This page features the original Japanese texts of various poems.
Wherever possible, the works are faithfully reproduced based on their first editions or original publications, preserving historical kana usage, classical characters, and only the ruby annotations that appear in the source material.
If a poet has published poetry collections, the poems are grouped accordingly, and a table of contents is provided for easy navigation.
Note:
The primary reference is the National Diet Library Digital Collections. Minor editorial adjustments have been made where necessary to ensure consistency in formatting and presentation.
These texts are presented in vertical Japanese writing, as in their original form.
On some devices, you may need to scroll horizontally to the left to view the full content properly.
Chūya Nakahara
Yagi no Uta
山羊の歌／中原中也
“Yagi no Uta” (Songs of the Goat), first published in 1934 (Shōwa 9), is the only poetry collection released during Chuya Nakahara’s lifetime. It compiles 44 poems written between 1924 (Taishō 13) and 1930 (Shōwa 5). These works often express the fatigue of life—the longing for love and the sorrow of its loss—through techniques drawn from Dadaism and Symbolism.
Arishi Hino Uta
在りし日の歌／中原中也
Songs of Bygone Days is a poetry collection personally curated by Chūya Nakahara and published in April 1938, after his sudden death in October 1937. He completed the editing before passing and entrusted the manuscript to his friend Hideo Kobayashi. The book comprises two parts: Songs of Bygone Days (42 poems) and The Autumn of Farewell (16 poems).
Hakushū Kitahara
The Heretical Gate
邪宗門／北原白秋
The Heretical Gate (Jashūmon) is a poetry collection by Hakushū Kitahara, first published in 1909. Drawing on Christian and “heretical” imagery alongside exotic and decadent themes, it marked Kitahara’s groundbreaking debut and became a cornerstone of modern Japanese poetry. Its bold treatment of taboo subjects and vivid, symbolist-inspired verse established him as one of the leading poets of his generation.
Akiko Yosano
Complete Poems of Akiko Yosano
晶子詩篇全集／与謝野晶子
“Akiko Shihen Zenshu” is a self‑selected collection of Yosano Akiko’s free verse and other poetry, first published by Jitsugyo no Nihonsha in January 1929. Bringing together works from the Meiji, Taisho, and early Showa eras, the 309‑page volume presents many of her most emblematic poems, including anti‑war pieces such as “Kimi shinitamou koto nakare,” and highlights her experiments with modern poetic form and a distinctly individual, often feminist sensibility. Dedicated to Minobe Tamiko and prefaced by Akiko herself, the book serves both as a retrospective of her poetic career to that point and as an authoritative text that later editions and digital versions have used as their base.