Howling at the moon: Poems of Hagiwara Sakutarō ; translated and with an introduction by Hiroaki Sato

by Hagiwara Sakutaro

English, Japanese (translation)

Genres: Poetry, Japan, Japanese Literature

142 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Nadia Kay]

i am not the person to rate this collection because i don’t think i quite feel poetry the way others seem to. but surely some things leapt from the page.

CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN …. [on a trip, sent to a woman]

At the mountaintop there is a pretty grass lot,
on it we were lying down.
Looking up and surveying the distant mountainslope, all around, it felt like a view of a spacious ocean.
In the sky a wind is flowing,
I picked a stone and putting it to my mouth,
purposelessly as to where,
was walking the mountaintop with profuse growths,

even now, I am thinking of you.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading Hagawara’s thoughts on poetry. I was incredibly moved by his view that the individuals are inherently lonely as all our emotions, thoughts and senses belong solely to each individual and can only be felt and understood by each individual, however, despite this isolation of senses and feelings, there must be something that connects us -something perhaps quite ineffable-and poetry can bridge the gaps between each lonely souls.
( the above is my horrible and probably inaccurate paraphrase.)

I feel that Hagawara was such a lonely soul, whose tremors await understanding and response from the readers. That’s why I felt so bad that I was unable to connect with what he was feeling when I was reading the poems and I felt that I failed him as a reader.
The only consolation is that I know that there are probably thousands of other people who have read his works and felt the same tremors in their souls as Hagawara when he wrote the words down.

“诗不是神秘之物，不是象征，不是幽灵。
诗只是在安慰着有一副病灵魂的人，和孤独者的寂寞。
我想到诗歌，就要为人情之怜悯而落泪”

[Jon Holt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the revised, expanded edition Sato did here (which includes "Cat Town" I think). Although I can't say I feel that any translation does Hagiwara's poems justice, I must say I've read Sato's translations many times now and his take on Hagiwara has always stayed with me.

[Federica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit creepy, but I loved the little scenes that let you in the mind of the poet

[إســرٰاء☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A person, individually, is always terribly lonely forever and ever."

[Bayu Priambodo · Rating 5 out of 5]

its good to read this book