What do you think?
Rate this book
Japanese Haiku Series by Peter Pauper Press #3
Cherry-Blossoms
Step into a series of dazzling, funny, melancholy, and joyous moments with this collection of haiku masterworks. Beloved translator Peter Beilenson’s goals were twofold: to craft a book of haiku accessible to anyone, and to render his best guess at what the poets would have written in English. His translations preserve the sublime spirit of each verse, conjuring vivid visual and emotional impressions in spare words.
Haiku icon Basho is represented amply here, as are imagery-virtuoso Buson and wry, warm, painfully human Issa. The verses of Shiki, Joso, Kyorai, Kikaku, Chora, Gyodai, Kakei, Izen, and others also appear, all illuminated by lovely woodblock prints. From the peaceful (Moonlight nightingale/Casts a whistling line of sound/Over the millpond–Basho) to the lively (Sudden radiance…/After October rainstorm/Re-reddened peppers–Buson) to the downright absurd (Ah sacred swallow…/Twittering from your nest in/Great Buddha’s nostril–Issa), this collection will stir your senses and your heart.
Haiku icon Basho is represented amply here, as are imagery-virtuoso Buson and wry, warm, painfully human Issa. The verses of Shiki, Joso, Kyorai, Kikaku, Chora, Gyodai, Kakei, Izen, and others also appear, all illuminated by lovely woodblock prints. From the peaceful (Moonlight nightingale/Casts a whistling line of sound/Over the millpond–Basho) to the lively (Sudden radiance…/After October rainstorm/Re-reddened peppers–Buson) to the downright absurd (Ah sacred swallow…/Twittering from your nest in/Great Buddha’s nostril–Issa), this collection will stir your senses and your heart.
61 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1960
4 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Matsuo Bashō
318 books587 followersKnown Japanese poet Matsuo Basho composed haiku, infused with the spirit of Zen.
The renowned Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉) during his lifetime of the period of Edo worked in the collaborative haikai no renga form; people today recognize this most famous brief and clear master.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsuo_...
The renowned Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉) during his lifetime of the period of Edo worked in the collaborative haikai no renga form; people today recognize this most famous brief and clear master.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsuo_...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 31, 2016
I seem to need the restfulness of reading haiku every so often. Enjoyed the illustrations too.
Night is darkening...
Silent in
The paddy pool
Shines the Milky Way.
Izen
Night is darkening...
Silent in
The paddy pool
Shines the Milky Way.
Izen
March 6, 2013
Scarecrows seem to play
a big part in these haiku.
Monkeys not so much.
a big part in these haiku.
Monkeys not so much.
Read
November 28, 2024I found this at a used book store and wasn’t anticipating how much I would love this sweet little collection
October 11, 2017
I was not expecting much when I ran across this volume for $0.50 at a book sale ... but it turns out that Beilenson is an able translator (he adds too many adjectives and ignores kana, but is legitimately talented).
I tracked down the other three volumes in this series, which are equally impressive; Beilenson translates a total of ~900 haiku in these (very affordable) volumes, including many haiku by Buson, Taigi, Shiki, etc., that have not, to my knowledge, been published anywhere else in English, even in Blyth.
It's difficult to highly recommend Beilenson unless you've read literally everything else in English (Blyth and Carter are the best places to start), but I was certainly impressed.
I tracked down the other three volumes in this series, which are equally impressive; Beilenson translates a total of ~900 haiku in these (very affordable) volumes, including many haiku by Buson, Taigi, Shiki, etc., that have not, to my knowledge, been published anywhere else in English, even in Blyth.
It's difficult to highly recommend Beilenson unless you've read literally everything else in English (Blyth and Carter are the best places to start), but I was certainly impressed.
January 3, 2012
A short book filled with Japanese Haiku in which the poems are arranged by the four seasons.
August 26, 2016
Small book of hundreds of haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa and others. Fun to 'dip' into now and again.
January 26, 2024
I've been a poetry nerd all my life, but only last year decided to try some haiku. I wasn't disappointed. One of the books I stumbled upon last year "Silent Flowers: A New Collection of Japanese Haiku Poems" edited Dorothy Price was my first that had the Japanese masters. I was captivated.
I have learned haiku books should be sat down with somewhere quiet, with music, bird calls, rain, and digested. Don't read one or two poems and put the book down. It's meant to be immersive. The more of a book you read at once, the more into a quiet place similar to what I feel when I mediate, that you will go. That's why I appreciate keeping these books relatively small.
The one thing I remain unsure of how I feel about this book is that the translator kept with the pattern of syllables to make them haiku form. But I wonder how much was lost in translation when the form of the poem is prized above the content. Still, I could clearly begin to tell who was who even before reading the name of the poet at the bottom of each, as their personalities and styles quickly became apparent. My favorite is Issa.
I would recommend "Silent Flowers" over "Cherry-Blossoms" because I like the translation style slightly better and the artwork as well. "Cherry-Blossoms" has beautiful art...and then suddenly, partway through the book, it starts repeating all of the same pictures again. Let it be said that you don't NEED illustrations at all for haiku, as the imagery will soon take shape in your head as you read along. I also must mention how wonderfully tactile "Cherry-Blossoms" is. I don't know what kind of paper was used, but the pages are so smooth and a pleasure to touch.
Overall, this is a lovely book. It's good enough that I want to find and read the other books in the series. I may just yet decide to add this to my poetry book collection!
I have learned haiku books should be sat down with somewhere quiet, with music, bird calls, rain, and digested. Don't read one or two poems and put the book down. It's meant to be immersive. The more of a book you read at once, the more into a quiet place similar to what I feel when I mediate, that you will go. That's why I appreciate keeping these books relatively small.
The one thing I remain unsure of how I feel about this book is that the translator kept with the pattern of syllables to make them haiku form. But I wonder how much was lost in translation when the form of the poem is prized above the content. Still, I could clearly begin to tell who was who even before reading the name of the poet at the bottom of each, as their personalities and styles quickly became apparent. My favorite is Issa.
I would recommend "Silent Flowers" over "Cherry-Blossoms" because I like the translation style slightly better and the artwork as well. "Cherry-Blossoms" has beautiful art...and then suddenly, partway through the book, it starts repeating all of the same pictures again. Let it be said that you don't NEED illustrations at all for haiku, as the imagery will soon take shape in your head as you read along. I also must mention how wonderfully tactile "Cherry-Blossoms" is. I don't know what kind of paper was used, but the pages are so smooth and a pleasure to touch.
Overall, this is a lovely book. It's good enough that I want to find and read the other books in the series. I may just yet decide to add this to my poetry book collection!
March 24, 2022
"Floreces, viejo
Cerezo. Remembranza
De otros días"
Qué libro más absolutamente maravilloso, qué paz, qué sentimiento, qué energía más bonita.
Estoy un poco sin palabras...
Se lee en diez minutos porque es muy cortito.
Nuevo gran descubrimiento: los haikús, qué soberana maravilla. Siempre me han llamado la atención, aunque nunca me he puesto a leer algo de este estilo. Es la primera, pero no la última vez.
Algunos me han llegado de verdad y otros se quedan en una imagen (que ya tiene mucho mérito) pero todos transmiten algo, sobre todo una sensación de paz.
Nuevo remedio para el estrés y los bajones y los bloqueos lectore y todo. Nueva solución para la vida.
Una maravilla, simplemente (ahora seguro que me paso un tiempo que no paro de leer haikús)
Cerezo. Remembranza
De otros días"
Qué libro más absolutamente maravilloso, qué paz, qué sentimiento, qué energía más bonita.
Estoy un poco sin palabras...
Se lee en diez minutos porque es muy cortito.
Nuevo gran descubrimiento: los haikús, qué soberana maravilla. Siempre me han llamado la atención, aunque nunca me he puesto a leer algo de este estilo. Es la primera, pero no la última vez.
Algunos me han llegado de verdad y otros se quedan en una imagen (que ya tiene mucho mérito) pero todos transmiten algo, sobre todo una sensación de paz.
Nuevo remedio para el estrés y los bajones y los bloqueos lectore y todo. Nueva solución para la vida.
Una maravilla, simplemente (ahora seguro que me paso un tiempo que no paro de leer haikús)
March 5, 2018
Beautiful poetry! Makes me wonder why I didn't start reading more haiku sooner!
August 21, 2019
What a stunningly beautiful book. These Haiku's range from thought-provoking to moving to comical. I wasn't disappointed by a single one.
April 19, 2020
Sweet, peaceful, beautiful. Can't pick a favorite.
June 19, 2022
sweet birthday book
Read
December 7, 2025I picked up a copy of this thrifting. I quite enjoyed this collection of haikus, and the illustrations as well.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews