I bought a bright red typewriter when auditing at university in West Germany. Positions of Z and Y reversed. Typed my weekly “supervision” (tutorial) essays at Cambridge - very unusual at the time. Have kept them, along with first extended academic piece, love monologues in medieval French romances!
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Congratulations! I know how it feels. Also the satisfaction of knowing one will not need to attend university committee and faculty meetings! Enjoy the freedom.
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Asking #testingDeepSeek mainly about things that I know sth about - or know how to verify in other ways. Keeping both hands on the wheel - as I do when I tell my Chinese car “hi BYD, open the sunroof”! Great when it works.
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Well done! Much easier to zoom into the Dutch text but having trouble navigating between the Scylla of early Dutch cursive script and the Charybdis of kuzushi and hentaigana!
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I am sure you mean this half-jokingly but it’s surely too soon to rely on AI tools. I get very mixed results when I test on premodern East Asian matters that I know something about. ChatGTP and DeepSeek are too eager to please, unwilling to admit ignorance.
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I’m skeptical about drawing parallels between v different works. “Thematic overlap”? I have read through Proust’s RTP several times, now reading through Cao’s HLM for a second time in English. Living in Japan I encounter comparisons between HLM and Genji monogatari. Admire all three 長編小説
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Palimpsest lovers rejoice! Wonderful example, madterly explanation.
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This is wonderful! I can make out only “Satsuma” and “Desima” and a few words of the Dutch. Do tell us more.
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Love this set. HAM shows the first page of the nō play. Click the url to see the attractive covers—revealing the title. This is 定家 Teika, a play I have seen performed. Dense language!
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Shameful about publishers’ refusal to credit you as translator but congratulations nonetheless. “Growth” was mentioned over 50 times in major speech this week by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer. Will watch out for reviews of book!
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Seems to be trained on commercial vocabulary. And on texts written left to right. 残念です. Or as #DeepSeek says: “that’s a pity” 翻译成中文是“真遗憾”或“真可惜”。
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#testingDeepSeek alas, the Chinese AI does a poor job of transcribing this. Quote: Here is the text transcribed into Traditional Chinese characters:
1. **現貨**
2. **普通A商讀資料**
3. **開牌活動詳情記**
If you need additional assistance (e.g., translation or context clarification), feel free to ask! 😊
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Asked #DeepSeek “Compare average price of a dozen eggs in Beijing, London and New York.” 14 paragraphs of “DeepThought” ruminations and then the result. NY the most expensive of three at current exchange rates.
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Wanting to show the comments to Japanese friends—and to understand it better myself—I “commanded”
次の文を日本語に訳せよ
and pasted the four comments for translation. Clear result, eg no. 2. 多音字・難読字は文脈に応じて読みを確定（例：「鬚眉」→**xū méi**、「牖椽」→**yǒu chuán**）。
This will be very handy!