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Waka, the forerunner of tanka, also called uta, is the poetical genre indigenous to Japan, from which tanka, haiku, senryu, renga, and like genres of Japanese short form poetry emanated. Japan at the dawn of its entry into civilized society, was conquered and colonized by China. And as a colony, the influence of China was dominant. China's influence held sway for centuries, even after it freed itself from the yoke of Chinese rule. Waka, a thirty-one syllable poem consisting of a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable line pattern, is considered to be the first totally Japanese poetic form.
One of the great practitioners of waka was a Zen monk, born of samurai heritage in 1381, named Masakiyo. As a child, he displayed an interest in writing. His father, a mid-level samurai warrior, looked upon his son's interest with disdain and sent him to a Buddhist temple, hoping he would "see the light." A bad move on his father's part. Temples during that era were centers of learning and spiritual enlightenment, and as such, pointed the warrior's son in the direction of poetry, an interest that showed no signs of abating. Completing his religious studies, Masakiyo took vows as a Zen monk, and changed his name to Shotetsu. Although a monk, he never wavered in his love for writing poetry and considered himself to be both a monk and poet, the Zen way of viewing life tightly woven into his poetry.
Steven D. Carter, the translator of this compendium of Shotetsu's poetry, is Professor of Japanese at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Unforgotten Dreams, Poems by Zen Monk Shotetsu, is the first major compendium of Shotetsu's poetry translated into the English language. Consisting of over 200 poems, this collection of Shotetsu's poetry (he wrote over 40,000 during his lifetime) is an important contribution to our understanding of and appreciation for medieval Japanese poetry. The translations are beautiful. The lyricism and flow of the poems sound as natural as if they were originally written in English.
Moss
in the garden
and the blue
of the sky —
both becoming one;
blossoms
opening to rise
into white clouds
of spring.
Like the majority of the poetry in this collection, the above poem is beautiful, ethereal, song-like, calling to mind poetry written by some of England's finest 18th century poets.
But there can be no comparison with English poetry, however; the mindsets and influences between Asia and Europe are as different as the sun and the moon. Shotetsu was a Zen monk; his view of life oftentimes metaphysical, detached, abstract, influenced by philosophies and beliefs indigenous to the East.
What does Shotetsu mean when he writes about the merging of moss in a garden and the blue sky, becoming blossoms that rise into white clouds during the Spring season? Giving an insentient thing feelings and human qualities was common practice for the waka poets during Shotetsu's lifetime. It is the ambiguity, though, that makes his poetry stand out, elevates it to a different plane. A waka is a relatively brief poem. A poet cannot therein tell all, let alone relate a story or paint a complete picture. Shotetsu wrote poetry much the same way Matisse and Picasso painted paintings interpreting the world around them, opting to paint something's essence instead of depicting concrete realism. Says Professor Donald Keene, Shincho Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, "He (Shotetsu) attempted to compensate for the brevity of the waka by resorting to suggestion and he managed to cram into thirty-one syllables a surprising number of images or ideas." Says Professor Keene, "He likened the effect of yugen in poetry to mist that partly conceals the bare meanings of words, lending them mysterious ambiguity. To achieve this effect, words were sometimes omitted from poems, even words necessary for ready comprehension, and the difficulty of the poem that resulted justified in terms of elusive depths hinted at by ambiguity." The key word here is "yugen": a mental image or thought in one's mind that is impossible to express in words. Or as Shotetsu said himself, "A poem that does not spell out everything is a good poem."
Although the majority of Shotetsu's poetry is hard to understand and somewhat foreign to a western mindset, this does not negate its importance nor its depth. Modern-day English poets writing Japanese short form poetry can learn a lot from a study of Shotetsu. It has much to offer. Multi-tiered, intelligent, and possessing the ability to stimulate a reader's imagination and cognitive processes, this work lingers and expands in the reader's mind.
A reply
will come
as an echo
in the mountains
so it would seem;
but if one says
nothing at first,
there will be
no answer
to hear.
As my heart ascends
into
the clear,
I gaze upon
the clearing
moon within —
forgetting
the other moon
midway through
an autumn night
Blossoms opened,
then fell
in the space
of just
one night,
as if
in a dream —
no more
to be mistaken
for white clouds
on the peak
Professor Carter's translations and Shotetsu's waka are a perfect marriage. Says Professor Edwin Cranston from Harvard University, Steven Carter's is "a modern master whose own experimental techniques sets the standard for contemporary translation." Remarkable poetry of great historical value, coupled with astute, innovative translation, Unforgotten Dreams belongs in the library of everyone who takes the study of Japanese short form poetry seriously.
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