Works by Heart Mountain Tanka Association
Selected by: Takayanagi Shasui
Translated by: Marié Abe
Published in: Tanka Volume 1
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NOVEMBER COLLECTION
Nose Noboru, Block 15
Awakened late in the middle of the night
By the ringing bells—fire!
Announcing the fire in our cafeteria
Screams late in the middle of the night
Urgently alerting to the fire in the cafeteria
Flames flick high
As if to consume everything
Like a crazed tongue of a monstrous snake
Grandchildren, born one after another
finding joy in aging
I am envious of you
Koike Daijirō, Block 20
Standing in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
I am reminded of my smallness
Autumnal rain
Waking up in the middle of the night
Unable to sleep, thinking about my traveling child
My son’s body is becoming more muscular
He looks manly in the military uniform
On this sunny autumn day
Tanahashi Sōji, Block 2
Walking home on this moonless night
The path is bright
From the faint glow of the white snow
Wartime
In the darkness at 7AM
Voices of the people already on their way to work
Evening clouds
Sweeping across Heart Mountain
I quietly wish I had the talent to draw
Okada Keisui, Block 1
Reading the poetry column in the newspaper
Unmistakably, a name I recognize
Miho Shūsaku
Radio this evening
Finally reporting on the Balkan crisis
A hurried voice
The war is progressing
I, at an old age, simply wait
For the ship1 to come get me
Okada Fumie,† Block 1
The youths who were sent away to the isolation center2
All departed in good spirits
With a smile on their lips
Telling myself not to indulge in luxury
I arrive at the canteen
I’m already buying things
White snow
Atop the overlapping magnificent Rockies
Finally, the cold winter has come
Uchida Shizuka, Block 14
Winter is coming to Heart Mountain
Five thousand feet above sea level
Caring for my body, I try to survive
Everything on the ground in Wyoming
Completely covered in white
Desolate winter
Daybreak at the Relocation Center
Upon awakening, thinking
About the dawn of the world to come
Sharing with God each and every thought of mine
My heart lightened
I eat breakfast
Oana Min, Block 29
Eagerly moving about amidst blossoming flowers
One strong bee
Resembling an armored samurai
Gone with the wind, disappearing into somewhere
Roll and roll, with no destination
A tumbling weed
Hesitating to cut with scissors
The knot, tied with so much affection
I untie it instead
A package from my daughter
Fukuzawa Yōko, Block 2
Morning clouds
Now a clear sky
Train window
That must be Heart Mountain in the distance
I had always wanted to see
Heart Mountain
Then suddenly, it appeared between the morning clouds
Looking up, seeing for the first time
Heart Mountain
Standing tall, as if to protect
The lives of the ten thousands of us compatriots
After coming far from Tule Lake
Warm kindness of compatriots
Deeply touches my heart3
Tomita Yukari,† Block 9
At last, leaving Tule Lake today
I may never see Castle Rock again4
The mountains and rivers remain the same
When might these tens of thousands of compatriots return again?
The look of the mountains, the flow of the rivers
Hearing about them on the train
Made me tear up with nostalgia
Compatriots’ war tragedies
Quietly kept in Missoula
Still in the morning mist
Fukaya Yuriko,* Block 20
How dreary the destiny
I have come to live here today
In the wild desert of Heart Mountain
It has been a while since I arrived from afar
Noticeable changes in the appearance
Of the overlapping mountains
It is only fitting
That all the compatriots live austerely in the Relocation Center
In a wild desert guarded by a bald mountain
Yamadera Tatsuko, Block 21
Harvest is mostly done at any rate
Autumn of the trial year is coming to an end5
Filling up the cellar with the harvest
We have prepared ourselves
For the long winter at the Relocation Center
Departing early, frosty morning at the farm
Difficult to reap frozen crops
Making fire on the footpath between the fields
Kizu Yasu, Block 1
Smoke of burned sage
Drapes around the willow branches
By the river where I wash my hands
“Why did we come here?” my small child asked
“Drop it,” I hushed him.
His face comes closer to mine
Leaving the Relocation Center
Intriguing sound of the small gravel pelting against the tires6
As we drive down the road
The atmosphere darkens at the meeting, as clouds gather
But with the recording of manzai by Sutemaru, we laugh7
Matsumoto Gennosuke, Block 29
Autumn at its peak
I work the field with a hoe in the morning
Hitting a stone, it makes a chilling sound
In the northern country
Frost comes early.
Some of my favorite flowers grow indoors
The wind has stopped
Afternoon with the warm sun
The snow on the mountain glows faint purple
Nomura Yoshio,* Block 14
I fought through the wind and snow
To finally advance to the next level
At the Center’s sewing school
Two weeks have passed since my child has fallen ill
Autumn evening, doing laundry
Chillingly cold water
Wars never cease in human history
I ponder the tragic aftermath
The state of the world
Kimura Musei, Block 20
Heart Mountain
The overnight snow storm has come to an end
Bracingly fresh snow of the Great Rockies
Making nests in the barrack
In the middle of the desert around Heart Mountain
Poor baby sparrows
It has been two years since I ate tuna sashimi
So scrumptious,
I feel like I am gaining weight even as I eat
Kōno Chikata, Block 28
After missing them for so long,
Friends from Tule Lake arrive
We all merrily gather, day and night
Yokogawa Tsukumo,† Block 6
With all my might
Piling bean husks with a pitchfork
Into a mountain higher than the roof
Leaving the Relocation Center for the first time
I wander the late autumn streets of Powell alone
Watching horses, cows, and pigs
Getting along inside the fence
Makes me wonder why humans fight8
Matsumoto Tomiko, Block 29
Refreshing morning bath
I cleanse pure my heart and body
Cool morning breeze in the room
Happy to be brushing my freshly washed hair
Three poetry friends
Hearing that they lived in Seattle, where I once lived
I’m filled with nostalgic memories
Morioka Matsui, Block 20
Fenced in, my heart is withering
It is only the strength of God
That drives me to persevere
Even in the small yard of our barrack
The fragrance of the colorful dahlias is enchanting
Jutting through
The colorful sunset clouds
Like a masterpiece
Heart Mountain
Yamamoto Tamotsu, Block 2
In the middle of the endless path of learning
I discovered my humble thoughts9
Maruse Hamako, Block 5
After the world’s difficulties have been smoothed out
Spring shall come
I cannot wait to return to kabuki
My teacher points to my aging
But I would love to perform again
Yuki no urazato10
Hearing of my teacher’s grave illness
I march forth straight through the snowstorm
Aoyama Yōko,* Block 24
Lightning in the distance
Pierces through the black clouds
Illuminating the dusk of the summer desert
Crescent moon,11 sliding
Through the feather-shaped clouds
Sinks behind the snowy Rockies
Floating through the dried-up sage bush
An ear of grass
The clear autumn sky in the mountains
I wrote of the cold wind blowing down from the mountains
The reply letter wrote of
The annoyance of dusty air in Chicago
Tsunokai Minokichi, Block 20
My friend drew camellias, inviting me
To write a tanka to accompany the art12
I picked up again and wipe off
A stone that I had once discarded
I smiled, realizing that
I could see light through it when I looked closely
Ogawa Yūyū, Block 24
This morning
I hike through the thick mountain fog
The sound of a magnificent waterfall
Resounds throughout the valley
Matsuo Jurō, Block 20
Thinking quietly of my parents
I resolve to visit their graves
When there is peace again
Bright morning sky of Heart Mountain
Smoke from the stoves wafts up into the air
Winter has come
Miyake Sumiko, Block 1
A little more than a month has already passed
Since I have resolved to write a poem a day
But I’ve only thought about it
Deep red of the ivy leaves
Against the freshly painted white walls of a gas station:
Beautiful
To the south, then back to north again
Simply following military orders
Once again, autumn has arrived
Toyotome Taka,† Block 9
I don’t know where I will be living in the future
At Heart Mountain
I collect sweet pea seeds
A biting winter wind blows through
There is not a single tree to shed leaves
At Heart Mountain
Hearing stories from the youth
Who are headed to the isolation center13
They seem to be enjoying traveling on the train
Funakoshi Mokichi, Block 23
Climbing up the extremely steep hill
I look up
Standing in front of me,
The high peak of Heart Mountain
Looking straight down
The bottomless cliff
Only a mere mortal, (14)
I stood petrified
Ebihara Naoko, Block 20
For my child
Who works and learns diligently
I wake up early and start the stove fire
It’s autumn; the strong winds have gone away
Glowing above the Heart Mountain this evening
The refreshing moon
Yokota Gosaku, Block 27
I am lonely to be left behind
At the Relocation Center
When I think about you
Going back on the exchange boat15
Drinking tea
Made with the snow water from the Rockies
I write tanka
Hashizume Shinjin,* Block 28
The biggest snow in a while this morning
Cheerful voices
Of the happy and excited children
Kōzaki Kametarō,* Block 20
Watching the smiling faces of people
Eating the dishes I have cooked
Fills me with pride
Finishing my shift at cafeteria without a hitch
I’m excited to be going to the night school
—Nisei Section—
Hattori Satsuko, Block 20
Considering
That children are reflections of their parents
I reflect on my own habits
Iwamuro Yoshiaki, Block 14
The grand scenery of the rocky mountains
Frequently appearing
I am busy shuttling people back and forth16
Shoshone Road17
Bears resemblance to
The holy city of Palestine
The Great Wall of China
Thinking of the passion
With which Van Gogh painted you like flames
Sunflowers
Facing the sun, standing still
I hope to be like you
Sunflowers
Autumn has come to Yellowstone
The sound of the rain
Falling on the raked fallen pine needles
Hashitsume Fujiko, Block 28
A stomped flower on the street
Even as it is stepped on,
It’s quietly bearing a fruit
Quiet of the night
Leaning on the window
I’m worried about
The troubles, hard to wipe them away
Early morning
Watching the snow from the cafeteria window
I think of my hometown
I can’t forget
my sister’s face
As I last saw it through the window
Of a train leaving for Tule Lake
Uchida Kimiko, Block 21
Before I can put it into words
A sadness that
Cannot be contained
Fills my heart
Fresh, moist soil of the morning
I tread along with my best friend
Last night’s autumn rain
Washed away the dust
Of the vegetables in the fields, leaving them fresh
Clear starlight at dawn
On the ground
White, I mistook for snow
The first frost
Hattori Naoyuki†
Out of care for my pregnant wife
I board up the north window of the barrack
Preparing for winter
Writing a report in English
I blame myself
For not having studied enough when young
New club members are like
Like a neighbor’s cat:
They start on their best behavior
But eventually, gradually reveal their claws
Takayanagi Shasui
Troubles at Tule Lake
No way to know the details—
How are Chine, Hiroshi, and Aiko doing?
Inside the iron fence
Rumors abound night and day
How quickly they spread,
Embellished and exaggerated
Trifling with the nations of the world
As if upon the cutting board18
The great power of Time
Seems to give a wry smile
1 Likely a reference to the prisoner exchange ships; Japanese Americans (especially Issei) were often pressured to volunteer to be deported to Japan as part of prisoner exchanges
2 隔離所 Isolation or segregation center. These were places where people who were deemed disloyal or troublemakers were sent. It often refers to Tule Lake, since that’s where those people were ultimately sent.
3 The subject of this poem is not explicit, but from the context and especially based on other poems, Fukuzawa seems to have arrived from Tule Lake to Heart Mountain.
4 Castle Rock is a 800-foot bluff in Tule Lake.
5 It seems to refer to the first year of growing vegetables at the camp.
6 The sound is described asともしき—although it more commonly means poor, an ancient use of this adjective (in the Man’yōshū) describes something attractive, enjoyable. From the context, I went with the latter.
7 Manzai is a standup comedy involving two performers, rooted in traditional itinerant folkloric practice. Sunagawa Sutemaru (1890-1971) was a popular comedian from Osaka.
8 Seems to be referring to conflicts within the Center.
9 Self-deprecating expression to refer to the smallness of oneself and feelings, but here I chose “humble” instead of direct translation “poor self.”
10 Literally a “snowy village by the sea,” it’s a traditional theater piece.
11 Technically, this poem is about the moon that is five days after the new moon.
12 Here, the word san refers to the convention of writing a poem alongside a drawing. I find this to be a humorous poem, of writing a poem about being asked to write it instead of simply writing the poem.
13 隔離所 isolation or segregation center. These were places where people who were deemed disloyal or troublemakers were sent. It often refers to Tule Lake, since that’s where those people were ultimately sent.
14 Literally a human of this world, in implied contrast to a mountain hermit or otherworldly being
15 Likely a reference to the prisoner exchange ships; Japanese Americans (especially Issei) were often pressured to volunteer to be deported to Japan as part of prisoner exchanges
16 Context is unclear, but I deduced that the author might be a bus driver (implied in the word 送迎)—referring to the grand scenery that appears at every turn on a windy mountain road
17 There is no verifiable record of a road by this name, but there is a Shoshone River in the area.
18 Literally it says “putting countries on a cutting board”—evoking the metaphysical greatness of time that plays with the fate of countries at war. I chose “trifling with” to get at the feeling of this.
About the Heart Mountain Bungei
What is the Heart Mountain Bungei? Learn about the story behind the poetry and prose of the collection, and the process of translating and interpreting the Bungei.