4thace reviewed Japanese Death Poems by Yoel Hoffmann
A collection of poems about a situation that we all will face
4 stars
For hundreds of years, Japan has had a tradition where poets would write a poem in the last hours and minutes of life for their pupils and followers. Death was more of a common part of culture and the religions that were common taught of what the afterlife would be like. Many of these were haiku, but tanka and other forms were commonplace during the era of samurai and before. Often they express the ephemeral nature of life in contrast to the grand cycles of nature, and include a reference to the season of the year the poet came to their end. This book collects over a hundred of these in both romanized Japanese and English translation, along with notes on the individual poets. In later years, some have taken a more satiric approach to the tradition.
Not every poem is a perfect example of Japanese poetry, but the …
For hundreds of years, Japan has had a tradition where poets would write a poem in the last hours and minutes of life for their pupils and followers. Death was more of a common part of culture and the religions that were common taught of what the afterlife would be like. Many of these were haiku, but tanka and other forms were commonplace during the era of samurai and before. Often they express the ephemeral nature of life in contrast to the grand cycles of nature, and include a reference to the season of the year the poet came to their end. This book collects over a hundred of these in both romanized Japanese and English translation, along with notes on the individual poets. In later years, some have taken a more satiric approach to the tradition.
Not every poem is a perfect example of Japanese poetry, but the way they mark the end of a life gives them a boost in emotion. The best of them have reverberations into this world and the next, or lead the reader to become conscious of our common fate. It doesn't seem like a book to read straight through, but one to take a little at a time to give the dying words a chance to work upon the everyday complacency a busy person is apt to have.