The following link is to an article by Seamus Heaney in The Guardian.
http://books.guardian.co.uk/poetry/features/0,,2216085,00.html 

Entitled: "The pathos of things" with a précis: "An economy of means, a sense of stillness and transience, Japanese poetry shares many of the qualities of Old Irish verse. English poetry had much to learn from both traditions. By Seamus Heaney" (Saturday November 24, 2007).

I recommend this article to you as worth the expenditure of your time.

best wishes,
Denis