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I Wait for the Moon: 100 Haiku of Momoko Kuroda

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13 global ratings

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I Wait for the Moon: 100 Haiku of Momoko Kuroda

byMomoko Kuroda

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Not merely an anthology

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2021

Studying Japanese literature with students and stumbled upon an online article discussing how haiku is evolving and changing. Article recommended this book. Bought it on a whim (kind of) and was pleasantly surprised that it is not merely a collection of Kuroda’s poems; rather it is a loving tribute to Kuroda’s life and work written by a friend. Highly recommend

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Day Moon

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2015

Its polished layout style makes this a pretty little book. And if your
interest is in knowing about the life of Momoko Kuroda this book offers glimpses through the eyes of a friend.

But if your interest is to understand the way Kuroda writes haiku you will need to explore other translations of her verses. At least some of the verses in this book are not true to the poet's actual meaning. They have been rearranged, the kireji (cutting word) misplaced or changed, and suffused with substituted words when succinct words are available.

Fortunately, Friedman reveals a more literal translation of one of the selected verses in her commentary on the flycatcher verse [pg. 110], but the verse falls close to the end of the book, leaving the reader wondering about all that came before.

The final section shows modern-day haiku as it morphs into personal introspection with its increased frequency of the self as subject matter. With this shift the natural world seems to lose its power as the broad allegory for the cycles of human existence -- a faintly visible waning day moon.

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From the United States

Not merely an anthology

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2021

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Studying Japanese literature with students and stumbled upon an online article discussing how haiku is evolving and changing. Article recommended this book. Bought it on a whim (kind of) and was pleasantly surprised that it is not merely a collection of Kuroda’s poems; rather it is a loving tribute to Kuroda’s life and work written by a friend. Highly recommend

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

Its polished layout style makes this a pretty little book. And if your
interest is in knowing about the life of Momoko Kuroda this book offers glimpses through the eyes of a friend.

But if your interest is to understand the way Kuroda writes haiku you will need to explore other translations of her verses. At least some of the verses in this book are not true to the poet's actual meaning. They have been rearranged, the kireji (cutting word) misplaced or changed, and suffused with substituted words when succinct words are available.

Fortunately, Friedman reveals a more literal translation of one of the selected verses in her commentary on the flycatcher verse [pg. 110], but the verse falls close to the end of the book, leaving the reader wondering about all that came before.

The final section shows modern-day haiku as it morphs into personal introspection with its increased frequency of the self as subject matter. With this shift the natural world seems to lose its power as the broad allegory for the cycles of human existence -- a faintly visible waning day moon.

12 people found this helpful

"I Wait for the Moon" is a gift to be slowly savored as one uncovers its treasures.

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2014

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DO judge this book by its cover. "I Wait for the Moon" is a gift to be slowly savored as one uncovers its treasures. The book cover, the size, the texture of the paper, the visual organization, the scale of all is the perfect format for its rich contents.

Beginning with the opening photograph of the poet, Momoko Kuroda, next to her haiku on a stone monument, I was intrigued and amazed at how the sculptor organized the haiku, fitting in the Kanji and kana into a "circular" format, elongating, shortening, yet all is "present”. It is the perfect introduction to a book which is far more than its description of haiku translated into English with commentary by Abigail Friedman.

Following “The Haiku Apprentice”, Friedman’s first book, Kuroda is always central to this new book but enriched enormously by what is far more than commentary. The personal stories, the painting of the scenes and places at which the haiku were written, the comparisons to other quoted haiku poets interpreting the same places, and the culture and history of Japan is ever present and interwoven. More than anything else as the highest recommendation is the immensely pleasurable readability of the whole book. It is broad stroked and intimate at the same time. The unusual and highly talented persona of Kuroda comes alive within its pages and at the same time shows us the talents of translation and illumination by Abigail Friedman.

3 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2016

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Excellent collection, highly recommend it!

One person found this helpful

an excellent presentation of haiku and the translations thereof

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2014

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As usual, an excellent presentation of haiku and the translations thereof. Ms. Friedman has spent many years in Japan and has been an assiduous student of the literary form. She is also fluent in Japanese both reading and writing the language.

2 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2014

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Lovely haiku + information about the details of Momoko Kuroda's life make this a special book.

One person found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2015

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Excellent!

One person found this helpful

Story Circle Book Reviews

A Resonant Life-Journey in Haiku

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2014

We think we know haiku. It's the short-short form of poetry based on seventeen syllables in a 5/7/5 line length, usually an observation of nature. It's poetry of the moment, dashed off quickly, not serious writing.

Wrong. Haiku is so much more—which is only one of the surprises in this beautiful small volume of haiku from one of Japan's most renowned poets, Momoko Kuroda, translated with insightful commentary by Abigail Friedman, a career U.S. diplomat who studied with Kuroda when Friedman lived in Japan.

Like the haiku it centers on, I Wait for the Moon cannot be summed up in simple terms. The hundred poems Friedman chooses take readers on a journey through life, writing, Japan, and the evolution of one woman's resonant writing voice.

Haiku, it turns out, are limited to 17 units, not syllables: the units are 17 sounds of Japanese Kanji, the pictorial letterforms. The line lengths are not a prescribed 5/7/5; rather they are signaled by grammatical breaks or kireji, the word that signals a "cut" or turn, a surprise in the haiku.

The point of delving into haiku form is not to mess with reader's heads, but to show the intricacy in those seventeen beats, details that make this form of poetry far more challenging and meaningful than most people realize.

Take this early Kuroda haiku:

"underground passage/ there's a wind rushing by—/ the calendar seller"

Simply a powerful observation of a moment, it seems, until Friedman comments:

"As is so often the case with haiku, it is the unstated which completes the poem. We must divine the sound of calendar pages fluttering and flapping in the wind, drawing Momoko's attention to the calendar stall. Here, everything is in motion—the poet walking through the passageway, the wind, the pages of the calendars, and time itself (the calendar being a symbol of tempus fugit)."

Friedman shows Kuroda's decades-long evolution from a classical poet of haiku, based on reporting or observation, to a poet whose haiku are deeply reflective. The changes in the poet's writing voice were sharpened by the events of March 11, 2011, when the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan struck the country's northern coast, followed by a devastating tsunami and the man-made devastation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant went into meltdown.

"deep beneath the sea/ upon those in deepest sleep/ cherry blossoms fall"

Friedman writes:

Momoko believes the triple disaster changed not only the lives of the victims, but everyone's lives. She felt that she needed to achieve a 'self-revolution.' She set about contributing to the revival and rebuilding effort through her role as a haiku selector [she was asked to encourage locals to write haiku about the events]. ... Momoko urged contributors to write about their painful experiences. (Specifying such a request was particularly necessary as the cultural norm in Japan would be for victims to try not to burden others with their pain.) She embraced the idea that haiku did not have to be about the blessings of nature. She confessed regret and shame at having failed to heed early critics of nuclear power, and she took a public stand along with other artists against nuclear power. Looking back, Momoko believes that the events of March 11, 2011, forced a transformation within her, altering her perspective on life and nature, as well as haiku.

"the early rising bamboo partridge calls to those no longer alive"

I Wait for the Moon is haiku at its richest, an exploration of life and our lives through the voice of a justifiably revered poet and her insightful student. The book itself honors the poetic form; it is carefully crafted and beautiful in its details, inviting readers to savor the words—and wisdom within.

by Susan J. Tweit
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

5 people found this helpful

Great collection for haiku lovers and novices

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2014

I Wait for the Moon is a lovely compilation of Momoko Kuroda's work that can be enjoyed by haiku lovers and novices a like. Kuroda's poems are evocative, and she possess such a range in topics that she is able to bring to life in a few short lines. My favorite section of the book is "Deep Beneath the Sea," which is a sub-collection about the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. She juxtaposes the flora of Japan while capturing the heartbreak of the survivors who lost family members and their livelihoods.

The work of editor Abigail Friedman is also much appreciated because she provides as much and as little information about Kuroda so that the reader can interpret their own meaning from the haikus on their own. Friedman also provides context to her translations and certain Japanese figures, which is helpful for readers who have never heard of Kuroda or know little about Japanese culture.

Overall, this book is a good introduction for American readers to Kuroda and haiku.

2 people found this helpful

From other countries

a sweet machine

'from an indigo field...'

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2015

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Abigail Friedman’s selection of haiku by Kuroda Momoku is a well presented little volume. The layout of these hundred-odd haiku, scattered between commentaries and episodes from Kuroda’s life, evenly balances the prose with the poetry. The boxed highlights and thematic, rather than strictly chronological, layout diversifies the account of Kuroda’s life and work. The overall result is a book that feels effortless and light.

Friedman’s translation notes are in themselves promising. She is aware of how Western audiences misperceive, or mistranslate, Japanese haiku; the 5-7-5 syllabic structure, the focus on nature and seasonal reference are identified correctly as “problems” or as only “a matter of taste.” Friedman opts to eschew traditional expectations in favour of “what best captures the original”, which is surely sign of a confident translator-poet.

The actual haiku themselves I found somewhat disappointing. I enjoyed some of the early examples. ‘this town/where the dark sea roars—/I buy a diary’ indicates Kuroda’s storytelling interests. She focuses the reader’s imagination towards things unsaid in ‘underground passage/there’s a wind rushing by—/the calendar seller’. But for every successful haiku there are many that fall flat, despite the back-up of commentary. ‘Kukai’s mountain/winter thaw everywhere—/glistening drops’, and ‘a chorus of birds/flycatchers, robins/pilgrimage complete!’ could have been copy-and-pasted from the blogsite of any school-age enthusiast.

This reader was left with the impression that 'I Wait for the Moon' is more about Kuroda herself than her haiku. Friedman is constantly building up her myth as a haiku pilgrim/master. Kuroda isn’t just a haiku writer, but instead “one of the most active and highly regarded haiku poets in Japan today.” We are reassured of “what a remarkable woman Kuroda is”, even though some people are somehow “still ignorant of the extent of her renown.” (Yawn)

Ultimately, Kuroda’s own haiku, or perhaps Friedman’s translations, fail to match the hype. Some are nicely executed, but others fail to resonate or even intrigue. Perhaps those more familiar with Kuroda’s cultural context can better appreciate her writing, perhaps it is just a matter of taste. Those coming to haiku for the first time may also want to try Salad Anniversary by Machi Tawara, which offers a modern complement to this quiet collection.

One person found this helpful

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