Travels with a Writing Brush: Classical Japanese Travel Writing from the Manyoshu to Basho

by Meredith McKinney (Editor / Translator)

A rich, exquisite and original anthology that illuminates Japanese travel writing over a thousand years

'Oh journey upon journey, my life is a brief moment, and I cannot hope that we will meet again'

Roaming over mountains and along perilous shores, this anthology illuminates over a thousand years of Japanese travel writing. It takes in songs, diaries, tales and poetry, and ranges from famous works including The Pillow Book and the works of Basho to pieces such as the diary of a young girl who longs to return to the capital and her beloved books, or the writings of travelling monks who sleep on pillows of grass. Together they illuminate a long literary tradition, with intense poetic experience at its heart.

Genres: Japan, Poetry, Travel, Classics, Nonfiction, Japanese Literature, History

400 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2019

Reviews

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been dipping in and out of this book for months. As it is a selection of short pieces, it's an easy book to put up and down, but each section is interesting in its own way. Travelling on foot around Japan was a practice celebrated in literature, though, depending on the period in history, it could be a perilous undertaking. The concept of utamakura comes up often: these are places that have gained a poetic or talisman-like quality due to appearing in literature of previous ages. Travelling to visit utamakura and then writing about them in one's own poems or journals is a frequent theme in this book, meaning we visit many of the same places, hearing about them from different perspectives.

The account begins with extracts from the famous poetry collection from 759 ce, the Manoyoshu.. The book then moves through the Heian era, to the warring states period, and ends with two accounts from Basho, "Bones on the Wayside" and "The Narrow Road to Eko." The difficulties of travel are often emphasized, and, particularly in the early centuries, the writers long to return to their homes in the capital, and the moments of beauty are few. By the time we reach Basho, journeys are still marked by the difficulties of walking and the discomfort of roadside lodgings, but are also full of depictions of beauty, transience and history. Meredith McKinney, who translated and selected these pieces, provides excellent introductions for each extract, putting it into its historical context, and explaining the many obscure allusions or historical details. The notes and maps are also excellent, allowing the readers to follow all the details. My only problem with this book is that Basho's work is so much better than the rest, the prose so much more achieved, and the poetry so much more brilliant, that in some ways the rest of the extracts feel like a very long lead-in, or a long historical context, for the final jewel. However, the whole book is interesting and a very pleasant companion. Recommended!

[Brandon Dalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Rating


When I first read Matsuo Basho’s famous “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” I was intrigued by his often mentioning of the “poets of old.” He would quote the poems these ancient travelers created at famous sites across Japan in their own travels. I was interested in learning more about them but a cursory search online showed very little in terms of their full texts being easily accessible. And then recently, I noticed that this new book, “Travels with a Writing Brush” had been put together that collected a number of these poems and travel memoirs together in one place. I knew I had to get it and I’m very happy I did.

In this collection, we are treated to translations of 25 separate texts. These texts span a time frame from the 600s all the way through to Basho, ending in 1689. They are almost all travel memoirs of some kind, but they have a central purpose, and that is poetry and the expression of poetry through the travel experience. It was very interesting to read through these and to see how this culture sprang up in ancient Japan, and then was built upon and celebrated for centuries, up until the present day.

One can tell that a lot of work and also a lot of care went into this collection. The translations are top class; I enjoyed reading Basho’s texts here more than the other translations I had read previously. Having one translator for all of the texts was a nice touch as well as all the stories flowed seamlessly. I also appreciated when the author chose to separate the poetry texts into blocks, or put spaces in between words, to show that there was an inherent rhythm in the original that may be lost in the translation.

It was not lost on me that I was reading very ancient texts, in some cases over 1,000 years old, and yet, there was a humanity there that was striking. Just to think of the sheer weight of time that has passed between then and now was something else. There are unique and unexpected stories and poems throughout as well such as risque (i.e. horny) poems, etc. My favorite stories were Ionushi’s Pilgrimage to Kumano, Sarashina Diary, and A Tale Unasked as you really felt like you were there with them, despite them being written so long ago. Another really cool tale was Dust Dancing on the Rafters in which a wealthy man wrote down the lyrics to songs that traveling entertainers would sing back then, so that they wouldn’t be lost to time. I thought that was an awesome thing and to read their lyrics with stories of lost children, sad lives, etc. was really special.

Along with the good maps and photographs, there are great introductions to each of the texts which help place them in history and time and explain the context with which each is written. Sometimes the intros were longer than the texts themselves, but overall I found them enlightening and well put together. With them, you get essentially a crash course in Japanese history from ancient times up through Basho’s time which is an added bonus.

Some of the stories included weren’t as impactful for me; a lot of them reused phrases over and over from other texts (i.e. “soaking their sleeves with tears”) and just quoted each other often. Some were just complaining about their circumstances, while a lot of them were very sad - they were not having a good time on these trips in a lot of the cases. So at times, I started to find myself taking them for granted, as if you took away the value in that the stories were so old, the stories themselves, in certain places, were a bit boring. One other small gripe - the notes in the back of the book are really helpful in explaining, but it got a bit taxing to constantly have to flip back there; it may have been more convenient to have them at the bottom of each page.

With all that being said, I really enjoyed a lot of the poetry contained within this collection. The beauty of these styles of poetry is that they remind us that we all have an inner voice and are living our own life’s story. The poetry is almost like a photograph of a moment, but in words, like a snapshot memory, and that’s a beautiful thing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history, poetry, travel, or Japan.

[Ciaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleasant, and fascinating to see how the links and allusions build up over a thousand years. And I'm glad to have picked up the concept of an utamakura, a place which poets want to see and write about because famous poems have been written about it. Although sometimes the actual visit was optional! Some of the depth of the writing depends on recognising utamakura and allusions to poems about them so you are depending on the translator for helpful footnotes: there are many!

[Books on Asia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An comprehensive introduction to the Japanese poetry styles employed by some of Japan's greatest travel poets, poet-priests, and wanderers starting with the Manyōshū. McKinney offers introductions to famous works and tells why they are significant and gives numerous excerpts for each piece. An excellent introduction to Japanese poetry of the kikō travel diary genre that encompasses many of the concepts such as utamakura, michiyuki, monogatari, etc. You'll only find famous works in here such as Heike Monogatori, Sarashina Diary, Manyōshū, Pillow Book, Tale of Saigyō, and many more as well as two works by Bashō.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERDICT: Dive deep into Japanese travel writing over a 1,000 years, exploring poetry, religion, and cultural traditions through captivating excerpts and insightful commentary.

I had seen Travels With a Writing Brush on many book blogs focusing on Japanese literature. So exceptionally, I asked Santa for a print copy.

This is a precious book, and I had to slow down my reading to better appreciate each page.
Now that I have alas turned the last page, I’ll try to convey a bit of my admiration for it, though I know it will just be a pale glimpse of its brilliance.

As its subtitle explains, it is basically an anthology that illuminates Japanese travel writing over a thousand years.
The editor is none other than Dr Meredith McKinney.
She is a medieval Japanese literature scholar and literary translator, who has published many translations and studies on Japanese literature. When you see her name on a book, just open it, you know you are on sound scholarly ground.

In this book, she selected and translated 25 excerpts, ranging from approximately the 7th century to Bashō (1644-1694).

My full detailed review, with several excerpts, is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/02/20/...

[Andrew Fahey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does very well both as an anthology of Japanese poetic accounts of life on the road as well as being a great introduction to the development of Japanese poetry traditions more generally and how this tradition has responded to and been influenced by the changing political times.

Starting with the Manyōshyu (the first book of Japanese prose) and ending with the penultimate kikō style travel writer Bashō, the book chronologically traces the development of characteristic Japanese poetic styles from Waka through to Renga and finally Haiku. This is done by way of a thoughtful selection of classical works skilfully translated and introduced by McKinney.

I found most of the selections included here quite moving, elegant and inspiring and I learnt much about Japan’s political and social history and how poetry (and the poetry of travel) has remained a constant presence through the ages. In some sections of the book the explanatory endnotes became a little excessive, but otherwise it was a highly enjoyable read. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to deepen their knowledge of Japanese poetry and literature.

[Paul H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost impressively bad -- McKinney's other work for Penguin has been solid, so I was surprised by all of the missteps here. She includes too much material from the Man'yoshu (as well as Heike and other random non-travel writings, for no discernible reason) and far too little material (so little) from a ton of other sources; I'm talking 2-3 pages out of a full-length travel diary, where the reader would be better off just not having anything. This 300-page book either needed to be a 600-page book with more generous selections (like more than five pages by Sogi! wtf), or a very mercilessly edited 300 pages with fewer authors.

McKinney also seems to have a knack for picking the absolute worst sections of the texts involved; I had already read about 70% of the material included (in its original context, in earlier English translations) and I'm just mystified as to why she chose the sections she did.

Having spent some time in the publishing world, I'll be charitable and assume that her managing editor at Penguin pushed her into most/all these decisions . . . but then it's hard to forgive her translations, which are very weak, a thousand years of poetry conveyed with the same bland tone of voice.

Anyway, for any disappointed readers out there, don't let this book turn you off to the tradition of Japanese poetic prose + poetry; this shelf lists a ton of better translations/works in the genre.

[FP⚡️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skipped most of the Bashō out of rage at the opening scenes of Bones at the Wayside — but the collection otherwise has much to share, not least from the earlier travelers, predominantly monks, including in the following dog-eared pages:

“How might I / perfect the moonlight mirror / of my soul / till it is burnished / to unclouded purity?”
(From the Tale of Saigyō)

“Hear, waves! / Speak, rocky shores! / Pines, bear witness! / If a fair wind blew my way / one that loved me as I am / I’d drift with it / to any shore it took me.”
( From Dust Dancing on the Rafters)

“Here on this far shore / watching the salt kilns’ / drifts of smoke / my heart recalls the blossoms / that fill the flowery Capital.”
(From Eight Poems by Nōin)

This is Kyoto in Nōin’s heart, but Washington in mine.

Finally, from Sōgi, perhaps the best of all:

“The next day we sent home the samurai escort whom Hiroaki had provided for us, and prepared to set off by boat, following along a canal that wound on and on along the hills, but the low tide delayed us until finally the sun sank and we had only the moonlight to guide us, and we barely glimpsed the beach of Kiku No Nagahama as we passed. The lights of the fishing boats coming and going among the islands, the fisherfolk’s fires that burned along the shore under the mountains — all was unspeakably moving. The moon landed late that night, and at last we reached Amidaji Temple…”

[Revanth Ukkalam · Rating 4 out of 5]

How much we miss out on when we do not read all the world. The poetry in this anthology is not exactly travel-writing in that rather than space it captures consciousness: how does traveling feel? And reading the verses in these pages feels like visiting a site hidden behind mist. There is tranquility in the very way words follow another. The poets do not say much but say just enough for us to beg them to say more and certainly enought to "feel them."

Look at this excellent paragraph for instance:

Mount Miwa of the sweet sake till you hide at last behind the mountains of pale-earthed Nara till bend pile upon bend of road I would gaze my fill on you I would glimpse you from afar over and over. Is it right these clouds so heartlessly hide you from me?

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed her slice through a broad selection of works to concentrate on the travel journaling. It gives me a sense of cutting through time, a place and the connecting of various writers through history. It also provided direction for further reading. I found Dr McKenny’s history timeline, glossary, and annotations helpful.

Reread the section on Sumida River by Kanye Motomasa for a Japan Society of Boston discussion of the Noh play. Still impressed with the book, now as a reference.

[Julia Reding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travels with a Writing Brush extends the study of Japanese poetry beyond the form of haiku. As a teacher of English, this was an interesting read. As it does not fall within the traditional cannon, both the poetic forms and the historical context deepen scholarship of multicultural literature.
As a reader, the texture, tone, and imagery inspired deep comparisons to similar historic moments. This poetry offers a snapshot of a different royal court, yet the themes of banishment from the presence of royalty and the voices of child soldiers are resonate with more standardized texts.
While I do not currently have a place for this book in the standard and required curriculum, it is a beautiful addition to a poet’s library as well as recommended reading for those who wish to expand their understanding of travel writing, or poetry beyond the standard.

#TravelswithaWritingBrush #NetGalley

[James (JD) Dittes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of poetry and drama covers seven centuries of Japanese literature and about four genres of poetry. By focusing on the theme of travel, the book illustrates key moments of Japanese history, which set its writers and playwrights moving from capitol to new capitol.

As something of a traveler myself, I found the insights of the writers to be invigorating. Japanese travel was tinged with sorrow, not jubilation. I felt like if the writers weren't looking back, they weren't traveling right. Among the images repeated over the centuries are sleeves wet with tears, waves crashing on the shore, and autumn--it always seems to be autumn or winter.

Reading this book had a big impact on me. It encourages me to slow down and travel deliberately, using poetry to cement images in my memory.

[ebag · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...but mountains crumble, rivers change their flow and roads are altered, stones become buried in the earth, trees age and are replaced by young ones, and thus time passes and the world changes, and all traces of the past grow obscure - yet here beyond question was before my eyes a monument that has stood a thousand years, where I could read the minds of hearts of the ancients. At this reward for my journey, at the sheer joy of living to this moment, I forgot all the pains of travel, and simply wept."

A bit of a challenge to get through, but I enjoyed a lot of the poetry towards the end of the book. the translation was pretty good, but I wish I could read these works in their original language though.

[Heather Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Penguin Classics for giving me a free digital galley of this book in exchange for feedback.

This is a collection of travel writing from long-ago Japanese authors, which is a very different thing than a collection of travel writing by European authors.

The emphasis here isn't on adventures, anecdotes, interesting people, or exciting experiences. Instead, the emphasis for these writers is on images, poignant emotions, and opportunities to create a new poem or allude to an old, familiar one.

It's lovely, in a quiet, understated way. I think it would work well read a little bit at a time, on the bedside table.

[Drew Rhine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically organized collection of ancient Japanese poetry and travel writing from the years 700-1600. Exactly enough is taught in order to enjoy the poetry for what it is, and the way these poems and writers build on each other's works as decades pass is really something else. Through the poetry you witness changes in culture, faith, and landscapes both geological and political. Though much is admittedly lost through translation, so much beauty, philosophy, tragedy and humor still shines through.

[Dimitar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borderline academic book, Meredith McKinney has carefully selected an outstanding array of poetry and prose, not only spanning over a millennia, but also beautifully displaying the Japanese way of referencing earlier works.

Tons upon tons of additional notes that clarify the political, societial and poetic context of each work included, as well as definitions where the translation cannot fully convey the complicated layers of the language.

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent survey of Japanese travel literature. I found if I tried to read it all in one go, it got a little dry. So I put it down for awhile then came back to it. This worked pretty well as the writing felt fresh again upon each return.
As someone who is fascinated by haiku, it was fantastic to trace the roots of this poetic form through history.

[Diane Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow tour of one thousand years of Japanese poetry associated with travel. The extensive footnotes were distracting and there’s not enough of any one work to really get the feel of it. I enjoyed revisiting these works through this book (studied Classical Japanese literature in college):but I’m glad to be done with it.

[Maria Stallmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look into the very different travel writing styles of the past thousand years of Japanese literature. Through their writing - a combination of poetry and prose (haibun) - their politics, their religious beliefs, their cultural practices and their relation to nature come into focus beautifully.

[k. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting compilation that shows the evolution of travel writing in Japan from the 10th century to the 17th century. A great way to sample both prose and poetic Japanese travel stories, and to gain a a glimpse of life for the upper echelons in Old Japan.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who: a) is interested in Japanese history and b) considers the act of walking more than just A->B.

[marcia]

DNF'ed @ page 196, A Gift for the Capital by Sokyu.

[literaryluci · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful book that i feel blessed to have read 😩

Here on this far shore
watching the salt kilns’
drifts of smoke
my heart recalls the blossoms
that fill the flowery Capital

[PJ Ebbrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. It covers a long period of travelling writing, ending with Basho.

[Jinjer]

Heard about it here: https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/02/04/...

[Jennifer Sarha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and deeply enjoyable.

[Iulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful! Even more so because I read this while travelling in Japan, so it proved a very special reading experience.

The Noh play "Sumida River" by Kanze Motomasa was incredibly atmospheric and powerful, while the concept of utamakura is the best I have come across in a while.

[Don Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love to spend time with the wandering Japanese poet-monks throughout history. From the Heian period up to the 17th century, these selections take us back to a much simpler time, when humans lived more in harmony with nature, and appreciated its beauty and power. In this chaotic world, I often find myself wishing for the chance to retreat, to hit the road and sleep on the grass, to leave the demands of ravenous capitalism behind. These writers did it, and left simple, evocative records of their trips. I got some ideas about who to follow up with (Saigyo, among others) and look forward to reading further. This volume serves as a great introducton.