Murmured Conversations is the first complete and rigorously annotated translation of Sasamegoto (1463-1464), considered the most important and representative poetic treatise of the medieval period in Japan because of its thoroughgoing construction of poetry as a way to attain, and signify through language, the mental liberation (satori) that is the goal of Buddhist practice. It is a fascinating document revealing the central place of Buddhist philosophy in medieval Japanese artistic practices. Shinkei (1406-1475), the author of the treatise, is himself a major poet,...