Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses

by R.H. Blyth

English, Japanese (translation)

Genres: Poetry

230 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Reginald Horace Blyth was an English author, interpreter, translator, devotee of Japanese culture and English Professor, having lived in Japan for eighteen years.

Reviews

[Wolfe Tone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of Senryu, the common people's response to the more spiritual Buddhist Haiku. Folksy and less stylized but ranging from funny daily observations to quite moving depictions of the hard life of the common man.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally bought this book because I am currently trying to learn Japanese and I liked that it had the Japanese verse along with the English translation. That worked nicely for the first few poems I read in the store, where I think this book really shined (and this is from someone who knows nothing about Japanese culture and meanings so they could all be made up) is in the explanations. The short paragraphs that paint a fuller image of what the Japanese text might have explained better than the simple translated poem could have done. Those made this an even more worthwhile perchase for me.