Japanese poetry — graceful, concise, and so unlike the works of Western poets — is a unique phenomenon, and this collection allows the reader to become acquainted with it in all its splendor and fullness. Under one cover, all significant authors forming the golden fund of Japanese and world literature are gathered, from the early Middle Ages (7th-16th centuries) to the Silver Age (the second half of the 19th — the first half of the 20th century). The rich stylistic diversity (the book includes masterpieces in the genres of tanka, choka, kanshi, haiku, and many others, including modern poetic forms), well-known masters of poetic word (Bashō, Issa, Saigyō, Akutagawa), extensive articles and notes by the renowned orientalist and translator Alexander Dolin, as well as exquisite Japanese engravings and paintings from different eras adorning the book, make this edition a wonderful gift for all lovers of Japanese poetry.
