Selected Japanese Poems

While compiling the research for my Tokaidō stories, I’ve developed a deep appreciation and love of Japanese poetry.  This month I finished the forty-first of the fifty-seven stories that I’ve planned.  All are historical fiction based on events and politics of 1830s Japan.  Most open with a poem that captures the spirit of the story or the main character.  A few open with lyrics from a popular song, a Shinto prayer or in one case, a speech from a Kabuki play.

For the past week we have been nursing, Yuki, our very sick older cat.  Last night I relaxed in great-grandmother Mary’s rocking chair while Mariko, our younger cat, curled up in my lap for some snuggle time.  My choice of reading?  The Poetry of Zen translated and edited by Sam Hamill and J. P. Seaton.  Let me share with you a few of the poems which brought me comfort.

            How mysterious!

            The lotus remains unstained

by its muddy roots,

delivering shimmering

bright jewels from common dew.

                        Sojo Henjo (816-890)

            I’d like to divide

myself in order to see,

            among these mountains,

            each and every flower

            of every cherry tree.

                        Saigyo (1118-1190)

            Quite the contrary

to what I’d thought, passing clouds

are sometimes simply

the moon’s entertainment,

its lovely decoration.

                        Saigyo (1118-1190)

            Culture’s beginnings:

from the heart of the country

rice-planting songs.

                        Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

            The distant mountains

are reflected in the eye

of the dragonfly

            Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827)