General | OBITUARY Aug 30, 2017
Hillel Wright: poet, writer and catalyst for Tokyo's literary community
by Taylor Mignon
Remembering Hillel Wright, who died on Aug. 1 at the age of 73.
Lifestyle Jul 9, 2017
The sheer poetry of the world's first English-language 'karuta' game
by Lucy Birmingham
Classical Japanese poetry on playing cards — in English? It seems like an odd mix. But when you add tales of love and betrayal and brilliant translation, you get a heart-thumping card game like no other. "It's a world's first," says Peter MacMillan, translator and ...
National Jun 23, 2017
Fukushima poet Ryoichi Wago wins French award for tweets issued on 2011 disasters
A poet in the city of Fukushima has won a French award for a collection based on Twitter feeds he started shortly after the March 2011 mega-quake, tsunami and nuclear disasters unfolded. Ryoichi Wago, 48, and Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co., which published his collection, said ...
Commentary / Japan May 27, 2017
Burton Watson, noted translator, remembered
by Hiroaki Sato
Burton Watson, the foremost translator of Chinese classics and poetry into English, chose to live much of his long life in Japan.
Language | BILINGUAL May 22, 2017
Tanka help Japanese express emotions
by Daniel Morales
Tanka are one of the oldest forms of poetry in the world with a 1,300-year history.
Books / Reviews | ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES May 20, 2017
'100 Poems from the Japanese": A classic collection
by Iain Maloney
Kenneth Rexroth was heavily influenced by the moods and modes of Japanese poetry, which in turn reached those who were influenced by him. Named by Time Magazine as the “father of the Beats” and a friend of that other great Japanophile poet, Gary Snyder, ...
Books / Reviews Apr 1, 2017
'Fractures': Putting together the pieces of a story told in verse
by Dana Macalanda
"Fractures" is a slip of a book featuring 27 haiku-inspired poems from author and Japan Times contributor Iain Maloney. It is of course possible to blitz through quickly, but consider this: While each poem can stand independently, taken together, they cover both an emotional and ...
Books / Reviews Mar 25, 2017
'Teika: The Life and Works of a Medieval Japanese Poet': Unpacking ancient poetry wars
by Iain Maloney
Teika lived from 1162 to 1241, and was a highly influential Japanese poet. Paul S. Atkins' new study of his work aims to reintroduce him to a non-native audience and to analyze why his verse had such a large impact on the trajectory of ...
Language | BILINGUAL Mar 13, 2017
Toto rolls out droll toilet humor with a whiff of class
by Mark Schreiber
Sit back and relax as this week's Bilingual column splashes on the results of Toto's 2016 Toilet Senryu Contest.
Books / Reviews Feb 11, 2017
'Something Other Than Other': The poetry of Philip Rowland captures quotidian Tokyo life
by Kris Kosaka
Tokyo poet Philip Rowland's third full-length collection of verse, "Something Other Than Other," quietly resonates with profound images of the quotidian humanity he finds around him. Something Other Than Other, by Philip Rowland. 96 pages ISOBAR PRESS, Poetry. Published last year by Isobar Press in Tokyo, the collection ...
National Feb 2, 2017
12 international students win Josai University poetry awards
The Josai University International Modern Poetry Center has awarded 12 prizes in an effort to recognize international students who have created original Japanese poetry works. Dubbed "The Road Home Prize," the initiative is in honor of former Chancellor Noriko Mizuta's "Kiro" collection of poetry about ...
Books / Reviews Nov 12, 2016
Remembering the forgotten woman of Japanese modernism
by Mariko Nagai
Chika Sagawa is an anomaly in the history of Japanese poetry. Born in Hokkaido as Aiko Kawasaki in 1911, she became one of Japan's first modernist poets, refusing to use the traditional poetic forms of tanka and haiku. The nation was changing in the ...