Mountain Tasting : Zen Haiku by Santōka Taneda

by Santōka Taneda, John Stevens (Translator)

This collection presents the Zen haiku of Santōka (1880-1940), whose poetry is free-style.

Genres: Poetry, Japan, Zen, Japanese Literature

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Santōka Taneda (種田 山頭火) was a Japanese writer and haiku poet, in his last years Zen monk. He is known for his free-verse haiku.

Reviews

[Maria]

"Westerners like to conquer mountains;
Orientals like to contemplate them.
As for me, I like to taste the mountains."

Santoka

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not attempt the impossible.
Do not feel regret for the past.
Do not berate oneself.

Santoka's rules for living sum up his insightful and ultimately tragic life. A father who lurched from one financial disaster to another, a wife he couldn't live with, and a drinking problem that led to an early death -- Santoka's life was mostly played out on the road, begging and wandering, in order to escape the father, the marriage, and the drink. The last figures throughout his haiku and his journals, and provides him both brief respite and long-term misery as he berates himself and wallows in self-pity. In the end, his legacy is captured best in his haunting poetry:

Each day we meet
Both demons and Buddha.

The butterfly --
Floating, fluttering
Above the temple roof.

Gradually I take on the vices
Of my dead father.

I slipped and fell --
The mountains are still.

The mountain becomes dark,
I listen to its voice.

Baggage I cannot throw off,
So heavy front and back.

[valixt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Urinating, I look down On the sleeping village." - Santoka Taneda

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaneda Santoka, Mountain Tasting (Weatherhill, 1980)

Kaneda Santoka, itinerant Zen monk, storied drunkard, and haiku poet, never achieved the fame in the West as did more traditional haiku poets like Basho and Soseki. Some few admirers of his work have been silently pulling strings offstage to change that, and while it hasn't happened yet, things slowly progress.

Santoka was on the cusp of the nontraditional haiku movement when he began writing, and was drawn to the idea of haiku that didn't use seasonal imagery, nor stick to the exact seventeen-line syllable used for traditional haiku in Japan. In the hands of a good enough poet, nontraditional Japanese haiku remain haiku; short, image-laden pieces that beg reflection from the reader while offering a quick view through the eyes of the poet. And Santoka was assuredly a good enough poet.

This selection of just over three hundred haiku from his works was, to my knowledge, the first collection of his work published in English (a complete works has been published in Japan, along with a few biographies). Santoka's haiku are deceptively simple, but open farther upon meditation (which is why the books' subtitle calls them "Zen haiku," presumably):

Going deeper
and still deeper
the green mountains.

or

The green grass!
I return, barefoot.

A wonderful little book, well worth reading. Especially recommended for aspiring haiku poets who write in English, as Santoka's haiku translate very well and are also excellent examples of nontraditional haiku in English. *** ½

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taneda's work is superb - I wish this edition had been bilingual, as I was compulsively checking the original form. John Stevens has done an admirable job translating these haiku, staying true to meaning and intent.

[Xenia Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was listed as one of the source books for Burton Watson's translation of Taneda Santoka's 'For All My Walking' and focuses more on the Zen Haiku by this troubled and gifted poet. A turning point came when he was rescued from the path of an oncoming train in a suicide attempt and taken to a nearby Zen temple.

John Stevens' introduction and translations stay true to the simplicity and meditative qualities of Taneda's free verse haiku and shows the optimism the poet retains despite his childhood trauma and later troubles in life. This is a collection I will return to many times to read.

[W.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

He is still wandering in these haiku, still growing lighter.

Wabi. Sabi. Mujo.

It's raining.

251.

I told a lie;
A lonely moon appears.

[Leighann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wind in the pines
Morning and evening
Carries the sound of the temple bell

My favorite haiku from this collection.

[Kathi Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite gift to other
all seasons

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff ... Zen has it origins in China (Chan) and Korea (Son) but the Japanese certainly put their own imprint on it. The business about koans is bs in my opinion and if asked I'd say give me Tendai over any other iteration of Japanese Buddhism. But at least Zen is several cuts above the Nichiren Shoshu ahh, junk -- "Nam myoho renge kyo ..." ding, ding, ding ... pul-lease, spare me, NS is pseudo Buddhism. At least Zen is real. Here's a sample:

Waking from a nap,
Either way I look: Mountains.

Nice road
Leading to a nice building.
It's a crematorium.

Wearing rags,
In the coolness
I walk alone.

For once, both the futon and the night
Were long enough: deep sleep.

Sleeping on a soft futon,
I dream of my native village.

Yeah, this poetry is real and not bogus like most Buddhism in the USA. Oh, and yeah, that business about koans -- perfect for needy Americans that are searching for pseudo spirituality.

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a reprint of the out of print book by the same title that was published by John Weatherhill, Inc in 1980. The new book has an additional 40 pages excerpted from the journals of Taneda. The quality of the print job is not as good as the original. The new publisher mispelled Taneda's name on the cover, but the haiku are fantastic.

I loved the book when I read it originally and I still find the haiku of Santoka Taneda to be some of the best modern haiku.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in haiku and Zen.

[Senthil Ganesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the gloomiest books that I have read in the recent past.

While for most, this book might hold poetic significance as a haiku, I consider this a note by a man -who desperately needed physical/emotional help but had no one by his side.
Heartbreaking!!

Here are some lines from the book that makes us to shed tears for this poor soul.

I can't stop coughing--
There is no one to slap my back.

Red urine--
How long will I be able
To continue this journey?

No money, no things,
No teeth--
All alone.

Death is before me;
The cool breeze.

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful collection of Haiku poetry by the Zen poet, Santoka Taneda.

Reread in May of 2025. Still love this book.

[doaa sh · Rating 5 out of 5]

لم أصادف الملهم
طريقي وعر

[Myhte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever you wish for
blows away in the wind

Snow falls endlessly
between life and death