PANDORA VII is the seventh issue of the Pandora series, and one of the intentions or purposes for the publication is, to cross over the Japanese own cliches, as well as to deliver to express out, our own originality and native-ness, which is now most international, we might think. The contents have a variety, which includes haiku, tanka, free verse, essays, photos, members’ personal news or information, and lastly, haibun with photos, which, I think, is most unique in the present panorama of the Contemporary Japanese poetry. The participants of the present issue are: Scott Watson, who has been engaged in Satoka’s English translation, and a free verse and haibun poet, Edward Levinson, who is also a photographer and a poet, including Japanese and English haiku and haibun, Uwe Walter in Kyoto, originally from Germany, who presented a short poetic essay, Preety Sengpta, from India, who now lives in USA. From Korea, we have Young Hoon Kim, who is also a member of UPLI/ WCP, and Yoo Hangyu.
From Japan side, Sai Ryugen, Shoji Maehara, Haruo Fujita, Shigeo Yanase, Shoji Iwai, Yoichi Sasaki, Tsuta Ichikawa, Reiko Ichihara, Masumi Nagai, Teiichi Yosida, Keiitiro Fujitani, Yumiko Yamamoto, Akihide Nakao, Shizue Shida, Nachiko Watanabe, Jun Hataraki, Naoshi Koriyama, Taro Kishimot, Sonoko Yasumori, Yoriko Niiya, and Noriko Mizusaki. We collected most representative and excellent contemporary Japanese poets.
Noriko Mizusaki
Born in Tokyo. She is a translator, essayist, haiku & tanka poet. She graduated from the First Faculty of Literature of Waseda Uiversity, and finished the Graduate Courses. She stayed and lived in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with her family, for one year. She attended the English Conversation Class for Wives at MIT and attended the graduate class of Shakespeare seminar in Harvard University. She has had not a few travels with her husband, to UK, Canada, Germany, Netherland, Denmark, Greece, China, Korea, etc. Later she came to attend alone, not a few poetry festivals or art fairs in Euro countries, like Macednia, Brasbakia, Paris, Germany, and Italy, as well as in Asian countries, like Nepal, India, China, Korea, Singapore, including places throughout Japan, like Okinawa, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, Sendai, Aomori, Asahikawa, and others. She also tried to engage herself in the cultural exchange between Japan & other countries overseas.
Bringing up two children, she had been engaged in teaching English and poetry to young Japanese students: she worked a one-year contract lecturer in the second Literature Faculty, teaching English and dramas, first, in Waseda University for two years. Then, she worked at Komazawa University in Tokyo, till her retiring age. Now she is a freelance.
Her Translation works: Eavan Boland “From In the Time of Violence” (2015, Book Way), Five English & American Poets (revised, 2018, Book Way)
Co-author, Japanese-English works: Kazue Shinkawa & Noriko Mizusaki “From Aunties to Children/ A Gift of A Bouquet of Poems” (2018, Book Way), Kazuko Shiraishi & Noriko Mizusaki “From Aunties to Children/ A Gift of Singing Poems (2021, Book Way)
Essay with Japanese Translation: Seamus Heaney “ Seamus Heaney On His Poetry & On His Talks / The Force of Father & The Force of Soil (2011, Mizuyama Sangyo Publisher. Revised E-book, Oikaze Bookstore)
Collected Tanka in Japanese: “A Long Night,” “Love Songs”
Poetry Books in Japanese: “The Asian Wind,” “In Front of A Goya’s Picture,” and “Swing of Love”
Memberships: American Literary Translators Association, United Poets Laureate International/ WCP, Japan Pen Club, POV California Zoom, PANDORA Group
Awards: UPLI/WCP in Osaka The Gold Crown for Women’s Letters, BESETO Achievements for Peace Diploma (from Beijing, Seoul, and Tokyo/ Peace & Art Congress of Mayors of Three Cities), Michael Madhusdan Gold Award (from India, Kolkata). Oki Islands for Emperor Gotoba Memorial Waka Prize.
