Tangled Hair

by Akiko Yosano

Book Overview

Akiko Yosano's Tangled Hair, published in 1901, had a sensational impact on Japanese literature, and we are pleased to make this highly praised translation (originally published 30 years a This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804815224
• ISBN13: 9780804815222
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Length: 165 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

tanka

My first introduction to Tanka and now I'm hooked. So much can be said in five lines. The book was beautiful. It also included lengthy foot notes on each tanka--just in case we missed cultural aspects of the poem --explanations about Buddhism etc. All the poems were written in Kanji too. A lengthy biography about the author was also included. The book was like having 3 books in one.

Best translation out there

This is the best translation I've been able to find of Akiko Yosano. It was also featured in a scene from Jane Campion's movie "In the Cut". A beautiful, if slight, volume. The best part is that there are light-blue sections every 50 or so poems, with the original Japanese in the Tanka layout (which is very "foreign" to my Western eyes). A reader can therefore see the originals in a more accurate form than a traditional side-by-side translation layout. Worth the extra money!

"O, my love, this flower in my hand is dazzling red!"

"Dazzling" is just the word to describe this collection, with each poem an intense & passionate work of lapidary perfection. While utilizing traditional Japanese poetic symbols drawn from Nature, this is far from being just blandly pretty "Nature poetry" -- it explores the landscape of the heart. And it does so with gorgeous precision, constantly evoking subtleties of color & emotion. An extraordinary woman's soul is laid bare in these pages ... and she celebrates her body & the joys of the flesh with equal honesty. First published in 1901, this is sensual & stirring work that's timeless -- certainly far more real & lasting than the superficial treatment of sexuality in too much of today's popular culture. For those who seek lush beauty & love's anguish in all of its Romantic splendor, this is where you'll find it. Most highly recommended!

Originally published in 1901, and here superbly translated

Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka From Midaregami is a selection of Akiko Yosano's rather impressive Japanese poetry, which was originally published in 1901, and is here superbly translated by the combined efforts of Sanford Goldstein (Professor Emeritus, Purdue University and Keiwa College, Japan) and Seishi Shinoda (Niigata University, Japan) into English for a new generation of readers. The "tanka" is the most popular form of Japanese poetry, representing 1,200 years of literary history and tradition. These translations are sensitive to context and subtle word meaning, are presented with extensive notes concerning the poems themselves, and include facets relating to the author's life. 95: Through these pines/The breeze equally/On her cheeks and mine,/Yet how like strangers/Our thoughts.

Small birds

The tanka collected in this volume are simple and elegant. I would say perfect, but I suppose that's a dangerous word. Heck, I like danger; they're perfect. Not one extra word or unessesary image in the whole book. Now, in my fast food culture "without excess" is a rare,beautiful,almost inconcievable thing. I suppose that's one reason I cherish this particular book. Using quiet traditional images from nature; moonlight,cherry blossoms, morning dew, the high cries of the cranes the author cuts deep into the collective human experience. It quiets my soul. I'm amazed. In the words of Josef Albers "Less" in this case certainly "is more".