This Translation Tuesday, we deliver distinctive poetry from Hagiwara Sakutaro. In simple, colloquial free verse, sensitively preserved by translator John Newton Webb, Death of a frog and Sad moonlight capture the ominous tonality and unsettling imagery that pervade this singular writer’s repertoire. Tread forward for an introduction to Sakutaro’s dark world then turn back for an insightful special feature from the Spring 2014 issue.

Death of a frog

A frog was killed,
the children circled round and raised their hands,
all of them together,
they raised their adorable,
blood-caked hands,
the moon came out;
a person is standing on the top of a hill.
Under his hat, a face. READ MORE…