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White Letter Poems
Fumi Saito

Translated by Hatsue Kawamura
and Jane Reichhold 

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 Fish Song  -gyo ka-
(1932-1940)
                                              


                                             

  a white letter 
     arriving tomorrow   
     spring comes    
     a thin glass also      
     waiting to be polished    

shiroi tegami ga
todoite asu wa
haru to naru
usui garasu mo
migaite matoo

 

 

 


decorating
a display window
painted flowers
which will die out
with the pastel colors

  kazarareru
shoo uindoo no
hanabana wa
doose kiechau
pasuterude kaku

 

 

 

as far as the pier
            apricot petals come
            scattering
            all the boats
            painted white

 hatoba made
anzu no hana ga
chitte kite
fune toiu fune wa
shiroku nurarenu

 

 

 

coming to a hill   
      I unfurl my white arms 
      to become a sail  
      the vigorous wind is 
      the song of a sea robber 

                                 
oka ni kite
ryoo ude ni shiroi
ho wo hareba
kaze wa sakanna
kaizoku no uta

 

 

 

 

left in the field 
      even black gloves 
      rise up 
      the fingers turn yellow 
      as they let the flowers out

                                  
no ni suteta
kuroi tebukuro mo
okiagari
yubi yubi ni ki na
hana sakase dasu

 

 

 

 

evening mist
        like a lock of curly hair
        loosening
        not a thicket of scotch broom
        nor a horse can hold it back

        yuugiri wa
        kaaru no yooni
        hogure kite
        enishida no yabu mo
        uma mo kanawanu

 

 

 

 

remote spring
        sinking to the lake bottom
        to myself
        a celebration of the flute
        playing as I meet myself

        tooi haru
        umi ni shizumishi
        mizukara ni
        matsuri no fue wo
        fuite ai ni yuku

 

 

 

 

cut off from spring
         on a white trajectory
         he jumped
         and seemed to wave a hand
         but finally never came home

         haru wo kiri
         shiroi dandoo ni
         tobinotte
         te nado futtaga
Btsui ni kaeranu

 

 

 

 

violence
like this is beautiful
living in the world
all day long I sing
my nursery songs

 

         booryoku no
         kaku utsukushiki
         yo ni sumi te
         hinemosu utau
         waga komori uta

 

 

 

 

a bullet was fired
         in the center of his forehead
         yet his face
         still moving as it haunts
         this eerie summer!

         nuka no manaka ni
         tama wo uketaru
         omokage no
         tachii ni tsuki te
         natsu no odoro ya

 

 

 

 

 long dead
         the bones of a beast still
         decaying tonight
         I am nearly choked as
         cherry blossoms are falling

         taoretaru
         kemono no hone no
         kuchiru yo mo
         ikizumaru bakari
         hana chiri tsuzuku

 

 

 

 

as if the truth
         with a calm look and manner
         we must pretend
         when compelled to impale
         a butterfly on a pin

         makotoshiyaka ni
         shizukanaru sama mo
         yosooeyo
         shiirarureba hari ni
         choo mo sasu

 

 

 

 

an apple farm
         with so much more grace
         singing my song
         I've crossed a hill
         of cactus to come here

         ringo bata yori
         motto yasashii
         uta wo utai
         saboten no oka mo
         koete kishi nari

 

 

 

 

breast-feeding
         a gesture of something
         beast-like
         pitiful to think tenderly
         that it is called a child

         chichi nomasu
         shigusa no nanzo
         kemono meki
         kanashikari keri
         ko to iu mono wa

 

 

 

 

my skull
streaming in a crack
water exists
in the bottom of a lake
sleeping for a long time

         waga zugai no
         hibi wo nagaruru
         mizu ga ari
         sude ni kotei ni
         inete hisashiki

 

 

 

 

spring dusk
          my surroundings
          grow dim
          without turning on a light
          they remain as they are

          haru kururu
          waga imawari ya
          oboro nite
          akari wa tsuezu
          kurete yukashimu

              

 

 

Poem's  Whereabouts
-uta no yukue-
(1948-1952)

                    

 

Turkish blue
          becomes mountains
          after four o'clock
          quite frankly
          it makes me hungry

          toruko ao to
          naritaru yama no
          yoji sugini
          geni sunao naru
          shokuyoku arinu

 

 

 

a  white hare
         from a snow-covered mountain
         when it came out
         it was killed
         with eyes still open

         shiroki usagi
         yuki no yama yori
         idete kite
         korosare tareba
         me wo hiraki ori

 

 

 

 

  tree roots
         darkly and gently
         tangle together
         thinking of the relationship
         I get confused

         jumoku no
         ne to ne ga kuraku
         yasashiku
         karami au kanren wo
         omoi ite konmei su

 

 

 

            a black lake
            where I go to bathe
            when I dive in
            he follows me
            the man who drowned

        kuroki umi no
        mizu wo abin to
        shizumu toki
        ware ni tsuki kuru
        suishinin  hitori

 

 

 

moonlight white
         a liquid poison from the sky
         since pouring
         it on the water
         the lake has gone insane

        gekko shiroki
        dokueki wo sora yori
        sosogite yori
        mizu wa kyooki to
        narite hashiri ki

 

 

 


a river under a ship
        or a ship on a river
        one's destiny
            never stops flowing
        metamorphosing

 
        kawa ka fune ka
        izure onore ga
        mi no goo no
        nagare mo
        yamanu metamorufoozu

 

 

 

pressed by
         the breast of a water bird
         secretly
         it begins to swell
         into a sparkle of water

         mizudori no
         mune ni osarete
         hisoyakani
         moriagaru toki
         mizu wa kagayoo

 

 

 

a frog in spring
         yet still slender
         floats on the water
         its thin webbed foot
         opens and extends

         haru no kaeru no
         mada hossori to
         mizu ni uki
         usuki mizukaki mo
         ake hiroge tari

 

 

A Hermetically Sealed Village -mippei buraku-
(1953-1959)
                         

 

  
man and horse
         not crossing the view
         the bridge
        is purely and simply
         making a connection

         hito mo uma mo
         wataranu toki no
         hashi no kei
         makoto junsui ni
         hashi kakari iru

 

 

 

tree sap running
         in the spring night
         quick with life
         unleashed from the chain
         a dog and a boy

         jueki noboru
         haru no yo ni shite
         iki iki to
         kusari wo kiri shi
         inu to shoonen

 

 

 

"Don't resemble me,
         just don't do that."
         I paint
         a beautiful woman's face
         showing a smile of adultery

         ware ni niruna
         niruna to egaku
         sakuchuu no
         onna utsukushiki
         fugi no egao su

 

 

 

It Burns in the Wind 
-kaze mi moyasu-

(1959-1966)
                          

the color of mercury
my hair has become something
          to dye red
          so it burns in the wind
                        ---carpe diem

          suigin iro no
          kami to narishikaba
          shu ni somete
          kaze ni mosan kana
                   ---shakumyoo    

 

 

 

Deep Crimson -hitakurenai-
   (1967-1974)

 

in a dream
     thin sumi ink
      cherry blossoms
  perhaps more fragrant
    than in reality


usuzumi no
yume no naka naru
sakura bana
aruiwa utsutsu
yorimo nioo wo

 

 

 

    
            vegetable salad
            with pale green
            I bury
            a bird painted on the plate
            eyes that do not close

sarada na no
asaki midori wo
mote uzumu
sara no e no tori
me wo toji zareba

 

 

   
a grave figurine
with two eye holes
seems to laugh
my mother's blind eyes
do not laugh


haniwa no me
futatsu ana nashite
waraedomo
haha no miezaru
me wa warawazari

 

 

 


  silent
footsteps of a multitude
moving along
underground passages
while I am sleeping

 
ashi oto wo
motanu gunshuu no
idoo suru
chikadoo ga waga
nemuru shita ni ari

 

 

 


 in the distant view
of my sorrow it is still
snowing
I go out with the brim
of my summer hat lowered


kanashimi no
enkei ni ima mo
yuki furu ni
tsuba sagete yuku
waga matsu booshi

 

 


the whole body
shaken by cherry blossoms
the spring tree
to which I am drawn
another confused heart

 

sooshin no
hana wo yurugasu
haru no ki ni
kokoro midashite
ware wa yoriyuku    

 

 

 

in what gentle way
         has it gone insane
         being familiar with
         the water it jumps out of
         the fish has died

         ikani yasashiki
         kyooki wo moteba
         sumi naruru
         mizu yori tobite
         uo wa shini ni ki

 

 

  
to a distant field
         an ambulance goes
         probably
         fallen from heaven
         for the sake of a swan

         tooki  no wo
         kyuukyuusha yuku
         osoraku wa
         sora yori ochishi
         hakuchoo no tame
.

 

 

 

when a petal
         is laid on its back
         how heavy
         the leg chains on
         the zoo elephant

         hanabira wo
         sono se no ueni
         nosetareba
         ashi no kusari no
         omotaki zoo yo

 

 

 
two thin flat pieces
             the arches of my feet
without touching earth
treading only on the wind
as I have wished to do

 

         futahiro no
         waga tsuchifumazu
         tsuchi wo fumazu
         kaze nomi fumite
         aritakarishi wo

 

 

  

a husband paralyzed
my old mother blind
on both sides
the evening of life
I enter autumn


mahi no tsuma to
me no mienu haha wo
sa u ni oki
roonen no
aki ni iriyuku

 

 

 

long hospital hall
         going to the end  of it
         emergency exit
         the only brightness there
         glow of the declining sun

         nagaki byooroo wo
         yukeba owari wa
         hijooguchi
         soko ni nomi akaku
         nishibi ga saseri

 

 

 

            behind people
            waiting in line
            I ask
            those who are ahead
            "What exists before us?"

narabi matsu
hito ra no ato ni
 tsuki te kiku
saki no hoo ni nani ga
aru no de shooka

 

 

  
  if  I turn my face
          the countenance of the devil
climbing the slope
to the mountain pass
against the light

 
          furi mukaba
          gyoosoo wa oni
          saka  michi wo
          nobori tsukushishi
          gyakkoo no naka

 

 

    

            passing day by day
            the place where one has gone
            the loneliness
            in the summer of other times
            an autumn cicada shrills

          sugite yuku
          hibi no yukue no
          sabishisa ya
          mukashi no natsu ni
          naku hooshizemi

 

 

 

 
the feet of Death
          Which I have seen!
          were flat-footed
          and walked
          softly

          shi no ashi wo
          mitari shi kana
          henpei ni shite
          mono yawarakaku
          ayumeri

 

 

uncurable
          someone leaves the hospital
            stretches out his arm
          looking like sheepskin
          we clasp hands together

           iezu shite
          taiin suru hito ga
          sashi nobeshi
          yoohi ni nitaru
          te wo nigiru nari 

 

 

 
to say good-bye
          I must be going along
          shut the door
          and leave just like that
          it can't be done in this world

           oitoma wo
           itadaki masu to
           to wo shimete
           dete yuku yooni
           yukanu nari sei wa

 

 

 

from the death world
           it's brighter than one expects
           so luminous
           it is a very deep crimson
           this life?  yes it is

           shi no gawa yori
           teraseba koto ni
           kagayakite
           hitakurenai no
           sei narazu yamo

 

 

how vividly
           a dog has accomplished
           its disappearance!
           I stand looking at
           a lost-dog poster

           ikani ikiiki to
           inu wa shissoo wo
           togeshi naran
           inu sagasu bira wo
           mitsutsu tachi ori

 

 


                       
Shall I Cross Over? 
-watari ka yukan-

(1977-1985)

 

fatally wounded
         the bird begins to fall
         for the dog too
         evening twilight
         is much too long

         utaretaru
         tori ga ochi kuru wo
         matsu inu to
         ware ni yuugure wa
         nagasugiru nari

 

 

 

falling in confusion
         such beautiful things!
         moreover
         to be ruined by the wind
         blossoms from the tree top

         furi midaruru
         mono utsukushi ya
         amatsusae
         kaze ni horoburu
         shoojoo no hana

 

 

 

the one
red candle
when lit up
         by the surrounding spring
         somebody laughs triumphantly

         ippon no
         akaki roosoku wo
         tsuketareba
         megurite haru no
         mono eragi tari

 

 

if we settled here
         even if we sat down
         sucked in
         we'd be dissolved
         by this swampy ground

         ochitsukaba
         koshi wo orosaba
         suikomare
         yookai saren
         shitsugen ga ari

 

 

darkening the sky
         yet how very calm!
         to become
         bronze swords in summer
         a group of cedar trees

         sora kurete
         yuku shizumari ya
         seidoo no
         hoko to naritaru
         natsu no sugi mura

 

 

my surroundings
         have become a void
         even when
         in a crowd of people
         in ten thousand poems

         waga meguri
         shinkuu to naru
         toki no ari
         gunshuu no naka
         man no uta no naka

 

 

 

millions of windows
         ten thousand doors
         along the street
         but not any place where
         we can enter

         mado ikuman
         doa ikusen no
         machi nukete
         dokonimo irite
         yuku tokoro nashi

 

 


    uncanny old age
         underneath a human being
         my cherished mother
         becoming mysterious
            an utter stranger

         oi bukimi
         waga hahasoha ga
         hito ika no
         etai no shirenu
         mono to nari yuku

 

 


         person by person
around me they disappear
         finally
         I shall be swallowed up
         by the darkness

         waga meguri
         ichinin zutsu no
         kiete yuki
         ageku wa ware no
         kien kurayami

 

 

dream like
         with whom is mother
         having a chat?
         sometimes without a voice
         she even seems to laugh

         maboroshi no
         tare to katarite
         iru haha ka
         toki ni koe naku
         warai nado suru

 

 

a giraffe stretched
         its neck longer and longer
         enough to eat
         the leaves of heaven
         this is my drawing

        ware no egaku
        jirafu no kubi no
        nobinobite
        ten no happa wo
        taberu zu to naru

 

 

the distant sky
         comes fluttering
         a flash of lightning
         dies out a sardine color
         farewell to midsummer!

         enten ni
         hatameki itaru
         inabikari
         iwashiiro ni kie
         saraba manatsu yo

 

 

living long with
         my mother who cannot tell
         day from night
        I've lost the sense
            of the two sides of myself

         yoru mo hiru mo
         kubetsu no tsukanu
         haha to sumi
         mi no ura omote
         ushinai ni keru

 

 

I do no possess
         something called an air bladder
         filled with dim light
         as a fish carries all its life
         inside its body

         waga motanu
         ukibukuro tou
         hokumei wo
         uo wa mi no uchi ni
         dakite ikitari

 

 

a blaze of sun
         opens the mountain magnolia
         to the human world
         a thing which has escaped
         waving  a banner of spring

hi ni moete
yama kobushi saku
jinkai wo
nogareshi mono ga
furu haru no hata

 

 

two chairs
         face to face in the vacant room
         in the past
         called husband and wife
            we were in the past!

         isu futatsu
         muki aite iru
         akibeya ni
         fusai to ieru
         kako arishi kana 

 

 

 

Monet's water lilies
         old-fashioned blooming
         early in the afternoon
         pianissimo---very softly
         I play the piano

         mone no suiren
         saku kofuu naru
         hirusagari
         piano pianisshimo
         nite hikeri
          

 

 

summer grass
passing by a  field
            in rank disarray
            shall I cross over to
            a deep indigo water
          

         natsukusa no
         midari gawashiki
         no wo sugite
         watari ka yukan
         mizu no shin ran

 

 

 

the tenth month
         one day at the end
         lapsing into a coma
         then moving on to death
         my mother died

         kannazuki
         owaru hitohi wo
         kuraki nemuri no
         naka ni aritsutsu
         shi e ikoo seri   ( haha shisu)

 

 

sorry to part
         from this life
         enough said
         she was too old!
         people do not weep

         oshimaruru
         kore no inochi to
         iubeku wa
         oi sugi ni keri
         hito nakanu nari

 

 

 

a trifling thing
         yet with such discouragement
         I cannot bear it
         I think of a horse
         getting up on its four legs

         koreshiki no koto ni
         kokoro kuzurete
         tamaruka to
         omou toki uma no
         shishi tateri keri

 

 

 

a little child
         so called soft-tender
         such a life
         visits my home
         once or twice a year

         osanago to
         iu yawarakaki
         seimei no
         wagaya toi kuru
         nen ni ichi nido

 

 

 

these two days
         everyone is talking about
         cherry blossoms
         they've waited for all winter
         country people pass them by

       
         kono futsuka
         dono hito mo sakura
         kataru nari
         hana machite fuyu wo
         koeshi kuni bito

 

 

 

seeing cherry blooms
         even a demon's eyes
         will be gentle
         I of course get
         somewhat light-headed

         hana miru to
         oni mo yasashiki
         manako sen
         ware wa motoyori
         fuwa fuwa to naru

 

 

hereafter
         and surely then alone
         on the easy slope
         for my little pleasure
         to have a flower branch

         koreyori wa
         masani hitori no
         kudari zaka
         sukoshi kimamani
         hana isshi mochi

 

 

around my body
         one by one they die
         lingering at dusk
         on the palm of my hand
         a white bird egg

         mino mawari
         hitori zutsu yuki
         kure nokoru
         waga te no ue no
         shiroki choo ran

 

 

an antelope
         jumped over a rock
         with its slender
         four legs stepping high
         above the setting sun

   kamoshika wa
         iwa wo tobi tari
         sono hosoki
         shishi mote takaku
         yuuhi wo matagi
          

.

 

it's a man thing
         when I unfold the umbrella
         black underneath
         its warm darkness
         surprises me

         otoko mono no
         kasa sashi yukeba
         kuro no shita no
         kuragari nukuki
         koto ni odoroku

 

 

because I had to
         take the detour road
         the amber color
         that seemed so fortunate
         was a cloud I met

         ukairo wo
         toorishi yue ni
         kohaku iro no
         shiawase soo na
         kumo ni deainu

 

 

to light
          only one lamp
         is enough
         in the adjoining room
         it is no doubt dark

         tenzuru wa
         ittoo nomi ni
         koto tarite
         rinshitsu kuraku
         aru wo utagawazu

 

 

eating acacia flowers
         eating plantain lilies
         my stomach
         does its business
         more brightly

         akashia no
         hana wo tabe giboshi no
         hana wo tabe
         waga  i akaaka to
         nao itonameri

 

 

the world globe
turned by a young man
          on a snowy night
          on the Aegean Sea
          I see the sun shining

          chikyuugi wo
          wakaki ga mawasu
          yuki no yo wo
          eega kai niwa
          hi ga atari in

 

 

cherry blossoms
          blooming at their best
          solitary
          blind against the sunlight
          the moment seems to pass

          sakurabana
          saki kiwamareba
          seki to shite
          hi ni meshiitaru
          toki suguru rashi

 

 

an old cat
          and really very lazy
          when I call her
          she opens her mouth
          but doesn't raise her voice

         neko oite
         itaku monogusa
         yobu ni kotae
         kuchi wa hirakedo
         koe wo idasanu

 

 

combing
my dyed hair
         in a clear light
         young and coal black
         such a night I yearn for!

         kushi kezuru
         waga somegami wa
         hi ni sukite
         wakaki nubatama no
         yo zo koishi kere

 

 

not to choose
having a hometown
         or place to die
         I am light-hearted
         a companion to the wind

         shichi izuko to
         kimezaru karusa
         furusato wo
         motazaru mono wa
         kaze no tomogara

 

 

the man's  name
I've forgotten but
         not the river's
         distant shining
         in the summer field

         hito no nawo
         wasure kawa no na wo
         wasurezaru
         natsu no wo nukite
         tooku hikareri

 

 

Autumn Sky Blue  
-shuuten ruri-

(1985-1993)
                              

isn't there
          a bullet-holed tree
          in this woods?
          the thicket of my memory
          becomes darker and darker

          kono mori ni
          dankon no aru
          ki arazuya
          kioku no shigemi
          kurami tsutsu ari

 

 

those shackles
          known as family
          are gone
          when today ends I don't go
          to bed until I'm sleepy

          kazoku tou
          kase naku narishi
          mi no kyoo no
          owari nite nemuku
          narumade inezu

 

 

as an old lady
         my smile and words
         peaceful
         however I love
         things keen-edged

        roojo nite
        emi mo kotoba mo
        nagi yuku to
        iedo kireaji
        yokimono aisu

 

 

smoothly
         dusk comes down
         when I see
         others growing old
         it comes so easily

         surusuru to
         yuuyami kudari
         mite oreba
         tanin no oi wa
         nameraka ni kuru

 

 

dying
         the neck of the giraffe
         will drop
         like a hoisted flag
         being lowered

         shi no toki wa
         jirafu mo kubi wo
          otosu beshi
         kakageshi hata wo
         orosu ga gotoku

 

 

though now old
          a woman is still a woman
          as a breeze
          to a summer bamboo screen
          come to visit me

          oitari tote
          onna wa onna
          natsu sudare
          soyoro to kaze no
          gotoku toi mase

 

 

transparent blue
          a Himalayan poppy flower
          came into my dream
          for three days afterwards
          my heart was filled with love

          aoku suku
          himaraya no keshi
          yume ni kite
          ato no mikka wo
          kokoro some tari

 

 

revolution
         is not in this country where
         I was born
         with moderate wind and rain
         shall I live to the end?

        kakumei wo
        motazaru kuni ni
        umare kite
        fuuu hodohodo ni
        arite owaruka

 

 

even when old
         isn't there a term
         for this charm?
         flowers in the beginning
         are fine at the end as well

         oite nao
         en to yobu beki
         mono ari ya
         hana  wa hajime mo
         owari mo yoroshi

 

 


            suspended ceiling
            does the end fall with a thud
            or like a prison
            where water rose up
            in a steady approach?

 

         tsuri tenjoo wa
         dosa to ochi shi ka
         suiroo no
         gotokuni jojoni
         semari shi mono ka

 

 

 transparently
         wind and fresh water
         running
         sways young leaves
         rustling the light

        toomei ni
        mizu mo mamizu mo
        nagare ite
        yururu wakaba no
        hikari sara sara

 

 

through the field
         like a dangerous blue weapon
         a river was running
         when I came to see it
         it was already rusted

         no wo nukite
         aoki kyoki no
         gotoku arishi
         kawa kite mireba
         sude ni sabi tari

98 *  
Hatsue,  Sorry,  I still feel this one is right. I understood from the beginning that the 'problem' was pollution and floating red leaves on a polluted stream is at once a very gentle act and also an act of rebellion. The poem is most excellent. The third line says: because we are sad and lonely for the missing fish, we float leaves as a sign of mourning and because it feels as if something should be swimming here. If not our fish, then red leaves as warning, as grave markers, as signals of poison. I am happy to have this poem in the collection as it shows one can 'use' tanka to talk about painful modern-life aspects in a gentle, but powerful way.
 I have tried to make the first line stronger with the death /pollution but that is also expressed in the previous version. 'The fish cannot stay' implies that they either moved away or maybe died. I liked 'stay' because it implies both 'lived' and 'remained' (something that is hard to do in flowing water). There is also the idea that the fish were washed away. I feel the first version is best but if this one seems better to you, I would reluctantly accept it. I am sorry this poem feels 'wrong' to you. But if you are still unhappy with it, try again to tell me where it does not work for you. \o/

 

 fish no longer live
         in this flowing stream
         because of loneliness
         we set afloat the red
         of crimson maple leaves
        
fish cannot stay
in this flowing stream
         because of loneliness
         we set afloat the red
         of crimson maple leaves


         uo sumenu
         kawa no nagare no
         sabishisa wa
         shu no momiji nado
         nagashite mo nao


Jane, about the third line, "because of" is different from the original, I think.  uo-fish, sumenu-cannot live,  kawa no nagare no-of the flowing river,  sabishisa-loneliness, wa-to indicate the subject,  shu no momiji-crimson maple leaves, nado-not to definite one thing, but say softly; such as,  or the like, nagashite mo nao-even though we set afloat .  The loneliness of the flowing stream where fish cannot stay does not disappear even when we set afloat the red of crimson maple leaves there. This is the meaning, I think.  Please take this tanka again, Jane.  Sorry!

 

 

At the Imperial Palace in 1997

"a strange man!"
         I cannot but say so
         smilingly
         the Emperor told me
         about my dead father

         "okashina otoko desu"
         to iu hoka wa nashi
         tennoo ga
         nikoyakani chichi no
         na wo iimaseri
       
.

 

 in the field
         with an abundant figure
         is one tree
         limbs embrace the wind
         months and days as well

         no no naka ni
         sugata yutakeki
         ichi ju ari
         kaze mo tsukihi mo
         eda ni idakite          

 

*While preparing this manuscript for the web, somehow the correspondence with with Hatsue-san was still on this poem in the file. So I have left it for you to read as sample of how we worked. jr 3/16/2010

 

 

  

Preface

             Fumi Saito is one the most highly respected tanka poets in today's Japan. Daughter of a military officer who was also noted for his verse-writing talent, she began writing poetry in the traditional 31-syllable tanka form in her early teens. Her first book of tanka, titled Fish Songs, published in 1940, immediately established her as a brilliant young poet. She has continued to write tanka with inexhaustible energy ever since, producing ten more collected volumes along the way. Honors she has won are numerous, including the Shaku Chōkū Prize (1977), the Yomiuri Literary Prize (1986), and the Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize (1994). She was inducted into the Japan Art Academy in 1993 and invited to serve as meshiudo (a position similar to the Poet Laureate's) at the Imperial Palace in 1997.
            Fumi Saito's tanka, with its colorful energy and romantic implications, has had a special appeal to generations of young readers. I too have been an ardent admirer of her poetry since my youth. Of many beautiful tanka written by her, my special favorite (and many other readers', I suspect) is:

a white hare
from a snow-covered mountain
when it came out
it was killed
with its eyes open

            The hare would have lived the full span of its life if it had stayed in the pure white snow. But it longed to see a wider world, and for that longing it lost its life. Should the hare be praised for its spirit of challenge or should it be blamed for underrating the value of innocence?  The tanka does not answer. We are invited to contemplate the image of the hare in a pool of blood, with its eyes open in the same red color.
            Translating poetry is no easy task. A translator must first understand the poem in the original language. Given the subtlety and complexity characteristic of the language of poetry, a thorough comprehension of the poem is usually possible only for a native speaker of the language in which it is written. On the other hand, the translator must also be a poet in the target language; otherwise the translated product is unlikely to read as poetry.
            Fortunately, this book is the result of a combined effort of two poets whose respective mother tongues are Japanese and English. Hatsue Kawamura is a Japanese poet who belongs to the Karin and Ibaraki Kajin groups, as well as the Gendai Kajin Kyokai. Her latest book of tanka is titled Peacock Blue (Pīkokku Burū). She also edits the Tokyo-based English-language periodical, The Tanka Journal.
Her partner, Jane Reichhold, has contributed a great deal to the evolution of English tanka by sponsoring the Mirrors International Tanka Awards since 1989 and publishing the winning poems in editions of Tanka Splendor and Wind Five Folded. Her own tanka are collected most recently in the book In the Presence.
As a lifelong admirer of Fumi Saito's poetry, I am delighted to see it rendered into English by such capable translators.

                                                Makoto Ueda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
       
         
 

White Letter Poems
by Fumi Saito
Poems Copyright © Saito Fumi 1940 - 1998.

Translation into English
Copyright © Hatsue Kawamura and Jane Reichhold 1998.

Cover design Copyright © Jane Reichhold 1998.

This book is now out-of-print and therefore
has been transferred to the AHA Books website so people may continue to enjoy the works of Fumi Saito.

All rights reserved.

 

ISBN: 0-944676-23-5
Library of Congress: 98-073373

 

AHA Books
POB 1250
Gualala, CA 95445
USA

Printed in United States of America

back

 

 

A Brief Survey of  Fumi Saito's Career. 

1909       Born in Tokyo on February, 14th. Her father, Ryu Saito, was a high-ranking officer of the Japanese army.  He wrote tanka and  novels as well.  He often drew Japanese-styled paintings.

1926       Fumi Saito began to publish tanka in the tanka magazine Asahikawa Kawakai (Asahikawa Tanka Circle).

1931       Produced the tanka coterie magazine Nihon Kajin (Japanese Tanka Poets) with some friends.
             Married a medical doctor Takao Saito.

1936       About ten young officers in the Army rose in revolt against the policies of the Japanese Government,  an event which was known as the February 26th Incident.  Her father worked to suppress the insurrection,  but instead he was accused of having helped them and put into prison for almost two years.  For this he was deprived of all  honors and privileges as an officer. Without a fair trial, several of the young officers were then shot to death by a firing squad. One of the executed men was her friend from childhood. The shadow image of this incident is found repeatedly in her tanka.   
Fumi Saito gave birth to a daughter Ayako in May.

1939       Her father became a  leader of Tankajin (Tanka Poets) tanka group.  Her husband was called into the army as a medical officer.

1940       She published her 1st tanka collection titled,  Fish Songs (Gyo ka) and the 2nd tanka collection in one year titled Rekinen (Year After Year).

1941       Gave birth to a boy, Nobuhiko, in March.  In December the Second World War broke out.

1943       Published the 3rd tanka collection – Shuten (Vermilion Sky).

1944       Published the book of essay, Shunkan Ki (Lingering Cold in Spring).  Her husband was discharged from the military service because of ill health.

1945       Due to the air raids in Tokyo, her family evacuated to the mountainous countryside in Nagano prefecture in March.  In August the war ended,  but the family has never moved back to Tokyo.

1947       Published the 4th tanka collection – Yamaguni (Mountainous Country).

1948       Wrote the novel, Sugiteyuku Uta (Passing-by Songs), which was published as a serial in the Shinano Mainichi (Daily Newspaper) and won a prize.

1949       Her husband became President of the Red Cross Hospital in Nagano.

1953       Her father, Ryu Saito, died at age 74. 
The 5th tanka collection, Uta No Yukue  (Poem's Whereabouts), was released and it was awarded a prize from The Japan Tanka Poets' Club.
Her husband left the Red Cross Hospital to open his own clinic in Nagano. She worked to help him.

1954       Was invited to the Utakai Hajime (The New Year's Poetry Party) in the Imperial Palace.
Wrote the book Tanka  Nyūmon (Introduction To Tanka).

1959       Published the 6th tanka collection – Mippei Buraku (A Hermetically Sealed Village).

1960       Awarded the honor of a "Person Of Cultural Merits" from Nagano prefecture.

1962       Became the leader and editor of the tanka school magazine Genkei (Prototype). 

1967       Published the 7th tanka collection – Kaze Ni Moyasu (It Burns In The Wind).

1968       Her mother, Kiku Saito, became blind from glaucoma.

1972       Published the 8th collection – Enkei (A Distant View).

1973       Her husband was hospitalized because of cerebral thrombosis.

1976       Published the 9th tanka collection – Hitakurenai (Deep-Crimson). 
Her husband, Takao Saito, age 70, died.

1977       Published all the tanka collections in one book Saito Fumi Zen Kashū (A Complete Edition of Fumi Saito Tanka) and was awarded the Shaku Chōkū Prize – the most highly esteemed award in the tanka field.

1979       Her mother, aged 91, died.

1981       Awarded the 5th Order Of Merit from the Japanese Government.

1982       A tanka monument to her poetry was erected in Nagano.

1983       Another monument, inscribed with her father 's tanka and one of hers, was erected in Nagano.

1985       Published the 10th tanka collection – Watarika Yukan (Shall I Cross Over?).

1986       Awarded Yomiuri Literary Prize from the Yomiuri Newspaper Company.

1989       Awarded Wakayama Bokusui Prize from the Miyazaki Prefecture.

1992       The third monument was erected in Nagano.

1993       Published the 11th collection – Shūten Ruri (Autumn Sky Blue).  Inducted into The Japan Art Academy.

1994       Awarded The Saito Mokichi Tanka Literary Prize and the Japanese Modern Poetry Literary Prize and became an honorary member of The Japan Tanka Poets' Club and an honorary member of The Modern Tanka Poets'  Association as well.

1995       Awarded the Shinano Mainichi Newspaper Prize.

1996       The fourth monument, inscribed with her father's tanka and hers, was erected in Nagano. (These tanka monuments were erected by her fans, her tanka school members and friends, which shows her popularity among a great many people.)

1997       Invited to the Utakai Hajime (New Year's Poetry Party) at the Imperial Palace as meshiudo  (Japan's Poet Laureate). A revised Complete Edition of Fumi Saito Tanka was awarded the Grand Prize from the Modern Tanka Poets' Association.