Shuntaro Tanikawa, "who pioneered modern Japanese poetry, poignant but conversational in its divergence from haiku and other traditions," died November 13, the Associated Press reported. He was 92. Tanikawa also translated the Peanuts comic strip and wrote the lyrics for the theme song of the animation series Astro Boy.
His first book, Two Billion Light Years of Solitude (1952), "stunned the literary world" and became a bestseller, the AP noted, adding that the poem was "a bold look at the cosmic in daily life, sensual, vivid but simple in its use of everyday language." In his debut work, translated by William I. Elliott and Kazuo Kawamura, he wrote: "Because the universe goes on expanding, we are all uneasy. With the chill of two billion light-years of solitude, I suddenly sneezed."
"For me, the Japanese language is the ground. Like a plant, I place my roots, drink in the nutrients of the Japanese language, sprouting leaves, flowers and bearing fruit," he said in a 2022 AP interview.
Collections of his poetry in English include The Selected Poems of Shuntaro Tanikawa, translated by Harold Wright (1983); Floating the River in Melancholy, translated by Elliott & Kawamura (1989), which won an American Book Award; Selected Poems, translated by Elliott (2001); and The Art of Being Alone: Poems 1952–2009, translated by Takako Lento (2011). Among his many honors are a Yomiuri Prize, an Asahi Prize, and a Zhongkun International Poetry Award.
Tanikawa wrote the script for Kon Ichikawa's documentary film Tokyo Olympiad, about the 1964 games. He also translated Mother Goose, Maurice Sendak, and Leo Lionni. Some of his works were made into children's picture books.
Noting that he wasn't afraid of death, Tanikawa observed: "I am more curious about where I will go when I die. It's a different world, right? Of course, I don't want pain. I don't want to die after major surgery or anything. I just want to die, all of a sudden."
Japan Forward noted that from "the minutiae of daily life to the vast expanse of the universe, Tanikawa's poetry, with its rhythmic and transparent everyday language, was widely adored. An ambitious dream drove his lifelong dedication to poetry: to deliver the same profound emotions through words as one experiences when listening to music."
Regarding his poetry, Tanikawa wrote: "I want to present beautiful combinations of the Japanese language. My dream is for poetry to be like the flowers of nature--simple, with no particular message or meaning, yet universally appreciated as beautiful."