4.0
100 Poems from the Japanese
ByPublisher Description
It is remarkable that any Westerner—even so fine a poet as Kenneth Rexroth—could have captured in translation so much of the subtle essence of classic Japanese poetry: the depth of controlled passion, the austere elegance of style, the compressed richness of imagery.
The poems are drawn chiefly from the traditional Manyoshu, Kokinshu and Hyakunin Isshu collections, but there are also examplaes of haiku and other later forms. The sound of the Japanese texts i reproduced in Romaji script and the names of the poets in the calligraphy of Ukai Uchiyama. The translator's introduction gives us basic background on the history and nature of Japanese poetry, which is supplemented by notes on the individual poets and an extensive bibliography.Download the free Fable app
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities100 Poems from the Japanese Reviews
4.0
“Cât de mult îmi place modul în care japonezii își exprimă emoțiile, cum vorbesc despre dragoste, despre natură, despre viață, despre tot ceea ce îi inconjoară & even more.
"Do not smile to yourself
Like a green mountain
With a cloud drifting across it.
People will know we are in love."
"When she was still alive
We would go out, arm in arm,
And look at the elm trees
Growing on the embankment
In front of our house
Their branches were interlaced
Their crowns were dense with spring leaves
They were like our love
Love and trust were not enough to turn back
The wheels of life and death
She faded like a mirage over the desert."
"The mists rise over
The still pools at Asuka.
Memory does not
Pass away so easily"
"If only the world
Would always remain this way,
Some fishermen
Drawing a little rowboat
Up the river bank"”
“I really like Rexroth’s translations, but I have to say I prefer his Chinese to his Japanese poems. I fear that I lack the emotional and intellectual depth to really be able to grok these poems. That said, many of these poems and poets are exquisite, and the book’s notes, author bios, and bibliography make for a fascinating, absorbing read. (Bear in mind, though, that this book was first published in the fifties). Anyway, it’s a good book, well worth reading. Enjoy!”
“It was beautiful, short, but impactful - I loved the last ones the most, they were a bit longer.
The locations described give insight on unfamiliar territory <3 <3 <3
It was a nice experience, in comparison to American poetry.”
“Great introduction to Japanese poetry!”
About Kenneth Rexroth
Poet-essayist Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982) was a high-school dropout, disillusioned ex-Communist, pacifist, anarchist, rock-climber, critic and translator, mentor, Catholic-Buddhist spiritualist and a prominent figure of San Francisco's Beat scene. He is regarded as a central figure of the San Francisco Renaissance and is among the first American poets to explore traditional Japanese forms such as the haiku.
Other books by Kenneth Rexroth
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