Sadler's translation of Heike monogatari
The first complete translation in a foreign language
of Heike monogatariwas
by Arthur Lindsay Sadler (1882-1970). Various materials related
to this translation and its abridgement will be put on line here.
Abbreviations:
Sadler 1918 = TASJ 46.2
(1918), 1-278
Sadler 1921 = TASJ 49.1 (1921),
1-354
Sadler 1928 =
Sadler's translation appeared in two issues of
TASJ (The Transactions
of the Asiatic Society of Japan). It is a complete translation of rufubon
流布本 or "vulgate" version found in Edo-period printed texts. This
version differs in section divisions and in wording from the
Kakuichi version (Kakuichi-bon 覚一本, hereafter Kb) translated by Kitagawa and Tsuchiya (1975), McCullough
(1988), and Watson (2006).
The first installment of the publication (Sadler 1919) ends with the
"The Death of the Nyudo," the death of Kiyomori (equivalent to
Kb 6:7). The second installment (Sadler 1921) continues to the final
epilogue, "KANCHO MAKI" (i.e. 灌頂巻, now usually read voiced as Kanjō no maki). This is followed by a translation of "The Book of Swords" (Tsurugi no maki, pp. 325-354), a
lengthy text found in some versions of Heike
monogatari. Sanskrit and Chinese references are given in the "Appendix."
A.L.Sadler's abridged translation of 1928 does not simply select
sections from his earlier complete translation. There are many unmarked
cuts within sections, as well as the inclusion of material originally
belonging to other sections, as the accompanying chart attempts to show
(link to "Sadler_shodan" chart, PDF
format). Note also that the
account of the birth of Antoku (1179.11.12) is moved from the beginning
of book 3 to the end of book 4, after the death of Yorimasa
(1180.5.23). The Rufubon titles quoted on the chart are from the 1621 edition
edited by Kajihara Masaaki (1984), with kanji modernized. These are
close to the section titles that Sadler translated, but not identical.
On my next revision of this chart, I will check the section titles in
the texts edited by Utsumi and Umezawa mentioned by Sadler (1918:v).
- Utsumi Kōzō 内海弘蔵編『平家物語評釋』（明治書院). Sadler must have used an
earlier edition to that immediately available to me. (MGU and Waseda
only hold 校訂版 of 1924.)
- Similar problem of edition date in the case of Umezawa Seiichi 梅沢 精一 (1871-1931) aka (『平家物語評釋』共益社出版部, 1923.6).
[in preparation, 2006/09 Michael Watson]