User:Old McDonald/Ode of the Old Ainu

This page contains my current attempt at a translation of the Ode of the Old Ainu that is recited by Kaneki in Chapter 139.

Remarks

 * I'm a beginner in classical Japanese, so I probably got some lines wrong. I'm especially uncertain about the last two stanzas. This is work-in-progress. That's why: Please don't copy it or spread it further on the Internet.
 * The poem uses Ainu terms, which Hakushu explains in parentheses. For better readability, I'll usually put Hakushu's explanations above the corresponding Ainu term. Furthermore, I'll include some additional notes as references.

Poem
Ode of the Old Ainu

Oh Ainu, the old Ainu, the heir of the God Ae-Oina , of Ainu Rak-gurthe man who smells like a human ; By the will of the Gods, a head of chickweed, a body of soil, a spine of willow; he is a Sine Sik Puy-Kor-Kura man of the same eye socket and the man having divine hair; he truly is Kamuy Otop Ush Gur.

He, Ainu, his eyebrows shining, the white beard falling upon his chest, outside his cisehouse the grass tatami is laid outside with a rustle, and in his dignified attus holding his makiri and sharpening it, sitting cross-legged, his eyes deeply focus.

He, Ainu. The descendant of Ainu MosirEzo-ga-Shima 's God, of Oina Kamuy</rb>the God of the legends</rt>, of Okikurmi. A perishing, yet living raigur</rb>corpse</rt>. A summer day, white sunbeams, he stares downward, stunned motionlessly.

He, Ainu, does not see the cise's emptiness and the rustling, green, long-leafed ai-sak piyapa</rb>beardless millet</rt> , fure piyapa</rb>red millet</rt> , chak piyapa</rb>bursting millet</rt> and yamraita yoko amam</rb>millet similar to Yabushirami</rt> ; likewise, he does not see the leg-tall pewrep cise</rb>bear cage</rt> and the bear cubs' red tongues; he's unable to wipe the dropping sweat.

He, Ainu, the old eagle, aged and wrinkled, someone tired of falling ill. His beard pure white, and in his dignified attus, holding his makiri and sharpening it, sitting cross-legged, he trims the onkos</rb>yew trees</rt>, and it dazes his heart.

He, Ainu, often silent, he prays, yet he's staying silent like that. He, a follower of the <rb>Kim-o-Chipaskuma</rb><rt>the doctrine of the mountains</rt> , a follower of the <rb>chikuni akoshiratki orushpe</rb><rt>the doctrine of the trees' protection</rt> , a child of the sacred Sir-ampa, the one upon the Earth, a servant of the sacred Topochi, the one who meditates. He surely prays like that: Leave, <rb>At-ni Wenyuk</rb><rt>evil elm</rt> ! <rb>Ni-ash-range-gur</rb><rt>Oh, thou standing tree person!</rt> <rb>Kisaraha-range si-nupuru kamuy</rb><rt>Oh, thou precious demon of the trees' bark!</rt> Oh <rb>Toiyan-Kuttari</rb><rt>thou who are stretched on the ground</rt> All is fine and I'm bowing. I'm old and I'm sighing. I'm white, I'm already shining. I will vanish, oh so soon. My wife, my child, my younger brother, the ones left of my family, they will perish altogether. The onkos I trim, like the crimson red, tender flesh of the rabbit, the onkos, they shall glisten like that.

He, Ainu, the old eagle, the god of Ainu Mosir, the descendant of Oina Kamuy, of Okikurmi. A perishing, yet living raigur, a radiating, moreover white raigur. The Ainu with eye sockets like the middle of the night, even if currently all is fine and he exhales in a long breath that he'll trim the onkos, even if he is dazed, he's enjoying himself and his heart is satisfied, those onkos, I wonder if he's trimming them little by little.