Kaneko Misuzu: Life and Poems of A Lonely Princess

Beautiful poet with a tragic life and a heart of gold until the end, this tells her story well and shares her work. Remember Misuzu Kaneko.

I gave this book 3.5 stars because I expected it to be something different. I thought that there would be a lot more poems, as she’s my favorite poet but her works haven’t been translated to english in full (yet, I hope). But really, this is a biography. It’s quite interesting because it goes in depth about both Kaneko and her family, and is based on several sources, it seems to be a very well documented effort. However, some parts are quite repetitive, and there are also several theories about her and her family that the author discusses a lot and that honestly don’t matter that much because nobody knows the truth and everyone is dead by now.Anyway, if you are a fan of Kaneko Misuzu’s work I recommend this biography because it goes in depth about her world and how everything around her inspired her, I found the parts about the different types of buddhism and how they related to Kaneko super interesting and thought provoking, especially when contrasted with her poetry.Maybe some day more of her poems will be translated, I will wait patiently for a complete translation of her works.

Sorry it for my husband and he is out of the country so can not answer your questions

It's pretty clear that the author of this work worships the ground that Kaneko Misuzu walked on -- or that the author perceives to have been said ground, because apparently the poet had zero faults. Ever. The perfect child. The perfect young woman. The perfect wife. The perfect mother. The perfect poet. One ends up thinking that this complex life has been stripped of any hint of the negative, but that may be cultural since all the witnesses to that life are quoted in phrases that are overwhelmingly and consistently positive. Nevertheless, within those limitations, it is an interesting book that presents well the meagre biography of the poet, and the photographs that illustrates both poems and bio create intriguing juxtapositions. So the better part of the book is the poetry as presented within her timeline and context, rather than the limited bio.

Les poèmes de cette auteure sont empreints de cet émerveillement face à la nature inhérent à l'âme japonaise. Si vous êtes amoureux(se) de la nature et de la culture traditionnelle japonaise, je vous recommande vivement cet ouvrage. Il serait souhaitable que cet ouvrage soit traduit en français.