I don't know that I have the energy to write a review like this book *deserves* -- but I'm stunned no one has reviewed it! Just gobsmacked. This is a ~600 page survey of Japanese poetry from (I think) the oldest things there are to the work of poets born well into the 20th century. It feels pretty comprehensive, and it runs from things that are so ... I don't know, elemental ... they're hard to connect with, through loads of haiku, hokku, renga, tanka and so on, loads of which are wonderfully evocative of the natural world, to ... well, very modern stuff. You *won't* love everything presented here, but you *will* come away enriched, thrilled anew with poetry's possibilities, and curious about a culture where poetry seems ... ah, I dunno, *important*? I ordered my copy used, and to my irritation I got a copy with a broken spine, that has chunks of pages falling out. Normally I'd unload a book like that, but this one is so good I'm going to keep it (and probably replace it with a better copy). Get it! ( )