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Modern Japanese Poetry: One Hundred Years

English versions with an introductionBy Haider Ali Khan

Japanese Poems SelectedBy Ooka Makoto and Tanikawa Shuntaro

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For Izumi

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Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Hiroko Ichikawa, Michiko Croft, ChikaKitajima, Jun Nakagawa, Tsuyoshi Ito, Ritsuko Miyazaki and IzumiOtomo for valuable assistance. I am also grateful to Ooka Makotoand Thomas Fitzsimmons for several helpful discussions about themanuscript. The remaining errors are my own.

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Contents

Preface

by Haider Ali Khan

Acknowledgment

Poems

[1] Sanrin ni jouissance Kunikida Doppo

[2] The shadow of a giant hand Doi Bansui

[3] First love Shimazaki Toson

[4] Please do not die - Yosano Akikoto my young brother in the enemyencircled port of Ryojun

[5] A rugged ostrich Takamura Kotaro

[6] Spring river Yamamura Bocho

[7] Evening primrose Takehisa Yumeji

[8] Blow your horn Kitahara Hakushu

[9] Which one is true? Mushanokoji Saneatsu

[10] Wind Kato Kaishun

[11] Aeroplane Ishikawa Takuboku

[12] The cat Hagiwara Sakutaro

[13] Secret Senge Motomaro

[14] Until the evening Murou Saisei

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[15] Scene of crime Sato Sonosuke

[16] Childhood days Sato Haruo

[17] Noon hour dream: scherzo Horiguchi Daigaku

[18] At the hometown Tanaka Fuyuji

[19] Rain Nishiwaki Junzaburo

[20] Love 8 - the fart of a noble Kaneko Mitsuharuprincess

[21] Speaking with the eyes Miyazawa Kenji

[22] February Murayama Kaita

[23] I want to climb luminously Yagi Jukichi

[24] Avalanche Ibuse Masuji

[25] River mouth: Estuary Maruyama Kaoru

[26] The shore of the sky Miyoshi Tatsuji

[27] To Shiga Naoya Oguma Hideo

[28] Javelin throw Murano Shiro

[29] Night train Okamoto Jun

[30] Absence Takahashi Shinkichi

[31] A song Nakano Shigeharu

[32] Death and umbrella poem Kitazono Katsue

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[33] A conversation on an autumn Kusano Shinpeievening

[34] A letter to the younger sister Yamanoguchi Baku

[35] Sooty Calendar Takaki Kyozo

[36] The Japanese Kondo Azuma

[37] Before the sunset Hara Tamaki

[38] Like an ocean long, long ago Nagase Kiyoko

[39] Magic flower Ito Shizuo

[40] Heaven Takami Jun

[41] On the lake Nakahara Chuya

[42] The October poem Inoue Yasushi

[43] Ah...Ah Amano Tadashi

[44] The pine trees Mado Michio

[45] Temptation of sleep Tachihara Michizo

[46] Late summer Kinoshita Yuji

[47] A fall Sugiyama Heiichi

[48] An apple taking the fighting Ishihara Yoshihirostance

[49] Small last statement Nakagiri Masao

[50] The telephone rings in the Anzai Hitoshi

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morning

[51] Cliff Ishigaki Rin

[52] In the middle of the night Kiyooka Takayuki

[53] A hypothesis concerning a man Tamura Ryuichiconnected with whisky

[54] Important Saito Yoichi

[55] The Eighth Lunar Month Sakata Hiroo

[56] To the firstborn Yoshino Hiroshi

[57] June Ibaragi Noriko

[58] Kite Nakamura Minoru

[59] Boiling stone Takano Kikuo

[60] Seeds scattering on the earth Kishida Eriko

[61] Stranger's sky Iijima Koichi

[62] The swan Kawasaki Hiroshi

[63] A composition with the title lost Irisawa Yasuo

[64] Lullaby Ooka Makoto

[65] Kappa Tanikawa Syuntaro

[66] An emotional song Iwata Hiroshi

[67] Non - sense Yoshihara Sachiko

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[68] A sound Nakae Toshio

[69] Lyrical composition according to Suzuki Shiroyasuthe theory of the feeling near

the muscle of the mouth

[70] Galaxy Yoshimasu Gozo

[71] The engagement Tsuji Yukio

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1

Introduction: Poetry and Difference

Haider A. Khan

Today, Japanese poetry is an important part of a truly

international movement. However, the beginning of modern Japanese

poetry was not auspicious. By modern I refer here to what the

Japanese termed Shintaishi or poetry of the new style during the

Meiji era. The publication in 1882 of Shintaishisho (Collection

of Poetry in the New style) by three young academics in Tokyo

signalled a desire to imitate the new Western style. Their poems

with (unintentionally ironic) titles like "On the Principles of

Sociology" replete with references to Darwin and Spencer could not

have been very inspiring. However, the translations from English

must have inspired the reading public, for the volume sold out

quickly.

It is Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943) who really deserves to be

called the founder of modern Japanese poetry. In November, 1896

his poem Akikaze no Uta (Song of the Autumn Wind) - inspired by

Shelley's Ode to the West Wind was published in Bungakukai. His

qualities as a genuine lyrical voice were established immediately.

His Wakanashu from which the poem "First Love" is taken is a

consummate romantic poem. The most gifted poets of Toson's

generation caught up with the recent trends in poetry with amazing

speed. Ueda Bin's translation from French poets introduced the

serious poets to Parnassist and Symbolist tendencies. Kunikida

Doppos "Sanrin ni Jiyu Sonsu" shows such influences. At the same

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time the influences of the old Chinese style poems and traditional

Japanese poetics also mark these early poems by Doppo and Bansui.

Our Japanese selectors poke gentle fun at the poet is high

seriousness which to us also must seem a bit out of place: "When

we talk about Bansui, we can imagine a high school student of that

time who wears a coat, a torn cap and special wooden clogs... he

reads poems which are written in literary style and seven-five

syllabic mode while drinking sake."

While the element of artificiality in Bansui can be ridiculed

today, Yosano Akiko's famous anti-war poem has rightfully captured

the attention of many succeeding generations. Written during the

Russo-Japanese War the poem gently parodies the seven-five-seven

syllabic rhythm of the then current patriotic poems. The irony

and the genuine longing for peace both transcend the specificities

of the particular historical time and culture. Not until Tamura

Ryuichi's 'Four Thousand Days and Nights' do we come across

another equally powerful poem about the horror of war.

Both Takamura Kotaro and Hagiwara Sakutaro were progenitors

of poems rooted in genuine everyday speech. Their poems in this

volume also indicate their meticulous attention to sound.

Hagiwara, in particular, is well-known in Japan for his many

onomatopoeic inventions. In Neko (Cat) the conversation between

two cats goes:

"Owan, good evening."

"Owan, good evening."

"Ogyan, Ogyan, Ogyan."

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"Owan, the master of this house is sick."

The dark overtones of the phonemes further darken the morbid

atmosphere that is so much a part of Hagiwara's psychological

landscape.

Almost all the major (and some minor) poets from Ishikawa

Takuboku to Yoshimasu Gozo are covered in the present volume.

However a major division can be made temporally by the watershed

of the second world war. As Ooka Makoto, one of the two editors

of this anthology, says in his essay 'Modern Japanese Poetry -

Realities and Challenges':

The year 1945 brought many new experiences to theJapanese. It was, first of all, the first experienceof defeat for Japan as a nation-state. Second, it wasthe year the nuclear age began with two unspeakablydestructive atomic bombs being exploded over Hiroshimaand Nagasaki. Third, it was the year the militarismand fanaticism that had ruled Japan since the early1930s were militarily crushed and theultranationalistic ideology that had supported themilitarist system was discredited and destroyed.Fourth, it was the year the Allies occupied Japan andinstituted American-style democracy, setting off far-reaching changes in the Japanese political, economic,and social systems, symbolized by the establishment ofa new national constitution. The reorganization of theJapanese educational system during the Americanoccupation is a striking example of how traditionalJapanese society was shaken to its foundations. Fifth,1945 was the year of burned-out cities, hunger, blackmarkets, homeless children, the wounded, and almostevery other kind of hardship - a situation that did notimprove until the economy began to recover during the

Korean War. Eliot's The Waste Land, and Auden's TheAge of Anxiety seemed to many Japanese titles thatsummed up their own country. And wars of many kindscontinued to break out, in China, in Korea, in Algeria,in Hungary, in Cuba, and on and on. .... And it wasonly after World War Two that the basic attitudes andconcepts expressed in Paul Valery's cultural criticism,T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Andr Breton and PhilippeSoupault's Les champs magntiques, Breton and Paul

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Eluard's L'Immaculate Conception, and similar worksmade sense in Japan and evoked a profound, sympatheticresponse. (pp. 19-20)

The power of imagination and the human voice is affirmed by

our poets even in the midst of utter ruin. Yoshimasu Gozo

acknowledged this earlier by saying that with his shouting the

first line of his poem, "A carving knife stands up madly in the

morning." The poem by Kondo Azuma, "The Japanese Language"

presents the prostitute from the "Green Coat" lines. The repressed

anger suffused throughout the poem and the sense of irreparable

damage to the Japanese psyche is expressed in the broken English

phrase, "me go Yokohama." Japan could no longer be the same

again.

It was in this atmosphere that the Japanese poets and

intellectuals truly absorbed the critical side of the modernist

literary avantgarde. A new conviction arose "that poetry was an

alternative to religion and science that could successfully resist

the devastations, mass death, and despair..." Ooka refers to the

appeal of the slogan "Bring back totality through poetry" to the

post-war writers until the 1960s.

Technically, Japanese poetry became much more conscious of

itself after World War II. Although there were innovators like

Hagiwara and Nishiwaki even before the war, the demand for the

restoration of totality through poetry led to meticulous attention

to form, images, metaphors, sounds and sensibility. The acts of

seeing, hearing and feeling afresh assumed paramount importance.

Through these acts the poets tried to restore meaning to a

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language that has been abused by the militarists and the

manipulations of capital.

The poems in Utsukushii Nihon no Shi were chosen at least in

part because of their technical excellence. Although some very

good poets such as Ayukawa Nobuo, Yoshioka Minoru and Shiraishi

Kazuko do not appear here almost all the major postwar tendencies

are represented. Several poems in dialects add incomparably to

the value of the anthology. The poem "Sooty Calendar" by Takagi

Kyozo written in Aomori dialect is a strikingly successful

example. One is indeed inclined to agree with Tanikawa and Ooka

when they comment: "how boring it would be if Japanese consisted

only of the standard version."

In 1970s emerged the post-modern affluent Japan of mass

communication (masukomi) out of the era of high speed growth.

Perhaps masukomi and masugomi (mass gabage) are not far apart. The

"copy civilization" of Japan seemed to confirm at least half of

Walter Benjamin's thesis about the "work of art in the age of

mechanical reproduction." The loss of artist's aura, however, has

not led to any signs of immediate liberation. The situation is

more in keeping with Andy Warhol's prediction about short-lived

instant fame.

Poets and critics like Ooka, however, are still optimistic

about the future of poetry. With all the signs of the end around

it does poetry still have a miraculous power to recuperate meaning

out of the crumbling civilization of which it itself is a part?

It might if we are "given the power to enjoy which makes the dry

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tree matter," as the French poet Anne-Marie Albiach has written:

la simplicit

nous est-elle donne le possible de jouir,

pour laquelle

l'arbre sec fait diffrence.

What a difference can the recognition of a dry tree make

for poetry in our time!

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[1] Sanrin ni jouissance1

[Sanrin ni Jiyu Sonsu]

Kunikida Doppo

Freedom in the mountains and forestsChanting this phrase makes me feelThe boiling in my bloodAh! Freedom in the mountains and forestsWhy did I leave the forests and mountains

Ten years ---

Months and days passed into dustSince I climbed the road to vanity's longingFreedom's home is already far away,I feel

Looking out of the corner of my eyesLooking at the sky far awayI see the high peaks of mountains far awayAh! Freedom in the mountains and forestsChanting this phrase makes me feelThe boiling in my blood

My nostalgic home where is it?

There I was a child of the mountainIf I look back far awayThere are huge rivers and mountainsFreedom's home is sinkingIn the clouds far away

[2] The shadow of a giant hand

[Ooi naru Te no Kage]

1the Japanese title is " Sanrin ni Jiyu Sonsu." The title

literally means Freedom (Existing) in the Mountains and Forests.However the play of words with the French jouissance can easily beseen.

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you had swept back your bangs for the first timewhen I saw you under the apple treethe flower-comb in your hair

I thought you yourself were a flower too.

you stretched out your pale white hand gentlygiving me an apple:like the ripening red of the autumn fruitmy first feeling of love

my sigh, without any awaremesstouched your hairthe joys of love's offeringsdrinking your love...

under a tree in the apple orchard

nature's narrow roadwho left this token here?your question gave me a piercing pleasure.

[4] Please do not die

[Kimi shinitamau koto nakare]

to my younger brother in the enemy encircled Port Arthur

Yosano Akiko

Ah, younger brother, I cry for you

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please do not die.because you are the youngestour parents love you the mostbut did our parents teach you

to wield a sword and kill other people?to kill and diewhile bringing you up till you were 24?

Being from the famous merchant family in Sakai citybecause you will succeed your fatherplease do not die.what does it matterif the Ryojun castle is destroyed or notyou will not knowit is far from the concerns of a merchant's family.

Please do not die.the emperor is not going to the battle by himselfyet seems to tell peopleto spill one another's blood,to die like beasts,and seems to say dying is honorable;because the emperor has deep feelings,What could he be thinking?

Ah, younger brother,in this battle please do not die.

last autumn our father passed awaybut our mother still livesin deep sorrowher child called to the frontonly she protects the housealthough it is heardthat the reign of our emperor is comfortable,her hair is more gray than black.

Your delicate and young wife crieslying behind the curtain,

did you forget her,or do you think of her?you have not lived togetherfor more than 10 months,please think of a young woman's heart,you are the only one in the entire world,who else can all of us rely on?please do not die.

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[5] A ragged ostrich

[Boro Boro na Dacho]

Takamura Kotaro

what's so funny about raising an ostrich?with only a few square yards of mud in a zoo,aren't the legs too long?

the neck, isn't it too long?in a country of falling snowaren't its wings too ragged?because the stomach is emptyI guess it eats tough loaves of bread,yet the ostrich eyes are lookingonly at a distance, aren't they?is it burning desperately?is it waiting for the coming

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of the blue wind?is there a surge of the dreams of infinitein that small simple head?this is not an ostrich any more,

is it?people, stop doing this.

[6] Spring river

[Haru no Kawa]

Yamamura Bocho

Abundant in its fullnessthe spring riveris it flowing?or, is it not flowing?a floating straw is movingthat is how you knowthat the river is flowing

in the same way

the joy of seeing the big riverin the countryside in springI am seeing joyfullythe happiness flowingcalmly like a cloudmerrily without any sign of weariness

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in the same way

abundant in its fullnesswith small rivers

the spring is overflowingthe spring is overflowing

[7] The evening primrose

[Yoi-machi-gusa]

Takehisa Yumeji

waiting for the personwho did not comethe primroseis disconsolatethis eveningthe moon toowill not come

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[8] Blow your horn

[Tsuno wo Fuke]

Kitahara Hakushu

My friends, come, let us go nowtogether to the fieldslet us sing,blowing the water buffalo horn.Look, already the fruits are ripe

in the fields the rice paddy ears are droopingbetween the sounds of the wind blowing,the voice of the wild dove,friends, blow your horn.Good bye, nowpeople from Javapass beyond the potato fieldsinto their gardens.Over that hillthe temple bell stops ringingthe candle light grows dim and dies sippingfig juice

let us sing a hearty songBlow the horntied to your necks.My friends,listen to the bellsgoing down the fieldsthrough the villagewith grape vines ripeningGood bye now

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the pdre in black dresshas already finishedhis early morning dutiesnow visible

now invisibleas he disappears quietlybehind the palm tree leavesUntil that timelet us sip fig juiceand sing a warm songCome nowtogether let usblow the hornmy horn my friendsawaken and come to the fieldsto sing a warm songLet us blow our

water buffalo horns.

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[9] Which one is true?

[Dochiraga Hontoka?]

Mushanokoji Saneatsu

Weather,are you fine - is it true?

or is it truethat it is raining?or is it truethat the sky is cloudy?or is it truethat the wind is blowing?or is it truethat it is not windy?

River,are you clean - is it true?or is it true

that you are getting muddy?or is it truethat you are getting swift?or are you quiet, truly?

I just don't know.

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[10] Wind

[Kaze]

Kato Kaishun

the wind has a big round head,the wind is a creature with a shaved headthe wind is a monsterwithout hands or legswalking slowly like an elephant,disappears quickly

inside two or three leavesof thickly grown reeds,losing itself overthe shallow water,all kinds of wind are changingto the shape of grass or trees.

the wind whistlesso engagingly,it plays mischievouslyaround the white legs

of a young girl,the wind changes its shapeinto that of a human being.

Look!the wind that hid just a little while agoat the bottom of water,it already appears on the next bankraising its head.then turning its head towards us

it is laughing.

[11] Aeroplane

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[Hikoki]

Ishikawa Takuboku

Look!today too

the aeroplaneis flying high

in the pale blue sky.

a rare sunday the office boy off from his workhis mother sick from lung disease

only the two of them in the housealone on his English readerreading by himselfhis eyes grow weary......

Look!today too

the aeroplaneis flying high

in the pale blue sky.

[12] The cat

[Neko]

Hagiwara Sakutaro

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Two cats

totally blackon the roofa languid eveningthe crescent moon hazystretched like a single threadfrom the ends of their tails."Owan, good evening""Owan, good evening""Ogiyan, Ogiyan, Ogiyan""Owaan, the master of this house is sick."

[13] Secret

[Himitsu]

Senge Motomaro

before sleepingthe naked child is spinning about

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2020

in the house happy in his nakednesslike a small bird flyingout of the cagelike a prince

out of his magic box.clashing against the sliding doorsagainst the wallagainst all thingswith his headwith his handswith his behindhappy to touch the cold air directlyhe is running around

the mother is running after himcarrying his small nemaki

2.

the naked childslender as a fairypresses his faceagainst the corner of the wallsholding his breath as if dead,really small, with his back to his motherthe mother catches him andquickly wraps him in the night kimonoas if she is hiding her precious secret.

[14] Until the night

[Yoru made ha]

Murou Saisei

men are hangingdingle-dangle,walking nonchalantly.great men,as well as not-so-great men,are hanging alike.

2Japanese traditional pajamas

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they have no feelings of shame.good weatherwarm dayMr. Dingle-Dangle wrapped up,

and again wrapped upwrapped up with care,calmly walking around.if I may ask your exalted being:"today whom have you met?and where?"spring breeze in townMr. Dingle-Dangle singsin high spirits.

[15] Scene of crime

[Hanzai Chitai]

Sato Sonosuke

ru ru ru ruimagining with one eye only

at the level of the bright hillbursting into flamesa treethe yellow flower glittersa leaf hanging from one eyefar away the smoke from the port risesfurther down a man is passingthe man disappears stealthilylike a dog

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2222

again one eye only imaginingon top of theeyelashes of that eyeis a hirugao

3trembling

ru ru ru ru

the eye also tremblesru ru ru ru

[16] Childhood days

[Shonen no Hi]

Sato Haruo

1going to the fieldsthe mountainsthe seashorethe flowers spread on a hill at noonyour eyes made the sorrowmore blue than the blue sky.

2

following the forestwith many shadowsloving the beautiful eyes

3Hirugao is a kind of morning glory. It flowers in day time.

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in deep dreamspreading the flowers on the hillduring the warm noonah! the young day.

3your eyes are round andyour heart is difficult to fathomseparated from you, all alone,now I throw a stone in the moonlit sea.

4

you are knitting wool every nightthe wool knit by a silver needleis deep black, red threada mat for a lamp standfor whom?

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[17] Noon hour dream: scherzo

[Hiru no Yume]

Horiguchi Daigaku

the Buddha isin the area of faint lightwith one knee drawn upraising his chin

fascinatingly on one handa seductive figurewith naked chestwomen feel shyto look at him

the gracious Buddha smileswhile a prayer folds his handshis skin unconcealedby his transparent clothingwhat is he thinking?

dreaming eyesthe faint reddish lipsthe kindly Buddha beaconswhen being prayed to(come here, dissipated travellerthrowing your moneybow low on the floorthen you can enterthe land of happiness)

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[18] At the hometown

[Furusato nite]

Tanaka Fuyuji

the smell of broiled dried flounderat the hometown time for a sad, scanty lunch

there are stoneson the shinglesin every house

signs of povertythe smell of broiled dried flounderat the hometown time for a sad, scanty lunch

the deserted white mainstreetone man by himselfis walking aroundselling the snow from the mountain

(scenes from my childhoodin a village by the Japan Sea)

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[19] Rain

[Ame]

Nishiwaki Junzaburo

The south wind has brought soft goddesses.It has wet the bronze, wet the fountain,Wet swallow's wings, wet golden feathers,Wet the tide water, wet the sand, wet the fishes,Gently wet the temples, baths and theaters;This procession of gentle, soft goddessesHas wet my tongue.

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[20] Love 8 - the fart of a noble princess

[Aijou 8]

Kaneko Mitsuharu

whatever you say,the mistress is no longer here.

such abundant pliant lambent buttocks

are in this world no more.

from these buttockscame the high-pitched sound of farts,

one...two...three...four...and

beside his mistress counting them

the emperor of Chinahis happiness more than a substitute

for his four hundred provinces

"thirteen is an unlucky number,please do one more"

In her effort to pleaseeyebrows raised in tensionholding her breathshe is a masterpiece to behold.

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[21] Speaking with the eyes

[Me nite Iu]

Miyazawa Kenji

it's hopelessthere is no stopping itthe blood gushes forthsince last night sleeplessthe blood continues to pour outsteadily turning me blueit seems I will die soon

But what a wonderful breezespring is nearand from the blue skyas if the beautiful breeze grows thereyoung buds of maple leavesand flowers like hairwaves of autumn grassthe thin grass mat

a spot burntbrown

the rest is also blueI don't know if you are returningfrom a medical conference

wearing a black frock coatyou tried to treat me earnestlyeven if I dieI will have no complaintsIn spite of blood rushing outI feel carefree I am not sufferingbecause my soul has half departedfrom my bodyBut it is terriblethat because of this bloodI cannot express my feelingsfrom your point of view

this is a miserable sceneBut from my view pointafter allthere is the clear blue skyand a transparent wind only.[22] February

[Ni-gatsu]

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Murayama Kaita

you are goingthe big sky dark and brightstripes of faint lightin February

a chain of ancient stone charmsdecorates the skywhen the snow is fallingfrom the beautiful sky

in the afternoonyou can hardly see it

even the goddess Nakisawameof Kashihara shedssome silvery tears...the farmers longing forthe faint lightfrom the divine sake altan

is it twilight or midday?

you are goingthe big sky fearsomestripes of faint lightwhile watching thisyou and I go togetherthis is my pleasure.

[23] I want to climb luminously

[Koko to Nobotte Yukitai]

Yagi Jukichi

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particularlyif the day is perfectly clear

then your heart feels a violent sadnessthat is hard to wipe outa sad aching daydo you not think of climbingthe sloping road forever?and do you not think of climbing luminouslya hill much much higher?

[24] Avalanche

[Nadare]

Ibuse Masuji

the snow splitsat the summitan avalanche

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a bearmounts the avalanchesitting cross-leggedit takes the shape of someone

smoking tobaccothere is a bear there

[25] River-mouth

[Kakou]

Maruyama Kaoru

the ship sinks its anchor.the heart of the sailor sinks its anchor.

the seagulls from the fresh watergreet the creaking rope.the fish from the sea areapproaching the bilge.

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the captain changes his clothestinged with salty sea breeze

and goes ashore.the evening has come alreadybut he does not return from town.

already how many more oystershave allowed them selves to the ship?

at the twilight hourhis son, the boy-sailor lightsa blue lamp at the prow.from the far dark sea I cannot see

the seagulls already looking at me,had been crying.

[26] The shore of the sky

[Sora no Nagisa]

Miyoshi Tatsuji

the traveler from far awayrests under the withered topof a tree in winter

the top branches at the shore of the skytheir ends whisperinghazy bendingwhispering hwis hwislooking up and listeningthe sound from far awayfallen leaves gatheringfallen leaves gatheringover the warm rays of the sun

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already here horn-shaped objects sprouteach one of themunravel a wrapped bundleat the street corner under the trees

on the stonesthe midday wind stops walkingif you are a travelleryou will naturallycross your little fingerthe wind stops coiling around itat the momenttoday's destination pointing withthe end of the little finger

[27] To Shiga Naoya

[Shiga Naoya e]

Oguma Hideo

Master Shiga striking many posescomposed a few workshaving plenty of time on his handshe could think for a long timeon any one of themcreating clever utterances

no one could compete with the master.on this side,Confound it!

the policy of a street vendor:to serve quicklythe open-mouthed short-tempered customerwaiting for the warm food,sometimes I have to rush

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and the quality suffersI want the master to eatthe concoction made of cricketsand the prison ration,

Hey,sorry to have kept you waiting,I am done with one parodyof Sir Shiga Naoya's Poem.

[28] Javelin throw

[Yari-nage]

Murano Shiro

What are you aiming at,the neo-primitive man?trembling, the light fliesin that directionsuddenly a terrifying shoutLook!pierced by the javelin in the backsomeone is trying to escapefor an instant staggeringbut everything will soon be still

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[29] Night train

[Yoru no Kikansha]

Okamoto Jun

crowded warehousesa steel towerthe signalwater supply tank

the empty places where goods were keptlines of freight cars were thereas if they were left thereby someone in forgetfulnessall of them lying silentlyat the midnight station yard.the huge frame of the locomotive aloneon the cold shining railkeeps coming and goingsuddenly, violentlyspouting its flame-colored smokewrithing like a beast

as if dragging the rail behind itwith the violent sound of the steam whistlethe engine hurls itselfagainst the wagon trainsit seems that its anger cannotbe contained easily

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[30] Absence

[Rusu]

Takahashi Shinkichi

Tell themI am not here

Tell themno one is here

After 500 million yearsI will come back

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[31] A song

[Uta]

Nakano Shigeharu

Don't sing!Don't sing of a knotweed floweror of the wings of the dragonflyDon't sing of the whispers of the breezeor of the fragrance of a woman's hairDrive out all weak thingsall the inarticulate objectsall the weary thingsExpel all eleganceSing of simple honestyof the necessary things in real lifeof things that rise fromthe inside to the extremities of the chest

Sing songs that rebound when struckthe drawing out of couragefrom the depth of disgracein intense rhythmswith an expanded throatDrive through the chestof the people passing

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[32] Death and umbrella poem

[Shi to Komori-gasa no Shi]

Kitazono Katsue

Starrose ofthe umbrella skeltonof black melancholy

Mayeveningeven the rainis dark

Wallis reflectedin its own shadow

Death'sbubblea fold around a cone

Black wingsof damp loneliness

Or perhapsan icon withblack nailand beard

[33] A conversation on an autumn evening

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[Aki no yo no kaiwa]

Kusano Shinpei

cold, isn't it?ah, it's cold.the insects are crying, aren't they?ah, the insects are crying.pretty soon they will go inside the earth, won't they?inside of the earth is bad, isn't it?you lost weight, didn't you?you too lost a lot of weight, didn't you?

where do you think it hurts?in the stomach, you suppose?if we take our stomach out we will die, won't we?we don't want to die, do we?cold, isnt it?ah, the insects are crying.

[34] A letter to the little sister

[Imouto e Okuru Tegami]

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Yamanoguchi Baku

what an innocent little sister! you, my elder brother will surely succeed,I believe, and...

where in Tokyo are you now,I wonder, and so on...

a letter from her through anotherI see her eyes watching over mefrom the pagesafter an absence of six or seven yearsI, too, am trying to write to herI don't know if I will succeed or notbut I am thinking of marriageI cannot write that kind of thing

in Tokyo I have the look of a wistful dogI don't write that kind of thing eitherI don't have a fixed addressI cannot even write thatI feel like someonewho cannot move his bodynot being able to tell the whole truthwhile being questioned closelyfinally, with all my strengthI wroteIS EVERYBODY WELL?that's what I wrote.

[35] Sooty Calendar

[Susukeda Koyomi]

Takaki Kyozo

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the day my elder sisterbecame a bride and left usthe Russian olive in the garden was really red

the day my mother died and left uswet snow was falling... I heard

when dad diedthe ice on the roofbegan to melt

the night I left homefireworks for the festival evewere going off

[36] The Japanese Language

[Nihon-go]

Kondo Azuma

I tried to appear as indifferent as possiblebut I could not help feeling curiousinside the late night trainthe woman in the green overcoat

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seated next to meawfully drunkevery so often leaned against mewould she be able to get off

at her station?

at last I set her straightwith a push of my shoulder...kindly asked abouther destinationand thenas if annoyedthe woman opened her eyes slightly"me go Yokohama yo."thus replyingshe closed her eyes again

as if she despisedboth me and the Japanese languageas if she despisedboth me and the Japanese language

[37] Before the sunset

[Hinokure chikaku]

Hara Tamiki

Before the sunsethuman faces with narrow eyescrouched in rows by a river bank

drawing a slender, slender breathright around their feetin the water

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the heads of childrentheir features changed completelythe dead children

the color of sunsetdarkens on the narrow eyes

silentlyterrifyinglyhelplessly

[38] Like a distant ocean long, long ago

[Ito Haruka Naru Umi no Gotoku]

Nagase Kiyoko

I am like an ocean long, long agoI do not changeas the microbes float

inside me something shinessomething disappears

flickering and floatingbut I will not hesitatedrifting away...but I will not forget

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the returning tidesform a ringlike my blood vesselsinside my chest

dark warm thingscold swift things

like the snowthat falls and disappearsthe things going pastmelt inside meI remember all thingswith a woman's tears

the transient thingsare not transientthe flowing thingsare forever

I am unchanginglike the ocean from the ancient timesmuch sadness from far awayyet the salt is graduallygoing to be thicker

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[39] Magic flower

[Suichu-ka]

Ito Shizuo

The magic flower for children is sold in the night stalls

during the festivals in the summer. It is made of fine thincompressed wood chips. It is quite ordinary, but once put inwater, it turns into a beautiful flower with red, blue or violetcolors. It stands still on the water inside a cup in brilliantsadness. Among the city folks there are some who cannot forgetthe impression of this artificial flower when gaslight is thrownupon it.

this year in Junewhy is it so beautiful?

if you look under the eaveslike breathingwreathes of shinobugusa

4have burst forth.

without any old memories to endurewhat is it that I regret?

4shinobugusa is a kind of perennial Japanese fern.

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between the evening and the noon in Juneeverything in the universeglows brightly by itself for a while.

at last the shadow of a personI have never metstands in front of a hollyhock.

because I cannot resist itI throw the magic flowerat the sky.

the shadow of the goldfishflickers there also.

everything invites me to die.

why is my June so beautiful?

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[40] Heaven

[Ten]

Takami Jun

where does heaven begin?is it the place where the kites fly?

hiding from human eyeshere there are fruits ripening quietlyOh! the surroundings of this fruitalready belong to heaven

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[41] On the lake

[Kojo]

Nakahara Chuya

when the moon comes out, floatinglet us go and set the boat afloat.wavelets may rock the boat,

there may be just a little breeze.

out there in the seait may be dark,the sound of waterdripping from the oarsso intimate when you hear it,...breaking in between your words.

the moon may listen intently,May come down a bit closer,when we kissit will be just above our heads.

you will talk some more,lover's talk without reasontalk while pouting,I will listen to it all,...without stopping my hands from rowing.

when the moon comes out, floatinglet us go and set the boat afloat.wavelets may rock the boat,there may be just a little breeze.

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[42] The October poem

[Ju-gatsu no Uta]

Inoue Yasushi

Far away in the south in a coral reefthe children of typhoon are being hatchedthis year.

Soon they will be discharged to the northfrom the barrel of a limestone gun.

At that time most of the Japanese archipelago will have a bightmoon.

Every moment autumn advances, somewhere a boyis writing the Chinese characters for modesty.

[43] Ah...Ah

[Aaa]

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Amano Tadashi

At lastsaying ah...ahman dies

when he was bornat that time toohe cried

ah...ah

In a long lifeman remembers so many thingsruns around busilydoing so many things

and then...he dies

I guess I also will say ah...ahwhen I die

because I have done

almost nothing with my lifeI guess I will just say - being embarassed -ah...ah

[44] The pine trees

[matsu no ki]

Mado Michio

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when i walk along this roadby the pine trees...

the sound of windagainst the pine trees... sawa sawa

though today my pochi passed awaythe pine trees are still heretouching the top of the pine treesthe wind sings sawa sawa

and now i am pochiwalking along the same road...

[45] Temptation of sleep

[Nemuri no Izanai]

Tachihara Michizo

Good Night kind-faced girlsGood Night their soft dark hair braided

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a candle burns near the pillowssomething vivacious dwells near them(in the world the rustling of finely powdered snow)

I will sing foreveroutside the dark window then inside the windowand then inside sleep deep inside your dreamsagain and again I will keep on singing

like the lamp-lightlike the wind like the starsmy voice will carry the melody far and near...

you will see the white apple blossoms

then the small green fruit andthe pleasant red ripening afterwardsin your sleep

[46] Late summer

[Banka]

Kinoshita Yuji

pumpkin vines are climbing upthe station's platform

a crack at the door of a closed flower

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a ladybug is looking outside

the light train cameno one got onno one got off

the young ticketpuncheris making a hole in the millet leafnear the fencewith his punch

[47] A fall

[Kakou]

Sugiyama Heiichi

just now it seems

parting from a close friendthe smile on the girl's cheekstill remains

she entered the elevatoron the sixth flooron the fourth floorthe lips closed tightly

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on the third floorthe cheek turned stiff

on the second floor

the eyes became cold

on the first floorall traces of smile vanished

when the elevator door openedthe lifeless face merged in the black crowd

[48] An apple taking the fighting stance

[Inaori Ringo]

Ishihara Yoshiro

only one applethat has been left behindwas trying to bea little aggressive

what could a single apple do

by appearing to be aggressive?

however,the apple with so much timiditywith so much helplessnessfinally decided to look aggressive

looking aroundat the edge of the tatami mat

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rolling over

as if crying, "better give up."

it took the fighting stance

[49] Small last statement

[Chiisana Isho]

Nakagiri Masao

My child, please remember at the time of my death,when in a drunken stupor I lost all understandingwith my tears floating I called out your name loudly,please remember also,thirty years of shame and regretI have endured only for you.

My child, please don't forget at the time of my death,the fears and hopes of the two of us,

also our solace, our purpose,every one of thosethe two of us shared in common,the same birthmark in our breasts,the same thin eyebrows,please don't forget these.

My child, please don't cry when I die,because my death will be a small death,

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and because people have been dyingfor the last four thousand yearssince the ancient times.Dont cry

instead think of the meaning of the forgotten buttoninside a drawer.

My child, please smile at the time of my death,my body could sleep only in a dream,because I did not exist until I died,please carry my body to a place under the sunwhere the shadows are short,let my bones shine like the soldierswho died from hunger.

[50] The telephone rings in the morning

[Asa, Denwa ga Naru]

Anzai Hitoshi

When I am about to turn on the washing machinethe telephone rings

that man's upper body onlyhas come out from the nightfar away there is a noiselike the growl of a lumber millshaving an electric razorhe repeats the same words"I slept a lot by myself in my apartment""I want to eat ham and eggs that you cook"that's what you say.then who was that other woman?sitting back to backstaring at the wall

now she is putting on her bra......if he did not call mebut the lie would not be exposedthe morning when the phone does not ringI feel like a broken washing machineI am proud that I am a hard worker

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diligently everydayI renew the yesterdaysI like to spread fine weatherthrough the whole garden

already my child almost torn by windhas gone off to schoolmy husband's face a grimacein his stiff collarhe is riding in a bus

every ten days or every two weeksthis man takes me out to a sad city

he puts his fingers in my mouth

in my earseverywhere without caringand turns me inside out.

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[51] Cliff

[Gake]

Ishigaki Rin

at the end of the warin the Saipan islandthe women's bodiesfollow one anotherjumping to their deaths.

virtueand

dutyand

the right appearance

andso on

corneredsometimesby the fireand sometimesby the menfolk

one must jumptherefore they jumpedone must go to the place

which is nowhere(the cliff alwayslets the women invert

themselves completely)

you know,not a single one of themreached the oceanin fifteen years.

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what happened... I wonderto these

women...

[52] In the middle of the night

[Mayonaka]

Kiyooka Takayuki

"from my itchy indistincthip bone,suddenly a strong wide tail

like that of a crocodilewill sprout stiffly"just worrying about thiskeeps a man awake at night."if it really grows...,"he daydreams."I wonder if it will grow endlesslyand go around the earth.if it is like that,it will be quite funy.like the wire that severeda dancers bodywill I squeeze the earth tightly

and cut it into two plant bulbs?""no,no," he reconsiders."why do I think such grand thoughts?actually,a prettier tail than a squirrel'sand a bushy tailwon't it grow like that?no one will notice that kind of tail.I'll be slightly proud.but the woman who loves me desperately,the one with nipples all over her bodymust grasp my tail

when she returns from her ecstasyshe will touch every part of my body.what a farce!she will faint for an instant.at any ratean unexpected and strange tail from my coccyxwon't it grow?"who is the man that can't sleep at nightworrying about this only...?

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[53] A hypothesis concerning a man connected with whisky

[Hito]

Tamura Ryuichi

I thinkbecause you are still youngit is better for younot to drink whisky

the English novelist, Colin Wilson

formulated a hypothesisuntil a horse becomes a horsethirteen million yearsuntil a shark becomes a sharkone and a half billion years

until a man becomes a manthirteen thousand years only

moreover,more violent change has occurred

within the last ten thousand yearsthe change from intelligent chimpanzeeto Rodin's Thinker

why this change called evolutionof mankind's condition occurred?according to Mr. Wilson's hypothesisit was the fermentation of alcoholby mankind since 8000 B.C.

but because you are youngit is better not to drink whisky.up to nowhorses have never killed other horsessharks have never killed other sharks

why then men kill other men?

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why do human beings love one another?

[54] Important

[Daiji]

Saito Yoichi

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A Buddhist priest also saida former teacher also saidsuch a good bridemust be taken care of very well

But I don't understandhow she can be looked after so wellBecause she gets upwhile it is still dark in the morningshall I grasp her hand in the bedand not let her go?When she cuts straw for the horseshall I carry it?Shall I take her to a movieduring a festival in town?Not like thatShe is only dozing off to sleepIf I buy her a good kimono

she will only put it in the drawerThere is no time to put on rouge or powderIf I think of making love to heropening her mouth like a petalsoon she falls asleep, ha!I am troubled:"how to take good dcare of her?"I asked the old woman Kan.Laughing loudly the old woman Kan answered:"I have never been treated with importanceI have never been lovedI have been ill-treated a lotmany times I cried from such treatment

But the cruel old manis already dead."

[55] The eighth lunar month

[Ha-zuki]

Sakata Hiroo

tonightI waited two hourswhy didn't you come?I really became heartbroken

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very heartbroken

I want to jump into the Kansai Rail Lineand kill myself

however, I do not hold a grudge against you

because you are a kind, fine personI will not kill you

it is I who is going to die

your heart is straightmine is crooked

still punching a hole in my chestthe wind whistles through

coldpainful

just like being thrown into a jail

while the light has gone offreally painful, look here, moon

.....moon?oh mytalking such nonsense

good bye, I am really no goodcan't help dying

the train is goodthe wheels will come screechingGa-a-a-a-a-a-a-k

my neck, cut-off will roll downwith a single slashing sound

but since ancient times

has there ever been a manwho killed himselfbecause the woman he lovedkept him waiting for two hoursand did not come?

I am ashamed of even thinking about it.

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[56] To the firstborn

[Hajimete no Ko ni]

Yoshino Hiroshi

a few days after your birth

like vulturesthose people came andwere opening and closing repeatedlythe lids of their black leather bags.

they were the life insurance agents.(fast hearing)I was caught by surprise

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those people were answeringwith smiles.(we smelled the news)

your face did not even have a distinct shapeI wonder where in your soft bodywas given a share of a small death.

isn't it to be saidthat already a sweet fragranceis adrift?

[57] June

[Roku-gatsu]

Ibaragi Noriko

Isn't there a beautiful village somewhere?after the day's workone glass of dark beerletting the hoe restputting down the basketmen and womendrink from large beer mugs

Isn't there a beautiful city somewhere?edible fruits hanging fromthe trees lining the streetsendlessthe violet sunset filled withtender voice of young people

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Isn't there a beautiful collective vigor somewhere?living together in the same timefamiliarity mirth angerappear and coalesce in sharp energy

[58] Kite

[Tako]

Nakamura Minoru

the sky at daybreakthe wind was blowingthe air was drythe wind continuedthe kite was motionlessit wasnt motionlesshigh up in the skyit was trying to soar continuously

in fact it was flying without interruption

since it was tied over the earthwith a thin stringwhile enduring the windit was being carried by the windfinely balanced

ah! the swamp sinking into the bottom of memoriesthe ruined and crumbled cities

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people crushed with griefthen the dry sky above......

the wind was blowingthe kite was motionlessit wasnt motionlesshigh above in the sky

though the moaning sound was hard to catch

[59] Boiling stone

[Ishi wo Nite]

Takano Kikuo

I live- boiling a stonesimmering the stoneboiling stone boiling stone

I live- boiling a stone

not because of angernot because of lovenot because of hunger

needless to saynot because of longingonly a pebbleonly simmering a stone

without any reasonwithout any hopeneedless to sayan act of sanity

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[60] Seeds scattering on the earth

[Chikyu ni Tane ga Ochiru Koto]

Kishida Eriko

scattering seedson the earthripening fruitspiling up fallen leavesthese are also eventson the sky

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[61] Stranger's sky

[Tanin no Sora]

Iijima Koichi

the birds came back.they picked at the fissures on the dark soil.went and down on unfamiliar roofs.they semmed lost.

as if after eating a stonethe sky is holding its troubled head.lost in thought.the blood no longer flowsinstead it circulates

like a stranger in the sky.

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[62] The Swan

[Hakucho]

Kawasaki Hiroshi

swan, your wings will get wetif I look carefully

while your wings shatter into piecesthe faint sound of your wings

wet in the dreamin whose dreamare you being looked at?

then, being fullfalling drip dropthat shadowas if it is streaming into the wings

speaking of various thingsthe stars

upon reflection in the blue skyhas the shadow become white?

from your birthyou have known the secretbefore longinside the pattern of the lightthe morning sun that smells

will be dyeing the insideof the sky

the swan's shapehas been already definedblushingsoon the white swan willbecome almost colorful

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of swan!

[63] A composition with the title lost

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[Shitsudai Shihen]

Irisawa Yasuo

when we come for the double suicidejajanka waiwaithe mountain will beam joyfullyand spout out sulfurous smokejajanka waiwai

not a bird singswhen we are climbing the growing rock mountainto try double suicide

from the clouds fallthe weak rays of the sunjajanka waiwaifalling from the clouds

when we come for the double suicidethe mountain will beam joyfullyjajanka waiwaiand spout out sulfurous smoke

not a bird sings

the growing rocks mountainjajanka waiwaithe two of us climbingto commit suicidethe weak rays heavy on our spines

if we do not diethe mountain will not forgivethe mountain will not forgivejajanka waiwai

jajanka jajankajajanka waiwai

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[64] Lullaby

Ooka Makoto

Sleep,my beloved!in this lovely corner of the cosmosa lost childSleep!in the arm of the star of life

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safely asleep.

Your lipsalive

move ever so slightlyas if speakingwords I cannot hear at allwords you do not know at alldrawing out the happy alphabets

Sleep,my beloved!in this lovely corner of the cosmosa lost childsleepsleep

[65] Kappa

Tanikawa Shuntaro

Kappa shopliftedKappa filched a trumpettrumpeting his trumpet he escaped

Kappa bought green vegetables

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Kappa bought one bunch of vegetablesbought cut ate

[66] An emotional song

[Kanjoteki na Uta]

Iwata Hiroshi

I hate studentsI hate glue and polyethylene

sake and the belt-buckleI hate their money ordersand cash envelopesI like the pen in the standand the ink buried in marbleposters

I like I like

doves

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extremely curved linesthe kid with the red cheekgoing around in a tricycle

I hate

I hatespecial remedy for hemorrhoidskotatsu frameswells, flags and conferences

5- womens gossip

Japanese type writer, varnish and stylusstapler and bar girls and holdersprinted Chinese characters andcompanies and cleaningthe cursive Chinese charactersI hate them all

defecation and tax evasion

ostriches and cheap candiespercussion piecesowner of a certain tobacco shopshort in statureand his wifeI like them allI like bus stopsI really like them

I like the secondhand book shoprun by the former special high class policeI hate the critic who dress informally

their noses or moles or red wartsor white bumps or sticky plasteror boils that look like human facesI hate

I like the professorwho is about to cryI hate the exalted generalwho is about to laugha fair fife and drum corpsan authentic procession with lanternI really hate

I hate the newspaper editorwho at 11 a.m.thumbs through the pages

5"Ido ga Hata ga Kaigi" in the original poem literally means

"a well, a flag and a conference". However, this part sounds like"Idobata-kaigi," which means talks by the wells, namelyhousewives' gossip.

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of my collected poemsleaves the bookstorewithout buyingand then writers nonsense about them

I like fried riceI also like people who cry easilyI hate annexes of buildingsI like monkeys and pigsand also fingers

[67] Non - sense

[Mu Dai / Nansensu]

Yoshihara Sachiko

the wind is blowingthe tree is standingah such a night!

the tree is standing

the wind is blowingthe tree is standingmaking a sound

alonein the bathroomat midnightsoap bubblesvomited like crabsbitter pleasurelukewarm water

a slug is crawling on the wet tiles in the bathroom

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ah such a night!a slug is crawling

I am putting some salt on you then you will disappear

but you will still be here

the horror of the questionto be or not to be

thoughagain the springagain the wind is blowing

I am the salted slugI don't existanywhere

I must now be flowing outburied under the soap bubbles

ah such a night!

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[68] A sound

[Mono-oto]

Nakae Toshio

silently things look back"who"?that word raising both handstowards dusky darknessis already running awayat that timethe world of the two of usbecame opaque

both our hearts touchedeach otherwithout a thought"what are we going to do?"wavering we smile...

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[69] Lyrical composition according to the theory of thefeeling near the muscle of the mouth

[Kohen kin-niku kankakusetsu ni yoru jojoteki sakuhinsho]

Suzuki Shiroyasu

Sakuhin 2 (Composition 2)

gurottomantikagurottomantika

niipeporutopeiniiiiiiii

erusomasotomuune

gurottomantikatomantika

iiso iisorunrunrunrun

nipo

Sakuhin 10 (Composition 10)

popo

numunumumonaraminurunurumomonumu

girecchozurumaccho

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numunumumonaraminurunurumomonumu

zurumacchopoe

[70] Galaxy

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[Ginga]

Yoshimasu Gozo

the man is washing a shirt. while thinking about theuniverse, he is washing the fine beautiful fabric with a metallicluster. music is flowing. moss is quivering at the bottom of thetank and the finger inside the water draws a curved line paintingdesigns on the wood. ah! long ago the hot air in the cosmosaffected the body and the finger became frostbitten. drawingcurved lines like a ship with his fluttering hair he no longerruns around the universe. on Monday and Wednesday he takes a

bath. on Monday and Wednesday he takes a bath. late autumn, infront of the house the red fruit of nanten. in some loiteringplace the man is washing his shirt. as usual, as if someone isthere chattering away. he is not singing. he is just washing thefine beautiful fabric with a metallic luster. soon the fixedstars, the giant trees and the memory of the beautiful woman willsupposedly become bubbles and sink in the milky way where a finesnow is falling. he sticks his burning finger in the water! orone, two, sky-knocking tanka

6. several thousand years could pass

already, the man is still washing a shirt. it was a dress for thelast journey. it is whitish, but is begining to turn crimson.soon the man begins to slowly roll up the sleeves to his arms.

[71] The engagement

[Kon-yaku]

6a Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables

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Tsuji Yukio

nose next to nosethis close(this being the case alreadyit is beyond happiness,isn't it so?)since I inhale your breathand you inhale minebefore longI wonder if we'll die.next to the windowin the wonderful month of Maysuffering from Oxygen starvation.