Poetry of Yorifumi Yaguchi: A Japanese Voice In English

by Yorifumi Yaguchi

          Yorifumi Yaguchi is a nationally known poet in Japan. He was a child during World War II, watching while bombs split his countryside to pieces, while the neighbor girl fell prey to soldiers, while an American soldier crept into his home, hoping for rest and safety. Yaguchi's grandfather, a devout Buddhist priest, taught him peaceful ways, urged him to build a healed world. His father taught him the Shinto way, emperor-worship, and the nationalism that fueled Japan's World War II military efforts.           The War focused Yaguchi's poetic abilities instead of destroying them, says Wilbur Birky, the editor of this volume of 150 of Yaguchi's poems in English. Six sections form this collection -- "Silence," "Child of War," "Horizon," "Breath of God,' "Words Made Flesh," and "War and Peace." The poems cover the span of Yaguchi's life -- and his career as a poetry professor and editor, as a Mennonite Christian pastor, and as a nationally recognized, still-practicing poet.

Genres: Poetry

149 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Beckykokitus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this book as a Christmas gift from a relative. I typically do not read religious poetry or poetry on war but I found these poems to be a refreshing take on both themes. Yaguchi’s poems are brief and have a unique style, often dark and dreamlike. Overall a good collection.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yorifumi was a child in Japan during WWII, and many of his poems describe the war from that perspective - a child in Japan. There are also many Christian poems. I especially loved the ones from the perspective of people who encountered Jesus in person.