Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson - Paperback
Out of Stock
This product is currently out of stock. Enter your email address below to be notified once the product is back in stock
Complete Bilingual Collection of Yosa Buson's Haiku
This is the first complete bilingual (Japanese/English) translation of the Buson Kushu, a comprehensive collection of the haiku of Yosa Buson (1716-1783). Acclaimed translators W.S. Merwin and Takako Lento worked for a decade to render these poems into English-language versions as luminous as the original Japanese.
About Yosa Buson's Poetry
Buson's haiku brim with paradox: they are bawdy yet delicate, sparse yet powerful. One of the great poets of Japan's Edo period, Buson's work is technically adroit and finely attuned to visual details. A true maverick of interdisciplinary arts, Buson was also founder of the haiga—a small watercolor or black-and-white painting bordered by a haiku.
"187"
keisei wa
nochi no yo kakete
hanami kana
Courtesans come out
to see the cherry blossoms
as though they were betting on their next life
Critical Acclaim
"Lovers of haiku will rejoice at the arrival of this book, the first complete translation of the collected haiku of Yosa Buson...rendered into English with obvious care and devotion...Through Buson we realize what haiku is best at expressing--this moment's experience, bare facts, simple observations, elegant statements of 'thus-ness.'"—Inquiring Mind
"Having W.S. Merwin and Takako Lento as co-translators of this book is close to ideal, and this is the best English translation of haiku that has ever been published. Their English translations are accurate and poetic and there is nothing better for introducing this great poet."—Donald Keene, Anahorish Japanese Literature
"For a translator to be faithful and readable, as Mr. Merwin always is, is no small achievement."—The New York Times
About the Translators
W.S. Merwin was US Poet Laureate from 2010-11 and won his second Pulitzer Prize for The Shadow of Sirius (Copper Canyon Press, 2009) and the National Book Award for Migration: New and Selected Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2005). Author and translator of over fifty books.
Co-translator Takako Lento holds an MFA in poetry and translation from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her publications include book-length Japanese translations of American writers as well as English translations of, and essays on, Japanese poets.
An essential volume of world literature for lovers of haiku, Japanese poetry, and contemplative reading.
Free shipping on orders over $75. Standard shipping takes 3-7 business days. Returns accepted within 30 days of purchase.