Romaji Diary and Sad Toys
The novella Romaji Diary represents the first instance of a Japanese writer using romaji (roman script) to tell stories in a way that could not be told in kana or kanji. Sad Toys is a collection of 194 Tanka, the traditional 31 syllable poems that are evocative of Japan's misty past and its tentative steps into the wider world.

The publication of this edition of two of Takuboku Ishikawa's finest and most popular works together in translation has proven to be interesting from various standpoints. Romaji Diary and the collection of tanka, Sad Toys, while different forms of literature, are not as dissimilar as they appear on the surface. Takuboku himself wrote that poetry "must be an exact report, an honest diary, of the changes in a man’s emotional life," and these tanka are indeed as much a diary as a standard prose one. Both works reflect clearly, honestly, and poignantly the emotions and philosophy of a complex individual living in a time of profound change in Japan.

Romaji Diary is here presented in full in English for the first time.
1000420662
Romaji Diary and Sad Toys
The novella Romaji Diary represents the first instance of a Japanese writer using romaji (roman script) to tell stories in a way that could not be told in kana or kanji. Sad Toys is a collection of 194 Tanka, the traditional 31 syllable poems that are evocative of Japan's misty past and its tentative steps into the wider world.

The publication of this edition of two of Takuboku Ishikawa's finest and most popular works together in translation has proven to be interesting from various standpoints. Romaji Diary and the collection of tanka, Sad Toys, while different forms of literature, are not as dissimilar as they appear on the surface. Takuboku himself wrote that poetry "must be an exact report, an honest diary, of the changes in a man’s emotional life," and these tanka are indeed as much a diary as a standard prose one. Both works reflect clearly, honestly, and poignantly the emotions and philosophy of a complex individual living in a time of profound change in Japan.

Romaji Diary is here presented in full in English for the first time.
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Romaji Diary and Sad Toys

Romaji Diary and Sad Toys

Romaji Diary and Sad Toys

Romaji Diary and Sad Toys

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Overview

The novella Romaji Diary represents the first instance of a Japanese writer using romaji (roman script) to tell stories in a way that could not be told in kana or kanji. Sad Toys is a collection of 194 Tanka, the traditional 31 syllable poems that are evocative of Japan's misty past and its tentative steps into the wider world.

The publication of this edition of two of Takuboku Ishikawa's finest and most popular works together in translation has proven to be interesting from various standpoints. Romaji Diary and the collection of tanka, Sad Toys, while different forms of literature, are not as dissimilar as they appear on the surface. Takuboku himself wrote that poetry "must be an exact report, an honest diary, of the changes in a man’s emotional life," and these tanka are indeed as much a diary as a standard prose one. Both works reflect clearly, honestly, and poignantly the emotions and philosophy of a complex individual living in a time of profound change in Japan.

Romaji Diary is here presented in full in English for the first time.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781462900787
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Publication date: 09/20/2011
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
Lexile: 1080L (what's this?)
File size: 16 MB
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Table of Contents

Publisher's Note7
Acknowledgments9
Introduction11
Notes54
Romaji Diary59
Notes123
Selected Allusions127
Sad Toys133
Romaji Renderings200
Notes210
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