One Man's Maple Moon: Hill Tanka by Fumiko Nakajo

English Original

that hill
shaped like the breast

I have lost
will be adorned
with dead flowers in winter

Breasts of Snow, 2004

Fumiko Nakajo


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

那座山丘
它的形狀像是我已切除
的乳房
在冬天枯萎的花朵
將會遍佈整座山丘

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

那座山丘
它的形状像是我已切除
的乳房
在冬天枯萎的花朵
将会遍布整座山丘


Bio Sketch

Fumiko Nakajo (中城ふみ子, 1922-54) was a strong-willed woman who lived a tragic life. She died from breast cancer at the age of 32, just few months after her first collection of 50 tanka, titled Chibusa Soshitsu (The Loss of Breasts), won the first prize in a nationwide contest sponsored by a major magazine. She is, though almost unknown outside of Japan, considered to be the third in the three most famous Japanese female poets in the last century, right up there with Akiko Yosano and Machi Tawara.