River of Stars: Selected Poems of Yosano Akiko [Paperback]

Yosano Akiko (Author), Sam Hamill (Author), Keiko Matsui Gibson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 1997

Yosano Akiko (1878-942) is one of the most famous Japanese writers of the twentieth century. She is the author of more than seventy-five books, including twenty volumes of original poetry and the definitive translation into modern Japanese of the Tale of the Genji. Although probably best known for her exquisite erotic poetry, Akiko's work also championed the causes of feminism, pacifism, and social reform. Akiko's poetry is profoundly direct, often passionate, exposing the complexity of everyday emotions in poetic language stripped of artifice and presenting the full breadth of her poetic vision. Included are ninety-one of Akiko's tanka (a traditional five-line form of verse) and a dozen of her longer poems written in the modern style.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The canon of modern Japanese poetry is well-enhanced by this first English edition of one of Japan's twentieth century stellar lights, Yosano Akiko (1878-1942)—the most well-known and controversial female writer of that country in this century. In her lifetime, Akiko published seventy-five books, among them twenty volumes of poetry, along with a definitive modern Japanese translation of the classic Tales of Genji.

"A pioneering feminist, pacifist, and social reformer, her passions were intensely reflected in her literary work, reviving tanka—a form similar to the sonnet—to renewed lyrical essence, creating a unique style of true emotional directness. Given the enormity if reverberative effects in Akiko's poems, Hamill and Matsui Gibson's translations are crisp and incisive, with judicious care given the limits of English syntax. The ninety-one tanka and dozen modern style longer poems translated maintain a sustained pitch of such deeply engaged feeling that one almost reaches Zen-like union with Akiko's mind.

"What is remarkable is her fearless presentation of the sensate reality of the female body in relation to the masculine. Often evoking simple but striking images bordering on fetishism, she shows a very profound sensual connection with her man, her body almost becoming an imbued form of narcissism that challenges him to equal passion as her own. Other riveting poems in this mode address the bodiless perfection of Buddhist novices, immersed in meditation, challenging them to reciprocate and liberate themselves through her passion.

"Her poetry moves swiftly, subsuming one current into another, gathering shades of images and feelings, until the reader is finally swept along in her concentrated intensity of spirit. Some annotation would have been helpful in placing the poems in context to Akiko's eventful life, but the whole range of impact and emotions conveyed in this finely rendered first edition manage to supersede all criticism."—Small Press

"Akiko's verse exhibits a powerful simplicity and grace that make this volume one of much more than historical interest."—Publishers Weekly

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Japanese

Product Details

• Paperback: 154 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (March 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570621462
• ISBN-13: 978-1570621468
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Japanese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite, Passionate and Strikingly Direct, September 3, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: River of Stars: Selected Poems of Yosano Akiko (Paperback)

As a poet, I can barely open this book without the muse whispering in my ear. The translations are superb - page after page of delicious tanka with a small section of "modern style poems" at the end. The brush illustrations by Stephen Addiss visually enhance a magnificent experience. Don't miss it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shining like a knife..., November 30, 2003

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: River of Stars: Selected Poems of Yosano Akiko (Paperback)

I liked the comparison that the introduction made between the thinking of Yosano Akiko and the High Moderns like Eliot and Pound. For all that they were working from different cultures and probably entirely different world views, I think that Akiko shared with them that kind of glittering precision that makes her work very pure to read-- particularly the Tanka.

I was a little bit less impressed with the selection of "Modern Poetry" that came after the Tanka. I'm not sure whether it would have been true of all her non-traditional form poetry, but the poems chosen for this section were not nearly as strong as some of the others, and honestly seemed as though they'd been chosen to illustrate her political thinking rather than the body of her aesthetic work.

Also, compliments to Shambhala Publications for the lucid translation and for the non-irritating introduction. Everything seemed just enough and well done.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetically Exquisite, July 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: River of Stars: Selected Poems of Yosano Akiko (Paperback)

"River of Stars" is one of the more sophisticated books of Japanese poetry that I have read. It is artfully translated and beautifully presented. If you like tanka, you will love the selected poems of Yosano Akiko.