In the very long history of Japanese literature, poetry is arguably one of the first recognized literary forms. The notable Manyosho, a collection of Japanese short poems produced in the 8th century, evokes the gaze and thoughts of people from all walks of life and, until this day, still sets a standard for Japanese poetry. Contrary to the common perception that the world of literature is dominated by male voices, Japanese society did not always exclude women’s perspectives when it came to the arts and, indeed, there was a time where constructing and reading poetry was a significant tool of communication regardless of the gender. However, has the trend evolved with the times and have women remained in a prominent position within this literary sphere?

In this first session of the ‘Finding Japanese Poetry’ series, the Japan Foundation invites poets and translators, YOTSUMOTO Yasuhiro and MORIYAMA Megumi (who has recently released her work, Nakazora), to trace the role of female poets from ancient to contemporary Japan, discussing their creativity, the gaze of women, and the impact their verses made upon Japan and its literary society. The talk will be led by Michele Hutchison, an award-winning translator.

About the speakers

(Moderator) Michele Hutchison is a British translator, writer and editor based in Amsterdam. Her translation of Marieke Lucas Rijneveld's The Discomfort of Evening was awarded the 2020 International Booker Prize and her translation of Sander Kollaard's Stage Four won the 2020 Vondel Translation Prize. Recent poetry translations include Man Animal Thing by Alfred Schaffer (Eyewear Publishing) and Putting On My Species by Sasja Janssen (Shearsman Books). She is also co-author of The Happiest Kids in the World and is currently working on a new non-fiction book.

MORIYAMA Megumi was born in Tokyo. She is a poet, English haiku poet, and translator. She is the author of four full-length books of poetry, including Tangible Dreams (Yume no tezawari, 2005), which was composed for a choir piece and published. MORIYAMA had been selected as a New Poet by a major poetry periodical and her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She has recently co-translated the full text of Arthur Waley’s The Tale of Genji and has won the 2020 Donald Keene Special Award. Her latest work is the translation of Virginia Woolf’s The Waves.

YOTSUMOTO Yasuhiro, poet and translator, born in 1959. So far he has published 13 books of poetry, two novels, and a couple of literary criticisms. Yasuhiro also published a few poetry translations including Stay home on Earth!, an anthology of COVID-19 related poems from around the world; The Poetic Works Homo Sapiens, an anthology of contemporary poetry from 32 poets in 22 countries; and Kid by Simon Armitage. His latest book is The Selected Poems of Shinkawa Kazue (Vagabond Press, Sidney), co-translated with Takako Lento.

This online event is free to attend but places are limited and registration is essential. To reserve your space, please book your ticket here.