The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Onono Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan (Paperback)

~ (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Matters of the heart and spirit and the transient nature of time and existence are the dominant themes of this collection of love poems by two leading female literary figures of Japan's Heian era--Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu. The book includes an illuminating introduction and an appendix on Japanese poetry and the process of translation.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Again Daylight
All The Flowers
Although The Wind
Another Answer
An Answer
Around The Time Naishi Died, Snow Fell, Then Melted Away
As I Dig For Wild Orchids
At A Time When I Had Just Gone Into Mourning A Friend ...
The Cold Rises
Come Quickly - As Soon As
Cricket Heard
The Dewdrop %on A Bamboo Leaf
Don't Look Up
During The Memorial Service For My Daughter
Even In My Dreams
Even Though %these Pine Trees
Even When A River Of Tears
For A Moment
For His Gaze
A Friend Asked To Borrow The Inkstone ...
A Friend Tell Me The Cherry Trees Have Come Into Bloom
A Friend, Hearing I Was In Mourning ...
From Every Branch
How I Envy The Tanbata Stars
How To Remove
I Break Off
I Cannot Say %which Is Which
I Long For The Sound
I Think, 'at Least In My Dreams
I Used Up This Body
I Wonder %if The Wind Scythes A Path
If I Live
If Only His Horse
If The One I've Waited For
If You And I Had Tied Our Vows
If, However Far Away
In My Loneliness
In October, A Man Came And Then Left
In The Autumn, On Retreat To A Mountain Temple
In This World
It Would Console Me
Last Year's %fragile, Vanished Snow
Left Behind
A Lover Accused Me Of Unfathfulness ...
A Lover Wrote To Ask If Had Left His Obi Behind ...
Lying Alone
A Man Came Secretly And Left In Heavy Rain
A Man Used To Come During The Summer, But Stopped
A Man Who Hadn't Visited For A Long Time Finally Came ...
A Monk Came To Visit And Left His Fan ...
More Fragrant %because Of The One
My Body, Wandering, Lost
My Lover, Though He Had Broken Off Our Affair ...
My Pillow %has Become
No Bone-chilling
No Different, Really--
Nothing %in The World
On A Night %when The Moon
On A Night Of Bright Moonlight ...
On A Troubled Current
On New Year's Day, Watching It Snow
On The Fifth Day Of The Month ...
On The Last Night Of The Year ...
On The Night Of The Sixth ...
One By One
The One Close To Me Now
Perhaps, If I Make A Friend
A Pond Hides Herself Uselessly
Reluctantly, %i Too Awaken
Remembering You ...
Seeing Someone Holding My Fan ...
Seeing You Is The Thread
Sent When Returning A Purple Robe ...
Sleeplessly %i Watch Over
Someome Asked To Borrow A Book ...
A String Of Jewels
Summer Night, A Rap At The Gate
Things I Want Decided
This Heart Is Not
This Heart, %longing For You
Those Nights When We Slept
Though I Was Expecting A Visitor, He Didn't Arrive. ...
Time Passes
To A Man Who Said He Depended On Me To Think Of Him ...
To A Man Who Said We Should Meet ...
To A Man Who Used To Visit Secretly ...
To A Man Who Wrote Requesting An Answer
To Someone Who Came From The Countryside In Autumn
Tonight, %with No One To Wait For
Too Painful %that You Became Smoke
Twilight %and The Path You Took
Under The Water
Undisturbed, %my Garden Fills
The Usual Period Of Mourning Is Over
Wakened By The Scent
Waking Up At Dawn In November I Heard A Bard Rain ...
Watching The Moon %at Dawn
Watching The Moon %at Midnight
The Way I Must Enter
What Color Is
What Is It
What Is The Use
When I Was Thinking Not To Age Any Longer In This World ...
When The Autumn Wind
When The Netted Fence Of Spiderwebs
When The Water-freezing
When We Met Again After A Long Separation
While Many People Stand Watching The Moon ...
Why Haven't I
Wishing To See Him
A Woman Who Has Had Many Affairs Gives Birth To A Child ...
The World Rushes On
Written For A Current Wife To Send To An Angry Ex-wife ...
Written In Response To Prince Atsumichi's First Gift ...
Written Shen Staying In A Mountain Temple
Written When Thinking Of Becoming A Nun
Yesterday, %what Were My Reasons
You Ask My Thoughts
After A Lover Visited In Secrecy
Although There Is
As Pitiful As A Diver
The Autumn Night
Awake Tonight
Cicadas
Did He Appear
How Invisibly
How Sad
The Hunting Lanterns
I Thought Those White Clouds
I Thought To Pick
If This Were A Dream
If, In An Autumn Field
In This World
Is This Love Reality
It Seems A Time Has Come
Like A Ripple
Love Poem: 6
My Longing For You
Night Deepens
No Way To See Him
O Spider Lily
The Seaweed Gatherer's Weary Feet
Seeing The Moonlight
Sent Anonymously To A Man Who Has Passed In Front ...
Sent In A Letter Attached To A Rice Stalk ...
Sent To A Man Who Seemed To Have Changed His Mind
Silent As Spring Rain
Since This Body
This Abandoned House
This Entangling Wind
This Inn
This Morning
This Pine Tree By The Rock
Those Gifts You Left
Though I Go To Him Constantly
To A Man Who Seems To Have Forgotten
Tokiwa Mountain's
What Blossoms
When Funya No Yasuhide Was Appointed Governor Of Mikawa ...
When My Desire
While Watching
Yes, A Mountain Village
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (October 3, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679729585
• ISBN-13: 978-0679729587
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,489 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars if you have any heart..., November 4, 2000

By A Customer

This collection of poetry blew me away. Most of the poems are quite short (4-5 lines), but they all carry as much meaning as any long poem I have read. This poetry is soulful, intellectually stimulating, and understandable. My favorite thing about this collection is how easily I could identify with the poetry. Most of the poems are about secret love, wanting someone, loving someone, and leaving someone (both in body and spirit). There is also a large portion of the poems that were written about missing someone who has passed away, and I found it to be especially beautiful. If you have ever had a secret lover, or lost someone you will never forget, this is the poetry for you.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ink Dark Moon That Ignites Our Souls, October 15, 2001

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

A magnificent translation of two women poets writing between the 9th and 11th centuries.The thoughtful translations convey the
feeling-tones of two women poets in a long bygone era in Japan.

The layout is aesthetically pleasing and each and every one of these short (4-5) line tanka keeps unfolding with subsequent readings. A must for any poet interested in writing tanka.

A well-crafted, magnificent translation.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent book, December 28, 2002

By	Rosemary Gwaltney (Idaho, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is among my most treasured. These women's love and longing is so eloquently worded, and could be the very same heartaches any woman experiences today. A fascinating glimpse into a society I could only imagine. Excellently translated tanka. Extremely good. I would recomend it highly to anyone.