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Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death Kindle Edition

by Yoel Hoffmann (Author, Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition

4.7 629 ratings

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"A wonderful introduction the Japanese tradition of jisei, this volume is crammed with exquisite, spontaneous verse and pithy, often hilarious, descriptions of the eccentric and committed monastics who wrote the poems." --Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

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." Such a poem is often written in the very last moments of the poet's life.

Hundreds of Japanese death poems, many with a commentary describing the circumstances of the poet's death, have been translated into English here, the vast majority of them for the first time. Yoel Hoffmann explores the attitudes and customs surrounding death in historical and present-day Japan and gives examples of how these have been reflected in the nation's literature in general. The development of writing jisei is then examined--from the longing poems of the early nobility and the more "masculine" verses of the samurai to the satirical death poems of later centuries.

Zen Buddhist ideas about death are also described as a preface to the collection of Chinese death poems by Zen monks that are also included. Finally, the last section contains three hundred twenty haiku, some of which have never been assembled before, in English translation and romanized in Japanese.

Print length

370 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Tuttle Publishing
Publication date

April 15, 1998
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18427 KB
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Empty-handed I entered the world Barefoot I leave it. My coming, my going— Two simple happenings That got entangled.
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Most tanka contain two poetic images. The first is taken from nature; the second, which may precede, follow, or be woven into the first, is a kind of meditative complement to the nature image.
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“When a simple man gains knowledge,” says Zen scripture, “he is wise. When a wise man gains understanding, he is simple.”
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From the Publisher

9784805314432 - module 1

"A wonderful introduction the Japanese tradition of jisei, this volume is crammed with exquisite, spontaneous verse and pithy, often hilarious, descriptions of the eccentric and committed monastics who wrote the poems." —Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

Hundreds of Japanese death poems, many with a commentary describing the circumstances of the poet's death, have been translated into English here, the vast majority of them for the first time. Compiler Yoel Hoffmann explores the attitudes and customs surrounding death in historical and present-day Japan and gives examples of how these have been reflected in the nation's literature in general.

9784805314432 - module 2

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professor Yoel Hoffmann 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. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00R1W9PEW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tuttle Publishing; Original ed. edition (April 15, 1998)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 15, 1998
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 18427 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 370 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #351,129 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #24 in Asian Poetry (Kindle Store)
- #25 in Japanese Poetry & Haiku
- #62 in Poetry Anthologies (Kindle Store)

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Customer reviews

629 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the poetry in the book enjoyable, and the translations and notes are succinct. They also find the insights insightful, informative, and educational. Readers describe the pacing as profound, moving, and relatable.

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Poetry content Insight Pacing

21 customers mention "Poetry content"21 positive0 negative

Customers find the poetry content excellent. They appreciate the translations, notes with each poem, and the short explanations. Readers also mention the book is a good introduction to the Japanese poetry genres, and each poem gives a moment of pause. They mention the poems are in alphabetical order.

"...(Chinese, Japanese etc) poetry collections and it was a pure joy to read the many poems in this book.Rating: 5 Stars...." Read more

"Thick book, lots of amazing end of life poems. It made a wonderful gift." Read more

"...behind how Japanese poems where elaborated and it also explain most of the poems. It's divided into 3 parts and the poems are in alphabetical order." Read more

"...They are short and concise.Here are just a few of the ones that connected with me:Today is the day..." Read more

16 customers mention "Insight"16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book incredibly insightful, informative, and fascinating. They say it gives them a nice perspective on how the Japanese think about death. Readers also appreciate the impressive research and the ability to provide fresh, unexpected perspectives. They mention the book has a wonderful introduction and is a great work by masters of the form.

"...exclusively to Japanese Death Poems, which makes it unique and highly informative...." Read more

"...towards Buddhist thought, many of the stories Hoffman unearths are fascinating and vital- who can fail to crack a smile at the story of the poor..." Read more

"...Well researched ,organized, edited , and written that will frequently be drawn from the bookshelf." Read more

"Gave me a nice perspective on how the Japanese think about death. First third of the book was historical context and unpacking poetry...." Read more

7 customers mention "Pacing"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the pacing profound, moving, relatable, and unique. They also say the theme makes every poem more poignant.

"...book dedicated exclusively to Japanese Death Poems, which makes it unique and highly informative...." Read more

"...I learned a lot about Japanese culture. I highly recommend this profound book." Read more

"...or the cultural anthropology was accurate, but I found the collection profoundly moving." Read more

"...next is the haiku poets, also truly beautiful and unique." Read more

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Joseph J. Truncale

To my knowledge, this is the first full book written on Japanese Death Poems. An excellent read.

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2013

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I have loved all kinds of poetry for most of my life, with the exception of the so-called "modern western free verse" form, which I call garbage poetry. My favorite poems are the shorter type (Haiku) which is why I love Japanese poetry with its Zen like approach to writing poetry.

This 366 page paperback edition is to my knowledge the first book dedicated exclusively to Japanese Death Poems, which makes it unique and highly informative. To those not familiar with death poetry, it was a practice of Japanese monks, Samurai, (warriors) and other Haiku Poets to write a poem at the moment of their death. One of the many things I love about this book is the short biography and age of the poet writing the poem.

This excellent book is well-written and it is clear a lot of hard research went into the writing of this volume. This text is organized into three parts. The first part includes the introduction, the poetry of Japan, death and its poetry in the cultural history of Japan and a note on the poems. The second part covers Death Poems by Zen Monks. The final section has numerous death poems written by Haiku Poets. This volume also had notes, Bibliographical notes, an index of poetic terms and a general index.

In conclusion, if you have an interest in Japanese poetry this is one book you will want to add to your collection. I have read and reviewed numerous Asian (Chinese, Japanese etc) poetry collections and it was a pure joy to read the many poems in this book.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Haiku Moments: How to read, write and enjoy haiku)

9 people found this helpful

Eliane Lundberg-Tanaka

essential and timeless

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2012

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The death poem, or jisei in Japanese, is expected to be composed in addition to a last will and testament. This book's masterful compiler, Yoel Hoffmann, notes in his introduction that jisei have been interpreted as final concessions to politeness and proper social conduct (i.e., they are salutations to those still living), but quickly dismisses this theory by showing how few of these poems are written using the honorific language intended for such salutations. This collection offers us both tanka written by Zen monks and a larger helping of death-related haiku: for those unfamiliar with the mechanics of those styles, the former is a 5-line poem following a pattern of "5-7-5-7-7" syllables per line, while the latter is a 3-line poem following a "5-7-5" pattern of syllables per line. Neither uses any rhyming convention, even though the vast majority of the words in the Japanese language end with one of the five vowel sounds.

Hoffman's synopsis of tanka poetry's spiritual inclinations is as accurate as any you're likely to read (he likens the poet to "a person holding two mirrors in his hands, one reflecting a scene from nature, the other reflecting himself as he holds the first mirror (p. 19-20.)" The vast majority of the poems here were recorded on dates during the Tokugawa period of Japan (1603-1868), even though jisei practice only really became de rigeur in the subsequent Meiji era. Nevertheless, the Tokugawa-era poems perfectly reflect the dramatic increase in cultural pursuits - the fabled ukiyo or 'floating world - particular to that time. This collection also shows the great friction between the Japanese heathen spirit of Shinto and the neo-Confuciansim popular during the Tokugawa era: the former's identification with nature spirits and the latter's more anthropocentric morality sometimes mesh perfectly in the poems, and sometimes make for bold moments of incongruity.

The book's publisher, Tuttle, is one that specializes in Asian-themed books (travel journals, reprints of classics etc.) In their case, keeping this restrictive policy towards their choice of subject matter has allowed them to, ironically, release books that maintain a very universal appeal. Japanese Death Poems is one of these: despite the author's careful attempts to explain who wrote which poems under what uniquely Japanese historical conditions, these epigrams rarely fail to transcend time and place. Having said that, there are examples here that would be highly relevant to practicing Japanologists: there are entries from the renowned painter Hokusai (who pictures himself as a ball of blue fire hovering in the air), from haiku master Basho's oft-boastful pupil Kyoriku, and from several of the famous 47 ronin [masterless samurai] that inspired so many legends and epic films. Along with the historical perspectives come knowledge of cultural facts that may be unknown to new students of this culture, such as the Buddhist convention of giving a deceased person a new name, or the metaphorical significance of birds like the plover and hototogisu (cuckoo.)

Ultimately, though, the book's main selling point is not its ability to fill the gaps in one's historical knowledge, but its ability to provide fresh, unexpected perspectives on the great, creeping inevitability of death. One surprise comes in the sheer breadth of humor, from cheeky to mordant, that animates many of these entries: there are, for example, death poems that poke fun at the institution of death poems themselves, and also ones that upset the Japanese notion of reverence for grand masters in any craft: one poet takes the lines of Basho's famous death poem ("On a journey, ill: / my dream goes wandering / over withered fields") and twists them into the irreverent parody "Locked in my room / my dream goes wandering / over brothels." Elsewhere, the poet Moriya Sen'an unleashes some skillful punning while anticipating a happily debauched afterlife: he requests to be buried beneath a leaky wine barrel, with the gag being that the Japanese for "the cask will leak" ("moriyasennan") is phonetically identical to the writer's name. When not surprising with comic devices, we can find other moments of extreme unorthodoxy in this book, such as when a character named Shisui is asked to compose a death poem, but merely paints an enso in his dying moments (an enso being the plain black circle characteristic to Zen Buddhism, symbolizing 'void as essence' and enlightenment.) The Zen monk Takuan Soho chose a similar method, painting the Chinese character for "dream" in lieu of a death poem as he breathed his last. The orthodox entries are no less interesting, though, showing that much sublimity and individuality is possible even when working within the rules, like the suggestion that death poems should include a seasonal image from the time in which the writer is dying.

Buddhist ethics and views on eternity do, naturally, color much of the poetry in this volume: this may be problematic for anyone who absolutely cannot handle a good dose of Mahayana Buddhism in particular (a philosophy in which the "void" is not the opposite of the phenomenal world, but rather "the world in all its shapes and colors" itself [p. 306.]) If this way of thinking doesn't agree with you, there is plenty of poetry here making no explicit or implicit reference to articles of Buddhist faith. Some do anyway, and yet are no less effective in their simple poignancy, or their ability to be applied to the lives of any mortal: see for example Sofu's entry, which reads "Festival of Souls: / yesterday I hosted them / today I am a guest..." Whatever one's inclination towards Buddhist thought, many of the stories Hoffman unearths are fascinating and vital- who can fail to crack a smile at the story of the poor monk Eisai (1141-1215, a founder of Japanese Zen): he traveled to Kyoto near his death in order to "show people how to die," willed himself to die while sitting in a meditative zazen position, but then revived when his audience complained that he had died too quickly!

I highly recommend Japanese Death Poems as a nuanced alternative to the more sensationalist (when not inaccurate or outright fabricated) "dark side of Japan" material. Given, the libidinous extremes uncovered by those other accounts are mind-altering when produced properly, but I often wonder what end purpose motivates these publishers' enthusiastic quest to show only the most blood-soaked side of Japanese life and death. A personal regimen of welcoming aestheticized psycho-terror (or, as the U.S. Marines call it, "embracing the suck") works to a certain degree, but unchecked death drive produces vastly diminishing returns when taken on as a ful-time way of life. So, when you do tire of that, there are books like these to turn to, which contain more genuine surprises than many of the books claiming they will shock you out of your cultural torpor. Whether these compact little jisei are motivated by an inherited Confucian sense of duty, by pure egotism, or other factors, the effect of reading them all is intoxicating: there is something special about people forcing themselves to contribute to creative life even as death prepares to swallow them up. I leave the last word to Hoffman here, since he shows what it is that ignites this spiritual defiance:

"...how wise and humane is a culture that does not contrive an otherworldly supreme being to rule this world, the only one we know. One might ask what there is to be gained from a 'spiritual' sovereign who disturbs the peace of man with commands to act one way or another, promising in exchange an eternal world where scent, shape and color never enter [...] [Japanese nature] is not nature as understood by Western religions, the work of a creator who stands apart from his work, but nature bursting with vitality, appearing and disappearing in cycles of life and death, os summer and winter, spring and fall (p. 38-39)."

54 people found this helpful

Beautifully touching book

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024

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Thick book, lots of amazing end of life poems. It made a wonderful gift.

One person found this helpful

Vladimir Antimonov

Original Japanese only in romaji no kanji/kana

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024

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I hoped that Japanese originals would be included at least in the end of the book but no luck. Only Romaji side by side with English translations, so you have to google for the original Japanese, if that’s your thing

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One person found this helpful

Deep and Intimate

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2024

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Japanese Death Poems is a haunting compilation of the final words of people who died in Japan. The notes helped explain what the poets were thinking of a referencing. I learned a lot about Japanese culture. I highly recommend this profound book.

One person found this helpful

A BOOK FOR EVERYONE WITH AN EXPRESSIVE PULSE FOR LIFE AND DEATH

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2023

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This indispensable master book of reflections on Japanese death poems ironically highlights distilled human life short or long through all who commit themselves to a prudent practical wisdom that everyone both holds and is held by personal and unviersal destinies distilled in such sparing words.

Well researched ,organized, edited , and written that will frequently be drawn from the bookshelf.

3 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2022

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I finished reading this a few hours ago. And to be frank it's an amazing book. It explains the history behind how Japanese poems where elaborated and it also explain most of the poems. It's divided into 3 parts and the poems are in alphabetical order.

2 people found this helpful

Highly recommend

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2023

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Gave me a nice perspective on how the Japanese think about death. First third of the book was historical context and unpacking poetry. Second third was poems from Monks. Last third was poems from poets.

4 people found this helpful

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Gregorio H.

Marvelous

Reviewed in Mexico on August 23, 2022

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Such a magnificent collection of the purest poetry.

Paolo

overall good poetry book

Reviewed in Italy on July 2, 2024

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overall good poetry book I wished all the poems to be written also in Japanese

One person found this helpful

Neo

Remarkable book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2021

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Great quality of research & compilation. Very interesting angle of view on Haiku. I recommend this book to any Haiku or Zen/Buddhism enthusiast. Well done Professor Hoffmann and thank you.

One person found this helpful

かず

異文化への深い理解と強い思い。

Reviewed in Japan on December 6, 2023

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この本の成立に関わった方から紹介され手に取りました。
筆者は今年の8月に亡くなられましたが、研究者として、作家として豊かな知性と感性をもって、若い人々を導き世に問いかけてこられました。
今、彼の祖国の人々が苦しい状況にある中で、この本を通して、かつて日本に滞在し、日本の文学やそこに宿る精神を母国をはじめ広く世界に紹介しようとした彼の業績に思いをはせ、異文化への敬意と理性による共生社会への希望の光が広がる事を願います。

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Donald Stabler

Really Great.

Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2016

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A very entertaining book. Sentiments shared are real life feelings felt by disciplined Buddhists leaving this life for the unknown evoke a harsh reality of Japanese spiritual beliefs. An interesting book.

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