Language | BILINGUAL Jun 25, 2021
Japan's office workers get poetic on life during the pandemic
by Haruka Murayama
The nation's office workers express themselves on COVID-19 and pop culture for the 34th Senryu for Salaried Workers Contest.
Asia Pacific Jun 7, 2021
Myanmar poets square off against junta's war on words
by Lisa Martin
Poetry played a prominent role in the nation's struggle for independence against colonial power Britain and the decades of military rule that followed.
Books Mar 27, 2021
The genius and geniality of Santoka Taneda, a wandering Zen poet
by Steve John Powell
‘The Life and Zen Haiku Poetry of Santoka Taneda,’ a biography of one of Japan’s most beloved poets, is a loving tribute compiled by Taneda’s close friend, Sumita Oyama.
National Mar 26, 2021
Imperial couple yearns for end of pandemic in postponed poetry ceremony
In her poem, the 57-year-old empress described the vitality of nature she experienced seeing fruits of Japanese apricot trees during the first state of emergency over the virus.
Books Feb 24, 2021
Beat Generation beacon Lawrence Ferlinghetti dies at age 101
by Bill Trott
Poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, whose City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco became a West Coast literary haven for Beat Generation writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, has died at the age of 101.
History | THE LIVING PAST Feb 20, 2021
Matsuo Taseko: It’s myth vs. reality for Japanese nationalism
by Michael Hoffman
Inspired by the ‘Manyoshu,’ a peasant-poet took the Japanese capital by eloquent storm.
Books / Reviews Feb 6, 2021
‘The Investigation’: With poetry, hope prevails within prison walls
by Iain Maloney
South Korean author Jung-myung Lee’s thriller set in a prison in Fukuoka during World War II explores the power of literature and humanity in the darkest of times.
Books | The World of Translators Jan 23, 2021
Poetry and translation are intertwined for Sawako Nakayasu
by Kris Kosaka
For poet Sawako Nakayasu, 45, a multicultural upbringing is what forged her distinctive perspective of language and artistic expression. Nakayasu was born in Yokohama and moved to the United States with her family when she was six. Although she was raised mostly in the ...
Books Nov 21, 2020
A passion project that became a literary journey through Kyoto
by Stephen Mansfield
“Kyoto: A Literary Guide" was painstakingly collated by a group of friends whose dedication to studying the city’s literary legacy spans 10 years.
Culture Aug 21, 2020
While workers have been lambasted over the spread of COVID-19, some have found solace in the art of tanka.
History | THE LIVING PAST Jul 18, 2020
A thousand years of walking through Japan
by Michael Hoffman
The act of walking was one that Saigyo, Basho and Matsuo turned into poetry.
Books Mar 14, 2020
'Factory Girls': Verses for the workers, who toiled all day long
by Kris Kosaka
Takako Arai's newest poetry anthology in English, "Factory Girls," takes readers into the vanishing world of Japan's textile industry.