Mayumi Itoh

Poems of Kaneko Misuzu and Haikus Inspired by Them I Mayumi Itoh

This book is Part One-out of Four-of the first complete works of Kaneko Misuzu in English translation. This is a unique anthology of the first comprehensive English translations of poems of a Japanese female poet, Kaneko Misuzu (April 1903-March 1930; "Misuzu" hereafter), and also original haikus by this author, inspired by Misuzu's poems. Out of 512 poems Misuzu wrote, this work-volume one of four-includes 130 poems that embrace three of the seven major themes of haiku: 1) the seasons and the weather; 2) astronomy or the heavens; and 3) geography or the earth. This book categorized them according to the twelve months and the four seasons (plus the "new year," which constitutes an independent 'season' because of its importance to Japanese culture). For the haikus written by this author, each haiku is given in the original Japanese, along with its romanization, as well as its English translation, in order to facilitate understanding for non-Japanese-speaking readers. This is followed by the season word, an essential element in haiku, and the brief cultural and historical background for the poem and the haiku where applicable, so that readers can appreciate the poem and the haiku fully. This book is essentially a homage to the poems of Misuzu, who referred to herself as a "lonely princess." Enjoy!