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Our Work

Our Work

We pass the essence of Japanese culture to the world through three pillars — translation, karuta, and publishing.

An old volume of the Man'yōshū with gold leaf, a poem monument, and misty mountains

I

A Complete English Man'yōshū
── A Pilgrimage of Poems

A Complete English Translation of the Man'yōshū

The Man'yōshū, with some 4,500 poems, is the oldest anthology of Japanese verse. We are undertaking its first-ever complete English translation. Alongside it, a "pilgrimage of poems" — journeys to the places the poems were composed and to the poem monuments across the land — rebinds word and landscape, geography and cultural memory, carrying a thousand years of poetry into the future.

The world's first complete English translation　｜　A pilgrimage of poems

Hands reaching for Hyakunin Isshu karuta cards and a painted poet card

II

WHACK A WAKA
── English Karuta

English Karuta of the Hyakunin Isshu

We created "WHACK A WAKA", the world's first English edition of the Hyakunin Isshu karuta. We hold tournaments in Japan and around the world, creating chances to enjoy waka across generations and borders. Through play and learning, we open a doorway to Japanese literature for everyone.

The world's first English Hyakunin Isshu karuta　｜　Tournaments at home and abroad

書 Publishing

III

Publishing on
Japanese Culture

Books on the Spirit of Japan

On the themes of "wa" and "True Japan", we publish books that convey the thought, spirit and aesthetics of Japanese culture in language anyone can follow — grounded in serious scholarship, yet written to reach the first-time reader. We also actively hold co-organized events, give talks, and appear in the media.

A book series on Japanese culture　｜　Published in succession

And more to come

Our work continues to grow, little by little — from records of the Shikinen Sengū to a "School of Wa", and beyond.

Support Our Work

Carry this work into the future.

Each of these activities continues thanks to the understanding and support of many. Your single step carries a thousand years of beauty into the next thousand.

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