Although the consciousness of death is, in most cultures, very much a part of life, this is perhaps nowhere more true than in Japan, where the approach of death has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of writing jisei, or the "death poem." Such a poem is often written in the very last moments of the poet's life.

Hundreds of Japanese death poems, many with a commentary describing the circumstances of the poet's death, have been translated into English here, the vast majority of them for the first time. Compiler Yoel Hoffmann explores the attitudes and customs surrounding death in historical and present-day Japan and gives examples of how these have been reflected in the nation's literature in general. The development of writing jisei is then examined--from the longing poems of the early nobility and the more "masculine" verses of the samurai to the satirical death poems of later centuries.

Zen Buddhist ideas about death are also described as a preface to the collection of Chinese death poems by Zen monks that are also included. Finally, the last section contains three hundred twenty haiku, some of which have never been assembled before, in translated English and romanized Japanese.

Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death, Tuttle Publishing, Paperback (5" x 7"),
368 pages, $14.99

Born in Romania in 1937 to Austro-Hungarian Jewish parents, Hoffmann and his parents fled Europe for British Mandate Palestine. As a young man, Hoffmann left his home in Israel and traveled to Japan, where he spent two years living in a Zen monastery studying Chinese and Japanese texts with monks. He taught Eastern philosophy at the University of Haifa for many years and did not begin writing fiction until in his forties. Today he is widely regarded as Israel�s leading writer of avant-garde fiction. Six of his books have appeared in English with New Directions: Kastchen and Other Stories, Bernhardt, The Christ of Fish, The Heart is Katmandu, The Shunra and the Schmetterling, and Curriculum Vitae. Hoffmann�s honors include The Koret Jewish Book Award, the Bialik Prize, and the Prime Minister�s Prize.

CONTENTS: Japanese Death Poems
	Acknowledgments		7
	Preface		9
PART ONE:	Introduction		11
		The Poetry of Japan	13
		Death and Its Poetry in the Cultural History of Japan	27
		Notes on the Poems	86
PART TWO:	Death Poems by Zen Monks		89
PART THREE:	Death Poems by Haiku Poets		129
	Notes		333
	Bibliographical Notes		336
	Index of Poetic Terms		337
	General Index		347