About Calm Leaves: Waka Poetry from My Great-Grandfather's Japan
A Japanese woman in Tokyo reads her great-grandfather's waka poems — and finds that his quiet words, written decades ago, still speak to life today. Short episodes for anyone seeking a moment of calm.
Every morning, my great-grandfather walked alone to check on a winter flower — hoping to find it in bloom. It never was. Only the frost, and beneath it, a deep faithful green.
A poem about waiting, returning, and the quiet practice of showing up — even when nothing has changed yet.
Original Japanese waka with English translation by Saku.
3 Jun 2026
Save Them
More machines. Still poor. My great-grandfather looks outward — at the struggling farming villages of his time — and hears a voice with no clear source. A poem about noticing what we cannot unhear. Original Japanese waka with English translation by Saku.
30 May 2026
The Cat and the Breathing
In the middle of the night, a cat falls from the fence. My great-grandfather's wife does not wake — but her breathing shifts. A poem about stillness, and the quiet ways we pay attention to the people we love. Original Japanese waka with English translation by Saku.
27 May 2026
The Foggy Windows
A winter night. A train passes quietly behind the town. My great-grandfather didn't write about the train — he wrote about the windows. Original Japanese waka with English translation by Saku.
23 May 2026
The Grass That Blocked My Way
In this first episode, Saku reads the opening poem from her great-grandfather's waka collection — a small moment on a summer riverbank, and what it quietly became. Original Japanese with English translation.
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