ISHIKAWA TAKUBOKU

(1886–1912)

Ishikawa Takuboku was a writer of tanka and free verse poetry. Ishikawa began his literary career at 13 with a hand-printed booklet “Choji-kai” (Class Trip, 1899). He soon dropped out of middle school to continue writing and contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers during his short lifetime. Ishikawa’s major works include two volumes of tanka poems, Ichiaku no Suna (1910; tr. A Handful of Sand, 1947) and Kanashiki gangu (published posthumously in 1912; tr. Sad Toys, 1962), as well as his diaries. He lived in and wrote of Hokkaido. Ishikawa died of tuberculosis.