The Illustrated Book of Japanese Haiku: A Journey through the Seasons with Japan's Best-Loved Poets

by William Scott Wilson (translator), Manda (illustrator)

Genres: Poetry, Japan, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

Published October 8, 2024

Reviews

[Bogi Takács]

Mati got this book from the library because he's been looking for nature poetry, and I decided to read it too. We both enjoyed it. It's a large collection of Japanese haiku grouped by the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter, and New Year's). In addition to the English translations, each poem is also provided in Japanese, and transliterated into English too. I appreciated this because I understand a little spoken Japanese, but I only know some very basic kanji, so it was awesome to have a transliteration. I haven't tried the online audio yet, but overall this seems like a wonderful resource for language learners.

I thought the poems were great, carefully chosen, and not infrequently pushing against the Western stereotypes about haiku (even though the translator is American). I really liked the discussions of the seasons at the beginning of each chapter. One thing that I was really missing though is the chance to learn more about the authors. Sure, most poetry readers know about Bashō, but there are many authors in this volume, from a period spanning centuries. It felt a bit othering to treat all the authors as a homogenous mass of "Japanese poetry". A few pages in the back of the book with author bios could've resolved this; especially now that information on the internet is increasingly unreliable. I wasn't won over by the illustrations either, but the poetry is what makes or breaks this book, ultimately.

Find me elsewhere: My Patreon | My Bluesky account

_____
Source of the book: Lawrence Public Library

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtfully researched and well put together. Each poem was breathtaking in how just a couple of images put together can generate so much meaning and emotive response. Yet even the simple, single image haikus astound in their simplicity. The haiku is quickly becoming one of my favorite forms, along with its sister form: the Renga.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the art is lovely. Great educational value for all ages, with excellent editor's notes etc. But no index. Not very many of the poems so far charm; I wonder if the translation is too literal or if I'm just jaded.

I do like that it is bilingual (well, trilingual, as it also has the characters). One could teach oneself many words, like Autumn, cricket, hungry, etc. just be comparing poems with overlapping words against each other. I would do so with my children if they were still young.

From the introduction: "Haiku looks at the everyday.... Deep meaning is not a part... There may indeed be beautiful haiku, but that is not the aim. The aim is significance...."

He references Mary Oliver, one of my favorites, who does write similarly. See *Instructions for Living a Life.*

My favorite haiku from the spring chapter is "His mouth agape, gazing at the following cherry blossoms: the child is a Buddha." - Kubutsu.

From summer I enjoy "Going, going, right up to collapse; the roadside weeds." - Santoka.
And "In my begging bowl, tomorrow's rice; a cool evening breeze." - Ryokan.

Autumn includes "Winter rains; playing with sparrows for half the day." - Tsukamatsu Roko.

I chose three for Winter because it's so hard for me to appreciate the season and maybe these will help.
"Watching the first snow on firewood mountains, in fine weather." - Seigetsu.
And "Thin snow falling but still the scent of flowers in the tearoom." - Kawakami Fuhaku.
And "From all directions, morning, sun shining on snow." - Fujimori Sobaku.

The last section, "New Year" is more brief. I like "This is what I try to be: a child at New Year's." - Issa.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely not my usual kind of book but I really enjoyed this. I always thought haiku were supposed to be these deep and meaningful little poems and this proves that some of them really aren't!

For example this is beautiful, it creates a lovely mental image...

A yellow Japanese rose
blooming in the mountains:
just one.

Or

In this world
no matter what,
there are butterflies.

And then there's this...

An evening shower;
ducks run around the house
quacking.

And...

My destination?
Sake,
And peach blossoms.

Either way it's a wonderful book. The illustrations (especially the chawan) are just gorgeous! I might look into more haiku.

[Cass]

I had higher expectations of this collection. I love that they kept the Japanese in its original forms in the text (of course alongside the English translation); as a Japanese learner, this was quite a fun exercise to try and decipher meaning from this old, poetic form of the language. The little illustrations were a nice touch and added to the atmosphere of the collection.

I like that they broke it down by season, which is in keeping with a core philosophy of the craft. I only wish I could have connected more. I did come across a few that I liked, but the rest felt flat to me. I'll have to ask my Japanese friends what they think of haiku - as someone who studied it briefly for a few weeks in high school, I'm super curious how far its influence goes in modern day Japanese society.

[M M · Rating 5 out of 5]

April is poetry month according to Hoopla. I chose this book because I find Haiku, and the Japanese sense of beauty, fascinating. This book and the illustrations of the seasons made me smile. “No matter how you look at it, there is nothing quite as mysterious, as snow” or “on the autumn plateau, all the butterflies I see: yellow butterflies”

[sawah · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a haiku
about haikus, blooming in
all the seasons here

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the poems and the illustrations. I also liked that there was some context shared for the seasons and why some things were mentioned frequently .