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A review by gitli57
Haiku Illustrated: Classic Japanese Short Poems by Hart Larrabee, Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, Matsuo Bashō, Masaoka Shiki
funny
reflective
4.0
There are other Haiku anthologies that contain more poems by more writers, but this is one of the most beautiful editions of Japanese classic poetry translated into English that I have seen. It was produced using traditional Chinese book binding technique in which the book block of folded pages is held between two boards, then sewn together, in this case with a red ribbon.
Four of the best known Japanese Haiku masters are included here, each represent by 20-25 poems, so fewer than 100 Haiku all together. Each page contains just one poem in three versions - written in Japanese characters, transliterated into western alphabet and translated into English. This leaves a lot of space on each page. The design captures the essence of this sparse and concentrated poetic style. It is a pleasure to engage with the poems in this format.
I do not have nearly enough Japanese language to judge either the accuracy or quality of the translations (all by Hart Larrabee). But the English versions scan nicely and seem to capture a range of emotions, including humor. Issa in particular often makes me smile. He not only carefully observes the world around him, but fully engages with it.
If you want mass quantities of Haiku, there are other good anthologies to choose from. If you want a beautiful book of classic Haiku to enjoy, it would be hard to do better than this edition.
Four of the best known Japanese Haiku masters are included here, each represent by 20-25 poems, so fewer than 100 Haiku all together. Each page contains just one poem in three versions - written in Japanese characters, transliterated into western alphabet and translated into English. This leaves a lot of space on each page. The design captures the essence of this sparse and concentrated poetic style. It is a pleasure to engage with the poems in this format.
I do not have nearly enough Japanese language to judge either the accuracy or quality of the translations (all by Hart Larrabee). But the English versions scan nicely and seem to capture a range of emotions, including humor. Issa in particular often makes me smile. He not only carefully observes the world around him, but fully engages with it.
If you want mass quantities of Haiku, there are other good anthologies to choose from. If you want a beautiful book of classic Haiku to enjoy, it would be hard to do better than this edition.