Saijô Yaso's first book of verses for children. It includes 59 verses which appeared in newspapers and magazines from 1918 to 1920. The verses are mostly arranged chronologically. All the verses that appeared in Akai Tori [Red Bird] are included, totaling 34. Ten verses including "Bara" ["Rose"], "Kobito no Jigoku" ["Dwarf's Hell"], "Tasogare" ["Twilight"], "Kirigirisu" ["Grasshopper"], and "Sabisii Tabibito" ["A Lonely Traveler"], had already been included in other collections.
Saijô started as a poet influenced by French symbolism. His verses for children such as "Kanariya" ["Canary"], "Bara" and "Ashi no Ura" ["The Sole"] embody his theory that verses for children should be symbolic. As he wrote in the introduction, "my task is to plant noble illusions, in other words wisdom and imagination, in the minds of children by quiet and atmospheric verses." He seems to have understood that it was important for children to play within their imaginative world. Saijô constructed a world of children's verse rich in intellectual inspiration and urban images, in contrast to verses by contemporary poets such as Kitahara Hakushû and Noguchi Ujô. Saijô's characteristics are most apparent in Ôumu to Tokei. Nine verses were added to the third reprint published seven months later. |
