Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death
By:
Yoel Hoffmann
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Description:
Although the consciousness of death is in most cultures very much a part of life, this is perhaps nowhere more true than in Japan, where the approach of death has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of writing jisei, or the "death poem" written in the very last moments of the poet's life. From passionate samurai writins and meditative Zen haiku to the satirical poems of later centuries, Hundreds of jisei have been translated into English here, many for the first time. The result is a moving, powerful collection whose philosophical and aethetic profundity will give readers pause.
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Nice book. - Nice book. Good text. Every poem got is little explanation or the translation in Kanji. We learn about poem and history in the same time. It's great. 5/5.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Lovely peek into a venerable cultural tradition - It is traditional in Japan to have a poem on your lips at the time of your death. Many cultures have the tradition of ascribing importance to the "last words" of a dying person, but I think Japan is unique in attempting to make death a beautiful aesthetic experience. As such, this collection has something for all humanity. Death is something we'll all eventually face; doing so with something approaching dignity is something we can all hope to do.
Many cultures and religions have a tradition of a sort of happy hunting ground for an afterlife, to provide comfort to the masses of people who have had a hard life. It is my sense that the Japanese didn't have this sort of tradition in Shinto or Zen. As such, the Japanese approach to the end of life has particular poignancy for modern secular humanists, who also have no "happy hunting ground" to hope for.
I can't speculate whether or not the poems are well translated, or the cultural anthropology was accurate, but I found the collection profoundly moving.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Famous last words - The jisei, known in English as a Death Poem, was an ancient custom in Japan, where literate people supposedly extemporaneously composed a poem in the few seconds before their deaths, revealing their last thoughts and incites in that profound moment. Sometimes bitter, sometimes funny, sometimes profound and sometimes simply serving as a final will or testimony, they were almost a requirement for people of note. Of course, in reality the poems were usually composed well in advance of death, and only written from memory when the time came, they are still a unique and interesting expression of mortality.
"Japanese Death Poems" presents a massive collection of jisei, from people famous and infamous, from monks to authors to samurai to merchants and all walks of life. Most of the poems are accompanied by a short biography of the author, and sometimes with an interpretation of the poem. Most of them take the haiku format, although some are in the longer waka form. The selections are organized alphabetically by the author's name.
An excellent and rare collection, this book is probably best browsed rather than read straight through. There are so many poems that it gets a bit redundant reading them all in a row, and it is better experienced just opening to a page and random, and enjoying the specific poems. Because of this, "Japanese Death Poems" is a book that can often be revisited. I have found many poems that I have read several times, and find a deeper meaning each time.
It is a huge flaw that the book is not bilingual, and only includes the romanized version of the Japanese script. Due to the nature of the Japanese language, with kanji carrying inherent meaning, it is difficult to interpret the author's true intent without it. One is forced to rely on the English translations, or to hunt down the original poem in order to see what kanji was used. This is especially true of Japanese poetry, as the authors could get very creative with the kanji, creating their own words and combinations in order to add meaning to the limited characters allowed by the haiku format.
Customer Review: 5 out of 5
I keep this one in arms reach - This is a great book for those who like poetry and are becoming interested in Zen Buddhism. The book opens with plenty of background material that is broad enough in scope for an introduction but still deep enough to properly motivate the topic. The zen monks section is seperate from the haiku poets, I seemed to enjoy the haiku poets poems much more. I found this to be a very nice angle to read into the complexities of Japanese culture, Buddhism, and human nature's view of the ultimate reality. I find this to have a great mixture of academic and leasure reading at least for my (a scientist's) taste.
Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Odd and enchanting - An odd little book - kind of a Zen Goth collection - that ultimately makes me want to live better and more thoughtfully. Along with the poems are reflections and explanations and some history of the author. This isn't a book that I would read straight through but something to have nearby for frequent foraging. There are pages of great stuff here that will provoke new thoughts and insights.
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