One Thin Body by Ozaki Hōsai

Ozaki Hōsai (1885–1926) spent his final years as a hermit-priest on a small Japanese island, writing haiku until his death at forty-one. One Thin Body brings together fifty-two of his most essential poems in new English translations — the first chapbook publication of his work in English.

These are not poems of enlightenment or resolution. They are poems of continuation: a coin still warm from running through wind, a shadow moved just to see it move, a clam that won't open. Hōsai wrote from inside poverty, illness, and deep solitude, and his poems carry that plainness without complaint or drama.

One Thin Body is an introduction to one of Japanese poetry's most distinctive and least-known voices.

An interview with Marc Brüseke about One Thin Body and translating Hōsai appears in The Small Run, the occasional newsletter from Analog Submission Press.

—

EDITION DETAILS
• Limited edition of 26 copies
• 25 copies numbered for sale
• 52 haiku on 36 pages
• 148 × 148 mm
• Saddle-stitched
• Printed on recycled, uncoated stock

—

ABOUT THE POET
Ozaki Hōsai (1885–1926) is widely regarded alongside Taneda Santōka as one of the defining figures of free-verse haiku. Born in Tottori Prefecture, he studied law at Tokyo Imperial University before a broken marriage, a succession of abandoned careers, and declining health led him away from conventional life entirely. He remains little known outside Japan.

—

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Marc Brüseke is a writer and academic based in York, England. His work explores memory, travel, and the fragmentary nature of experience. He holds a PhD in English Literature and Creative Writing and is the founder of Analog Submission Press.