Japanese Poetic Diaries

by Earl Roy Miner (Translator)

Japanese Poetic Diaries

Genres: Poetry, Japan

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Books on Asia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this comparison of four poetic diaries: Basho's Narrow Road, Tsurayuki's Tosa Diary, Shiki's My Peonies and The Diary of Izumi Shikibu.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The least interesting translation here is the one of the most famous diary, "Narrow Road Through the Provinces." It seems that much of the poetic meaning of this text depends upon nuances referring to other Japanese and Chinese poems, and also upon the literal meaning of place-names, which are here left simply in their transliterated Japanese form.
But the other translations are wonderful. "The Tosa Diary" (c. 935) may be the first fiction (?) by a man written entirely from a woman's point of view. The woman is returning to Edo from the provinces where her husband has been governor. She had left Edo with her small daughter, who died somewhere along the way, and is now returning without her. The portrait is completely convincing.
Another fascinating diary is by a rival of Lady Murasaki's, Izumi Shikibu, and the editor's commentary on this one really clarifies the effect a prose-poetry alternation has in Japanese, the formal quality of which is simply lost in English.
The last, very short, consists of a meditation upon peonies during a final illness.

[Xenia Tran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of Japanese Poetic Diaries, including The Tosa Diary (935), The Diary of Izumi Shikibu (~1004), Basho's The Narrow Road Through the Provinces (1689) and Shiki's The Verse Record of my Peonies (1899). Earl Miner provides an in-depth 55-page introduction as well as additional notes within the diary texts, which are very helpful. It is interesting to see how poetic diaries were kept so many centuries ago and this is a collection to treasure.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really an essential book for non-Japanese readers of Japanese literature. I keep coming back to it.

[Othy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My four-star rating needs a bit of explanation. There are four poetic diaries in this volume along with a hefty introduction to the genre and to each diary. I have, thus far, read the introduction and text of the Tosa Diary, and so my rating (so far) is limited. I found Miner's introduction to be extremely good for someone who knows rather little about the culture and history of the period (beyond generalizations). His footnotes are also rather good. I do not know, however, if Miner's translations are reliable, but they read well to my eye in terms of style. According to his introduction and footnotes, Miner seems to have made some emendations for the sake of readability. I don't care for this practice (it is, I think, easy overcome with thoughtful reading and a few good footnotes), thus the four-star rating.

In general, I found the Tosa Diary to be fantastic. It seemed to me deep, thoughtful, and complex, though Miner seems to disagree (he calls it something like "artless"). Whatever the case, I was surprised by how compelling the diary read, and I look forward to learning more about it.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these just didn't hold my interest, but the last two were really good--

Basho's "The Narrow Road Through Provinces." (Poem as map & duty: "the story deserves some credit"/ "It would be a pity to cross the Shirawaka Barrier without writing something.")

Shiki's "The Verse Record of my Peonies: A Diary of an Illness." I keep going back to "two flakes fall/And the shape of the peonies/Is wholly changed." And then the way they scatter, become obliterated by children. Future. Just gorgeous. Devastating.

[PJ Ebbrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little gem of a book. One of the longest introductions, I have ever read around 55 pages. These put the following parts into historical and social context. The following diaries each relevant to Japanese literature.

The Tosca Diary
The Diary of Izumi Shikibu
The Narrow Road Through the Provinces
The Verse Record of My Peonies

I found all highly charged and somewhat emotional. At last I read the Narrow Road, which I had heard of, but never found until now.