Tattoo help!

[RKitagawa]

Hey everyone, I know there are a million tattoo threads already. I have a very specific question though. I'm getting a tattoo soon, and I need help figuring some stuff out.

I want to get a quote by Haruki Murakami from Sputnik Sweetheart. The quote is: “I dream. Sometimes I think that's the only right thing to do.”

But I really want to get it in the original Japanese text, as Murakami himself wrote it.

I am a huge fan of his work, and this has always been one of my favourite quotes.

Could someone help me to:
A) find out how it was originally written
B) tell me the differences in the translation. I don't know how accurate the english version of this quote is. And I realize that it could be completely different.
C) A general idea of what a Japanese person might think if they saw this quote tattooed on me. I don't want to get a tattoo that I love, but to a native speaker seems silly/stupid/offensive/etc...

I'll try to figure out what chapter the quote is in.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by RKitagawa

Hey everyone, I know there are a million tattoo threads already. I have a very specific question though. I'm getting a tattoo soon, and I need help figuring some stuff out.

I want to get a quote by Haruki Murakami from Sputnik Sweetheart. The quote is: “I dream. Sometimes I think that's the only right thing to do.”

But I really want to get it in the original Japanese text, as Murakami himself wrote it.

I am a huge fan of his work, and this has always been one of my favourite quotes.

Could someone help me to:
A) find out how it was originally written
B) tell me the differences in the translation. I don't know how accurate the english version of this quote is. And I realize that it could be completely different.
C) A general idea of what a Japanese person might think if they saw this quote tattooed on me. I don't want to get a tattoo that I love, but to a native speaker seems silly/stupid/offensive/etc...

I'll try to figure out what chapter the quote is in.

Why not just have it in English? Why use a foreign language that you can't read/understand?

[RKitagawa]

I have been considering that from the start. But I'd like it to be faithful to the author. And the best way to do that would be to have it in his original words. There's always something lost in the translation.

P.S. I believe the quote is in chapter 16. just before Sumire calls. If that helps anyone.

[ryuurui]

Originally Posted by RKitagawa

I have been considering that from the start. But I'd like it to be faithful to the author. And the best way to do that would be to have it in his original words. There's always something lost in the translation.

P.S. I believe the quote is in chapter 16. just before Sumire calls. If that helps anyone.

In short, if you tattoo yourself with computer font, you will look like any other freak of nature. I like that quote, and calligraphy in cursive may look nice.

Your quote goes as follows: 私は夢を見る。時々私は何にのみ正しいことだと思う。

If you are interested in calligraphy work, send me a PM.

[RKitagawa]

haha, don't worry. I wasn't planning on getting it done in a computer font. I'm just having a really tough time finding the original japanese text.

[RKitagawa]

Oh, you found it? That's not directly from the book though is it?
Since it's a quote, I'd like to get it word for word, the way it was first written.

[ryuurui]

Originally Posted by RKitagawa

Oh, you found it? That's not directly from the book though is it?
Since it's a quote, I'd like to get it word for word, the way it was first written.

You will need to wait for the native speakers to confirm this, or anyone that has the original in Japanese with them, as i don't.

[RKitagawa]

okay, thank you.
Hopefully someone out there owns a copy. I can't seem to find the quote in japanese online using my limited knowledge of the language.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by ryuurui

Your quote goes as follows: 私は夢を見る。時々私は何にのみ正しいことだと思う。

lol That is NOT how Murakami writes at all. The part in red does not even make sense in Japanese, either.

The original reads:

「ぼくは夢を見る。ときどきぼくにはそれがただひとつ の正しい行為であるように思える。」

Google it for verification.

Originally Posted by RKitagawa

Could someone help me to:
A) find out how it was originally written
B) tell me the differences in the translation. I don't know how accurate the english version of this quote is. And I realize that it could be completely different.
C) A general idea of what a Japanese person might think if they saw this quote tattooed on me. I don't want to get a tattoo that I love, but to a native speaker seems silly/stupid/offensive/etc...

A) As above.

B) Very close. Probably could not get any closer in English, in which language 「思える」 is simply not said. Its nuance is "It appears that I think ~~" rather than the plain "I think".

C) Though I do not represent the rest of the country, I would think it was a pretty sissy line for a tattoo if I saw it.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by masaegu

lol That is NOT how Murakami writes at all. The part in red does not even make sense in Japanese, either.

The original reads:

「ぼくは夢を見る。ときどきぼくにはそれがただひとつ の正しい行為であるように思える。」

One reason I didn't even dare try to re-Murakami that English. Ah, ...それがただひとつの正しい行為であるように思える sounds so lovely.

Brings me to a point: Who are the preëminent writers in Japan today? Murakami is quite famous. I am aware of Banana Yoshimoto. But sometimes I wonder if they're not just the Ken Follett/Stephen King/JK Rowling/Neil Gaiman of Japan.

Not to cast aspersions on the people I just mentioned, but our great living literary writers of English are people like Ian McEwan, Thomas Pynchon, Tom Wolfe, Kazuo Ishiguro, and maybe Cormack McCarthy.

Note: I adore all the "non-literary" authors I mentioned above, particularly Gaiman and Rowling. But, let's face it, the literati of the West don't consider them as worthy as Ishiguro, Wolfe, Pynchon, etc. Heck, maybe they don't even consider McEwan a great, but his work is just so magnificent I had to include him in my little list.