Modern Japanese Tanka (Paperback)

by Professor Makoto Ueda (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Owing to masterful editing and translating by Makoto Ueda, the beauty of the original poetry shines forth throughout this volume. -- Choice

Product Description
Tanka, a clasical Japanese verse form like haiku, has experienced a resurgence of interest among twentieth-century poets and readers. Arguably the central genre of Japanese literature, the 31-syllable lyric made up the great majority of Japanese poetry from the ninth to the nineteenth century and was the inspiration for such poetry as haiku and renga. Tanka has begun to attract considerable attention in North America in recent years. is the first comprehensive collection available in English. Tanka retains the aesthetic sensibilities that circumscribe Japanese culture, but just as Japan has changed during this tumultuous century, tanka has undergone equally radical shifts. Responding to artistic and social movements of the West, tanka has incorporated influences ranging from Marxism to Avant-Garde. includes four hundred poems by twenty of Japan's most renowned poets who have made major contributions to the hisotry of tanka in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With his graceful, eloquent translations, Makoto Ueda captures the distinct voices of these individual poets, providing biographical sketches of each as well as transliterating Japanese text below each poem. His introduction gives an excellent overview of the development of tanka in the last one hundred years. Tracing the contemporary tanka tradition from Yosana Tekkan in the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth-century poetry of such writers as Taware Machi, elegantly conveys an authentic sense of Japanese lyric to a Western audience.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231104332
• ISBN-13: 978-0231104333
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,032,685 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tanka teaches the art of poetry, January 16, 2001

By	Jennifer Turri (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

Not only is the book beautiful to have in your hands, its contents are excellent. Ueda's introduction is a comprehensive look at the development of the tanka form, and an orientation of its poets within the broader literary movements of Japanese tanka, and other contemporary poetry. Each poet is introduced with a reletively lengthy biography which provides personal information helpful to the contemplation of their poetry, especially considering that tanka are mostly occasional poems written as an expression of daily living. If you've never read tanka, try it. You'll find yourself seeing your life in immortal poetic fragments. And if you already do document your life in poems, here is an elegant and simple way to express yourself in metric form.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely!, April 28, 2007

By	S. Phillips "Remki" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book in the library when I was 14 and LOVED it. I didn't get my own copy until I was 19 (yes, long wait) but I was so happy when I did. The selection is great and the format easily readable. Having never read any tanka before I found this book, I can assure you that the poetry retains the beautiful lyricism of Haiku while expanding on concepts and often adding a more "human" element to the ideas portrayed. Great book for any Tanka lover or to those new to tanka.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like haiku with overdrive, July 1, 2006

By	Bret Mars "Guitarist, poetry geek, haiku junk... (Northern California) - See all my reviews

Seeing the way this 1000 year old form is being used by modern Japanese writers is inspiring. If you are trying to get the hang of writing any kind of poetry, reading these selections will give your imagination a boost.