Japanese & Haiku Books - Page 2

The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Onono Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Beautiful and universal 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Unlike other reviewers, I am not an aficionado of Japanese poetry or culture, nor have I ever studied this period in Japanese history. I found this book entirely by chance buried in an obscure corner in my college library. I read a couple of random pages and fell in love. I checked it out repeatedly throughout my academic career, then bought it.

These women so effectively communicate, in few words, universal feelings of love. While the poems are deceptively simple, they manage to be so beautiful that I am amazed every time I pick it up.

Even more impressive than the writing is how easy it is to relate to the emotions behind it. As I have grown older and experienced so much more of life, I am surprised to find my own feelings mirroring one poem after another. What once seemed pretty words are eerily my own thoughts. It's amazing, considering they were written one thousand years ago!

If you're thinking about buying this, I suggest using the preview to read the few sample pages. If you like what you see, just get it. You won't be disappointed.

Editorial Review:

These translated poems were written by 2 ladies of the Heian court of Japan between the ninth and eleventh centuries A.D. The poems speak intimately of their authors' sexual longing, fulfillment and disillusionment.

Sam Samurai (Time Warp Trio) r/i

Jon Scieszka

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Between hightailing it down the Tokaido Road, eluding a hot-tempered samurai named Owattabutt, and trying to fix their malfunctioning Auto-Translator, the Time Warp Trio may never get out of 17th-century Japan alive. Especially with all those razor-sharp katanas poised and waiting to lop off their heads.

Joe, Sam, and Fred were working on a haiku homework assignment when they somehow triggered the mystical Book again, only to find themselves--thanks to some nearby books on Japan--summarily "flushed down four hundred years" and far from their native Brooklyn. And even if they can overcome the language barrier, our time-hopping pals will soon discover that they need to learn a thing or two about Japanese culture if they want to make it out alive. ("Our daimyo is Rudy Giuliani," while hilarious, isn't going to cut it.)

Jon Scieszka's traveling companions are in fine form, as ever, alongside the occasional illustration by Adam McCauley. Readers should love learning about ancient Japan with the boys, and Time Warp Trio fans in particular will get a kick out of the fact that a certain other trio--do you remember any great-grandaughters from the year 2095?--ends up saving the day. (Ages 8 to 11) --Paul Hughes

Haikus for Jews: For You, a Little Wisdom

David M. Bader

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

You Think For No Reason I Read These? No! I Read These To Grow Wiser, Seventeen-Syllables-At-A-Time. 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

In some ways even funnier than Bader's other mixture of Judaism and (flimsy) Zen wisdom. These haiku do often offer nuggets of wisdom and nearly always they do it with a little joke wrapped up inside. You can read this book in about thirty minutes, contemplation time included, so why you still sitting there?

Hilarious! 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This little book is quite a find. While I'm not jewish, I was raised by a Catholic mother, so I think I can relate. These short poems will definitely bring a smile to your face.

Editorial Review:

"Of all the many forms of Jewish-Japanese poetry, the Jewish haiku is perhaps the most sublimely beautiful," begins the foreword to the wickedly funny and tirelessly bizarre Haikus for Jews by David M. Bader. If you can't abide a little fun with stereotypes, read another book. But if you don't mind a little ribbing, take a look at the following haiku, which gives only a mild taste of the yummy-as-lox treats gathered in this collection: "Jewish voodoo tip -- / mention an acting career, / then watch for chest pain." And if you liked that, you'll love this: "Lightbulb out again -- / how many of us must meet / to change it this time?" And they just keep getting better.

Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan

Ryokan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Mad Wisdom and Compassion on a Lotus Leaf 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

These are fresh and spare and unforgettable poems, reproduced by John Stevens with directness and fidelity to the original (or so I have been told by my multilingual friends.)

Ryokan was a nature poet but fully in touch with humanity and he had this touch in his poems such that each poem has many levels and can be appreciated through any or all.

"At night I got drunk on peach blossoms by the river.
I never cared about returning home,..."

How can you not love it? I can taste the dewdrops already...

Editorial Review:

The Japanese poet-recluse Ryokan (1758-1831) is one of the most beloved figures of Asian literature, renowned for his beautiful verse, exquisite calligraphy, and eccentric character. Deceptively simple, Ryokan's poems transcend artifice, presenting spontaneous expressions of pure Zen spirit. Like his contemporary Thoreau, Ryokan celebrates nature and the natural life, but his poems touch the whole range of human experience: joy and sadness, pleasure and pain, enlightenment and illusion, love and loneliness. This collection of translations reflects the full spectrum of Ryokan's spiritual and poetic vision, including Japanese haiku, longer folk songs, and Chinese-style verse. Fifteen ink paintings by Koshi no Sengai (1895-1958) complement these translations and beautifully depict the spirit of this famous poet.

The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology (Dover Thrift Editions)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A surprisingly good collection 4 out of 5 stars.
25 of 25 people found this review helpful.

Despite a misleading definition of haiku on the back of this book (continued in the introduction), and despite the tendency of Dover Thrift Editions to use the worst possible translations for other books they have published, this is an authoritative and valuable collection which offers translations of quite a few works otherwise difficult to find. One of the most valuable elements of the book is its printing of multiple translations of one poem -- while some of the translations (particularly from the early part of the 20th century) are execrable, it is fascinating and instructive to see how various poems have been approached.

This book is a great addition to any library, but don't let it be your only haiku book -- be sure to read William Higginson's "Haiku Handbook" as well as "The Essential Haiku" edited by Robert Hass and "The Haiku Anthology" edited by Cor van den Heuvel.

Editorial Review:

Unique collection spans over 400 years (1488–1902) of haiku history by the greatest masters: Bash¯o, Issa, Shiki and many more, in translations by top-flight scholars in the field. Editor Faubion Bowers provides Foreword and many informative notes to the poems.

One Hundred Poems from the Japanese

Kenneth Rexroth

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful collection of quiet intensity 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 18 people found this review helpful.

He has gathered a wonderful collection of quiet often powerful poems. I used to always keep a copy at my desk at work when I needed a break from programming. I think everyone who loves poetry should have a copy.

FIRST RATE INITIATION TO JAPANESE POETRY 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 16 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the greatest "small" books I have ever read. Rexroth conveys a good bird's eye view of classical japanese poetry, with poems selected and translated by him, mostly from the Manyoshu (A.D. 759) and Kokinshu (A.D. 905)compilations.
You will be surprised by the intensity and sensibility that these short poems reflect. Also you will be delighted to read the different depictions of states of mind and heart in this poetry which will eerely convey the atemporal dimension of sorrow, pain, joy and appeasement to the contemporary human being.
An example of what to expect:
The flowers whirl away
In the wind like snow.
The thing that falls away
Is myself.....(Prime Minister Kintsune)

And Now For Something Completely Different 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Many decades ago as I was standing in a seemingly endless line at the college bookstore waiting to pay for my texts, I happened to pick up a copy of Kenneth Rexroth's 100 POEMS FROM THE JAPANESE and started thumbing through it in order to kill some time while I waited...and waited...and waited for my turn at the register. By the time I finally made it up there I couldn't have cared less, I was totally engrossed in the small volume that had been meant merely to keep me from thoughts of violence as I continued to wait...and wait...and wait. I knew that I had to have this book, I had fallen in love with Japanese poetry. Since that day I've had 3 copies of the book in all. The first was stolen by a "friend", the second died from over-work, and the third is sitting in front of me as I try to cobble together this review.

I had long hated poetry since its writers tended to exhume every archaic word they knew and went on for as long as they possibly could until they had finally beaten what ever sentiment, or thought they had tried to express into into a gelatinous pulp and left it and the reader whimpering on the floor in helpless submision. Writers of Western and European poetry that is. For when I openned Rexroth's book I learned there was an alternative to the pompous florid verbosity of Western poets and it could be found in the powerful, exquisitely crafted yet extremely economical poetry of Japan.

There are several different poetic forms and a great many shadings and other things to be concerned with, as in the works of all poets, and Rexroth deals with these things both in his introduction as well as in individual notes in the back of the book. He explains everything you need to know in order to understand these poems if you're interested in going beneath their surface beauty. Each poem is presented in romanized Japanese as well as English, which is a nice bonus, and each poet has his own little section. Every poet's name is presented in calligraphy down the side of each page.

This is an extraordinary collection of poems translated by a man who himself is an extraordinary poet. Perhaps the best way to convice you might be to offer one or two of my favorites and let you see for yourself what treasures this book has to offer.

A strange old man
Stops me,
Looking out of my deep mirror. HITOMARO

Although I hide it
My love shows in my face
So plainly that he asks me,
"Are you thinking of something?" TAIRA NO KANEMORI


l

Editorial Review:

Rexroth's classic best-selling anthology

Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands-on Guide

Jane Reichhold

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Writing and Enjoying Haiku" shows how haiku can bring a centered, calming atmosphere into one's life, by focusing on the outer realities of life instead of the naggings of the inner mind, by gaining a new appreciation for the world of nature, and by preserving moments, days, and events so that they are not lost forever in the passage of time. Haiku are clearly shown to be a means of discovering and recording the miracles of the world, from the humorous to the tragic. This is one of the major themes underlying Writing and Enjoying Haiku -- that haiku can provide a way to a better life.

After looking at why the reading and writing of haiku is important from a spiritual point of view, the book shows, as has never been done before, the techniques of writing haiku -- the when and the where, punctuation and capitalization, choice of words, figures of speech, sharing haiku, and much, much more.

Having come this far, having learned to read and write haiku with a discerning mind, the reader will never again look upon the world in quite the same way.

Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)

Matsuo Basho

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Japanese journey during the 17th century 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (9/06)

Matsuo Basho (1644-94) was a famous Japanese haiku poet. In 1689, he took a 1,233 mile journey across Japan. His travels lasted five months. He was joined by his friend Kawai Sora. Basho wrote about this trip. He titled it, "Oku No Hosomichi," which translates to "Narrow Road to the Interior." This story is considered to be a masterpiece of Japanese literature. He took four years to write it and revise it.

Basho started this trip when his house burned down. He had two goals. One goal was spiritual; it involved "poetic truth." The other goal was a practical one in which he would use his travels to become well known as a poet. Sora developed stomach problems and had to end his travels with Basho. Basho wrote a short piece for him. In the second part of this book, there is a translation of "A Farewell Gift to Sora."

Basho funded his travels with donations from wealthy friends and students. He felt that there were three types of poets. The first type is confused noisemakers. The second type is wealthy people who desire to write instead of gossip. The third type is poets who work hard at writing true poetry. These poets write to "soothe their heart." Basho was the third type of poet.

Hiroaki Sato includes annotations to go along with the writings. This adds richness to the story and helps explain more about the culture and what was happening at the time. I read the story first with the annotations to gain understanding of what I was reading; then I went back and reread the story by itself so that I could feel how it flowed. Without the annotations, I would have enjoyed Basho's story, but I would not have understood much of what was written. Sato also includes pages of notes and commentaries. This is a well researched piece. "Basho's Narrow Road" is a beautiful story about Basho's travels. In it he reflects on the beauty of the countryside and the spirit of the people that he encounters.

I recommend "Basho's Narrow Road" to people that enjoy Japanese poetry, especially Haiku. It would also be a great book to use for a college literature class. I really enjoyed Basho's journey.

Editorial Review:

In 1689, the poet Matsuo Basho set off on a five-month journey into the mountains north of the capital, Edo. Along the way he paused to compose poems that are today revered for their clarity of observation. Ostensibly a travel diary, Narrow Road to the Interior is artful and carefully sculpted, filled with rich allusions to literature and Zen. This volume includes the complete text in English with annotations, as well as an additional translation of a sequence of renga "linked verse" featuring Basho and his traveling companion, Sora.

Spiderwort and the Princess of Haiku (The Fairy Chronicles)

J. H. Sweet

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

How the whole thing started 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

How the whole thing started is important. That's what I think is so interesting. Sure, the fairies go on an exciting mission, but the whole thing started with a book of poetry being destroyed. That's the larger message of this book. Human beings recognizing that even our smallest actions can have gigantic consequences, like the butterfly effect. I liked the way this story was put together. It's like I was tricked into enjoying it so much because it's magical and fun, but I was reminded of how serious even our littlest mistakes can be.

Editorial Review:

The Princess of Haiku, keeper of simple pleasures, has been kidnapped by her archenemies the Specter of Pandemonium and the Phantom of Excess, who currently inhabit two Ogre sisters, Plethora and Chaotica Glut. Simple pleasures everywhere are in danger.

Guided only by a strange riddle from given to them by an Oak tree, Spiderwort, along with Rosemary Periwinkle and Cinnebar, have only a little while to find the Princess and get her to safety. As always the Fairies will have a little magical assistance this time from a well-meaning Scarecrow and the already ghostly Minstrel of Epic Poems.

A world without simple pleasures would be unbearable and it is has already started with the children of the world. If it should leave the adults as well, it might very well be gone for good. Luckily for everyone, Fairies are the best problem solvers around and Spiderwort is one of the fastest thinking of them all!

Haiku Japanese Art & Poetry 2009 Wall Calendar

Pomegranate

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Editorial Review:

In this elegant calendar, twelve of Japan s most graceful haiku have been collected, traced with a calligrapher s brush, and translated to accompany your passage through the year. Each is accompanied by a reproduction of a beautiful shin hanga Japanese woodblock print from the fine collection of twentieth-century art at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. Among the poets represented are Ransetsu, Hashin, Issa, and Onitsura; among the prints are Kawase Hasui s Mount Fuji Clear After Snow from Takanoura, Yoshida Hiroshi s Hirosaki Castle, Tsuchiya Koitsu s Nara Kofuku Temple, and Nishimura Hodo s Iris.

Size: 13 x 12 in.; opens to 13 x 24 in.