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One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese
Kenneth Rexroth's One Hundred Poems from the Japanese (1955) proved such an extremely popular book that he put together a sequel. The poems are representative of a large range of classical, medieval, and modern poetry, but the emphasis, as in his companion Chinese collections (1955 and 1970), is on folk songs and love lyrics.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
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234 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth Rexroth
203 books109 followersKenneth Rexroth was an American poet, translator, and critical essayist.
He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement. Although he did not consider himself to be a Beat poet, and disliked the association, he was dubbed the "Father of the Beats" by Time magazine.
Largely self-educated, Rexroth learned several languages and translated poems from Chinese, French, Spanish, and Japanese. He was among the first poets in the United States to explore traditional Japanese poetic themes and forms.
Rexroth died in Santa Barbara, California, on June 6, 1982. He had spent his final years translating Japanese and Chinese women poets, as well as promoting the work of female poets in America and overseas.
He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement. Although he did not consider himself to be a Beat poet, and disliked the association, he was dubbed the "Father of the Beats" by Time magazine.
Largely self-educated, Rexroth learned several languages and translated poems from Chinese, French, Spanish, and Japanese. He was among the first poets in the United States to explore traditional Japanese poetic themes and forms.
Rexroth died in Santa Barbara, California, on June 6, 1982. He had spent his final years translating Japanese and Chinese women poets, as well as promoting the work of female poets in America and overseas.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 21, 2019
Loved the first book 'One hundred poems from the Japanese', compiled and translated by Kenneth Rexroth, so beautiful and still.
The sequel 'One hundred more poems' is stunning as well.
This sequel has a lot of love poems in, just a little too much for me. However many poems and haikus in this lovely book are thoughtful, thought provoking and beautiful.
It is just so restful to read a few poems before going to sleep…
Very recommended, exquisite!
I posted some poems from the book during my reading of it, here's the last selection of two...
Evening darkens until
I can no longer see the path.
Still I find my way home,
My horse has gone this way before.
Let us bribe the Moon God
Aloof in high heaven
To make this night as long
As five hundred nights…
The sequel 'One hundred more poems' is stunning as well.
This sequel has a lot of love poems in, just a little too much for me. However many poems and haikus in this lovely book are thoughtful, thought provoking and beautiful.
It is just so restful to read a few poems before going to sleep…
Very recommended, exquisite!
I posted some poems from the book during my reading of it, here's the last selection of two...
Evening darkens until
I can no longer see the path.
Still I find my way home,
My horse has gone this way before.
Let us bribe the Moon God
Aloof in high heaven
To make this night as long
As five hundred nights…
April 13, 2024
When you live in a traditional Japanese house with tatami mat flooring and sliding doors, you start to move in ways you wouldn't in a Western house. The necessities of removing shoes and kneeling on cushions while carrying a tray with tea (or even two beers and some nuts) becomes a dance. Your movements slow and become both more direct and graceful. The confines of small rooms and low doorways with paper doors become, not limiting, but sweet constraints. I wore those constraints for two years in Japan.
These poems capture that minimalism and its benefits. But be warned. Read them and our Western writing can appear flabby, bloated, and in need of a diet. Ezra Pound knew this and tried his best to master Japanese and Chinese forms. At times, he succeeds. But for his inspiration, go first to these translations.
Love poems and lusty. They are passion distilled.
Here is one of my favorites:
Everybody tells me
My hair is too long
I leave it
As you saw it last
Dishevelled by your hands.
(Lady Sono No Omi Ikuha)
These poems capture that minimalism and its benefits. But be warned. Read them and our Western writing can appear flabby, bloated, and in need of a diet. Ezra Pound knew this and tried his best to master Japanese and Chinese forms. At times, he succeeds. But for his inspiration, go first to these translations.
Love poems and lusty. They are passion distilled.
Here is one of my favorites:
Everybody tells me
My hair is too long
I leave it
As you saw it last
Dishevelled by your hands.
(Lady Sono No Omi Ikuha)
August 25, 2022
A sequel to Kenneth Rexroth’s 100 Poems from the Japanese published 20 years later in response to the popularity of his first collection. It continues with Rexroth’s admirable selections and translation of traditional Japanese poetry, mostly in tanka form (a five-line poem with the 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic structure). There are slightly over 100 poems included, this time with a greater presence of anonymous poets, almost one-half of the anthology. Oh, and this: there is a lot of erotic poetry!
Without the author’s preface, it’s unclear how the poems are ordered. Neither chronologically nor alphabetically by poets, it appears they follow different themes in imagery, but then the tradition of having multiple meanings makes a thematic classification difficult. Though the book can be read in one sitting, the poems, in all their masterful brevity and subtlety, pack so much behind a simple imagery that they invite constant re-reading.
Here are a few:
***
Now my major caveat about this anthology:
With the exception of 3 modern poets, Rexroth sourced the poems from several classic materials, many from the two major medieval anthologies, Manyõ and Kokin. Unfortunately, without any introduction, a reader would be at a loss to understand their background and significance in the history of Japanese poetry. It’s prepared as if assuming that it cannot be read as standalone book, but as a part of his first collection which does include an excellent introduction. (I briefly summarized the Manyõ and Kokin anthologies in my review of his first book.) Brief biographies of the poets occasionally reference the source for their selection and using the terminology without explanations. Mansei’s tanka poem, for example, is annotated as one of the earliest yo no naka no (or wo), but Rexroth never explains what it means except that once he thought to compile the wo collection from the earliest times to modern pop songs. I looked around and still can’t find what it means.
Had it not been for the manifold subtlety and beauty of the poems as well as very good translations, the quality of the anthology of ancient verse without proper background explanations would not be more than 3 stars from this reader.
Without the author’s preface, it’s unclear how the poems are ordered. Neither chronologically nor alphabetically by poets, it appears they follow different themes in imagery, but then the tradition of having multiple meanings makes a thematic classification difficult. Though the book can be read in one sitting, the poems, in all their masterful brevity and subtlety, pack so much behind a simple imagery that they invite constant re-reading.
Here are a few:
This world of ours,The anthology includes many women poets and two of them drew my attention this time. First is Izumi Shikibu, a poetess from the late 10th century whose Buddhist sensibility, Rexroth writes, is “most poignant” in all of the Japanese classic poetry. Here are a couple of her poems:
To what shall I compare it?
To the white wake of a boat
That rows away in the early dawn.
~Shami Mansei, early 8th century
From the beginning
I knew meeting could only
End in parting, yet
I ignored the coming dawn
And I gave myself to you.
~Fujiwara No Teika (1162-1241), considered one of the last greatest poets from the classical period
Anonymous:
I loathe the twin seas
Of being and not being
And long for the mountain
Of bliss untouched by
The changing tides.
(a Buddhist poem from the Manyõ anthology)
The cicada cries out
Burning with love.
The firefly burns
With silent love.
(a 4-line dodoitsu poem)
I sleep alone,
On my tearstained pillow,
Like an abandoned boat,
Adrift on the sea.
(“a prostitute’s song from Yokahama”)
In the dusk the pathAnother one is among the three poets from more modern times in the collection, Yosano Akiko (1878-1942). She was a versatile and prolific writer from the early 20th century who preferred her poems in the traditional tanka verse; in her times, she was also a leading feminist, political left activist, and pacifist. Her River of Stars: Selected Poems is now happily queued for my reading, very soon I hope.
You used to come to me
Is overgrown and indistinguishable,
Except for the spider webs
That hang across it
Like threads of sorrow.
It is the time of rain and snow
I spend sleepless nights
And watch the frost
Frail as your love
Gather in the dawn.
Come at last to this point
I look back on my passion
And realize that I
Have been like a blind man
Who is unafraid of the dark.
Over the old honeymoon cottage
At the mountain temple
The wild cherry blossoms are falling.
Here, in the desolate false dawn,
The stars go out in heaven.
***
Now my major caveat about this anthology:
With the exception of 3 modern poets, Rexroth sourced the poems from several classic materials, many from the two major medieval anthologies, Manyõ and Kokin. Unfortunately, without any introduction, a reader would be at a loss to understand their background and significance in the history of Japanese poetry. It’s prepared as if assuming that it cannot be read as standalone book, but as a part of his first collection which does include an excellent introduction. (I briefly summarized the Manyõ and Kokin anthologies in my review of his first book.) Brief biographies of the poets occasionally reference the source for their selection and using the terminology without explanations. Mansei’s tanka poem, for example, is annotated as one of the earliest yo no naka no (or wo), but Rexroth never explains what it means except that once he thought to compile the wo collection from the earliest times to modern pop songs. I looked around and still can’t find what it means.
Had it not been for the manifold subtlety and beauty of the poems as well as very good translations, the quality of the anthology of ancient verse without proper background explanations would not be more than 3 stars from this reader.
Read
October 4, 2020Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982), American poet, literary critic and essayist, was also an interesting translator of classical Chinese and Japanese poetry. I review one of his many collections of Chinese poetry here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and the precursor, 100 Poems from the Japanese (1955),
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
to the collection under review now. 100 More Poems from the Japanese appeared in 1976, so one could hardly accuse Rexroth of vulgar haste in taking advantage of the relative success of the earlier volume. Perhaps there weren't even any marketing considerations at play in his decision at all. (I vaguely remember a time when such considerations were not paramount, though it may have been a dream...)
Again, most of the poems are taken from the two most important collections of ancient Japanese poetry, the Manyoshu (compiled in 759 CE) and the Kokinshu (in 905) supplemented by poems from the Hyakunin Isshu (mid-13th century), and the collection ends with a sample of haiku written much later. So, more of the same. But when "the same" is wonderful, then I will willingly partake. Of the many gems in this fine volume, here are only a few, chosen this time to exemplify the amorous side of classical Japanese poetry. Remember, these poets are setting a scene for the reader to expand upon, to fill out with their own experience and imagination. Enjoy!
Anonymous from the Manyoshu ; a young woman joyfully prepares for the return of her lover:
From the Empress Eifuku (1271-1342) we have a very non-empress-like poem:
I wonder what the Emperor thought of this?
Exceptionally, Rexroth also translates 16 poems of the much more recent poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942), because she wrote in the classical style. Rexroth's summary of her life and the poems he selected strongly arouse my interest in her. Here are two of her poems.
To illustrate that the ancient Japanese were as uninhibited in certain matters as the modern Japanese, here is an anonymous poem from the Manyoshu (recall while reading that this book has been at the center of Japanese culture for 13 centuries; but I'm guessing that this is not one of the poems memorized in school - I may be wrong)
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
and the precursor, 100 Poems from the Japanese (1955),
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
to the collection under review now. 100 More Poems from the Japanese appeared in 1976, so one could hardly accuse Rexroth of vulgar haste in taking advantage of the relative success of the earlier volume. Perhaps there weren't even any marketing considerations at play in his decision at all. (I vaguely remember a time when such considerations were not paramount, though it may have been a dream...)
Again, most of the poems are taken from the two most important collections of ancient Japanese poetry, the Manyoshu (compiled in 759 CE) and the Kokinshu (in 905) supplemented by poems from the Hyakunin Isshu (mid-13th century), and the collection ends with a sample of haiku written much later. So, more of the same. But when "the same" is wonderful, then I will willingly partake. Of the many gems in this fine volume, here are only a few, chosen this time to exemplify the amorous side of classical Japanese poetry. Remember, these poets are setting a scene for the reader to expand upon, to fill out with their own experience and imagination. Enjoy!
Anonymous from the Manyoshu ; a young woman joyfully prepares for the return of her lover:
Her bracelets tinkle
Her anklets clink
She sways at her clattering loom
She hurries to have a new
Obi ready when he comes.
From the Empress Eifuku (1271-1342) we have a very non-empress-like poem:
We dressed each other
Hurrying to say farewell
In the depth of night.
Our drowsy thighs touched and we
Were caught in bed by the dawn.
I wonder what the Emperor thought of this?
Exceptionally, Rexroth also translates 16 poems of the much more recent poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942), because she wrote in the classical style. Rexroth's summary of her life and the poems he selected strongly arouse my interest in her. Here are two of her poems.
Come at last to this point
I look back on my passion
And realize that I
Have been like a blind man
Who is unafraid of the dark.
Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.
To illustrate that the ancient Japanese were as uninhibited in certain matters as the modern Japanese, here is an anonymous poem from the Manyoshu (recall while reading that this book has been at the center of Japanese culture for 13 centuries; but I'm guessing that this is not one of the poems memorized in school - I may be wrong)
I do not care if
Our love making is exposed
As the rainbow over
The Yasaka dam at Ikaho
If only I can suck and suck you.
January 20, 2011
Favorites:
LI
From the beginning
I knew meeting could only
End in parting, yet
I ignored the coming dawn
And I gave myself to you.
XI
Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.
XXVI
It is the time of rain and snow
I spend sleepless nights
And watch the frost
Frail as your love
Gather in the dawn.
LI
From the beginning
I knew meeting could only
End in parting, yet
I ignored the coming dawn
And I gave myself to you.
XI
Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.
XXVI
It is the time of rain and snow
I spend sleepless nights
And watch the frost
Frail as your love
Gather in the dawn.
October 9, 2024
This was a great short read. Not really a poetry girl but i liked a lot of the love poems in here, some were so lovely & some were heartbreaking. This is great for if you’re trying to get to your reading goal quickly too. Literally finished the book in 15-20 mins while taking a bath.
August 26, 2017
Here are some examples:
Come at last to this point
I look back on my passion
And realize that I
Have been like a blind man
Who is unafraid of the dark.
--Yosano Akiko (1878-1942. In 1900 she studied poetry in Tokyo with Yosano Hiroshi and soon married him. For a while they were involved in a tragic maison a trois with a young woman they both deeply loved. But the young woman died of tuberculosis in a few years. Akiko had a manuscript destroyed by the great Tokyo earthquake in 1923. It took her one year to try and rewrite the poems. She is the only truly great poet to write in traditional tanka form in modern times. She is one of the world's great woman poets, comparable to Christina Rossetti, Gaspara Stampa, Louise Labe, and Li Ching.)
Hair unbound, in this
Hothouse of lovemaking,
Perfumed with lillies,
I dread the oncoming of
The pale rose of the end of night.
--Yosano Akiko
He tempted me to
Come in to say goodbye.
I hesitated to respond
And he brushed my hand away.
But yet--the smell of his clothes
In the soft darkness.
--Yosano Akiko
Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.
--Yosano Akiko
Press my breasts,
Part the veil of mystery,
A flower blooms there,
Crimson and fragrant.
--Yosano Akiko
This autumn will end.
Nothing can last forever.
Fate controls our lives.
Fondle my living breasts
With your strong hands.
--Yosano Akiko
Hey! Ho! Hurrah!
I've got Yasumiko!
The girl they said
Was hard to get!
I've got Yasumiko!
--Fujiwara No Kamatari (614-69. An assassin for the Sogas. The translation of "I've got Yasumiko" could also be "I've done Yasumiko" which means the same in English.)
You do not come
On this moonless night.
I wake wanting you.
My breasts heave and blaze.
My heart burns up.
--Ono No Komachi (834-80. Legendary beauty of Japan.)
This world of ours,
To what shall I compare it?
To the white wake of a boat
That rows away in the early dawn.
--Shami Mansei (He flourished in the early eighth century.)
I hold your head tight
Between my thighs and press
Against your mouth and
Float forever in
An orchid boat
On the river of Heaven.
--Marichiko
I cannot forget
The perfumed dusk inside the
Tent of my black hair
As we woke to make love
After a long night of love.
--Marichiko
Every morning
I wake alone, dreaming
My arm is your sweet flesh
Pressing my lips.
--Marichiko (The pen name of a contemporary young woman who lives near the temple of Marishi-ben in Kyoto. Marishi-ben is an Indian, pre-Aryan, goddess of the dawn who is a bodhisattva in Buddhism and patron of geisha, prostitutes, women in childbirth, and lovers. She has three faces: the front of compassion; one side, a sow; the other a woman in orgasm.
Bound up it always
Came undone.
Unbound it was so long.
Now that I have not
Been with you for days
Is your hair all done up?
--Mikata Shami (This exchange with his wife is the beginning of the long series of midaregami, tangled hair, poems which culminate in Yosano Akiko's first book.)
Everybody tells me
My hair is too long
I leave it
As you saw it last
Dishevelled by your hands.
--Lady Sono No Omi Ikuha (Mikata's wife)
Who shall I have for friends,
Now I have grown so old,
That even those ancient companions,
The pines of Takasago,
Are too far away.
--Fujiwara No Okikaze (Lived in tenth century. One of the first to begin formularization of verse.)
In the dusk
The road is hard to see.
Wait 'till moonrise,
So I can watch you go.
--Oyakeme, a girl of Buzen (Nothing is known of her. Poem appears in a collection of otherwise unknown young women.)
From the beginning
I knew meeting could only
End in parting, yet
I ignored the coming dawn
And I gave myself to you.
--Fujiwara No Teika (1162-1241.)
Come at last to this point
I look back on my passion
And realize that I
Have been like a blind man
Who is unafraid of the dark.
--Yosano Akiko (1878-1942. In 1900 she studied poetry in Tokyo with Yosano Hiroshi and soon married him. For a while they were involved in a tragic maison a trois with a young woman they both deeply loved. But the young woman died of tuberculosis in a few years. Akiko had a manuscript destroyed by the great Tokyo earthquake in 1923. It took her one year to try and rewrite the poems. She is the only truly great poet to write in traditional tanka form in modern times. She is one of the world's great woman poets, comparable to Christina Rossetti, Gaspara Stampa, Louise Labe, and Li Ching.)
Hair unbound, in this
Hothouse of lovemaking,
Perfumed with lillies,
I dread the oncoming of
The pale rose of the end of night.
--Yosano Akiko
He tempted me to
Come in to say goodbye.
I hesitated to respond
And he brushed my hand away.
But yet--the smell of his clothes
In the soft darkness.
--Yosano Akiko
Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.
--Yosano Akiko
Press my breasts,
Part the veil of mystery,
A flower blooms there,
Crimson and fragrant.
--Yosano Akiko
This autumn will end.
Nothing can last forever.
Fate controls our lives.
Fondle my living breasts
With your strong hands.
--Yosano Akiko
Hey! Ho! Hurrah!
I've got Yasumiko!
The girl they said
Was hard to get!
I've got Yasumiko!
--Fujiwara No Kamatari (614-69. An assassin for the Sogas. The translation of "I've got Yasumiko" could also be "I've done Yasumiko" which means the same in English.)
You do not come
On this moonless night.
I wake wanting you.
My breasts heave and blaze.
My heart burns up.
--Ono No Komachi (834-80. Legendary beauty of Japan.)
This world of ours,
To what shall I compare it?
To the white wake of a boat
That rows away in the early dawn.
--Shami Mansei (He flourished in the early eighth century.)
I hold your head tight
Between my thighs and press
Against your mouth and
Float forever in
An orchid boat
On the river of Heaven.
--Marichiko
I cannot forget
The perfumed dusk inside the
Tent of my black hair
As we woke to make love
After a long night of love.
--Marichiko
Every morning
I wake alone, dreaming
My arm is your sweet flesh
Pressing my lips.
--Marichiko (The pen name of a contemporary young woman who lives near the temple of Marishi-ben in Kyoto. Marishi-ben is an Indian, pre-Aryan, goddess of the dawn who is a bodhisattva in Buddhism and patron of geisha, prostitutes, women in childbirth, and lovers. She has three faces: the front of compassion; one side, a sow; the other a woman in orgasm.
Bound up it always
Came undone.
Unbound it was so long.
Now that I have not
Been with you for days
Is your hair all done up?
--Mikata Shami (This exchange with his wife is the beginning of the long series of midaregami, tangled hair, poems which culminate in Yosano Akiko's first book.)
Everybody tells me
My hair is too long
I leave it
As you saw it last
Dishevelled by your hands.
--Lady Sono No Omi Ikuha (Mikata's wife)
Who shall I have for friends,
Now I have grown so old,
That even those ancient companions,
The pines of Takasago,
Are too far away.
--Fujiwara No Okikaze (Lived in tenth century. One of the first to begin formularization of verse.)
In the dusk
The road is hard to see.
Wait 'till moonrise,
So I can watch you go.
--Oyakeme, a girl of Buzen (Nothing is known of her. Poem appears in a collection of otherwise unknown young women.)
From the beginning
I knew meeting could only
End in parting, yet
I ignored the coming dawn
And I gave myself to you.
--Fujiwara No Teika (1162-1241.)
February 28, 2017
This is my introduction to Japanese poems, I say poems instead of poetry because I think this text would have benefited from an introduction which attempts to explain why these poems are collected together in volume, and an overview of the poetic styles exemplified. I would've appreciated perhaps a bit on the socio-political climate in terms of dynasties or however Japanese literary history tends to be approached. There's a very brief author by author note at the back which addresses the author's gender and maybe occupation, style of poetry, and approximate time of publication with a word or two each, unfortunately too brief to be of much use. For many of the poems written by women, unfortunately 'nothing is known of her' is all the background you'll get which speaks to the overall attitude towards women in history.
Moving on to the poems themselves, I very much enjoyed the ones which used landscape to evoke emotion and thought. There's plenty here to imagine to, and have daydreams over. No. X by Yosano Akiko is one of my favourites and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Like tiny golden
Birds the ginkgo leaves scatter
From the tree on the
Hill in the sunset glow.
(No. X by Yosano Akiko)
Moving on to the poems themselves, I very much enjoyed the ones which used landscape to evoke emotion and thought. There's plenty here to imagine to, and have daydreams over. No. X by Yosano Akiko is one of my favourites and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Like tiny golden
Birds the ginkgo leaves scatter
From the tree on the
Hill in the sunset glow.
(No. X by Yosano Akiko)
February 3, 2009
Read these to your sweetheart and make them blush. Some of these are absolutely sexhungry and pure as the dew on a cherry blossom. Every one of these poems is just a handful of words. Just a pinch. And they have nothing to hide. Very romantic.
November 5, 2012
وقتي مي بينم
ماه مي درخشد بر هزار خط رنج
در مي يابم كه تنها دلباخته ي پاييز نيستم
ماه مي درخشد بر هزار خط رنج
در مي يابم كه تنها دلباخته ي پاييز نيستم
March 13, 2025
esta es la "continuación" de One Hundred Poems from the Japanese
me gustó mucho menos que ese porque contiene más poemas escénicos o paisajísticos que de amor; por cuestiones geográficas, hay muchos símbolos o referencias que he de ignorar, y hubiera sido adecuado que Rexroth los comentara en una introducción para la audiencia occidental
de todas maneras, la lectura es disfrutable: hay muchos poemas destacables, intensos y todos muy breves, puesto que el instante es de suma importancia en los haikus y tankas
como dato curioso, en esta antología se incluye a una poeta llamada Marichiko ("(...) included here are selections from the work, among others, (...) the more contemporary, deeply sensuous Marichiko. (...)" reza la contracubierta del libro); me llamó la atención que los poemas de la tal Marichiko en rōmaji tenían versos más largos que el resto del cuerpo del libro, por lo que leí la biografía que va adjunta en las últimas páginas, la cual no dice casi nada de la persona, solo que "Marichiko is the pen name of a contemporary young woman who lives near the temple of Marishi-ben in Kyoto. (...)", y el resto de la biografía se pone a explicar a la bodhisattva que adoran en ese templo y a quiénes esta protege y su aspecto físico y detalles ajenos a la poeta que ya se me mostraba misteriosa
busco en Google el nombre de la tipa, y solo me encuentro resultados sobre Kenneth Rexroth: y resulta que Marichiko es un heterónimo del mismo Rexroth, quien se supone que solamente era el compilador y traductor de la antología jajaja
en fin, este par de libros son ideales como introducción a la poesía y vale la pena echarles una ojeada: más de algún haiku o alguna tanka se les ha de pegar :-)
Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.
Akiko Yosako
Fields and mountains
Have all been taken by the snow.
Nothing is left.
Naitō Jōsō
Roasting chestnuts
The terrorist's wife
is so beautiful.
Rogetsu Ishii
me gustó mucho menos que ese porque contiene más poemas escénicos o paisajísticos que de amor; por cuestiones geográficas, hay muchos símbolos o referencias que he de ignorar, y hubiera sido adecuado que Rexroth los comentara en una introducción para la audiencia occidental
de todas maneras, la lectura es disfrutable: hay muchos poemas destacables, intensos y todos muy breves, puesto que el instante es de suma importancia en los haikus y tankas
como dato curioso, en esta antología se incluye a una poeta llamada Marichiko ("(...) included here are selections from the work, among others, (...) the more contemporary, deeply sensuous Marichiko. (...)" reza la contracubierta del libro); me llamó la atención que los poemas de la tal Marichiko en rōmaji tenían versos más largos que el resto del cuerpo del libro, por lo que leí la biografía que va adjunta en las últimas páginas, la cual no dice casi nada de la persona, solo que "Marichiko is the pen name of a contemporary young woman who lives near the temple of Marishi-ben in Kyoto. (...)", y el resto de la biografía se pone a explicar a la bodhisattva que adoran en ese templo y a quiénes esta protege y su aspecto físico y detalles ajenos a la poeta que ya se me mostraba misteriosa
busco en Google el nombre de la tipa, y solo me encuentro resultados sobre Kenneth Rexroth: y resulta que Marichiko es un heterónimo del mismo Rexroth, quien se supone que solamente era el compilador y traductor de la antología jajaja
en fin, este par de libros son ideales como introducción a la poesía y vale la pena echarles una ojeada: más de algún haiku o alguna tanka se les ha de pegar :-)
Not speaking of the way,
Not thinking of what comes after,
Not questioning name or fame,
Here, loving love,
You and I look at each other.
Akiko Yosako
Fields and mountains
Have all been taken by the snow.
Nothing is left.
Naitō Jōsō
Roasting chestnuts
The terrorist's wife
is so beautiful.
Rogetsu Ishii
Read
February 26, 2024(not 0 stars, just gave up star reviews)
In the dusk the path
You used to come to me
Is overgrown and indistinguishable,
Except for the spider webs
That hang across it
Like threads of sorrow.
- Izumi Shikibu
Like its predecessor, this book offers great variety of poetry mostly marked by wistfulness expressed through nature and seasons. There is variety, though - from erotic to buddhist and from an exlamation "I bedded this woman" to a folk song depicting labor of farming. And again, the translations seem masterful. They most likely are, just can not fully evaluate them due to limited understanding of the originals in oldish Japanese language - still happy they're included!
In the dusk the path
You used to come to me
Is overgrown and indistinguishable,
Except for the spider webs
That hang across it
Like threads of sorrow.
- Izumi Shikibu
Like its predecessor, this book offers great variety of poetry mostly marked by wistfulness expressed through nature and seasons. There is variety, though - from erotic to buddhist and from an exlamation "I bedded this woman" to a folk song depicting labor of farming. And again, the translations seem masterful. They most likely are, just can not fully evaluate them due to limited understanding of the originals in oldish Japanese language - still happy they're included!
December 8, 2022
interesting selection, some are like really great and some are a bit weird. most are pretty good tho. lots of h*rny poets but hey it be like that. also, important to note that i have the first edition and i don’t know if there were other editions
January 28, 2023
I really enjoyed most of these. There were a number that I could’ve done without but I personally just don’t like sexual themes most of the time so that wasn’t the books fault. I definitely want to pick up some more from this author!
November 26, 2018
It's unfortunate that I don't understand Japanese and only get to admire the poems from the translated side of it but nonetheless, the translated version was also very beautiful to read. The poems were written in such a way that is very relatable to a person. A lot of the poem talked about love; negative and positive aspects were both included and I really enjoyed it because it was relatable and it hits you right in the heart about how truthful some of these are. Japanese poems are very different from western poems. How different they are, I cannot be an expert at because I don't know enough Japanese to analyze it from a Japanese perspective but one thing I can say that's obviously different from an English poem is its length. Japanese poems like to keep their poems short where Western poems are long. Japanese poems tend to use a lot of descriptive words to describe nature as you'll see a lot in this book, Japanese poets really like mountains, rivers, and forest. It's an interesting read to get you inspired because of their beautiful poetry writing. Their short length makes it easy to follow and admire when you just want to relax after a long day at work or school. Definitely take your time to flip through the pages of this book. The experience is something you'll never get from a western poem.
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November 25, 2015Compared to One Hundred Poems from the Japanese the poems in this collection are very lustful. There are also many by women poets. One particular favorite is the poem on page 71:
Reading the endnotes about each poet including some of the translation issues and context brought quite a bit more to the poems. Otherwise they were so efficient without the notes not all the impressions suggested by the poems were something I could absorb.
I loathe the twin seas
Of being and not being
And long for the mountain
Of Bliss untouched
By the changing tides.
Reading the endnotes about each poet including some of the translation issues and context brought quite a bit more to the poems. Otherwise they were so efficient without the notes not all the impressions suggested by the poems were something I could absorb.
February 11, 2008
A collection of beautiful Japanese Tankas, very romantic, naturalistic in style, In Japanese with English translation
October 2, 2016
As good as the first volume.
January 12, 2020
Great collection of pretty, but I wish more context was provided so I could further appreciate the work.
November 8, 2021
“not speaking of the way,
not thinking of what comes after,
not questioning name or fame,
here, loving love,
you and i look at each other”
-yosano akiko
not thinking of what comes after,
not questioning name or fame,
here, loving love,
you and i look at each other”
-yosano akiko
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