This paper will examine the influence of Christina Rossetti's work on the poems of Japanese tanka poet Hiroko Katayama (1878-1957), focusing particularly on the influence of Goblin Market (1862) on Hiroko's series of thirty-six tanka titled Mitsubachi (1910).
Hiroko's place in the history of modern poetry in Japan has not yet been determined because she published only two collections of her own tanka poetry. Specifically, the characteristics of her early poems and her first collection have not been adequately studied. Nonetheless, Hiroko was an esteemed translator who worked under the pseudonym Mineko Matsumura. She mainly translated Celtic Revival literature into Japanese, including works by W. B. Yeats and J. M. Synge. Therefore, her early tanka poetry should be analyzed from the viewpoint of her reception of English literature.
The following poem is the last of Hiroko's series of thirty-six tanka titled Mitsubachi .
The dew of fruits that the demon recommended I eat has left too much thirst, as blood goes wrong on my tongue.
It is obvious that this tanka was inspired by Goblin Market and readers can reinterpret the meanings of Mistubachi if this influence is considered.
Hiroko should have been able to decipher the Christian symbolism of Goblin Market because she was educated in a mission school and knew about the spiritual insights of the Christian religion. Further, Christina Rossetti's work could have exerted a powerful impact on Hiroko, who was both a devoted housewife and a woman passionate about living her own life.
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