ONNA NI, by Shuntaro Tanikawa, with etchings by Yoko Sano, translated by William I. Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura. Shueisha, 2012, 80 pp., ¥1,470 (paperback)
Shuntaro Tanikawa, born in 1931, is one of the most acclaimed poets in Japan — well known not only from the many volumes of poetry he has published but also for his public readings and television appearances.
I once stood on the other side of a pile of books from him in a museum bookstore, unsure at the moment whether to show that I recognized the famous and familiar face.