【精英翻譯】的部落格

Pictures from the Floating World　　江戶浮世百態的寫照 ── 浮世繪

精英翻譯社轉自http://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0062/308536/web/

Ukiyo-e is one of Japan's most famous types of art.

浮世繪是日本最知名的藝術形式之一。

　　In the 1600's, the Japanese capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. In the new capital, business was growing fast and traders suddenly had lots of money to spend. This gave rise to the ukiyo, or the floating world, which describes the urban lifestyle of gambling, red-light districts, and more, during this time period. The art of the age changed to show this and ukiyo-e, pictures of the floating world, was born.

　　十七世紀時，日本首都從京都遷到東京。在新首都，商業快速發達，商人突然有很多錢可以花。這導致浮世（英文又稱 floating world）的出現，其描述的是這個時期的都市生活型態，像是賭博、綠燈戶和其他更多方面。這時期的藝術轉變到展現此層面，於是浮世繪（英文又稱 pictures of the floating world）誕生了。

　　Ukiyo-e used a new, much faster method developed at this time: woodblock▼ printing. First, the artist, normally a trained painter, designed the image. Next, a woodworker carved the images onto woodblocks. Finally, a printer used these woodblocks to print the image onto paper. Because they could be mass-produced, these prints were much more inexpensive than paintings, and popular art became no longer just for the wealthy.

　　浮世繪使用這時期發展的一種又新又快的方法製作：木版畫技術。首先，藝術家，通常是受過訓練的畫家，設計圖像。接著，雕版師在木板上雕刻出圖形。最後，刷版師用這些木板轉印圖案到紙上。由於它們可以被大量生產，這些印刷品比繪畫更加便宜，受歡迎的藝術變成不再只是富人的專屬。

　　Traditional Japanese art focused on the beauty of nature or the lives of the rich. The colorful ukiyo-e prints took art in a new direction by focusing on more common subjects such as sumo▼ wrestlers▼, geishas▼, common people, and ghosts. As the content continued to change, artists went beyond the world of entertainment and ukiyo-e became one of Japan's most distinct▼ art forms.

　　傳統日本藝術聚焦在自然之美或富人的生活。繽紛多彩的浮世繪以聚焦在更通俗的題材像是相撲手、藝妓、平民百姓和神鬼的方式，來把藝術帶往一個新領域。隨著繪畫內容不斷改變，藝術家超越了娛樂界，浮世繪也成為了日本最獨特的藝術形式之一。