Destiny: A Collection of Japanese Tanka

Destiny is a collection of Japanese tanka poetry written between 1971 and 1975. This English translation was made for the benefit of May Yen Ting’s non-Japanese-speaking descendants and for those who are interested in bilingual tanka. May Yen Ting was born in Taiwan during the Japanese Occupation. She was educated in Japan and studied Japanese literature at Ochanomizu University. Upon graduation, she returned to Taiwan and taught in a Japanese high school. In her fifties, she wrote several textbooks for Taiwanese to learn Japanese language while teaching in universities.

At the end of World War II, her nationality changed from Japanese to Chinese. Many tanka in this collection were composed while the future of Taiwan was unpredictable, caused by an unsettled international situation. The agony and sorrow of the Taiwanese people can be felt through her words.

My feelings
As I await judgement
These days
I read the news
With bated breath

(Written while awaiting the UN decision to replace Taiwan, Republic of China, by the People’s Republic of China in the Security Council in 1971.)