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

by Yoel Hoffmann (Author) "The earliest known examples of Japanese lyric poetry are verses found in the first records of Japanese history, the Kojiki (Record of ancient matters), completed..." (more)
Key Phrases: writing death poems, full autumn moon, seasonal image, Zen Buddhism, Bon Festival, Masumi Kato (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
The Fourth Day by Aki-no-bo
No Sign by Aki-no-bo
Lightning Flickers by Amano Hachiro
Running Shallow by Arimaru
Flowers Of The Grass: by Asei
Earth And Metal... by Atsujin
People, When You See The Smoke, by Baika
Plum Petals Falling by Baiko
Now Spring Has Come by Bainen
O Hydrangea- by Bairyu
Island Of Eternity: by Baisei
The Journey West, by Baiseki
Looking Back At The Valley: by Bako
Looking Back At The Valley: by Bako
The Longest Winter Night: by Bankoku
Farewell- by Banzan
Look Straight Ahead. What's There? by Bassui Tokousho
Child Of The Way, by Benseki
Cuckoo, I Too by Bokukei
A Parting Word? by Bokusui
A Swollen Bottle Gourd by Botange Shohaku
Yesterday, It Was Hibiscus by Botange Shohaku
Oh, I Don't Care by Bufu
I Crossed From Last by Bunzan
The Running Stream by Chiboku
Butterflies In Flight: by Chikuro
It Lights Up by Chine
Feast Of The Dead- by Chiri
First Crops: by Chiri
In Earth And Sky by Chirin
A Fawn Frolics by Chiyo Ni
I Saw The Moon As Well by Chiyoni
I Long For People- by Chogo
A Raging Sea by Choha
This Final Scene I'l Not See by Choko
Paradise, by Chora
Leaves Never Fall by Chori
On The Way West by Choshi
I Wait, White Clouds by Chosui
This Is One Poem by Chowa
My Seventy Years-a Withered by Daibai
You Cannot Tell by Daibai
A Tune Of Non-being by Daido Ichi'i
Needles Pierce My Ailing Body, And Pain Grows by Daigu Sochiku
My Whole Life Long I've Sharpened My Sword by Dairin Soto
Cargoless, by Dohaku
Here In The Shadow Of Death It Is Hard by Dokyo Etan
Lotus Seed In Ten by Donsui
In All My Six And Fifty Years by Doyu
All My Life I Taught Zen To The People- by Enni Ben'en
Autumn Waters by Enryo
A Parting Gift To My Body: by Ensei
Autumn Gust: by Ensetsu
Many Things Befell Me A S I Followed Buddha by Ensetsu
All Moving Things by Enshi
My Companion In The Skies by Fufu
Rise, Let Us Go- by Fujo
Empty Cicada Shell: by Fukaku
A Bright And Pleasant by Fukyu
Today, Then, Is The Day by Fusen
Upon The Lotus Flower by Fuso
The Earth Is Fragrant by Fuwa
One Spot, Alone by Gaki
Blow If You Will, by Gansan
I Lean Against by Gazen
Morning Glory by Gengen'ichi
A Graveyard: by Gensho
Inhale, Exhale by Gesshu Soko
Stumble, by Getsurei
Illness Lingers On And On by Gimei
I Leap From Depths by Ginka
See- by Ginko
Clear Sky- by Gitoku
All Doctrines Split Asunder by Giun
I Was Born Into This World by Gizan Zenrai
This Is What I Think: by Gochu
Chrysanthemums Were Yellow by Godo
I Have Not Yet Grown Weary by Gofu
A Lone Paulownia Leaf by Gohei
The Second Month: by Gohei
Fields Dying Off: by Gokei
The Truth Embodied In The Buddhas by Goku Kyonen
Spring Will Meet This Year by Gosen
Returning Thanks by Goshi
Disgusted With by Goshu
A Cuckoo Cries by Goshuku
Blossoms Scent The Air by Gozan
The Snow Of Yesterday by Gozan
I Wonder Where by Hakuen
What Is It But A Dream? by Hakuen
My Heart Serene, by Hakujubo
Pampas Grass, All Dry by Hakukin
To A Melody Of Prayer by Hakuni
Well, Then, Let's Follow by Hakurin
An Ailing Mallard by Hakuro
Farewell-and Though There Be by Hakusai
Oh, Morning Glory, by Hakusen
At Peace, by Hakusetsu
Deutzia Blossoms: by Hakuto
Man's End, by Hamei
In Stillness, I, by Hamon
The Year Is Ending: by Hankai
My Life: by Hanri
Quick Sounds by Hogyoku
Now As A Spirit by Hokusai
Gone Up In Flames- by Hokushi
I Write, Erase, Rewrite, by Hokushi
O Sacred Spirit by Hokuso
Mountain Temple: by Horoku
Coming, All Is Clear, No Doubt About It. by Hosshin
Encased By Winter: by Hou
Praise To The Skies: by Hoyu
Late-blooming Cherry: by Hyakka
Winter Ice by Hyakka
When I Die by Hyakuri
A Broken Dream- by Ichimu
What Do You Understand? by Ichishi
In All The Kingdom Southward by Ikkyu Sojun
Three And Seventy Years by Ingo
I Give My Name Back by Inseki
Falling In The Wind by Ippu
Though I Tarry On The Road by Isaibo
The Autumn Hues by Isan
For Not Honoring My Parents by Isan
From Deep In My Heart by Issho
Cut Your Price! by Isso
Cuckoo, by Jakua
This Year I Want by Jakura
Family Whispers by Jikko
Leaves Of Words: by Jomei
This Must Be by Joseki
Second Month: by Jowa
A Back-yard Chrysanthemum by Kaen
If I Must Die by Kafu
Nights Grow Short: by Kafu
Barren Branches: by Kagai
Strange-like Messengers by Kaiga
Round A Flame by Kaikai
Evening Cherry-blossoms: by Kaisho
A Chill: by Kanga
It Is Indeed Like That- by Kangyu
Autumn Breeze: by Kanna
Although The Autumn Moon by Kanshu
Why Should I Hesitate? by Karai
How Sad: Cherry Blossoms by Kari
The Ash I Leave Behind by Kasei
Depths Of Cold by Kasenjo
Cicada Of The Light by Kasenni
A Drop Of Water Freezes Instantly- by Kaso Sodon
Summer by Kassan
The Moon Departs: by Kato
Bound Homeward Under by Keido
The Cuckoo's Voice by Keido
Border Of The Realm, by Keizan
The Melting Snows: by Kenju
My Old Body: by Kiba
My One Wish by Kibai
Cutting A Swath by Kifu
Seventy-one! by Kigen
That Which Blossoms by Kiko
Today Is The Day by Kimpo
One Gulp, by Kimpu
The Autumn Flowers by Kin'ei
How Leisurely The Cherry by Kin'u
Within The Vast And Empty by Kinko
Ninth-month Moon: by Kisei
Since I Was Born by Kisei
Evening: by Kiyu
Clouds Drifting Off: by Kizan
When I Am Gone by Kizan (1787-1851)
From One Basin by Kobayashi Issa
What Matter If I Live On- by Kobayashi Issa
My Final Words Are These: by Kogaku Soko
Katsu! by Kogetsu Sogan
I Cast The Brush Aside- by Koha
To Depart While Seated Or Standing Is All One. by Koho Kennichi
And If I Do by Koju
For Over Sixty Years by Kokei Sochin
Farewell, Sire- by Konishi Raizan
Raizan Had Died by Konishi Raizan
This Stone Made Ready For My Tomb by Konkan
When I Leave The World by Konkan
The Joy Of Dewdrops by Koraku
Autumn Ends: by Kosai
Poor Kosai- by Kosai
Three Years: by Kosai
Swear To Me, Pine, by Koseki
I Die by Koson
If I Must Die by Koyo
How Sublime- by Kozan
Empty-handed I Entered The World by Kozan Ichikyo
My Morning Porridge, by Kusamaru
A Last Fart: by Kyo'on
I Am Not Worthy by Kyohaku
When You Contemplate The Waters by Kyokusai
A Journey Of No Return: by Kyoshu
In Heavy Snow by Kyutaro
Tender Winds Above The Snow by Kyutaro
Moon In A Barrel: by Mabutsu
The Snowman's Eyes by Mabutsu
Now That My Storehouse by Masahide
While I Walk On by Masahide
I Draw The Willow by Masumi Kato
The Path To Paradise by Masumi Kato
The Surface by Masumi Kato
An Ailing Mallard by Matsuo Munefusa
Airing Out The Robe by Matsuo Munefusa
On A Journey, Ill: by Matsuo Munefusa
My Only Hope Against by Meisetsu
Today I Put On Summer by Michikaze
Fall, Plum Petals, by Minteisengan
The Foam On The Last Water by Mitoku
I Constantly Aspire by Mokudo
Clouds Breaking Up, by Momen
Today by Moritake
The Drone Of The Mosquitoes by Motojo
Sadly I See by Mukai Kyorai
Life Is An Ever-rolling Wheel by Mumon Gensen
When It Comes-just So! by Musho Josho
Thus Have I Rolled My Life Throughout by Muso Soseki
At The Crossroad by Nakamichi
Ice In A Hot World: by Nakamichi
In Fall by Namagusa Tazukuri
To Hell With The Wind by Nampo Jomyo
Since Time Began by Nandai
Over The Fields Of by Okano Kin'emon Kanehide
This Phantasm by Okyo
What A Lark! by Osen
At Night My Sleep by Oto
O White Chrysanthemum- by Otsuchi
Hidden Among The Roots by Otsuin
Still Tied To The World, by Ozui
My Body In Its Autumn: by Ra-in
I Take Leave by Rairai
You've Done Your Duty by Raishi
For A Moment There by Rando
I Wish To Die by Rangai
Thirty Years And More by Rankei Doryu
Each Day The Absent Grow by Ranseki
This Last Night Of Nights by Ranseki
One Leaf Lets Go, And by Ransetsu
Let Them Bloom Or by Rekisen
I Cleansed The Mirror by Renseki
The Night I Understood by Retsuzan
All Freezes Again- by Riei
I'm Happy Through And Through by Rifu
A Water Bird, Asleep, by Robun
Is It Only Me? by Rochu
On The Ground by Rogan
The Times Are Torn Asunder- by Rogen
Evening Shadows Steal by Roka
I Wake Up by Rokushi
Sweep Away by Rosen
Time To Go... by Roshu
Now It Reveals Its Hidden Side by Ryokan
Is Man A by Ryosa
I Understand: by Ryoto
Till Now by Ryoto
A Plover Rises by Ryou
The New Year by Ryu'u
Now I Understand How by Ryuho
Brittle Pampas Grass- by Ryusai
Man Is Buddha- by Ryushi
I Shift My Pillow by Saiba
I Borrow Moonlight by Saikaku
In This Delusive World by Saikaku
I'll Cross The Ridge by Saimaro
Dawn Breaks by Saimu
How Sad... by Sakyoku
Cherry Blossoms Fall by Saruo
Joy Of Living, by Seigan Soi
Not Even For A Moment by Seiju
Water Veins by Seiju
Boarding The Boat by Seira
My Body, Useless by Seisa
My Hour Draws Near And I Am Sill Alive, by Seisetsu Shucho
Rain Clouds Clear Away: by Seishu
Deep In The Underbrush by Sempo
I Cup My Ears by Senchojo
He Who Comes Knows Only His Coming by Sengai Gibbon
Somehow Or Other by Senkei
Bitter Winds Of Winter- by Senryu
Like Dewdrops by Senryu
A Willow Tree In Fall: by Senryu
At Long Last I Am Leaving: by Senseki
Like Ice In Storage by Sentoku
Now Then, by Setsudo
Reality Is Flowerlike: by Shagai
I Have Gone Through by Sharyu
Hold On!- by Shayo
Returning As It Came, by Shidoken
Of Such A Time As This by Shiei
Farewell To Blessed Be by Shigan
A Willow Branch by Shigenobu
To Grass It Comes by Shikaku
A Barrelful Of Phlegm- by Shiki
The Loofah Blooms And by Shiki
Loofah Water by Shiki
A Cricket, Crying, by Shiko
I Vanish- by Shiko
Feast Of The Dead: by Shinga
Fickle Winter Shower: by Shinseki
And Won't There Be by Shiyo
Snow On The Pines by Shiyo
Surely There's A Teahouse by Shiyo
Willingly by Shizan
One Moon- by Shofu
Autumn Ends: by Shogetsu
Today The Sky Above Mount Hiei, Too, by Shogo
O Morning Glory- by Shohi
My Shame In This World by Shokei
Chilling Cold: by Shoku'u
Pampas Grass, Now Dry, by Shoro
Flowers Bloomed Yesterday, by Shoshun
The Fall Of Leaves by Shozan
Cicada Shell: by Shuho
Is It Me The Raven Calls by Shukabo
Above The Fence by Shukyo
The Winter Fowl by Shumpan
My Sword Leans Against The Sky. by Shumpo Soki
No Single Bone In My Body Is Holy- by Shumpo Soki
Adrift Between The Earth And Sky by Shun'oku Soen
I Wake And Find by Shushiki
Frost On S Summer Day: by Shutei
Walking Westward, by So'oku
Whether Or Not A Paradise by Soa
Full Autumn Moon: by Sodo
Festival Of Souls: by Sofu
Empty Are by Sohoku
This Winter by Sohoku
The Road I Take by Sokin
Like Full, Plump by Soko
Shadows From A Lingering Sun by Soko
A Green Gourd by Somaru
Skies At Dawn- by Sonome
Autumn Winds: by Soryu
Lotus Seeds by Sosen
The Years Have Piled Up by Sugetsu
By The Fifth Month by Suikoku
Spitting Blood by Sunao
This Frosty Month by Tadatomo
I Raise The Mirror Of My Life by Taigen Sofu
The Deutzia Has Bloomed- by Taikyo
Flowers Bloom A Score Of Days- by Tairyu
Brittle Autumn Leaves by Takao
When Summoned, by Takuchi
Soon I Shall Hear by Takuro
Cool- by Tamanari
A Lone Monk by Tamashichi
Such Is The World's Way: by Tanehiko
The First Snow by Tanko
For Eight And Fifty Years by Tanko
Life-cutting Axe: by Tanko
The Moon Leaks Out by Tanko
Today Too, by Tanko
With My Cane by Tantan
Open The Shutters by Teikitsu
A Plover Wades Through by Teisa
A Morning Glory- by Teishi
New Year- by Teishitsu
I Wish This Body by Tembo
Among The Barley Stalks by Tesshi
When I Leave by Tesshu
Full Of Great Changes by Tetsugen Doko
I Look Now At The Very Moment by Tetto Giko
The Truth Is Never Taken by Tetto Giko
When Autumn Winds Blow by Togyu
Food Is Steaming by Toho
Within Your Life And Mine by Toho
I Go Back by Tojaku
Even Dew Distilled by Tojun
Death Poems by Toko
My Life Was by Tokugen
Sound Of A Melody: by Tomoemon
Seventy Years And More by Tosui Unkei
Though My Dwelling Be Small by Tosui Unkei
Today Is The End Of Religion's Work- by Tosui Unkei
All Four Pillars Of Enlightenment by Toyo Eicho
Is It Like by Toyokuni
From The Day Of My Coming Hither by Tsugen Jakurei
Give My Dream Back, by Uejima Onitsura
Cuckoo, by Uko
The Voice Of The Nightingale by Uko
I Came Into The World After Buddha. by Ungo Kiyo
The Second Of The Second Month: by Unrei
Six And Sixty- by Usei
The Owners Of The Cherry Blossoms by Utsu
New Year's Dawn: by Wagin
In The End by Wakyu
My Four And Forty Years by Wakyu
A Voice Calls Me- by Yaba
I Pass Beneath by Yaitsu
Paradise- by Yaitsu
My Six And Seventy Years Are Through. by Yakuo Tokuken
Clouds Of Flowers by Yaohiko
My Sickness Lingers; I Part From This World. by Yayu
A Short Night by Yayu
Yesterday? Today? by Yayu
Of Late The Nights by Yosa Buson
Katsu! by Yoso Soi
Frost On Grass: by Zaishiki
You Must Play by Zosan Junku
I Pondered Buddha's Teaching by Zoso Royo
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804831793
• ISBN-13: 978-0804831796
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #260,410 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #49 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Japanese & Haiku
  #58 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Asian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

15 of 15 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

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.

10 of 10 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

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...