NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON-LINE

Ginyu is an established Japanese language haiku magazine published quarterly, with the intention of raising the level of the short poetic form of haiku. Its editor Ban'yu Natsuishi is a well-established writer and translator with numerous books to his credit. It also has a raft of translators. Cover design is by Kotaro Kato.

The magazine is well intentioned, well produced, and receptive to work from developing writers but it does not represent the widest consensus of excellence in contemporary haiku in English. This issue features mainly contributions from Japanese writers, which take up most of the issue. The magazine also includes critiques, an essay, featured haiku poems, and several pages of haiku translated into English. Its orientation seems to be particularly influenced by Ban'ya Natsuishi who has translated the majority of the poems into an English style that tries to capture the essence of English grammar but doesn't entirely succeed, as can be seen in the following examples:

	A wintry blast —
	no string
	to tie up you

	Ben Akio

		From the far of the day
		rises a sky
		of steel

		Alain Kervern

• From the GIN'YU HAIKU ANTHOLOGY: THE SECOND WORLD HAIKU ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, edited by Bany'ya Natsuishi, are haiku from fourteen Japanese poets, and French poet, Alain Kervern, translated into English by Bin Akio, Toshio Kimura, David G. Lanoue, Ban'ya Natsuishi, James Shea and Zolo.
• From THE SECOND HAIKU COLLECTION by Emi Takeuchi, English translations by Ban'ya Natsuishi and Jim Kacian are twenty-two poems.
• From the Ginyu Haiku Prize 2003 are fifteen poems by Koji Yasui, English translations by Ban'ya Natsuishi and Eric Selland.
• MACEDONIAN ROAD 2, is translated by Ban'ya Natsuishi and James Shea, and features fifteen poems by Ban'ya Natsuishi.
• THE ANVIL OF THE SEA by Germain Droogenbroodt, is translated into Japanese by Ban'ya Natsuishi and contains five poems.
• DISCOVERING ETERNITY from Nikola Madzhirov of Macedonia; English translations by Makedonka Bozhinovsaka; Japanese translations by Ban'ya Natsuishi has five haiku.
• PATIENT QUEUE by Jim Kacian, is translated into Japanese by Ban'ya Natsuishi and has nine haiku.
• GINYU SUBSCRIBERS HAIKU POEMS 20 have been selected by Ban'ya Natsuishi and contain poems in Japanese with six in English translation.

	Stonehenge
	the patient queue
	at the entrance

	Jim Kacian

 		This autumn
		wearing the face of my cousin
		destiny has come

		Koyi Yasui

GINYU is an International Haiku quarterly, targeting a specialist (and ideally, bilingual) market. The preponderance of the journal is written in Japanese, although there are also works composed in, or translated into English. The total English content of this issue includes a transcription of the keynote speech from the Second World Haiku Association Conference; four reviews; two translations; a report on an exhibition; a review of a TV program; one essay; and thirty-seven haiku.

English readers may find this selection somewhat limited, and yet the quality of the material published is first-rate. The keynote speech includes some fine examples of the genre, such as this one by French author Paul Eluard (1895-1952), printed in both French and English:

	Heart to her song
	She makes snow melt
	Wet-nurse of birds.

	Withered flower stems —
	I'll continue to work
	On my inner-self.

	Spawning coral —
	in the sky
	the Pope flying.

	Snow again —
	how much my son's footprints
	have grown.

The stated aim of this magazine, which is mainly in Japanese, is to promote an international exchange between haiku poets without regard to nationality. This edition contains a report on a symposium, a book review, a report on the Second World Haiku Association Conference, haibun, essays and haiku by thirty eight poets.

The first article is a report on the International Haiku Symposium, at Ehime, on Basho's literary concept of Fuekiryuko. This concept contains the idea that all things combine elements of change and unchangeability. One of the participants Koji Kawamote notes the similarity of this with the French Symbolist poet Baudelair's statement that

half of all excellent art is momentary, accidental and confused and the half left, eternal, constant.

The book reviewed is Tatiana Sokolova's JAPANESE BOOM IN RUSSIA. Interest has progressed beyond restaurants to Japanese literature including haiku.

The World Haiku Association Conference was held in Japan in 2003, with the theme BRIDGES; HAIKU AROUND THE WORLD. This was well attended with over a hundred participants from around the world. The report is in Japanese and English and includes haiku.

The haibun, in Japanese and English, and the essay are both interesting and well written. The haibun concerns an assignment in New York and the essay the writers experience of winter in Paris. Both clearly understand classic Japanese literature, especially the essayist, and interweave East and West classical and modern into their works.

Lastly the haiku; each poet is represented by a number of haiku some of which are translated into English, They are all from the modern school of haiku writing and FLYING POPE 10 by Ban'ya Natsuishi is for me the most striking set. Not just an unusual topic but also a most enjoyable group of haiku; for example

	Mid flight
	the Pope devides
	into several.

I found Ginyu enjoyable and stimulating to read. It catches the feeling of the 21st century excellently.