Introduction
1906, he published a criticism of Akiko in the Ashibi. His contention was first that a poet must constantly synthesize and harmonize the experiences of life. Secondly, good poetry consists of wisely chosen words in excellent arrangement and excellent metre. He quotes Akiko’s poem on the nightingales:
In the spring rain
The young nightingales
Sing in the nest
Made of my fallen hair.
The nest made with her fallen hair caught her fancy, and at once she manufactured the spring rain and the young birds. As an example of her lack of precision and synthesis, he takes the following poem which was praised highly by the critics:
Oh Kamakura!
Though a Buddha,
What a handsome chap is Sakyamuni.
The summer’s grove!
“Let us,” says Sachio, “transfer this into an ordinary conversation. A guest says to the host: ‘What a clever chap your young son is! The pine
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