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Subject:Transcription of Commentary - Ito Chuta Sketch 456
Posted By: Irwin Wed, Jun 10, 2026 IP: 174.127.209.134

Checking my transcription of Uchimura Kanzō's (內村鑑三) commentary Ito Chuta's sketch, dated May 8, 1919:The Establishment of a Jewish (Judea) State, would be appreciated. I do see that part of Uchimura's commentary is the Japanese saying 「取れば憂し取らねばものの数ならず捨つべきものは弓矢なりけり」

My transcription: 猶太國建設
牲復、古歌?有之と
取れば憂し取らねば物の數
ならず、捨つべき者は弓
矢なりけり
と、勝つも損、負けるも損、
㾱すべき者は今日の軍備
に有之?、小生は非戦海者
に有之?、敬具
大正十年六月廿三日
内村鑑三

With thanks, Irwin





Subject:Re: Transcription of Commentary - Ito Chuta Sketch 456
Posted By: I.Nagy Thu, Jun 11, 2026

猶太國建設
拝復、古歌に有之と
取れば憂し 取らねば物の数
ならず 捨つべき者は弓
矢なりけり
と、 勝つも損、負けるも損。
廃すべき者は今日の軍備
に有之候 小生は非戦論者に有之候 敬具
大正十年六月廿三日
内村鑑三

Yudaya-koku kensetsu
Haifuku, Koka ni kore ari to, 
Toreba yūshi toraneba mono no kazu
sutsu beki mono wa yumi
ya nari keri
to, Katsu mo son, makeru mo son,
hai subeki mono wa konnichi no gunbi
ni kore ari sōrō. Shosei wa hisenronsha ni kore ari sōrō, Keigu
Taishō jū-nen rokugatsu nijūsan-nichi
Uchimura Kanzō

The Establishment of a Jewish State
In reply to your letter、as mentioned in an old song;
If I take it, I grieve; if I do not, it counts as nothing.
What must be discarded are the bow
and the arrow.
Thus, whether I win or lose, I lose.
What must be abolished is today’s military arsenal.
I am an advocate of pacifism.
Sincerely,
Uchimura Kanzō

The strange symbol which looks like "n:" is the abbreviated cursive form of character 候 (sōrō).

With regards,
I.Nagy

Subject:Re: Transcription of Commentary - Ito Chuta Sketch 456
Posted By: Irwin Mon, Jun 15, 2026

I've done a little more looking/thinking (reviewing your past corrections) about the transcript of the commentary above this sketch and I think the below is now accurate and seems to make sense in translation.

拝復、古歌に有之と

取れば憂し取らねば物の數
ならず、捨つべき者は弓
矢なりけり

と、勝つも損、負けるも損、
癈すべき者は今日の軍備
に有之リ、小生は非戦海者
に有之リ、敬具

大正十年六月廿三日
内村鑑三

In reply to your letter. There is an old poem which says:
“If one takes them up, they bring sorrow; if one does not take them up, one is of no account. The thing that ought to be cast away is the bow and arrow.”
Thus, to win is a loss, and to lose is also a loss. What ought to be abolished is today’s military armament. I am an anti-war advocate.
Respectfully,
June 23, Taishō 10 [1921]
— Uchimura Kanzō

Subject:Re: Transcription of Commentary - Ito Chuta Sketch 456
Posted By: I.Nagy Tue, Jun 16, 2026

I think it’s perfect.
I.Nagy

Subject:Re: Transcription of Commentary - Ito Chuta Sketch 456
Posted By: I.Nagy Wed, Jun 17, 2026

When I wrote my reply above, I was only looking at the English text and didn't even notice that you had corrected my reading of the Japanese text.

In this regard, I would like to note that the term "戦海者"—and therefore the term "非戦海者" as well—does not exist in Japanese.
However,in cursive and semi-cursive scripts, the 言 radical is reduced to 讠.Therefore, 讠+侖
Please take a look at the text below, which supports this.

内村鑑三(1861〜1930年)は、近代日本を代表するキリスト教思想家であり、文学者、そして強固な「非戦論(絶対平和主義)」を唱えた人物として知られています。彼の非戦論は、単なる政治的ボイコットではなく、彼の深いキリスト教信仰と人道主義に根ざしたものでした。

As of your transcription "有之リ",
In handwritten letters from this era, that final vertical stroke or squiggly mark often looks like a modern katakana 「リ」 (ri) or a colon-like symbol, but it is actually a highly cursive abbreviation for the formal verb 候 (そうろう / sōrō).

Therefore,standard historical reading interprets it as 有之候 (kore ari sōrō), which was the standard polite way to end a sentence in formal correspondence.

Regards,
Imre


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