"The English translations: Tamura Ryuichi, Poems 1946 - 1998, which represents 'Japanese postwar poetry,' makes the poet's work available in America. As a person who has been engaged in the publication of modern Japanese poetry for a long time, I see this as a dream-like event being realized. There has never been a book of this scale of Tamura Ryuichi's work in translation in any country, and it is indeed a historical event.

"For the western readers who have been exposed primarily to the short traditional forms of Japanese poetry such as tanka and haiku, I can only imagine what a fresh shock this book of translation, Tamura Ryuichi Poems 1946 - 1998 will create. I look forward to the effect this book will bring."