Yamaguchi Seison

Yamaguchi Seison ( Japanese 山口 青 邨 ; * May 10, 1892 in Morioka , Iwate Prefecture ; † December 15, 1988 ), actually Yamaguchi Kichirō ( 山口 吉朗 ), was a Japanese haiku poet and mining scientist.

Life

Yamaguchi Seison was born in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. After attending middle school in Morioka, he completed a degree in mechanical engineering at the Imperial University of Tōkyō . He held the title of doctor of engineering and was a professor at the Imperial University of Tōkyō, from which he was awarded the title of honorary professor ( 名誉 m , meiyo-kyōju ) after his retirement .

As a haiku poet, he was a student of Takahama Kyoshi . His haiku are known for their connection to the earth element and the thematic preoccupation with the Michinoku region .

In 1922 he founded the Haiku community at Tōkyō University together with Mizuhara Shūōshi , Yamaguchi Seishi , Tomiyasu Fūsei and Takano Sujū .

Yamaguchi Seison was also the founder of the collective literary magazine Natsukusa ( 夏 草 , dt. "Summer grass").

Haiku (selection)

• 祖母 山 も 傾 山 も 夕 立 か な。
  Sobo-san mo // Katamuku-yama mo // yūdachi kana.
  At Sobo and Katamuku mountains: a summer thunderstorm.
• 銀杏 散 る ま た だ 中 に 法 科 あ り。
  Ichō chiru // ma (t) tadanaka ni // hōka ari.
  In the midst of the falling blossoms of the ginkgo tree stands the law school.
• 外套 の 裏 は 緋 な り き 明治 の 雪。
  Gaitō no // ura wa hi-nariki // Meiji no yuki.

The lining of the coat was purple - Meiji period snow.

• た ん ぽ ぽ や 長江 濁 る と こ し な へ。
  Tampopo ya // chōkō nigoru // tokoshinae.
  Oh, the dandelions and the Yangtze, forever cloudy.
• こ ほ ろ ぎ の こ と き れ し 夜 を 誰 も し ら ず。
  Kohōrogi no // kotokireshi yo o // ta mo shirazu.
  Nobody knows the night when the cricket breathed out the ghost.
• み ち の く の 淋 代 の 浜 若 芽 寄 す。
  Michinoku no // Sabishiro no hama // wakame yosu. Wakame drifted up to
  the Sabishiro coast in Michinoku .
• み ち の く の 町 は い ぶ せ き 氷柱 か な。
  Michinoku no // machi wa ibuseki // tsurara kana.
  The cities of Michinoku, ah, (are full) of cloudy icicles.

Works (selection)

• Meiji shūku. Shunjūsha, Tōkyō 1968.
• Jisen jikai Yamaguchi Seison kushū. Hakuōsha, Tōkyō 1970.
• Yamaguchi Seison shu. Haijin Kyōkai, Tōkyō 1979.
• Tsuyudandan: jisen kushu. Meguro Shoten, Tōkyō 1946.
• Natsukusa senshu. Natsukusa Hakkōjo, Musashino 1982–1987.
• Baramado. Chūō Kōron Bijutsu Shuppan, Tōkyō 1977.
• Zassōen: teihon. Tōkyō Bijutsu, Tōkyō 1976.
• Dentō haiku no miryoku. Rippū Shobō, Tōkyō 1980.
• Sansō Shooku zappitsu. Kyūryūdō, Tōkyō 1977.
• Yukiguni. Ryūseikaku, Tōkyō 1942.
• Soan shunju. Ryūseikaku, Tōkyō 1943.
• Kansohana. Natsukusa Hakkōjo, Musashino 1968.

A diary was translated into German as part of a master's thesis:

• Berlin in the spring of 1937. Diary. April 1–9. June . Translated from the Japanese by Tanja Schwanhäuser. Mori-Ôgai-Memorial of the Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Berlin 2002 (small series, issue 21).

Web links

• Yamaguchi Seison - Residential House (Japanese)
• Literature by and about Yamaguchi Seison in the catalog of the German National Library

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Yamaguchi is the family name, Seison the first name.