Review—On Haiku, by Hiroaki Sato

Hiroaki Sato reveals how the radical brevity of the haiku genre contains worlds within worlds. This is a book to cherish, and which nurtures in return.

Support BOA by ordering On Haiku through these links:

Amazon international
Amazon Japan
Bookshop U.S.

Thanks for helping support Books on Asia!

Hiroaki Sato reveals how the radical brevity of the haiku genre contains worlds within worlds. This is a book to cherish, and which nurtures in return.

Review—Grit, Grace and Gold: Haiku Celebrating the Sports of Summer

book cover
book cover

In celebration of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, some summer sports haiku.

Support BOA by ordering Grit, Grace and Gold: Haiku Celebrating the Sports of Summer through these links:

Amazon international
Amazon Japan
Bookshop U.S.

Thanks for helping support Books on Asia!

Books on Asia is live in Japan to kick off the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games! In these unusual times, we offer you an unusual take on a book review, written by Michael Dylan Welch. No more delays, let’s go for the Gold! “Hello, everyone, and welcome to Haiku Playmakers and today’s episode of the More…

Review—Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku

Book Cover
Book Cover

A collection of three hundred modern haiku by different poets, curated from Ozawa’s commentary in the magazine Haiku Arufa from 2008-2018

Support BOA by ordering Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku through these links:

Amazon international
Amazon Japan

Thanks for helping support Books on Asia!

By Ozawa Minoru, translated by Janine Beichman, photographs by Maeda Shinzō and Akira (Japan Library, 2021) Review by Cody Poulton Ozawa Minoru is a celebrated haiku poet, winner of the 2006 Yomiuri Literature prize in Poetry, and contributor to a variety of newspapers and literary journals. Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku is a collection of More…

Review—Hōjōki: A Hermit’s Hut as Metaphor

book cover
book cover

Japanese Buddhist literature is filled with the struggle to overcome the pain of transience.

Support BOA by ordering Hōjōki by Kamo no Chōmei: A Hermit’s Hut as Metaphor through these links:

Amazon international
Apple Books international

Thanks for helping support Books on Asia!

The Hōjōki, written in 1212 by the Buddhist monk Kamo no Chōmei, is one of the most beloved works of medieval literature in Japan.

Review—Japanese Death Poems

book cover
book cover

An invaluable book for anyone interested in Japanese culture as well as poetry. — Amy Chavez

Support BOA by ordering Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death through these links:

Amazon Japan
Amazon international
Apple Books international
Bookshop U.S.

Thanks for helping support Books on Asia!

Japanese Death Poems is one of those invaluable books for anyone interested in Japanese culture as well as poetry. The lengthy introduction alone is important for the plethora of information on the history of Japanese poetry and in particular, the death poem. From tanka to haiku, written by princes, court nobles, samurai, Buddhist monks and More…

Review—Makoto Ōoka’s Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets

Twentieth Century Surrealism Tempered by Literary Discipline Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets: Selected Poems by Makoto Ōoka translated by Janine Beichman (Kurodahan Press, 2019) Review by Christopher Blasdel The title of this magnificently translated volume of poetry by the recently deceased Japanese poet Makoto Ōoka immediately conjures a sense of the surreal. Even More…