Jonathan Chaves, professor of Chinese, co-authored “The Same Moon Shines on All: The Lives and Selected Poems of Yanagawa Seigan and Kōran,” a scholarly work examining two of the most significant poets of 19th-century Japan. The book explores the lives of Yanagawa Seigan and his wife, Kōran, who composed poetry in literary Sinitic, a classical Chinese tradition that shaped intellectual life across East Asia. Together, they traveled throughout Japan teaching poetry and selling calligraphy, while Seigan emerged as a nationally renowned literary figure and Kōran became one of the most accomplished female poets in Japanese history.
The book combines biographical analysis with translated selections of poetry, featuring Chaves’ translations of more than 180 poems accompanied by annotations and original Chinese texts. The publication received honorable mention from the Modern Language Association of America’s Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work, recognizing its contribution to literary translation and cross-cultural scholarship.