Modern Japanese Haiku: An Anthology

This book is without doubt the definitive anthology of modern haiku in English translation. The haiku of many different representative poets are included, and most major trends and developments and poetic movements are given coverage. The format itself leaves nothing to be desired, with the English translations on each page accompanied by the Japanese original followed by romanji transliterations of the same--and Makoto Ueda's translations themselves are superb as usual, sacrificing neither poetic quality nor accuracy. His introduction outlines with great clarity a general modern history of the haiku's development, starting with Masaoka Shiki's innovative reconstruction of the haiku tradition and moving along from there with the divergent and often conflicting poetic theories of the many poets whose works are included. The end result is a fine book that serves both as a wonderful, diverse book of poetry and as an informative, reliable literary history. Incidentally, the book includes haiku by the following: Masaoka Shiki, Natsume Soseki (Shiki's friend, the famous novelist), Takahama Kyoshi, Kawahigashi Hekigoto, Ogiwara Seisensui, Murakami Kijo, Akutagawa Ryunosuke (yes, the master short story writer), Iida Dakotsu, Ozaki Hosai, Hino Sojo, Mizuhara Shuoshi, Yamaguchi Seishi, Tomiyasu Fusei, Kawabata Bosha, Nakamura Kusatao, Ishida Hakyo, Kato Shuson, Saito Sanki, Tomizawa Kakio, and Kaneko Tota. Quite a selection, with enough haiku by each that you get a feel for each poet's individual style.