Poem, TOKYO
Oct 20, 2025
Things
by Mizuho Ishida
tr. Michiyo Sekine
In a certain sushi bar
Mr. Kanaseki Hisao
looking at Otoro,
whispered to the young
Mr. Hara Shigeyoshi, they say
Sushi is great —
delicious, and useful as a thing
But what about poetry?
On the ice fields of Alaska
I grilled shishamo
on a little charcoal brazier
and ate them with lemon
Looking up at frosted trees utsusemi playing like a small planet
note
- photography: untitled ©️Gene Okalik, 2025.
- utsusemi: literally “empty cicada shell.” A classical Japanese poetic image signifying transience and impermanence.
物
石田瑞穂
とある鮨屋で
金関寿夫先生が
若き原成吉先生に
大トロをみて
ささめいた という
鮨はえらいよな
旨いし物として役にたっている
詩はどうなんだろうね
アラスカの氷原で
おれは七輪で焼いた
ししゃもを喰った
レモンをかけて
空蝉が遊星のように遊んでいる樹氷をみあげ
注
- 英訳: 関根路代
- photography: untitled ©️Gene Okalik, 2025.
Mizuho Ishida
Poet. Winner of the 37th Gendaishi Techo Award (1999). Author of several poetry collections, including Segment Kakera hen (Shichosha, 2006); Sleepy Islands (Shichosha, 2012), which was awarded the 63rd H Prize; Ear, Bamboo Leaf Boat (Shichosha, 2015), which received the 54th Toson Memorial Prize of Rekitei; Asian Dream (Shichosha, 2019); and Poem on Solitariness of Drifted Snow (Shichosha, 2022). Member of the Japan Poets Association. Guest associate professor at Gakushuin University.
His recent serialized essays include:
“Roads to a Poem.” Sayusha,
https://sayusha.com/readings/poetry/-/post-1453
“A Heart Playing in a Trip” (Photograph: Shuhei Tonami). Kanaya Hotel Kinugawa,
https://kinugawakanaya.com/tabi/
“Perch of the Eye.” Crossing Lines,
https://note.com/crossing__lines/
Mizuho Ishida Official Home Page
詩人。1999年に第37回現代詩手帖賞受賞。個人詩集に『片鱗篇』（思潮社・新しい詩人シリーズ）、『まどろみの島』（思潮社、第63回H氏賞受賞）、『耳の笹舟』（思潮社、第54回藤村記念歴程賞受賞）、『Asian Dream』（思潮社）、最新詩集に長篇詩『流雪孤詩』（思潮社）。日本現代詩人会会員。学習院大学客員准教授。
連載エッセイ：
「詩への旅」左右社https://sayusha.com/readings/poetry/-/post-1453
「旅に遊ぶ心」（写真：砺波周平）鬼怒川金谷ホテルhttps://kinugawakanaya.com/tabi/
「眼のとまり木」Crossing Lines
https://note.com/crossing__lines/
石田瑞穂 公式ホームページ
http://mizuhoishida.com/
