Synopses & Reviews
Ema Saiko (1787-1861) was a remarkably evocative poet, one of the few known woman writers of kanshi poems verse written in classical Chinese but read as Japanese. Writing in this form, Saiko distinguished herself during the Tokugawa period, when composition in Chinese was largely a men's province.
Review
"It is delightful to know such a woman existed in Tokugawa Japan. Here is a poet-painter who was able to consort on an equal footing with the male scholars and poets of her day. Her poetic voice is refreshingly direct and honest." Sonja Arntzen, translator of Ikkyu and The Crazy Cloud Anthology: A Zen Poet of Medieval Japan
About the Author
Hiroaki Sato is a poet and a translator of Japanese poetry. Among his many books are: Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages; One Hundred Frogs: From Renga to Haiku to English; and, with Burton Watson, From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry.