Sources of the Texts and Images;
Acknowledgments


The Japanese text used for this edition is traditional. Different versions of the text differ mostly in the choice of kanji or hiragana to represent different words.

The romanized transliteration (Romaji) is taken from MacCauley, with silent changes by the editors to bring it into conformity with modern principles of romanization.

The English translation is MacCauley's, again modernized. For further comments on the translation, see A Note on the English Translation.


The background for this edition is an image of handmade kozo paper, made by Timothy Barrett and Kelly Tetterton for a class on papermaking in the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, July, 1995.


The woodblock print by Hokusai (75K bytes) is reproduced from Peter Morse's edition (see below), by permission of the publisher, George Braziller, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts, which holds the original print: Hokusai, "Yamabe no Akahito," 1835; from the series One Hundred Poems Told by a Wet Nurse; oban, nishiki-e; gift of James Michener (HAA 21,911). Note that this print may not be copied or reproduced without permission from the Honolulu Academy of Arts.


Some Useful Editions of Ogura Hyakunin Isshu



Carter, Steven. "One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets," in Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991. Pages 203-238. Includes Romaji, English translations, and notes on the authors and poems. Perhaps the most useful recent edition in English.

Galt, Tom. The Little Treasury of One Hundred People, One Poem Each. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982. A charming edition, with Japanese, Romaji, and some enticing translations into English.

Honda, H. H. One Hundred Poems from One Hundred Poets. Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1957. Includes Japanese and Romaji. Notable as a curiosity for its English translations into rhyming quatrains.

Keene, Donald. Anthology of Japanese Literature. New York: Grove Press, 1955. The book by the great scholar of Japanese literature that began the post-war process of re-introducing English-speaking readers to Japanese writings. Includes a few Hyakunin poems in Romaji and English.

Keene, Donald. Seeds in the Heart. New York: Henry Holt, 1993. A monumental history of Japanese literature to the late 16th century; includes commentary on early Japanese poetry and on the major Hyakunin poets.

MacCauley, Clay. Hyakunin-Isshu (Single Songs of a Hundred Poets) and Nori no Hatsue-Ne (The Dominant Note of the Law). Yokohama: Kelly and Walsh, 1917. In addition to Romaji and English, includes a useful interlinear Romaji-English literal translation.

Morse, Peter. Hokusai: One Hundred Poets. New York: Braziller, 1989. A beautiful edition of Ogura Hyakunin Isshu in English, in part because it reproduces Hokusai's woodblock prints illustrating the text. The notes on the text and illustrations are particularly illuminating. For Romaji and English translation, uses MacCauley.

Onna Kotobuki Ogura Shikishi. Osaka: Keio II, 1867. A popularized Japanese edition from which were taken the images linked to each of the 100 poems in this Web edition. See also Woodblock Prints of Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Porter, William N. A Hundred Verses from Old Japan. Rutland, Vermont: Charles Tuttle, 1979. Includes Romaji and a pre-modern translation earlier than MacCauley's.

Rexroth, Kenneth. One Hundred Poems from the Japanese. New York: New Directions, 1956. And One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese. New York: New Directions, 1976. Together include about two-thirds of the Hyakunin poems, in Romaji and English translations of poetic sensitivity.

Sharman, Grant. One Hundred Poets: A Japanese Anthology. Los Angeles: Monograph Committee, 1965. Japanese, Romaji, and another very good English translation.

Takagi Toichi. Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Tokyo: Kofukan, 1954. A standard edition in Japanese, with explanations of grammar and interpretations of the poems.


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Last revised May 21, 1999