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Yet Another Poem
The joy of buying things for women.
More than a hundred virtuous acts, humane deeds,
more than the lofty spirit, and art,
the happiness of giving gifts to women.

Rejecting everybody (1) and penniless,
putting up with an empty stomach and bedbugs,
getting senile for the rest of it, 
I may sleep in a cabin at ship's bottom,

but in nightly dreams and memories,
I’ll watch the purchases I gave women
ascend to heaven, to the blue sky
where drifting clouds are light, transient.

Fabrics with various designs, cheap perfumes.
Rings, fake pearls, from street booths.
Dolls, parasols, chocolate,
all, all, go to paradise. Floreat(2).
© 1952, Mitsuharu Kaneko
From: Ningen no higeki (Human tragedy)
Publisher: Sogensha, Tokyo, 1952
 
 
 
 
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© Translation: 2008, Hiroaki Sato. Please note that editorial changes made to this translation have not yet been approved by the translator.

Translator's Note: (1) In the original poem, the Japanese for “rejecting everybody” is shichiri keppai [kekkai], which is a term, a mantra, in esoteric Buddhism that means creating one’s own sphere by surrounding oneself with fences to repel evil spirits. This came to be equated with misanthropy. 2 May [they] flourish.