Pause, breathe, and savor the quiet beauty of Saigyō, one of Japan's most quintessential poets, in this celebration of nature and Buddhist insight.
Born in the twelfth century during a time of great political upheaval and warfare, Saigyō made the unusual decision in his youth to resign from his respectable post as a guard to the emperor’s family and pursue a life of Buddhist renunciation, wilderness wandering, and poetry. Over the course of his lifetime, he became one of Japan’s most celebrated poets. Today, his spare poems of spiritual longing and aching identification with the natural world continue to inspire fathomless, ineffable emotion in readers all over the world.
With 193 poems on 11 themes like the moon, journeys, mountain abodes, love, and the dreamlike world, Blossom Awakening reveals Saigyō as a spiritual seeker who gave his life to the artist’s path. Translators Peter Levitt and Kazuaki Tanahashi present their English renderings with the original Japanese text and offer commentary that illuminates the political, religious, and literary dimensions of Saigyō’s life and work.
“Saigyō has long been regarded as the ultimate Buddhist poet. Living a lonely life of wandering and renunciation during a period of great turmoil, Saigyō was as often moved to tears by the beauty of flowers and the moon as he was by the pain of the violence of the world he lived in. Levitt and Tanahashi’s great translations carry across into English the elegant simplicity and quiet emotion of the original poems that have been loved for a thousand years in Japan and all over the world. Tanahashi’s extensive historical introduction gives us a strong impression of the confusing social and political passions that marked Saigyō’s time.” —Norman Fischer, poet and Zen priest, author of Selected Poems and Training in Compassion
“What a beautiful book! A perfectly selected set of gorgeous, limpid translations by two contemporary masters. Full of feeling and clear awakening, these wonderful, brief poems of wandering Japanese poet-monk Saigyō convey the depth and beauty of his vision of this fleeting world and life. A masterwork!” —Henry Shukman, author of One Blade of Grass and Original Love “Even as Levitt and Tanahashi hear the sound of a storm murmuring in a tree’s branches––echoing social storms raging in Saigyō’s times and ours––they dwell in mountainous depths. Like Saigyō, they, too, know ‘the moon in your mind becomes a clear mirror,’ and they ‘see enlightenment all around.’ Feeling the sky in Saigyō’s heart, they offer illuminating, aesthetically refined renderings of his poetry, enabling us to commune with nature, to hear the whispers of the moon, and to be serenaded by the cherry blossoms.” —Paula Arai, PhD, author of Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra “This is a beautiful and haunting book. Saigyō reaches across the centuries and reveals the intimate way for us today.” —James Ishmael Ford, author of The Intimate Way of Zen: Effort, Surrender, and Awakening on the Spiritual Journey
KAZUAKI TANAHASHI is a world-renowned calligraphic artist, a Zen teacher, author, environmentalist, peaceworker, and translator, particularly of the works of Eihei Dogen. He is author or translator of numerous books, and his art has been featured in shows throughout the world.
PETER LEVITT is a poet and Zen teacher who lives in British Columbia. He was authorized to teach in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki by Norman Zoketsu Fischer. He is the author or translator of several collections of poetry and is the recipient of the prestigious Lannan Foundation Award in Poetry. He also teaches creativity in writing and other endeavors in various venues.
Pause, breathe, and savor the quiet beauty of Saigyō, one of Japan's most quintessential poets, in this celebration of nature and Buddhist insight.
Born in the twelfth century during a time of great political upheaval and warfare, Saigyō made the unusual decision in his youth to resign from his respectable post as a guard to the emperor’s family and pursue a life of Buddhist renunciation, wilderness wandering, and poetry. Over the course of his lifetime, he became one of Japan’s most celebrated poets. Today, his spare poems of spiritual longing and aching identification with the natural world continue to inspire fathomless, ineffable emotion in readers all over the world.
With 193 poems on 11 themes like the moon, journeys, mountain abodes, love, and the dreamlike world, Blossom Awakening reveals Saigyō as a spiritual seeker who gave his life to the artist’s path. Translators Peter Levitt and Kazuaki Tanahashi present their English renderings with the original Japanese text and offer commentary that illuminates the political, religious, and literary dimensions of Saigyō’s life and work.
Praise
“Saigyō has long been regarded as the ultimate Buddhist poet. Living a lonely life of wandering and renunciation during a period of great turmoil, Saigyō was as often moved to tears by the beauty of flowers and the moon as he was by the pain of the violence of the world he lived in. Levitt and Tanahashi’s great translations carry across into English the elegant simplicity and quiet emotion of the original poems that have been loved for a thousand years in Japan and all over the world. Tanahashi’s extensive historical introduction gives us a strong impression of the confusing social and political passions that marked Saigyō’s time.” —Norman Fischer, poet and Zen priest, author of Selected Poems and Training in Compassion
“What a beautiful book! A perfectly selected set of gorgeous, limpid translations by two contemporary masters. Full of feeling and clear awakening, these wonderful, brief poems of wandering Japanese poet-monk Saigyō convey the depth and beauty of his vision of this fleeting world and life. A masterwork!” —Henry Shukman, author of One Blade of Grass and Original Love “Even as Levitt and Tanahashi hear the sound of a storm murmuring in a tree’s branches––echoing social storms raging in Saigyō’s times and ours––they dwell in mountainous depths. Like Saigyō, they, too, know ‘the moon in your mind becomes a clear mirror,’ and they ‘see enlightenment all around.’ Feeling the sky in Saigyō’s heart, they offer illuminating, aesthetically refined renderings of his poetry, enabling us to commune with nature, to hear the whispers of the moon, and to be serenaded by the cherry blossoms.” —Paula Arai, PhD, author of Painting Enlightenment: Healing Visions of the Heart Sutra “This is a beautiful and haunting book. Saigyō reaches across the centuries and reveals the intimate way for us today.” —James Ishmael Ford, author of The Intimate Way of Zen: Effort, Surrender, and Awakening on the Spiritual Journey
Author
KAZUAKI TANAHASHI is a world-renowned calligraphic artist, a Zen teacher, author, environmentalist, peaceworker, and translator, particularly of the works of Eihei Dogen. He is author or translator of numerous books, and his art has been featured in shows throughout the world.
PETER LEVITT is a poet and Zen teacher who lives in British Columbia. He was authorized to teach in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki by Norman Zoketsu Fischer. He is the author or translator of several collections of poetry and is the recipient of the prestigious Lannan Foundation Award in Poetry. He also teaches creativity in writing and other endeavors in various venues.
