2015.5.2『天声人語』・八十八夜的茶香

tea

2015.5.2『天声人語』・八十八夜的茶香
译者： 狮山樵夫 原作者：朝日新聞

    前几天还曾在寒冷中抖抖瑟瑟，今天已经是八十八夜了。这是从立春开始数的第88天。

    I was shivering with cold until recently, but May 2 is the 88th day from "risshun," the first day of spring according to the traditional Japanese calendar.

嫩叶和春苗催促着整个日本列岛，迎来了我们在唱歌课上学到的采茶的盛期。

Trees are becoming flush with leaves, and rice seedlings are sprouting around the nation.

这个季节的茶田，如同半干的画作，生机勃勃、绿莹莹地熠熠生辉。

The season for harvesting green tea leaves, described in an old Japanese song, is reaching its peak. Around this time of the year, tea fields glisten green, like a painting that has yet to dry completely.

    采茶时节的诗句：”富士碧蓝天  山麓采茶歌声扬  大家齐上阵“（译得太有浙江《采茶歌》的味道了。姑且如此。译者注）今枝贞代作。

A haiku poem about a tea-producing region, penned by Sadayo Imaeda, reads to the effect, "Mount Fuji soars in the clear sky/ Tea pickers are all over the tea fields at the foot of the mountain."

系着暗红色的带子挽起袖子、戴着蓑衣草帽的采茶者，已经一色地宛如宣传海报上画的一般。

Unlike how they are depicted in promotional posters, many tea pickers today no longer sport the traditional garb of a sedge hat and the red sash with which to tuck in the sleeves of their kimono.

尽管如此，那像板鱼糕（直译得毫无文采！有过生活体验的方能在此共鸣。无奈的译者）似的，被修剪、排列得整整齐齐的茶田造型之美，引发了多少的乡愁。

Still, the beauty of the neat rows of semicylindrical tea bushes evokes feelings of nostalgia.

    2年前的本专栏曾触及过不懂如何沏茶的年轻一代正在增多。在料理培训教师里看到茶壶会问“这是用来做什么的？”----对这样的现状，我们听到了许多的叹息声。

Two years ago, I wrote in this column about the growing number of young Japanese who do not know how to make a proper pot of tea. I mentioned the story of a student in a cooking class who saw a "kyusu" (traditional Japanese teapot) and asked the instructor its purpose. Many readers responded, saying they were shocked.

人们为此担心，但一方面，绿茶的出口量正逐年在递增。（如果是股民，宜直译成“呈右侧行情”。^_^  译者注。）

The situation is disturbing. But on the brighter side, Japanese green tea exports are growing steadily.

   去年是10年前的4倍有余。其中一半出口到北美，那是有着健康养生的人气背景。

The exports last year represented a more than fourfold growth from 10 years earlier. Half of the exports went to North America, where people's growing health consciousness is said to be contributing to the popularity of green tea.

家电厂商的夏普，开发了一种将茶叶打成粉末后融在开水里的新型茶饮品，在美国和加拿大市场出售。

Home electronics maker Sharp Corp. has developed a tea maker, which it plans to market in the United States and Canada, that pulverizes tea leaves and adds hot water to make a cup of green tea.

    “日本茶馆”也进入了美国市场。这时由支持向海外推广日本商品和文化事业的“ Cool Japan”机构，和长崎县的企业等共同创办的。

And Cool Japan Fund, which describes itself as "a central organization that assembles and amplifies information and resources associated with ‘Cool Japan,’" is partnering with Nagasaki-based corporations and other organizations to establish a chain of "Nihon-cha (Japanese tea) cafes” in the United States.

年内推出1号店，10年内计划推广到50家店，气势强劲。

The first outlet is scheduled to open before the end of this year, to be followed by 50 or so more over the next 10 years.

我们期待着茶文化的“上升气流”。

I applaud this ambitious project and hope this will further popularize Japan's green tea culture.

   “挎着水壶  灌上满满的新茶  揣几块柏饼（注）”，水原秋樱子的诗句描写的是小小的远足吧。

Here is a haiku by Shuoshi Mizuhara (1892-1981): "A water bottle brimming with fresh green tea/ Accompanied by 'kashiwamochi' (rice cake filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in an oak leaf)." I imagine this poem is about packing a little snack for a casual outing.

茶铺打出新茶的幡旗，点心铺里也摇出柏饼的广告牌。

A seasonal treat, kashiwamochi lines the shelves of traditional Japanese confectionery shops just around the time tea sellers start advertising the year's new green tea.

三五好友围坐一席的八十八夜，今天全国几乎一色的五月艳阳天。
On this 88th day into spring, fair May weather is forecast for most of the nation.

注：「柏餅」＝用槲树叶子包的带豆沙馅的糕饼。见下图

by dingdingdang 2015-05-02 16:00
http://article.yeeyan.org/view/529996/452938