Classical Japanese poetry on playing cards ¡ª in English? It seems like an odd mix. But when you add tales of love and betrayal and brilliant translation, you get a heart-thumping card game like no other.
¡°It¡¯s a world¡¯s first,¡± says Peter MacMillan, translator and creator of Hyakunin Isshu English Karuta. ¡°By playing this card game you learn the essence of Japanese culture. It¡¯s also an excellent tool for learning both the English and Japanese languages. And it¡¯s fun.¡±
MacMillan¡¯s idea for his version of the karuta (Japanese playing card) game began to form after he translated the classical anthology of Japanese waka poems ¡°Ogura Hyakunin Isshu¡± (¡°One Hundred Poems, One Poem Each¡°). This was published by Columbia University Press in 2008 and garnered MacMillan several top translation prizes. His other translations include ¡°The Tales of Ise,¡± which was published by Penguin Books in 2016 and was nominated for the PEN International Poetry Translation Prize.
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