Thayer:
Scofield
Thayer, editor of The Dial.
Ezra-Pound-Japan-Letters-essays
the most fruitful experiments with lan- guage are likely to continue to emerge from those who concern themselves with images and their relations.
.
.
.
Nothing more novel and exciting has been done
lately, along these lines, than by the poets of the Japanese VOU group. Criterion, vol. XVIII (January, 1939), pp. 397.
73
. "
Charles Henri Ford; American avant garde poet (1910-? ); author of numerous books of poetry, editor of Blues (1929- ) and View (1940- ). Ford's The Garden of Disorder and Other Poems (European Press, 1938) was reviewed by Kitasono in VOU no. 26 (April 26, 1939), pp. 17-8; Kitasono also translated into Japanese W. C. Williams' "Preface" to the book and Ford's note on international chain poems.
Chain poem: Charles Henri Ford was also a contributor, along with Kitasono, to the chain poem printed in New Directions 1940, together with his introductory "How to Write a Chainpoem. "
74
ALL theNoh pJaysought to be/iJmed; in a later letter (31 October 1939) to Iris Barry, curator of the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Pound wrote:
Dear Iris
Cant remember everything all the time.
I forget whether the film of Noh Play, " AWOI NA UYE," that Shio Sakanishi had shown to me in Washington is from your collection.
In any case I am starting rumpus to get all the NOH filmed. Ought to be done SOON, otherwise all the IN and YO will get messed and some god damned Jap Wagner smeared over the whole business.
I wonder if you cd/ get the Museum to colly/bo/rate by putting in an order, either via Dr. Sakanishi (Congress Libr/) or direct to the
KOKUSAI BUNKA SHINKOKAI Meiji Seimei kan, Marunouchi, Tokyo
If you can write to them, merely say that Museum is interested in my proposal and that you wd. of course be ready to take copies of all films made with properly qualified Noh actors.
I hear that Shigefusa Hosho is good. Forget who did the Awoi, but it was a good show.
some of the phono discs do not seem to me very good.
Whether Fox can get Forschungsinst/ to place similar order, I mention matter to him.
I hope to be publishing a boost for the idea in Japan, shortly. and so forth.
dunno but do
. .
? 226 NOTES
A "Tong Kien Kang Mou" of Japan: A general history of Japan like T'ung chien kang mu, from which de Mailla translated into French his Histoire GeneraJe de Ja Chine, ou Annaies de cef Empire.
B^$. ^^-^J [AChronicleof Japanese Emperors], 4 vols. , edited by Nobuyoshi Fujiwara, covers the period
from Emperor Jimmu to Emperor Gotoba.
KJaproth: Heinrich Julius Klaproth (1783-1835), an Orientalist who taught Asian
history and geography in Paris, edited and translated the 1 834 edition of Nipon O Dai Itsi Ran, ou AnnaJes des Empereurs du Japan.
75
Mr. Moori; Yasotaro Mori ( <, -f ') ) \'Y ^&P ), editor of The Japan Times, and translator of Soseki Natsume's Botchan into English.
76
my latest and shortest book; Whiat Is Money For? [A46].
Rothschild: family that controlled an international banking firm; founder was
Meyer Amschelm Rothschild (17437-1812).
Sassoon: family that controlled a large trading firm in England; founder was David
Sassoon (1792-? ).
78
"poeta economista": "poet economist. "
my beloved young novelist: Maria Pound.
"Shinbu" "Miaco" . . . know: referring to Canto 58. The sources are de Mailla and
also Klaproth, tr. , Nipon O Dai Itsi Ran, ou AnnaJes des Empereurs du Japan (Paris, 1834), pp. xiv, and 399; see also John J. Nolde, Blossoms from the East: The China Cantos of Ezra Pound (Orono, Maine: National Poetry Foundation, 1983), pp. 323-26.
79
IgorMorkewitch: Igor Markevich (1912-83), Russian composer and conductor who stayed in Italy during World War II.
82
McN. Wilson: R. McNair Wilson, American historian; author of Promise to Pay, one of Pound's select texts on the truth of economics.
Kuhn Loeb and Co. : New York banking firm involved in international finance. De WendeJ: French family involved in international finance.
Vivaldi week in Siena: the Settimana musicaJe (September 16th to 21st) of the
Siena Academy, under the auspices of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, de- voted entirely to the music of Vivaldi, under the direction of Alfredo Casella; Olga Rudge and Pound greatly contributed to its inspiration and conception, and
Nipon O Dai itsi ran: Nippon Odai Ichiran (
? NOTES
'^'^'^
managed to interest Count Chigi in the project. This germinal event sparked the
renewal of interest in the music of Vivaldi witnessed in our century. See essay 4. Odon Por: Hungarian-Italian economist; author of VoWixco. economico-socmXe in \iQ\\(i anno XVII-XVIH, which Pound translated in 1941 : lioXy's PoJicy o/ Social
Economics \^2^n^AQ [A49].
Dr. Sakanishi: Shio Sakanishi ( t^tfi? ir''^\\ )? curator of the Japanese Section at
the Library of Congress. She showed Pound the film of No plays in the Library during the summer of 1939, which impressed him greatly. Shio Sakanishi, "An Uninvited Guest: Ezra Pound," Eigo Bungaku Sekai [ '^l^XJ^Ai^ 1 (November and December, 1972). See oXso note to letter 74.
83
[1899-1980]; Japanese poet, translator, and professor of English literature (1949-70). While teaching English at Waseda University (1935-70), translated many of W. B. Yeats' poems into Japanese; author of A Sixxdy of Modern Irish Literature (1956); W. B. Yeats; Man and his
Works (1958); and English Literature and Poetic Imagination (1972).
Poems; Among Shapes and Shadows: Shotaro Oshima's book of poems written in English, published by the Hokuseido Press, Tokyo, in 1939; 350 copies were printed, and the copy sent to Pound was no. 199. As Oshima wrote in the preface, "the majority of these poems were written during my stay in England, 1937-
1939. "
84
"Antonio Vivaldi": probably "Vocale o verbale," an account of the Vivaldi Week performances in Siena which appeared in Meridiano di Roma (November 26, 1939) [C1526]; there also appeared on November 25th "Risveglio Vivaldiano" in I] Mare [C1525].
Kuan Chia Tung: ? related to Chia Tung, author of Lays and Relays; Being Selections from the "Lays of Far Cathay" (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1894).
Marquis de Laplace: Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827), French mathematician and astronomer; author of Exposition du Systeme du Monde (1796).
85
the triangle: the Axis.
vou with yet again my phiz. : VOU no. 28 (December 1, 1939) contained a photo-
graphofPoundandKitasono'stranslationof"StatuesofGods"[Dl86], originally
published in Townsman, II, 7 (August 1939) [C1575].
Beard: Charles Beard, American historian; author of Economic Origins ofjefferso-
nian Democracy.
Woodward: William E. Woodward, American journalist and historian who was on
several advisory boards dealing with business and insurance during the Roosevelt administration; Pound sent him several items on economics to pass on
Shotaro Oshima: (
Jl, ^fLK. ^^
)
? 228 NOTES
to the president--which he never did. See selection of letter from Pound to
Woodward in Paideuma, vol. 15, no. 1 (Spring 1986), pp. 105-20.
Bowers: Claude G. Bowers, American historian and Ambassador to Spain (1938);
author of Jefferson and Hamilton and The Tragic Era.
OverhoJser; Willis A. Overholser, American economic historian; author of A Short
Review and Analysis of the History of Money in the United States (Libertyville,
IL: Progress Publishing Concern, 1936). Evviva Ja Poesia: Long live poetry!
epos; epic poetry.
87
Action: newspaper published in England by Sir Oswald Mosley.
British Union Quarterly; journal published by the Mosley Party; formerly the
Fascist Quarterly.
Social Creditor: published (beginning 1938) in Liverpool, England.
88
averyelegantvolume:Kitasono'sTheVioletsofFire( illustrated and designed by Seiji Togo.
^J^
c^ ^)[HinoSumire],
Japanese Dance all time overcoat: Michio Ito's remark to Pound, quoted in Canto 77.
a better article . . . than the J. T. interviewer: see Japan Times, November 26 and December 4, 1939.
Masaichi Tani: unidentified.
AinJey's face behind that mask: Ito made a comment to Pound on Ainley who
played the part of Cuchulain in Yeats' At the Hawk's Well in London in 1916: "He must be moving and twisting his face behind his mask. " The remark is quoted in Canto 77.
borrowing the old lady's cat: Ito asked Mrs. Tinkey if he could borrow her cat. But she "never believed he wanted her cat/ for mouse-chasing/ and not for oriental cuisine" (Canto 77).
Did you see the Hawk's Well? : The Ito family produced At the Hawk's Well in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their parents' wedding. Michio Ito trans- lated the play. Kisaku designed the masks and the stage. Hiroji composed the music, and designed the costumes. Osuke conducted the orchestra; Koreya Senda played the part of Cuchulain; Michio, the Old Man; Teiko (the wife of Hiroji), the Hawk. See Helen Caldwell, Michio Ito: the Dancer and his Dances (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977), Chapter II.
89
Miharu Tiba: Miharu Chiba (1903- ), Japanese dancer, dance scriptwriter, and music educator; author of Miharu's Textbook.
Seiji Togo: (1897-1978), Japanese painter, whose paintings are often phantasmal
? NOTES 229
and colorful. "A Woman with a Parasol" and "A Woman with Black. Muffler" are
among his well-known works,
her portrait painted by Mrs. Frost; "Mrs. Ruth Sterling Frost was an American lady
who rented Palazzo Contarini in Venice. She was also a painter and did a portrait (unfinished) of me. " (Mary de Rachewiltz in a note to the editor. )
91
pamphlet I am sending Iwado: What Is Money For? [A46]?
Por: Odon Por.
Dali: Salvador Dali, the surrealist painter.
The Little Review: edited by Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap (1917-24). "Agon" is later; T. S. Eliot's Sweeney Agonistes was published in 1932, hence
"later. "
Crevel; Ren6 Crevel (1900-35), French surrealist poet, novelist, and critic.
92
Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai; Society for Promoting International Cultural Exchange. Bauern/dhig; farming skill, capacity.
j|i . ^ ; chiin tzu, a true gentleman, a wise man.
94
Hoffmann's bulletin: News from Germany, ed. H. R. Hoffmann.
his side kick Kung/; unidentified.
Mencius: Meng-tse (371? -288? b. c); Chinese Confucian philosopher. Mencius held
that the duty of a ruler is to ensure the prosperous livelihood of his subjects, and that warfare be eschewed except for defense. If a ruler's conduct reduces his subjects to penury, then he must be deposed. Proposed specific reforms in landholding and other economic matters.
Avicenna; Ibn Sina (980-1037), Persian philosopher, theologian, physician, mathe- matician, linguist, and astronomer. Interpreted Aristotle in a neo-platonic light, held that the unity of Mind (or Nous) gave form to all that exists, and that the universe emanated from the divine Active Intellect.
Matsumiya; see note to letter 40.
K. Takashi Ito's British Empire and People: The book was originally written in
Japanese as Eiteikoku oyohi Eikokujin (1937) by Takashi Ito [ ^f '^ ^p^ J [1906- ], then an official of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Funk; Walter Funk, Nazi economist, appointed Minister of Economy in 1937. Miaco; Miyako literally means capital, and usually designates Kyoto in Japanese
history.
Willkie: Wendell Lewis Willkie (1892-1944), Republican nominee for President of
the U. S. in 1940. See "Willkie, the G. O. P. Hope," Japan Times, 12 August 1940.
? 230
NOTES
97
Ponder's Modern Poetry: unidentified.
Salon/dhig . . . La Quiete: SaJon/dhig means "to be fit to be in a salon," literary or
otherwise, to have polite manners, be educated; to have "savoir/aire. " La Quiete
is the name of Pound's daughter's school in Florence. Servant of the People article: unidentified.
VagJia; money order.
98
Fosco Maraini: (1912- ), Italian anthropologist and art historian. Associate professor at Hokkaido University (1938-41), lecturer at Kyoto University (1941- 45). Author of Meeting with Japan (1959); Japan: Patterns of Continuity (1971); and other works.
Matteo Ricci: Italian Jesuit missionary to China (1552-1610); had authentic respect for the Chinese classics and adopted the dress of the literati; became court mathematician and astronomer; due to his erudition and demeanor, the Chinese came to respect Christianity. Translated many Western works of science and mathematics into Chinese, as well as Christian texts. Sent back to Europe reports on China. Acted as cultural ambassador between these worlds and as proponent of a world culture.
Kung /u Tsu, Men-tsu; Confucius and Mencius.
99
P. Tyler: Parker Tyler, an American poet and editor.
Margaret Anderson: editor of the Little Review.
Thayer: Scofield Thayer, editor of The Dial.
Eddie and WaJJie: Edward VIII of England and Wallis Warfield Simpson (who came
from Baltimore).
Guarnieri: Antonio Guarnieri (1883-1952), Italian cellist, conductor, and com-
poser. He gave his first performances at Siena; also directed operas at Vienna, Milan, and other places in Europe. Pound heard him at the Venice Biennale in 1936.
Itoh's book: see note to Pound's letter to Kitasono, 25 August 1940. Ban Gumi: program; order of sequence of No plays.
Possum: T. S. Eliot.
Duncan: Ronald Duncan.
AngoJd: J. P. Angold.
Bunting: Basil Bunting.
Funk: Walter Funk, German Minister of Economy. Riccardi: Raffaello Riccardi, Italian Minister of Finance.
? NOTES
231
100
Gerarchia: [Hierarchy], journal published in Milan; founded by Mussolini. Di Marzio: Cornelio di Marzio, editor of II Meridiano di Roma.
my econ. Book: ABC of Economics [A34].
Tuan Szetsun: unidentified.
enclosure; unidentified; probably something on Itoh's British Empire and People.
101
two articles: Setsuo Uenoda, "Language Trouble," and Tatsuo Tsukui, "Japan's New Structure and Cultural Aspects," Japan Times WeekJy (October 17, 1940), pp. 229-30, 236--10, 242.
BashoandChikamatsu. Bash6Matsuo( 1^1^/%. ^^ ) [1644-94], a haiku poet. Monzaemon Chikamatsu ( it >f a. ^^ TL "l^ P^ ) [1653-1724], a kabuki and joruri playwright.
Tanakas: reference uncertain.
T. T. and S. 17. ; Tatsuo Tsukui and Setsuo Uenoda. lingua franca: common language.
103
L'OEOSCOPO DEL 5: "The horoscope of December 5--This Thursday lacks lunar configurations, it will be dominated by a magic aspect between the Sun and Jupiter which will favour good business, but we will have to watch expenses, especially if caused by the fair sex. " (Translated into English by Mary de Rache- wiltz. )
Li Ki; Chinese book of customs and rituals. Chiang KJCheker: supporter of Chiang Kai-shek.
104
Lahiri's book: Amar Lahiri, Japan Talks (Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press, 1940). RoppeitaKita:( ^|/t^-^^) [1874-1971],aNoplayerwhosucceededtothe
old name of the Kita School at 21. Author of Roppeita's Talks on Art (1942). Umewaka Minoru: Minoru Umewaka (1827-1909), a No player of the Kanze
School. Fenollosa took lessons from him.
Mushakoji: Saneatsu Mushakoji ( ^ /? yU ^% % K, ) [1885-1976], a Japanese
novelist and painter,
y. Yashiro:YukioYashiro( -^V^"^^g. ), authorofSandraBotticelli(London
and Boston: The Medici Society, 1925), 3 vols. (Only 630 copies were printed. ) Neue SachJichkeit; movement of self-proclaimed "sober objectivity. "
Frazier; Senator L. J. Frazier (Republican) of North Dakota. Pound corresponded with Frazier in 1936 about the possibility of compiling a "real text book" for the study of American history in the schools.
VoJpi; Giuseppe Volpi, Count di Misurata (1877-1947), Italian Minister of Finance (1925-29); translated The History of Fascism. He appears in Cantos 76/39, 80/87.
? 232
NOTES
105
y. Noguchi; Japanese poet and expert on wood-block prints [Ukiyo-e]; see letter 1. "the jew is underneath the lot": T. S. Eliot, "Burbank with a Baedeker: Bleistein
withaCigar,"1. 23.
Reese: Holroyd Reese, founder of Albatross Books (Hamburg-Paris-Bologna) and
purchaser of Tauchnitz Editions.
Bibliotecario: librarian.
Bernie Pshaw: George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950); saw Michio Ito dance at a
gathering at Lady Ottoline Morrell's home in 1918. 106
Maupassant: Guy de Maupassant. CaJdweJJ; Erskine Caldwell.
107
Gerhart Munch: German pianist, who along with Olga Rudge, violinist, "formed the nucleus of the Rapallo concerts. " The Amici del Tigullio sponsored the concerts. See R. Murray Schafer, Ezra Pound and Music (New York: New Directions, 1977), p. 322, and Canto 75.
108
/anequin: Clement Janequin (1472/75-1559/60), French musician; see Cantos 75 and 79.
San PantaJeo: a small church on the hillside of Sant'Ambrogio.
videt et urbes: "and he looks at the towns. "
Politico Economico-Sociale in Italia: Italy's Policy of Social Economics 1939/1940
[A49].
109
'>
Matsuoka: Yosuke Matsuoka ( ;fl; (S] i^j^;& ) [1880-1946], was appointed For- eign Minister of Japan in 1940, and concluded the Japan-Germany-Italy Tripar- tite Pact.
Guam: an island in the South-west Pacific; soon to become the scene of a bloody battle in World War II.
U. P. : United Press.
put it on the air: see "March Arrivals" (1941) in Ezra Pound Speaking.
110
Nott edtn/: [B36].
"Buona Pasqua": "Happy Easter. "
^^ -^4^^
HoshuSaitoandGadoOno:[
raphers who taught calligraphy in Japanese universities around the turn of the century.
), ( yj^ff' K|'|1 )- Japanese callig-
? NOTES 233
"hichbhow": The Fountain of the Highbrow, selected essays by Katue Kitasono. Mr. Eliot converting the Archbish. of York: (? ) reference to T. S. Eliot's broadcast in
the spring of 1941, "Towards a Christian Britain. "
113
Studio IntegraJe: Italian translation of Confucius' Ta Hsiieh (Ta S'eu; Ta Hio; Daigaku) by Ezra Pound and Alberto Luchini, published in 1942 [B461. Each page had the Chinese text with the Italian version below.
Mao's comment: Mao Shih Cheng Chien, a Confucian anthology of poetry edited with commentary by Mao.
S. Int. on the better paper: Some copies of the Studio Integrole were printed on a "better," thicker, and watermarked paper,
married: Mary Pound married Boris de Rachewiltz; their son is Siegfried Walter de Rachewiltz.
114
Loo, Mao: Probably Lao-tzu (the "originator" of Taoism) and Mao Shih Cheng Chien, but it is hard to guess the "interesting plan"; see Kitasono's letter to Dorothy Pound, 15 December 1948.
Je mange, done je suis: "I eat, therefore I am. " A parody of Descartes' dictum, ")e pense, done je suis" ("I think, therefore I am"). Shortage of food was extremely serious in Japan during the post-World War II period. [One form of Pound's stationery had also borne the motto: "j'aime, done je suis" ("I love, therefore I am")).
115
G. H. Q. : General Headquarters (of the Occupation Troops in Japan). D. D. Paige: editor of The Letters of Ezra Pound, 1907-1941 [A64].
116
The Rape of Lucretia: libretto by Ronald Duncan for music by Benjamin Britten, who was later to compose a group of No-inspired operas.
117
a charming duck: probably alluding to the phoenix myth and to the story of "The Ugly Duckling. " "Cendre" means ashes, cinders.
118
Four Pages: a little magazine published by Dallam Flynn, a member of Pound's circle at St. Elizabeths; see Eustace Mullins, This Difficuh Individual, p. 314. Sokolsky: George Ephraim Sokolsky (1893-1962), American journalist. In his col- umn, "These Days," which appeared in the New York Sun and some 300 news- papers during the 1940s and early 1950s, he crusaded against what he thought to
? 234 NOTES
be the growing menace of Communism. He was one of the visitors of Pound in
Washington, D. C. ; see Mullins, p. 315.
Marcos Fingerit: Argentine poet; author of Antna, 22 Poemas Contemporaneos
(Buenos Aires, 1929); Cancionero Secreto (La Plata, 1937); Ardiente Signo, con una nota Liminar de ]ose Luis Sanchez-Tricado (La Plata, 1940).
119
Kumasaka: a No play; see The Classic Noh Theatre of Japan, Part IL
Chinese poems: The first two lines written in Chinese are from Po Le-t'ien. The longer poem, according to Yasuo Fujitomi, is the Chinese translation of Kitaso- no's poem, "Dishes," by a Chinese friend of Kitasono. The original Japanese
poem, "Dishes," may be translated into English:
For supper dishes are spread like tree leaves
Rape blossoms fresh gingers and starworts
Every day ephemeral and delightful
Sound of the dishes sorrowful and hard pierces my heart
They grow
a grass leaf
a cloud
And are filled with the potter's thought like a gust of wind.
Kenneth Rexroth: (1905-1982), American poet, essayist, and translator; among his works are One Hundred Poems from the Japanese (1955), and One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese (1976).
Manyo and Kokin Wakas: Japanese poems in the anthologies, ManydshU and Kokinshu; see notes to letter 68.
120
Mao Shih: Mao Shih Cheng Chien, Confucian anthology of poetry edited with commentary by Mao. See Ezra Pound's letter to Kitasono, 21 October 1937; and Dorothy Pound's letter to Kitasono, 4 May 1947.
122
Thomas Cole: see Kitasono's next letter to Dorothy Pound. Cole's "Conversation with Ezra Pound," however, is not printed in VOU 35. Instead, his poem "Toward Winter Journey" translated into Japanese by Kitasono is printed in VOU 34, published 1 January 1950.
? NOTES 235
123
stiJis; cinema photographs (frames). Prof. HisatomiMitsugi:MitsugiHisatomi(1908- ) wastopublishFenoUosa:A
Record of a Man Who Devoted Himself to Japanese Art (Tokyo: Risosha, 1957). Kayoikonnachi: a No play. A woman, who daily gathers and brings nuts and fire- wood to a priest in ascetic practice at Yase, turns out to be the ghost of Ono no Komachi, a Heian poetess. The priest prays for her and her lover, Fukakusa no Shosho. They receive Buddhist commandments. Confirmed, they are saved from
the agonies of hell.
Kocho: a No play by Kanze Nobumitsu. A priest from Yoshino watches a plum tree
in Kyoto. A woman appears, talks of the Chuang-tzu, and disappears. The priest chants a Buddhist script. The woman reappears in the form of a butterfly, enlightened, dances and disappears. Chuang-tzu is said to be written by Chuang- chou, or Soshu in Japanese. Cf. Pound's poem, "Ancient Wisdom, Rather Cosm- ic": "So-shu dreamed . . . a butterfly. "
125
Yasutaka Fumoto: (1907- ), a Japanese Sinologist, who taught at The Third High School, The First High School, Tokyo University, and other universities; author of The Development of Confucian Studies in the North Sung Dynasty (1961), and other books on Chinese history of thought.
Pro/. Goto Sueo: Sueo Goto (1886-1967), a Japanese Sinologist, and professor at Keio University; among his books are CuJturaJ Currents between East and West, and Literature and Science.
126
"The Garret" . . . : These poems are translated and published in VOU 35 (1951), pp. 15-16.
127
Veda Tamotsu: Tamotsu Ueda (1906-73), professor of English at Keio University. His translations of How to Read and some short poems by Pound were published as Sekai Bungaku no Yomikata (Tokyo: Hobunkan, 1953). He is also the trans- lator of Selected Poems of T. S. Eliot (1973). His miscellaneous works were collected and published posthumously as Collected Works of Tamotsu Ueda (1975).
129
Michael Reck: a disciple of Pound's St. Elizabeths years who travelled to Japan; Pound provided introductions to Michio Ito and Katue Kitasono, as well as to Yasuo Fujitomi (translator of e. e. cummings) with whom Reck attempted a Japanesetranslationof Pound's Women of Trachis (Traxiniai). Reck is the author of Ezra Pound: A Close-Up (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967); see Appendix 3.
? 236 NOTES
In a letter of March 12, 1954, Pound wrote to Reck the following remarks on how to go about rendering a Japanese version of the TRAXINIAI:
RK/ re TRAX/
dont bother about the words, translate the meaning, in the spoken parts/dialog, this should be clear, and be what the speaker would say if getting over the meaning in Japanese now.
in the XOROI, go for the feeling. The two kinds of language are quite different/ in the first real people are speaking/
saying what carries forward the action/ in the XOROI they are singing (except the few lines marked "spoken")/
Ito cd/ do some fine choreography for the Analolu/ xoros.
The troops have come home/ whoops, there is no need for more than one voice, most of the time/ (others repeat contrapunto, one voice C<< a time. However No-like &-for as Jong as they like. ) a lot of voices might blurr the words. The greek will do you no good, unless the jap chorus could get closer to the greek rhythm, than in working from the english/ but it is not the least necessary to copy either/
it is a case of getting the equivalent feeling. The form of the play is magnif/ everything fits/ Daysair goes into the tragic mask. Herak emerges from it.
TRAX in antithesis to Antig/ and other Soph/ plays in that no one has any evil intentions, no bad feeling, vendetta or whatso. All of 'em trying to be nice/ but the tragedy moves on just the same.
Daysair, Queen and woman/ top of all greek descriptive writing in the Nurse's description of her before the suicide. HERAK/ tough guy who is also a God.
Dont bother with words or linguistic constructions/ the people are alive/ the speech is clear and natural.
Various people fussing about colloquialism. What one wants is what a Jap Daysair, or Hyllos or messenger would say, under the circs/ not a copy of english grammar/
In the sung parts, be as classic as you like/ drag in phrases from Noh itself if they fit and intensify the situation. (I dont recall any in particular, but there might be some or some that wd/ recall great Noh lines. )
reading in N. Y. with cello and kettle drum ace/ the Xoroi. (sd. to hv.
lately, along these lines, than by the poets of the Japanese VOU group. Criterion, vol. XVIII (January, 1939), pp. 397.
73
. "
Charles Henri Ford; American avant garde poet (1910-? ); author of numerous books of poetry, editor of Blues (1929- ) and View (1940- ). Ford's The Garden of Disorder and Other Poems (European Press, 1938) was reviewed by Kitasono in VOU no. 26 (April 26, 1939), pp. 17-8; Kitasono also translated into Japanese W. C. Williams' "Preface" to the book and Ford's note on international chain poems.
Chain poem: Charles Henri Ford was also a contributor, along with Kitasono, to the chain poem printed in New Directions 1940, together with his introductory "How to Write a Chainpoem. "
74
ALL theNoh pJaysought to be/iJmed; in a later letter (31 October 1939) to Iris Barry, curator of the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Pound wrote:
Dear Iris
Cant remember everything all the time.
I forget whether the film of Noh Play, " AWOI NA UYE," that Shio Sakanishi had shown to me in Washington is from your collection.
In any case I am starting rumpus to get all the NOH filmed. Ought to be done SOON, otherwise all the IN and YO will get messed and some god damned Jap Wagner smeared over the whole business.
I wonder if you cd/ get the Museum to colly/bo/rate by putting in an order, either via Dr. Sakanishi (Congress Libr/) or direct to the
KOKUSAI BUNKA SHINKOKAI Meiji Seimei kan, Marunouchi, Tokyo
If you can write to them, merely say that Museum is interested in my proposal and that you wd. of course be ready to take copies of all films made with properly qualified Noh actors.
I hear that Shigefusa Hosho is good. Forget who did the Awoi, but it was a good show.
some of the phono discs do not seem to me very good.
Whether Fox can get Forschungsinst/ to place similar order, I mention matter to him.
I hope to be publishing a boost for the idea in Japan, shortly. and so forth.
dunno but do
. .
? 226 NOTES
A "Tong Kien Kang Mou" of Japan: A general history of Japan like T'ung chien kang mu, from which de Mailla translated into French his Histoire GeneraJe de Ja Chine, ou Annaies de cef Empire.
B^$. ^^-^J [AChronicleof Japanese Emperors], 4 vols. , edited by Nobuyoshi Fujiwara, covers the period
from Emperor Jimmu to Emperor Gotoba.
KJaproth: Heinrich Julius Klaproth (1783-1835), an Orientalist who taught Asian
history and geography in Paris, edited and translated the 1 834 edition of Nipon O Dai Itsi Ran, ou AnnaJes des Empereurs du Japan.
75
Mr. Moori; Yasotaro Mori ( <, -f ') ) \'Y ^&P ), editor of The Japan Times, and translator of Soseki Natsume's Botchan into English.
76
my latest and shortest book; Whiat Is Money For? [A46].
Rothschild: family that controlled an international banking firm; founder was
Meyer Amschelm Rothschild (17437-1812).
Sassoon: family that controlled a large trading firm in England; founder was David
Sassoon (1792-? ).
78
"poeta economista": "poet economist. "
my beloved young novelist: Maria Pound.
"Shinbu" "Miaco" . . . know: referring to Canto 58. The sources are de Mailla and
also Klaproth, tr. , Nipon O Dai Itsi Ran, ou AnnaJes des Empereurs du Japan (Paris, 1834), pp. xiv, and 399; see also John J. Nolde, Blossoms from the East: The China Cantos of Ezra Pound (Orono, Maine: National Poetry Foundation, 1983), pp. 323-26.
79
IgorMorkewitch: Igor Markevich (1912-83), Russian composer and conductor who stayed in Italy during World War II.
82
McN. Wilson: R. McNair Wilson, American historian; author of Promise to Pay, one of Pound's select texts on the truth of economics.
Kuhn Loeb and Co. : New York banking firm involved in international finance. De WendeJ: French family involved in international finance.
Vivaldi week in Siena: the Settimana musicaJe (September 16th to 21st) of the
Siena Academy, under the auspices of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, de- voted entirely to the music of Vivaldi, under the direction of Alfredo Casella; Olga Rudge and Pound greatly contributed to its inspiration and conception, and
Nipon O Dai itsi ran: Nippon Odai Ichiran (
? NOTES
'^'^'^
managed to interest Count Chigi in the project. This germinal event sparked the
renewal of interest in the music of Vivaldi witnessed in our century. See essay 4. Odon Por: Hungarian-Italian economist; author of VoWixco. economico-socmXe in \iQ\\(i anno XVII-XVIH, which Pound translated in 1941 : lioXy's PoJicy o/ Social
Economics \^2^n^AQ [A49].
Dr. Sakanishi: Shio Sakanishi ( t^tfi? ir''^\\ )? curator of the Japanese Section at
the Library of Congress. She showed Pound the film of No plays in the Library during the summer of 1939, which impressed him greatly. Shio Sakanishi, "An Uninvited Guest: Ezra Pound," Eigo Bungaku Sekai [ '^l^XJ^Ai^ 1 (November and December, 1972). See oXso note to letter 74.
83
[1899-1980]; Japanese poet, translator, and professor of English literature (1949-70). While teaching English at Waseda University (1935-70), translated many of W. B. Yeats' poems into Japanese; author of A Sixxdy of Modern Irish Literature (1956); W. B. Yeats; Man and his
Works (1958); and English Literature and Poetic Imagination (1972).
Poems; Among Shapes and Shadows: Shotaro Oshima's book of poems written in English, published by the Hokuseido Press, Tokyo, in 1939; 350 copies were printed, and the copy sent to Pound was no. 199. As Oshima wrote in the preface, "the majority of these poems were written during my stay in England, 1937-
1939. "
84
"Antonio Vivaldi": probably "Vocale o verbale," an account of the Vivaldi Week performances in Siena which appeared in Meridiano di Roma (November 26, 1939) [C1526]; there also appeared on November 25th "Risveglio Vivaldiano" in I] Mare [C1525].
Kuan Chia Tung: ? related to Chia Tung, author of Lays and Relays; Being Selections from the "Lays of Far Cathay" (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1894).
Marquis de Laplace: Pierre Simon Laplace (1749-1827), French mathematician and astronomer; author of Exposition du Systeme du Monde (1796).
85
the triangle: the Axis.
vou with yet again my phiz. : VOU no. 28 (December 1, 1939) contained a photo-
graphofPoundandKitasono'stranslationof"StatuesofGods"[Dl86], originally
published in Townsman, II, 7 (August 1939) [C1575].
Beard: Charles Beard, American historian; author of Economic Origins ofjefferso-
nian Democracy.
Woodward: William E. Woodward, American journalist and historian who was on
several advisory boards dealing with business and insurance during the Roosevelt administration; Pound sent him several items on economics to pass on
Shotaro Oshima: (
Jl, ^fLK. ^^
)
? 228 NOTES
to the president--which he never did. See selection of letter from Pound to
Woodward in Paideuma, vol. 15, no. 1 (Spring 1986), pp. 105-20.
Bowers: Claude G. Bowers, American historian and Ambassador to Spain (1938);
author of Jefferson and Hamilton and The Tragic Era.
OverhoJser; Willis A. Overholser, American economic historian; author of A Short
Review and Analysis of the History of Money in the United States (Libertyville,
IL: Progress Publishing Concern, 1936). Evviva Ja Poesia: Long live poetry!
epos; epic poetry.
87
Action: newspaper published in England by Sir Oswald Mosley.
British Union Quarterly; journal published by the Mosley Party; formerly the
Fascist Quarterly.
Social Creditor: published (beginning 1938) in Liverpool, England.
88
averyelegantvolume:Kitasono'sTheVioletsofFire( illustrated and designed by Seiji Togo.
^J^
c^ ^)[HinoSumire],
Japanese Dance all time overcoat: Michio Ito's remark to Pound, quoted in Canto 77.
a better article . . . than the J. T. interviewer: see Japan Times, November 26 and December 4, 1939.
Masaichi Tani: unidentified.
AinJey's face behind that mask: Ito made a comment to Pound on Ainley who
played the part of Cuchulain in Yeats' At the Hawk's Well in London in 1916: "He must be moving and twisting his face behind his mask. " The remark is quoted in Canto 77.
borrowing the old lady's cat: Ito asked Mrs. Tinkey if he could borrow her cat. But she "never believed he wanted her cat/ for mouse-chasing/ and not for oriental cuisine" (Canto 77).
Did you see the Hawk's Well? : The Ito family produced At the Hawk's Well in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their parents' wedding. Michio Ito trans- lated the play. Kisaku designed the masks and the stage. Hiroji composed the music, and designed the costumes. Osuke conducted the orchestra; Koreya Senda played the part of Cuchulain; Michio, the Old Man; Teiko (the wife of Hiroji), the Hawk. See Helen Caldwell, Michio Ito: the Dancer and his Dances (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977), Chapter II.
89
Miharu Tiba: Miharu Chiba (1903- ), Japanese dancer, dance scriptwriter, and music educator; author of Miharu's Textbook.
Seiji Togo: (1897-1978), Japanese painter, whose paintings are often phantasmal
? NOTES 229
and colorful. "A Woman with a Parasol" and "A Woman with Black. Muffler" are
among his well-known works,
her portrait painted by Mrs. Frost; "Mrs. Ruth Sterling Frost was an American lady
who rented Palazzo Contarini in Venice. She was also a painter and did a portrait (unfinished) of me. " (Mary de Rachewiltz in a note to the editor. )
91
pamphlet I am sending Iwado: What Is Money For? [A46]?
Por: Odon Por.
Dali: Salvador Dali, the surrealist painter.
The Little Review: edited by Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap (1917-24). "Agon" is later; T. S. Eliot's Sweeney Agonistes was published in 1932, hence
"later. "
Crevel; Ren6 Crevel (1900-35), French surrealist poet, novelist, and critic.
92
Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai; Society for Promoting International Cultural Exchange. Bauern/dhig; farming skill, capacity.
j|i . ^ ; chiin tzu, a true gentleman, a wise man.
94
Hoffmann's bulletin: News from Germany, ed. H. R. Hoffmann.
his side kick Kung/; unidentified.
Mencius: Meng-tse (371? -288? b. c); Chinese Confucian philosopher. Mencius held
that the duty of a ruler is to ensure the prosperous livelihood of his subjects, and that warfare be eschewed except for defense. If a ruler's conduct reduces his subjects to penury, then he must be deposed. Proposed specific reforms in landholding and other economic matters.
Avicenna; Ibn Sina (980-1037), Persian philosopher, theologian, physician, mathe- matician, linguist, and astronomer. Interpreted Aristotle in a neo-platonic light, held that the unity of Mind (or Nous) gave form to all that exists, and that the universe emanated from the divine Active Intellect.
Matsumiya; see note to letter 40.
K. Takashi Ito's British Empire and People: The book was originally written in
Japanese as Eiteikoku oyohi Eikokujin (1937) by Takashi Ito [ ^f '^ ^p^ J [1906- ], then an official of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Funk; Walter Funk, Nazi economist, appointed Minister of Economy in 1937. Miaco; Miyako literally means capital, and usually designates Kyoto in Japanese
history.
Willkie: Wendell Lewis Willkie (1892-1944), Republican nominee for President of
the U. S. in 1940. See "Willkie, the G. O. P. Hope," Japan Times, 12 August 1940.
? 230
NOTES
97
Ponder's Modern Poetry: unidentified.
Salon/dhig . . . La Quiete: SaJon/dhig means "to be fit to be in a salon," literary or
otherwise, to have polite manners, be educated; to have "savoir/aire. " La Quiete
is the name of Pound's daughter's school in Florence. Servant of the People article: unidentified.
VagJia; money order.
98
Fosco Maraini: (1912- ), Italian anthropologist and art historian. Associate professor at Hokkaido University (1938-41), lecturer at Kyoto University (1941- 45). Author of Meeting with Japan (1959); Japan: Patterns of Continuity (1971); and other works.
Matteo Ricci: Italian Jesuit missionary to China (1552-1610); had authentic respect for the Chinese classics and adopted the dress of the literati; became court mathematician and astronomer; due to his erudition and demeanor, the Chinese came to respect Christianity. Translated many Western works of science and mathematics into Chinese, as well as Christian texts. Sent back to Europe reports on China. Acted as cultural ambassador between these worlds and as proponent of a world culture.
Kung /u Tsu, Men-tsu; Confucius and Mencius.
99
P. Tyler: Parker Tyler, an American poet and editor.
Margaret Anderson: editor of the Little Review.
Thayer: Scofield Thayer, editor of The Dial.
Eddie and WaJJie: Edward VIII of England and Wallis Warfield Simpson (who came
from Baltimore).
Guarnieri: Antonio Guarnieri (1883-1952), Italian cellist, conductor, and com-
poser. He gave his first performances at Siena; also directed operas at Vienna, Milan, and other places in Europe. Pound heard him at the Venice Biennale in 1936.
Itoh's book: see note to Pound's letter to Kitasono, 25 August 1940. Ban Gumi: program; order of sequence of No plays.
Possum: T. S. Eliot.
Duncan: Ronald Duncan.
AngoJd: J. P. Angold.
Bunting: Basil Bunting.
Funk: Walter Funk, German Minister of Economy. Riccardi: Raffaello Riccardi, Italian Minister of Finance.
? NOTES
231
100
Gerarchia: [Hierarchy], journal published in Milan; founded by Mussolini. Di Marzio: Cornelio di Marzio, editor of II Meridiano di Roma.
my econ. Book: ABC of Economics [A34].
Tuan Szetsun: unidentified.
enclosure; unidentified; probably something on Itoh's British Empire and People.
101
two articles: Setsuo Uenoda, "Language Trouble," and Tatsuo Tsukui, "Japan's New Structure and Cultural Aspects," Japan Times WeekJy (October 17, 1940), pp. 229-30, 236--10, 242.
BashoandChikamatsu. Bash6Matsuo( 1^1^/%. ^^ ) [1644-94], a haiku poet. Monzaemon Chikamatsu ( it >f a. ^^ TL "l^ P^ ) [1653-1724], a kabuki and joruri playwright.
Tanakas: reference uncertain.
T. T. and S. 17. ; Tatsuo Tsukui and Setsuo Uenoda. lingua franca: common language.
103
L'OEOSCOPO DEL 5: "The horoscope of December 5--This Thursday lacks lunar configurations, it will be dominated by a magic aspect between the Sun and Jupiter which will favour good business, but we will have to watch expenses, especially if caused by the fair sex. " (Translated into English by Mary de Rache- wiltz. )
Li Ki; Chinese book of customs and rituals. Chiang KJCheker: supporter of Chiang Kai-shek.
104
Lahiri's book: Amar Lahiri, Japan Talks (Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press, 1940). RoppeitaKita:( ^|/t^-^^) [1874-1971],aNoplayerwhosucceededtothe
old name of the Kita School at 21. Author of Roppeita's Talks on Art (1942). Umewaka Minoru: Minoru Umewaka (1827-1909), a No player of the Kanze
School. Fenollosa took lessons from him.
Mushakoji: Saneatsu Mushakoji ( ^ /? yU ^% % K, ) [1885-1976], a Japanese
novelist and painter,
y. Yashiro:YukioYashiro( -^V^"^^g. ), authorofSandraBotticelli(London
and Boston: The Medici Society, 1925), 3 vols. (Only 630 copies were printed. ) Neue SachJichkeit; movement of self-proclaimed "sober objectivity. "
Frazier; Senator L. J. Frazier (Republican) of North Dakota. Pound corresponded with Frazier in 1936 about the possibility of compiling a "real text book" for the study of American history in the schools.
VoJpi; Giuseppe Volpi, Count di Misurata (1877-1947), Italian Minister of Finance (1925-29); translated The History of Fascism. He appears in Cantos 76/39, 80/87.
? 232
NOTES
105
y. Noguchi; Japanese poet and expert on wood-block prints [Ukiyo-e]; see letter 1. "the jew is underneath the lot": T. S. Eliot, "Burbank with a Baedeker: Bleistein
withaCigar,"1. 23.
Reese: Holroyd Reese, founder of Albatross Books (Hamburg-Paris-Bologna) and
purchaser of Tauchnitz Editions.
Bibliotecario: librarian.
Bernie Pshaw: George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950); saw Michio Ito dance at a
gathering at Lady Ottoline Morrell's home in 1918. 106
Maupassant: Guy de Maupassant. CaJdweJJ; Erskine Caldwell.
107
Gerhart Munch: German pianist, who along with Olga Rudge, violinist, "formed the nucleus of the Rapallo concerts. " The Amici del Tigullio sponsored the concerts. See R. Murray Schafer, Ezra Pound and Music (New York: New Directions, 1977), p. 322, and Canto 75.
108
/anequin: Clement Janequin (1472/75-1559/60), French musician; see Cantos 75 and 79.
San PantaJeo: a small church on the hillside of Sant'Ambrogio.
videt et urbes: "and he looks at the towns. "
Politico Economico-Sociale in Italia: Italy's Policy of Social Economics 1939/1940
[A49].
109
'>
Matsuoka: Yosuke Matsuoka ( ;fl; (S] i^j^;& ) [1880-1946], was appointed For- eign Minister of Japan in 1940, and concluded the Japan-Germany-Italy Tripar- tite Pact.
Guam: an island in the South-west Pacific; soon to become the scene of a bloody battle in World War II.
U. P. : United Press.
put it on the air: see "March Arrivals" (1941) in Ezra Pound Speaking.
110
Nott edtn/: [B36].
"Buona Pasqua": "Happy Easter. "
^^ -^4^^
HoshuSaitoandGadoOno:[
raphers who taught calligraphy in Japanese universities around the turn of the century.
), ( yj^ff' K|'|1 )- Japanese callig-
? NOTES 233
"hichbhow": The Fountain of the Highbrow, selected essays by Katue Kitasono. Mr. Eliot converting the Archbish. of York: (? ) reference to T. S. Eliot's broadcast in
the spring of 1941, "Towards a Christian Britain. "
113
Studio IntegraJe: Italian translation of Confucius' Ta Hsiieh (Ta S'eu; Ta Hio; Daigaku) by Ezra Pound and Alberto Luchini, published in 1942 [B461. Each page had the Chinese text with the Italian version below.
Mao's comment: Mao Shih Cheng Chien, a Confucian anthology of poetry edited with commentary by Mao.
S. Int. on the better paper: Some copies of the Studio Integrole were printed on a "better," thicker, and watermarked paper,
married: Mary Pound married Boris de Rachewiltz; their son is Siegfried Walter de Rachewiltz.
114
Loo, Mao: Probably Lao-tzu (the "originator" of Taoism) and Mao Shih Cheng Chien, but it is hard to guess the "interesting plan"; see Kitasono's letter to Dorothy Pound, 15 December 1948.
Je mange, done je suis: "I eat, therefore I am. " A parody of Descartes' dictum, ")e pense, done je suis" ("I think, therefore I am"). Shortage of food was extremely serious in Japan during the post-World War II period. [One form of Pound's stationery had also borne the motto: "j'aime, done je suis" ("I love, therefore I am")).
115
G. H. Q. : General Headquarters (of the Occupation Troops in Japan). D. D. Paige: editor of The Letters of Ezra Pound, 1907-1941 [A64].
116
The Rape of Lucretia: libretto by Ronald Duncan for music by Benjamin Britten, who was later to compose a group of No-inspired operas.
117
a charming duck: probably alluding to the phoenix myth and to the story of "The Ugly Duckling. " "Cendre" means ashes, cinders.
118
Four Pages: a little magazine published by Dallam Flynn, a member of Pound's circle at St. Elizabeths; see Eustace Mullins, This Difficuh Individual, p. 314. Sokolsky: George Ephraim Sokolsky (1893-1962), American journalist. In his col- umn, "These Days," which appeared in the New York Sun and some 300 news- papers during the 1940s and early 1950s, he crusaded against what he thought to
? 234 NOTES
be the growing menace of Communism. He was one of the visitors of Pound in
Washington, D. C. ; see Mullins, p. 315.
Marcos Fingerit: Argentine poet; author of Antna, 22 Poemas Contemporaneos
(Buenos Aires, 1929); Cancionero Secreto (La Plata, 1937); Ardiente Signo, con una nota Liminar de ]ose Luis Sanchez-Tricado (La Plata, 1940).
119
Kumasaka: a No play; see The Classic Noh Theatre of Japan, Part IL
Chinese poems: The first two lines written in Chinese are from Po Le-t'ien. The longer poem, according to Yasuo Fujitomi, is the Chinese translation of Kitaso- no's poem, "Dishes," by a Chinese friend of Kitasono. The original Japanese
poem, "Dishes," may be translated into English:
For supper dishes are spread like tree leaves
Rape blossoms fresh gingers and starworts
Every day ephemeral and delightful
Sound of the dishes sorrowful and hard pierces my heart
They grow
a grass leaf
a cloud
And are filled with the potter's thought like a gust of wind.
Kenneth Rexroth: (1905-1982), American poet, essayist, and translator; among his works are One Hundred Poems from the Japanese (1955), and One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese (1976).
Manyo and Kokin Wakas: Japanese poems in the anthologies, ManydshU and Kokinshu; see notes to letter 68.
120
Mao Shih: Mao Shih Cheng Chien, Confucian anthology of poetry edited with commentary by Mao. See Ezra Pound's letter to Kitasono, 21 October 1937; and Dorothy Pound's letter to Kitasono, 4 May 1947.
122
Thomas Cole: see Kitasono's next letter to Dorothy Pound. Cole's "Conversation with Ezra Pound," however, is not printed in VOU 35. Instead, his poem "Toward Winter Journey" translated into Japanese by Kitasono is printed in VOU 34, published 1 January 1950.
? NOTES 235
123
stiJis; cinema photographs (frames). Prof. HisatomiMitsugi:MitsugiHisatomi(1908- ) wastopublishFenoUosa:A
Record of a Man Who Devoted Himself to Japanese Art (Tokyo: Risosha, 1957). Kayoikonnachi: a No play. A woman, who daily gathers and brings nuts and fire- wood to a priest in ascetic practice at Yase, turns out to be the ghost of Ono no Komachi, a Heian poetess. The priest prays for her and her lover, Fukakusa no Shosho. They receive Buddhist commandments. Confirmed, they are saved from
the agonies of hell.
Kocho: a No play by Kanze Nobumitsu. A priest from Yoshino watches a plum tree
in Kyoto. A woman appears, talks of the Chuang-tzu, and disappears. The priest chants a Buddhist script. The woman reappears in the form of a butterfly, enlightened, dances and disappears. Chuang-tzu is said to be written by Chuang- chou, or Soshu in Japanese. Cf. Pound's poem, "Ancient Wisdom, Rather Cosm- ic": "So-shu dreamed . . . a butterfly. "
125
Yasutaka Fumoto: (1907- ), a Japanese Sinologist, who taught at The Third High School, The First High School, Tokyo University, and other universities; author of The Development of Confucian Studies in the North Sung Dynasty (1961), and other books on Chinese history of thought.
Pro/. Goto Sueo: Sueo Goto (1886-1967), a Japanese Sinologist, and professor at Keio University; among his books are CuJturaJ Currents between East and West, and Literature and Science.
126
"The Garret" . . . : These poems are translated and published in VOU 35 (1951), pp. 15-16.
127
Veda Tamotsu: Tamotsu Ueda (1906-73), professor of English at Keio University. His translations of How to Read and some short poems by Pound were published as Sekai Bungaku no Yomikata (Tokyo: Hobunkan, 1953). He is also the trans- lator of Selected Poems of T. S. Eliot (1973). His miscellaneous works were collected and published posthumously as Collected Works of Tamotsu Ueda (1975).
129
Michael Reck: a disciple of Pound's St. Elizabeths years who travelled to Japan; Pound provided introductions to Michio Ito and Katue Kitasono, as well as to Yasuo Fujitomi (translator of e. e. cummings) with whom Reck attempted a Japanesetranslationof Pound's Women of Trachis (Traxiniai). Reck is the author of Ezra Pound: A Close-Up (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967); see Appendix 3.
? 236 NOTES
In a letter of March 12, 1954, Pound wrote to Reck the following remarks on how to go about rendering a Japanese version of the TRAXINIAI:
RK/ re TRAX/
dont bother about the words, translate the meaning, in the spoken parts/dialog, this should be clear, and be what the speaker would say if getting over the meaning in Japanese now.
in the XOROI, go for the feeling. The two kinds of language are quite different/ in the first real people are speaking/
saying what carries forward the action/ in the XOROI they are singing (except the few lines marked "spoken")/
Ito cd/ do some fine choreography for the Analolu/ xoros.
The troops have come home/ whoops, there is no need for more than one voice, most of the time/ (others repeat contrapunto, one voice C<< a time. However No-like &-for as Jong as they like. ) a lot of voices might blurr the words. The greek will do you no good, unless the jap chorus could get closer to the greek rhythm, than in working from the english/ but it is not the least necessary to copy either/
it is a case of getting the equivalent feeling. The form of the play is magnif/ everything fits/ Daysair goes into the tragic mask. Herak emerges from it.
TRAX in antithesis to Antig/ and other Soph/ plays in that no one has any evil intentions, no bad feeling, vendetta or whatso. All of 'em trying to be nice/ but the tragedy moves on just the same.
Daysair, Queen and woman/ top of all greek descriptive writing in the Nurse's description of her before the suicide. HERAK/ tough guy who is also a God.
Dont bother with words or linguistic constructions/ the people are alive/ the speech is clear and natural.
Various people fussing about colloquialism. What one wants is what a Jap Daysair, or Hyllos or messenger would say, under the circs/ not a copy of english grammar/
In the sung parts, be as classic as you like/ drag in phrases from Noh itself if they fit and intensify the situation. (I dont recall any in particular, but there might be some or some that wd/ recall great Noh lines. )
reading in N. Y. with cello and kettle drum ace/ the Xoroi. (sd. to hv.
