Sound-meaning relations in Japanese Tanka

This study aimed to test sound-meaning relations in Japanese poetry. To this end, participants assessed the sentiments expressed in a random selection of Tanka (a specific form of Japanese poetry) on six bipolar scales comprising Evaluation (emotional valence), Potency (dominance), and Activity (arousal). The selected Tanka differed with regard to their average formant-dispersion (i.e., the distance between the first and second formant). Corroborating results of a previous study that tested the relation between formant dispersion and emotional tone in German poetry, results suggest that poems with an extremely low average formant dispersion have a significantly higher likelihood of expressing dominance and activity than poems with an extremely high formant dispersion. No significant differences regarding the Evaluation dimension were found.

Japanese sound-symbolic words in global contexts: from translation to hybridization

This paper explores the global reception and development of the artistic expression of onomatopoeia and mimetic words in modern and contemporary Japanese literary texts adopting the method of comparative literature. By analyzing sound-symbolic words and their translations in modern Japanese poetry and contemporary comics, the intercultural dialogues of these texts are examined and the emergence of hybrid onomatopoeia in global comic works is illuminated. The Japanese language is often noted for its richness of sound-symbolic words. In the literary world, modern poetry adopted and elaborated the use of these words from the late 19th century in its quest for a new style of poetry. In the early 20th century, poets developed the artistic expression of sound-symbolic words and succeeded in giving musicality to the “new-style poem”. However, the translation of Japanese sound-symbolic words has always been problematic. Experimental uses of these words in modern poems were often untranslatable, making the translations incomprehensible or dull. Nevertheless, graphic narratives and their worldwide distribution changed that situation. Japanese comics (manga) has particularly developed the artistic expression of sound-symbolic words. Usually placed outside speech balloons, these words are elaborately depicted and are important elements of the panel/page layout. Notably, the global popularity of the genre developed a new phase of intercultural dialogue. As not every word has an equivalent or is translatable in the target language, translators have left sound-symbolic words untouched in the translated versions, putting translation aside. Thus, the combination of Japanese and the target language seems to influence the visual comprehension of sound effects among the readers. Through the examinations of some cases, this paper brings to light the emergence of some hybrid onomatopoeia and reveals that the “Third Space” formed by the translation and hybridization of manga is a dynamic field that creates a new culture.

Juan Kruz Igerabideren haur poesia: Botoi bat bezala (1999). Irudia eta Haikua

In this article, we reviewed the book Botoi bat bezala by Juan Kruz Igerabide. After placing it in its historical context, the study examines the relation it holds with Japanese poetry. The primary objective of this article is to examine the importance of Haiku on the poetry of Igerabide. To achieve this objective, different elements of haiku have been mentioned as well as placed how appeared in the bokk: kigo, atarashimi, toriawase, ellipsis, interactions in farewell or in conversation and the inter-cooperation on the moment of the creation. As secondary objective the importance of image is also mentioned, as well as the understanding of the act of giving birth and death from the point of view of a child. Finally, we have specially considered the structure of the themes across the book.

Globalization of Tanka: How Twitter Contributes to Development of Traditional Japanese Poetry

Tanka poems are a representative type of classical Japanese poetry with a long history. Beginning as Waka, which were widely composed starting in the 7th century, today they continue to be produced by people of diverse backgrounds while retaining their ancient characteristics. In other words, tanka poems can be regarded as a valuable part of Japanese cultural heritage that are loved and enjoyed in contemporary Japan. My paper focuses on the current state of modern tanka and the significance of tanka in contemporary society. In the processes of globalization, the Internet (for example, Twitter and other social media) is becoming the main platform for creating and reading modern tanka. Twitter, in particular, has become the largest such forum and features tanka from all over the world. And more, there are some poets who use Twitter as their main place of work. A similar phenomenon is seen in other social media, and it can be said that social media has had a great impact on modern tanka. The main conclusion of my paper is that social media has become a global tool for tanka which has been passed as a tradition shaped over centuries from one generation to another. As a result, the traditional framework of social exclusiveness of this poetic genre from ancient times has been removed, leaving an environment where people of any social status can easily create and read tanka and join the tanka community. In other words, because of the impact of social media, the tanka community today has become a melting pot of a wide variety of people, with poets now coming from very different backgrounds. This indicates that tanka’s character as an aspect of Japan’s cultural heritage is changing, especially among young generations who use social media in their daily life, while still retaining some of its traditional attributes. Tanka is an important genre in Japanese literature, itself a core element of Japanese culture, while possessing, at the same time, the potential to be shared all over the world. Therefore, research on tanka on a global scale offers a potentially significant contribution to Japanese studies.

Chūya Nakahara jako twórca japońskiego sonetu: perspektywy przekładu

Chūya Nakahara as the author of Japanese sonnet: Translation perspectives This article offers a reflection – against the historical and literary background of the epoch – on Chūya Nakahara’s work (1907–1937), who was the precursor of the Japanese syllabicaccentual verse (particular of the sonnet). Comparative analysis of his poem Mata kon haru (Spring comes again) and its Polish translation (included in the only Polish anthology of contemporary Japanese poetry entitled Cherries bloomed in winter) aims at shedding light on how difficult was the adaptation of the sonnet to the Japanese language. The OJAD (Online Japanese Accent Dictionary) service seems to offer a new promise for the research practice, proving that the intonation cadence may be treated similarly as feet in the poetry written in European languages.

The concept of a bullfight in the painting cycle «Ole!» by Les Podervianskyi

The review of Les Podervianskyi’s exhibition “Ole!”, which was presented at the Dymchuk Gallery in Kyiv in autumn 2021, focuses on the concept of bullfighting as a universal artistic plot. Many artists of different generations, including such eminent as P. Picasso or F. Goya, have repeatedly reproduced the bullfight, as a phenomenon of Spanish culture, in their artworks. Recently, some contemporary Ukrainian artists have turned to the symbolism and aesthetics of this Spanish plot, which is evidenced by the appearance of thematic exhibitions, including “Ole!” The text considers the phenomenon of L. Podervianskyi’s personality as an artist in the context of the history of contemporary Ukrainian art. It analyzed the variations of interpretations of torero and bull images from the standpoint of bullfighting philosophy, which allows us to comprehend the metaphorical depiction of the Spanish traditional battle in painting. The presented series of paintings is considered from different angles: 1) color and compositional solution; 2) the matador and the bull as multi-valued symbols of the universal plot; 3) the system of the exhibition project in the gallery space. One of the highlights is on the connection between text and image, in particular in the combination of the title and the image itself. Separately, it is covered the topic of Japanese culture, which is one of the central ones in L. Podervianskyi’s work: similar features in the construction of Japanese poetry and compositional techniques in painting are analyzed; the interchangeability of the use of bullfighting and kung fu plots as an artistic technique is explained. Mixing and layering the Ukrainian experience of the artist, images of the bullfighter and the bull and Japanese traditions creates a new system in the artistic dimension, in which the confrontation between the individual and the external world and the inner self becomes the central point.

Japanese voices in Zenit: Daigaku Horiguchi

This paper analyses the essay entitled "The Word as a Principle" by Yvan Goll (1891-1950), published in Zenit (Issue 9, November 1921), which shows the non European tendency of Avant-garde poetics. In his text, Goll emphasises the need to create a new form of poetry quoting the verses of the Japanese poet Daigaku Horiguchi (1892-1981), one of the most important Japanese poets and translators of the last century. As the son of a distinguished diplomat, a rare bilingual poet among the Japanese at the time, he published poems in French and Japanese. After reviewing research on Zenit conducted in Japan so far, the first part of this paper determines the original text of the mentioned poem. In December 1921, Horiguchi published in Paris his first collection of Tankas in French. The foreword to it was written by the famous French poet Paul Fort (1872-1960). Goll, however, did not take it from there, but from the manuscript of his anthology Les Cinq Continents, which was published in Paris in 1922. The chosen song by Horiguchi is not traditional, but shows a new poetic spirit. Although it was written in five lines, which is reminiscent of the tanka form (5; 7; 5; 7; 7), the poet introduced a new topic: how the Japanese feel in a foreign country. In order to clarify the nature of Goll's connection with Horiguchi, a detailed description of Horiguchi's life is given, focusing on his stay abroad from 1911 to 1925. It can be seen from his biography that the meeting with the French painter Marie Laurencin (1883-1956) in Madrid in 1915 marked Horiguchi's poetic turn: his interest shifted from the poetics of symbolism to the Avant-garde, as the painter introduced him to Guillaume Apollinaire's (1880-1918) poetry. After staying in foreign countries (Mexico, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Brazil and Romania), when he returned to Japan in 1925, Horiguchi published the Crowd under the Moon anthology, which contains translations of French songs from Parnassians to Avant-garde poets, including Yvan Goll. Although no traces of their connection can be established, it is clear that they both felt poetically related and close, with mutual respect. Finally, Goll's understanding of Japanese poetry in the context of Avant-garde poetics is considered in comparison with Miloš Crnjanski's essay entitled "For Free Verse" (1922), which also mentions Japanese poetry. While Goll emphasises the simplicity and conciseness of Japanese poetry, Crnjanski points to the improvisation as its significant feature. While Goll is searching for new poetry that is in line with living fast in the high-tech society, Crnjanski sees the everlasting connection of man with nature, which Japanese poetry is all about.