Bokusui-ki (Wakayama Bokusui Memorial Day)

What Is Bokusui-ki?

September 17th is "Bokusui-ki," the death anniversary of poet Wakayama Bokusui, who passed away at his home in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on this day in 1928, at the age of 43.

A Poet Who Loved Travel, Sake, and Nature Through Some 9,000 Poems

Wakayama Bokusui was a tanka poet active from the Meiji through early Showa periods, who left some 9,000 tanka over his lifetime, including unpublished ones.

• Life: Born in Miyazaki Prefecture in 1885, he moved with his family to Numazu, Shizuoka, in 1920, and died on September 17, 1928
• Style: Known as a lyrical poet whose work reflected a deep love of travel and sake, along with candid, heartfelt responses to nature
• Cause of death: He died at his home in Numazu at age 43, from acute gastroenteritis combined with cirrhosis of the liver brought on by years of heavy drinking
• Ties to Numazu: Drawn by the Senbon Matsubara pine grove, he moved there, and in 1926, when Shizuoka Prefecture planned to cut down the grove, he led the opposition and got the plan dropped
• Memorial museum: The Numazu City Wakayama Bokusui Memorial Museum opened in a corner of Senbon Matsubara in November 1987, the 60th anniversary of his death, funded largely by donations raised by local supporters

The Wandering Spirit Behind His Most Famous Poem

Bokusui's best-known tanka—roughly translated as "however many mountains and rivers I cross, is there ever a land beyond loneliness? Today too, I travel on"—captures a life spent questioning the meaning of existence through endless journeys. The sake he loved deeply was likewise inseparable from his work.

How to Mark the Day

• Read some of Wakayama Bokusui's best-known tanka poems
• Look into Numazu in Shizuoka, where he spent his final years, and Miyazaki, his hometown
• Pick up a book about Bokusui's life and character
• Revisit a favorite poem of his and reflect on it in your own words

A Wandering Spirit That Still Lives On

Bokusui-ki is a day to remember the life of a poet who loved travel, sake, and nature. On September 17th, consider stepping away from your busy routine for a moment to feel the restless, wandering spirit woven into Bokusui's poetry.