One Hundred Leaves: A new annotated translation of the Hyakunin Isshu

Frank Watson's "One Hundred Leaves: A New Annotated Translation of the Hyakunin Isshu" offers both the Japan specialist and the general lover of poetry a most attractive and lyrical introduction to the famed 13th century anthology that gathered together one poem each from one hundred of Japan's most acclaimed poets of the preceding seven centuries. Per strict Japanese poetic conventions, each poem had 31 syllables of five lines arranged in a sequence of five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. Although the composition of the more modern "haiku" has gained greater popularity, the 31-syllable verse is still considered the finest flowering ever of Japanese poetry. Indeed, the Japanese terms for this poetic form are both "tanka" (meaning a short-form poem in contrast to the longer form earlier adopted from China) and "waka" (meaning "our native poetry"). To best appreciate the strengths and shortcomings of Watson's treatment of the "Hyakunin Isshu" a comparison with William Porter's much earlier translation of the same anthology is worthwhile. Take, for example, poem #47. Watson has translated the Monk Egyo's verse as follows: "The vines and weeds Entangle this cottage Alone And no one saw The coming autumn" Porter's translation is: "My little temple stands alone, No other hut is near; No one will pass to stop and praise Its vine-grown roof, I fear, Now that autumn's here." Both translations assume that the reader will recognize the embedded symbolism of a decrepit, deserted country house in autumn as a trope for loneliness, especially that caused by the departure of a lover or close friend. Watson's literal notes at the foot of the page do make that clearer, while Porter does not provide such context for the English-language reader. On the other hand, the simple ink illustration provided by Porter appropriately shows a lone monk standing outside his country hut, while Watson has employed a more complex Edo period (1600-1868) woodblock print. At the top of the woodblock print is the text of poem #47, but the illustration is less evocative of the poem's mood as it shows a man, likely a samurai in indoor dress, with two geisha or serving girls within a town inn.

I came across this book serendipitously and purchased it deliberately as I enjoy the modern translations of an ancient culture's poetry. I was not disappointed in Blue Flute's work. He displays a scholarship that is both impressive and humble. The poems are presented gently and with enough supporting detail to benefit the scholar but not so heavy as to be mind-numbing. The accompanying artwork enhances the poetry and the single-page-per-poem make each turn of the page a delight. A word of warning: this is not a text to speed through and go "Ah, ha!" on each page. The poems are multi-layered and subject to new interpretations on subsequent readings. It only gets better over time. This is truly a book to read, put away, and return to again. Quite delightful.

I'm very glad I decided to purchase this book. I like the fact that every poem is accompanied by an illustration, I'm very happy with the overall translation of the poems and interpretations, and I really like the layout of each page (it's organized and easy to read). My only wish is that every single poem would have some sort of interpretation or explanation. I would say that a good amount of them do have it, however, the author skips a couple explanations here and there. In my opinion, it would be good to know a bit more about each single poem... And, if no information about the poem is available, it would be good to even have a little bit of information about the poet or anything of the kind. Regardless, I highly recommend this book. It's very nice.

I was interested in these poems as the result of a reference in a Japanese novel. I was not prepared for such a fine edition, one which satisfies the poet, the linguist, and the culturally curious in us. I can think of no better way to gain insight into the Japanese mind. Thank you, Frank Watson!

I am taking my time with this book, even looking up the kanji in my dictionary of even the Names of the poets. I realized that I am getting better at reading the handwritten kanji in the process.

A really great translation, good design, and an excellent intro to the history behind this work. I bought it as inspiration for a project I’m working on — great if you want to see nature poetry in the tanka form!

Compared to Peter Macmillan's brilliant One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each the translations seem poorer. I liked that illustrations and the Japanese poems are included, but Macmillan's translation is so much better.

The author takes the original poem and makes a more personal translation. This is not in line with most other translations I have seen. Most of the poems have notes on why they chose the translation which is cool but I would only recommend this if you enjoy additional interpretations, not if you're looking for just the source poem and a background of it.

This book presents the classic Japanese anthology "One hundred poems by one hundred poets" in a very attractive format. Each poem' s translation (in five lines, like the original) precedes the text in Japanese (using a very small font) together with a Western (kanji) transcription. That is followed by a valuable addition : the possible literal translation of the Japanese words. Some explanatory notes may be added to bring out associations or references in the texts. On the facing page, there is a reproduction of the relevant woodblock print from the series designed by Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige (sadly only in black and white). This may belong to the genre known as "mitate" or ironical comparison. So poem 25, apparently a poem of frustrated love, is rendered by Kuniyoshi as the famous alliance between a powerful samurai and Kintaro, the Japanese boy Tarzan, wild child of the woods. The poems are so oblique and concise (as the literal versions given here show) that what purports to be translation is in fact re-creation, in accord with the 'translator's fanciful whim. The English poems in this book have a simple, spare beauty that may be close to the originals. I should add that the book is prefaced with a very brief, but useful, guide to themes in Japanese poetry.

Find another translation, please. Don’t make my mistake.

I think this provided everything one could ask for from a translation of these poems, as well as a real effective way to work on my limited ability to read in Japanese.

As an autodidact student of all things Japanese, I had to have this on my Kindle. One might quibble with the quality of the translation, but each poem is treated carefully and lovingly. Includes translation, transliteration of the Japanese original, and the Japanese original. Well done.

It has good translation both literal and the author version so it gives you a basic understanding what the author is trying to say. Some pages have cultural aspect section so you can understand the poem a bit further. Good book