Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death [Paperback]

Yoel Hoffmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1998

Although the consciousness of death is in most cultures very much a part of life, this is perhaps nowhere more true than in Japan, where the approach of death has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of writing jisei, or the "death poem" written in the very last moments of the poet's life. From passionate samurai writins and meditative Zen haiku to the satirical poems of later centuries, Hundreds of jisei have been translated into English here, many for the first time. The result is a moving, powerful collection whose philosophical and aethetic profundity will give readers pause.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professor Yoel Hoffman has written several books on Buddhism and comparative philosophy, including The Sound of the One Hand, Radical Zen: the Sayings of Joshu, and The Idea of Self-East and West.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804831793
• ISBN-13: 978-0804831796
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Japanese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a rare view of situational poetry, June 23, 2001

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death (Paperback)

While I agree that a bilingual text would have been better, this is an excellent selection of poetry written for a particular situation - the death of the author. One strength of the collection is that it is not limited to Zen masters but includes samurai, Shinto followers, women ... The result is a collection which includes a broad range of emotional flavors - from sassy to hopeful anticipation, from expectations of heaven (pure land) to dissolution ...

The organizational principle (alphabetic) results in some curious juxtapositions. The explanatory text is useful, thought-provoking and non-intrusive. The introduction provides excellent background material on death in Japanese culture. Everything works together to create an excellent book.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We Are All Getting Ready To Have To Take The Ride!, March 14, 2004

By 

Hortensia Anderson "Hortensia Anderson" (nyc, ny, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death (Paperback)

A superb collection of "last words" in poetry, this volume should be savoured and returned to - repeatedly. It has an impressive range of contributors from various traditions and the variety of expression in the poems compensates in part for the lack of a bilingual text. A book that belongs on poetry bookshelves as well as by the bedside during the thin gauzy hours with faint moonlight casting shadows of doubt...

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good selection, poor commentary, August 15, 2000

By 

Tim Cornwell (Socorro, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death (Paperback)

As an admirer of this form and of Zen, I am delighted by the selection but not impressed by the commentary. Since Buddhism and Zen both have influenced death poetry so strongly, one would have hoped that the editor would have shown some appreciation of the subtleties of both. Unfortunately, the view of Buddhism is sadly out-dated and fundamentally mistaken. Hoffman misses the essence of emptiness and talks fatuously and anachronistically of "the void". The meaning of death poems written by Zen monks, but also by Japanese poets then becomes distorted by this nihilistic interpretation of Buddhism. So, delight in the poems themselves but skip the introduction and commentary. For a better collection including some Chinese death poems, see the excellent collection "Penguin Book of Zen Poetry" by Lucien Stryk, Takashi Ikemoto.