The first literary study of the Man’yōshū published in a generation, Traversing the Frontier provides a smooth and faithful translation of the 145 poems in the Silla sequence. Through erudite and approachable commentaries on this miniature anthology, and valuable chapters on its literary and historical contexts, this fine study serves as an excellent introduction to the entire Man’yōshū, and to early Japanese poetry in general.
David B. Lurie, Columbia University Traversing the Frontier makes a significant contribution to the scholarship on eighth-century Japan and early Japanese literary history. This extraordinarily detailed study introduces valuable lenses through which scholars and students can examine other aspects of early Japanese culture and literature.
Laurel Rasplica Rodd, University of Colorado at Boulder Mack Horton’s virtuosic translation and thorough analysis of the Silla sequence demonstrate a connoisseur’s understanding of subtle literary aesthetics and a historian’s mastery of the broader social contexts in which Man’yōshū poetry was composed, performed, and preserved.
Jason P. Webb, University of Oregon