Taneda Santoka

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Taneda Santōka (種田山頭火, December 3, 1882 - October 11, 1940) was a Japanese author and haiku poet. He is known for his free-verse haiku. His real name was Taneda Shouichi (種田正一).

1 Life
2 Poetry
3 Resources
4 External links

[edit] Life

Santōka was born into a sake production family in the Nishisabaryō (now Hōfu), Yamaguchi prefecture. His mother committed suicide when he was 11. In 1902 he entered the Department of Literature at Waseda University in Tokyo, but dropped out after two years due to a nervous breakdown. He returned home to help with the family business. In 1910 he married and later had one child. In 1911 he first contributed to a haiku magazine "Sōun" (『層雲』, Layered Clouds) led by the haiku poet Ogiwara Seisensui. In 1913 he became a disciple of Seisensui.

In 1916 his family's sake business failed. He moved to Kumamoto, Kyūshū with his wife and child. In Kumamoto he opened a shop for used books (or antique books) but it was hard for him to run. In 1920 he divorced and moved alone to Tokyo. Soon after, his father and younger brother committed suicide. Three years later after the Great Kantō earthquake he fled from Tokyo and returned to his ex-wife. Suffering the difficulties of life, he tried to commit suicide in 1924 by standing in front of a trolley, but failed. He was helped by the Zen Buddhist priest Mochizuki Gian. He began to work as the servant of Gian's temple. He later became a monk and was named Kōho (耕畝).

In 1925 he left the temple and began a walking trip mainly through western Japan, composing haiku poems along the way. In 1932 he moved to a small cottage in Ogori, Yamaguchi. In 1939 he moved to Matsuyama, Shikoku. The following year he died in his sleep in Matsuyama at the age of 57.

[edit] Poetry

As an exponent of free style haiku, Santouka is often ranked alongside Ozaki Hōsai, a fellow student of Seisensui. They both suffered from the ill effects of their drinking habits and are similar in their reliance on Suisensui and other patrons of the arts for aid and support. The literary tone of their poems, however, differs.

[edit] Resources

Taneda Santōka, For All My Walking, translated by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, © 2003 ISBN 0-231-12516-X cloth ISBN 0-231-12517-8 pbk [102 pp. 245 haiku plus diary entries]
Taneda Santōka, Santoka: Grass and Tree Cairn, translated by Hiroaki Sato, Red Moon Press © 2002 ISBN 1-893959-28-7
John Stevens, Mountain Tasting : Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda, Weatherhill © 1980 ISBN 0-8348-0151-5 [130pp. 372 haiku] emphasizes the Zen aspect of Santoka's life.
Scott Watson, "The Santoka: versions by Scott Watson", Bookgirl Press; 2005 ISBN 4-915948-41-2 C0098. 41pp. over 100 haiku and two essays that emphasize the poet as an individual and the individual as a poet.