Wenceslau de Moraes, interpreter of japanese culture

Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7917.2015v20n2p153

In this article we will comment on the critical and creative aspects of Japanese poetry in the work of Portuguese author and diplomat Wenceslau Moraes, who was the first translator of Japanese haiku into Portuguese. The author adopted the form of quatrain poem using lines of five or seven syllables for transcription of Japanese three line verses.  Wenceslau valued puns, popular expressions and other elements of poetic function present in the traditional haiku. The author also commented on aspects of poetic art, philosophy, religion, aesthetics and Japanese language from the philosophical principles of Shinto and Buddhism. His complete works, in the form of essays, letters, diaries and travel reports, include 14 volumes dedicated to Japan and Japanese culture, with special attention to Relance da alma japonesa, published in 1925, a work that covers from tradition court poetry, collected from court anthologies published since the VIII Century a.D, to the classic haiku and popular songs and proverbs.