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GLOSSARY
Collections of Japanese poetry/tanka/haiku
As mentioned above in the context of modern Japanese novels, the Meiji period saw a great flowering of interest in Western literature. In the case of poetry; this resulted in the formation of a group of Japanese poets whose work was stylistically influenced by the West though imbued with traditional Japanese expression. The first collection of such poems to be published in Japan was the Wakanashu of Shimazaki Toson, in 1897; this work was strongly influenced by the style and imagery of the English Romantic Poets. At around the same time, several anthologies of works by English and American poets were translated into Japanese. Late 19th century and early 20th century poets adhering to the Japanese forms of tanka and haihu found new inspiration in the democratic and optimistic society of the Meiji and Taisho periods and Japanese poetry experienced something of a revival.Among the most noted of the traditional poets of the time were Yosano Akiko (1878-1942) and Masaoka Shiki (1867-1002). Others, such as Ishikawa Takuboku (1886-1912) and Kitahara Hakushu (1885-1942), while working in Japanese poetic forms, drew their inspiration from the realities of contemporary life rather than the intellectual images of former eras.