道程 Of Kotaro Takamura

僕の前に道はない

僕の後ろに道はできる

ああ、自然よ

父よ

僕を一人立ちにさせた広大な父よ

僕から目を離さないで守ることをせよ

常に父の気魄を僕に充たせよ

この遠い道程のため

この遠い道程のため

Before me, no road,
Behind me, a road,
O, nature
Father,
Spacious father who made me to stand on my own,
Do not lose sight of me, protect me.
Fill me always be a fatherly spirit,
For this long jorney,
For this long jorney.


The above is a poetry written by Kotaro Takamura. Actually I am looking for his well known poem, The Chieko poems.Will buy it if I manage to get it from a recycle bookshop.

The poems in this volume, however, are touching portraits of his wife and his life together from the time of their courtship until some years after her death. Their subjects are some of the greatest in literature: love, isolation, loss, and nature, as well as the relationship of the individual to society and the natural world.

Chieko sits in the sand and plays.
Countless friends call her name:
Chi, chi, chi, chi, chi...
Leaving tiny footprints in the sand,
Plovers come to gather round Chieko.
Mumbling away to herself,
Chieko beckons them with her hands.
Chieko Plays With Plovers

Introduction Of KOTARO TAKAMURA高村光太郎

Kotaro Takamura , 1883-1956, Japanese poet and sculptor. After studying art in France, where he was profoundly influenced by Rodin, Takamura devoted his career to applying Western aesthetics to Japanese poetry and sculpture. Takamura's poetry, almost all in free verse, underwent many changes. His early decadent style later shifted to one of simplicity and direct expression. Perhaps regretting the militaristic literary stance he assumed during World War II, Takamura retired from public life after the war. Takamura is best known for his series of poignant poems written about his wife Chieko, whom he watched slowly descend into madness.