“The River of Stars Part 11
I created this cut paper art, painted the background, and translated the story. In this scene, the old man is being taken care of by the wolves and finally recovers from his mental and physical difficulty. He is out of the cave and simply enjoys the spring atmosphere. Honestly, I really can't wait for spring so, this picture is making me feel much better to feel spring. I really really miss spring. Winter is beautiful but strict and long. I want to see spring plants, animals, and want to feel the spring breeze.
I changed his clothing color. Basically, his hat and sleeves don't change their color. The front and back of his top change their color. Sometimes his pants change their color as well. His clothing reflects the spring atmosphere. This is one of my concepts of his fashion for this story. His clothing shapeshifts its design depending on the seasons of nature. Sometimes it reflects his feelings or situation as well.
When I decided on the old man's character for this story, it didn't take a long time. I got his image in my brain quickly since I read the story. I didn't want him to look like he has any nationality. The old man's character should exist anywhere in the world. That's why I don't show his facial details. Anyway, it took me a long time to complete the artwork, nearly around 5-6 years. Also, I spent a long time on translation work. I wanted to translate using only the present tense for Japanese because this story is not about the past or the future. The moment concept is very important for this story. Also, I used Kanji letters for only the nature words. Additionally, I used Katakana letters for humans or animals. I hope you can enjoy these concepts or details about this story!
About Japanese writing system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_writing_system
"星の川 パート１１”
切り絵と背景を作成し、翻訳をしました。怪我した心と身体を狼に手当してもらう年老いた男がとうとう回復するシーンです。ほら穴の外で単に春を楽しんでいる様子です。正直言って春が待ち遠しくて仕方がないので、絵の中の春を見るだけでも心癒されます。冬はきれいですが、寒さが厳しくて長いです。春の植物や動物が早く見たいですし、春の風が待ち遠しくて仕方ありません。
年老いた男の服の色も変えました。基本的に帽子と服の袖の柄は変わりません。服の前後の模様は時々変化します。それからズボンの柄も時々変わります。このシーンの服の模様は春の自然を反射しています。彼の服の模様が自然の季節によって写り変わるのが、この物語のアートのコンセプトの一つです。時おり彼の心や状況も服に反映されます。
このアートに取り掛かった当初、キャラクターを決めるのにはそんなに時間がかかりませんでした。物語を読んで割と早い段階でこのキャラクターが頭に浮かんできました。国籍などを限定したくなかったので、世界中どこにいても違和感のないような年老いた男にしたかったのです。ですから、顔の細部を表現していません。そんなこんなで、アートを完成するのに約５、６年かかりました。翻訳にも結構時間をかけました。この物語は過去の話でも未来の話でもない、今この瞬間の話なので、現在形だけを使って訳しました。自然を表す単語は漢字を使い、人間や動物の単語にはカタカナを使いました。そういったことも含めて物語を楽しんでもらえたら嬉しいです。
Here is the previous post “The River of Stars Part 10" 前回の投稿”星の川 パート１０” はコチラ：@koto-art/the-river-of-stars-part-10-translation-and-art