Classical Poetry of Japan - Basil Hall Chamberlain
Category: Poetry
Tags: Poetry, Adults
This collection of Japanese poetry was compiled and translated into English from an anthology known as The Collection of Myriad Leaves, and from a number of other anthologies made by imperial decree between the tenth and fifteenth centuries. This period has come to be considered the golden age of Japanese literature., In those days, the cultivation of verse was especially considered the privilege of the princely and aristocratic. A poem written by a man of obscure rank was sometimes included in the royal collections, but the name of the author was omitted as a matter of course. The distinctive qualities of classic Japanese poetry are undoubtedly due to the air in which it flourished. The verse is never religious, and sometimes is even immoral, but it is always suffused with a certain hue of courtliness, even gentleness. The language is of the most refined delicacy; the thought is never boorish or rude. There is a sense of self-collectedness also found in the poetry of France and Italy
