Masaoka Shiki

Graceful and timeless poems by one of Japan's greatest modern writers have been rendered by a master translator. Masaoka Shiki (1867–1902) is credited with modernizing Japan's two traditional verse forms, haiku and tanka. Born at a time of social and cultural change in Japan, Shiki welcomed the new influences from the West and responded to them by reinvigorating the native haiku and tanka forms. He freed them from outdated conventions, made them viable for artistic expression in modern Japan, and paved the way for the haiku to become one of his nation's most influential cultural exports.

Burton Watson's excellent introduction explores the course of Shiki's life: his poverty-stricken childhood, his early love for literature, his education, and his work as a haiku editor for the newspaper Nippon, and as a correspondent during the Sino-Japanese war. Watson details Shiki's long struggle with tuberculosis and its poignant expression in his poetry. Confined to bed for months before his death, Shiki continued to devote his energies to literary pursuits: writing poems and critical essays, and joining with friends and followers who gathered in his sickroom to discuss literature. He died a few weeks before his thirty-fifth birthday.

These poems―more than a hundred haiku, several tanka, and three kanshi―are arranged chronologically within each genre, revealing the development of Shiki's art and the seamless way in which he wove his life and illness into his poetry. The poems in this collection showcase Shiki's mastery of the haiku and tanka forms, as he deftly captures the beauty and transience of the natural world, the everyday moments of life, and the profound emotions that accompany the human experience.

In his haiku, Shiki's keen observational skills and ability to distill the essence of a scene into a few carefully chosen words are on full display. From the delicate beauty of a cherry blossom to the melancholic longing of a winter landscape, his haiku evoke a range of sensations and feelings. The tanka poems, with their longer form and greater emotional depth, reveal Shiki's ability to explore the complexities of the human heart and mind, touching on themes of love, loss, and the ephemeral nature of existence.

The inclusion of three kanshi, or Chinese-style poems, further showcases Shiki's broad literary talents and his engagement with the classical poetic traditions of East Asia. These poems, written in the Chinese language, demonstrate Shiki's mastery of this demanding form and his ability to blend Eastern and Western influences in his work.

Throughout the collection, readers will be struck by the authenticity and sincerity of Shiki's voice. His poetry is a testament to the power of art to transcend the boundaries of time and culture, to capture the universal human experience, and to find beauty and meaning in the most ordinary of moments. This volume, with its thoughtful introduction and carefully curated selection of poems, is a valuable contribution to the understanding and appreciation of one of Japan's most influential literary figures.

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