Matsuo Basho's haiku (also known as haikai and hokku) are often considered the best in the world. A dedicated and disciplined poet, Basho's haiku are beautiful, insightful and deceptively simple.
Matsuo Basho's Haiku and Life
Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) is probably the most well-known and revered of the haiku poets. A famous poet of the Japanese Edo period, he was the son of a samurai (or gentry) class farmer and had a relatively privileged education, including instruction in Japanese and Chinese classics, as well as early exposure to poetry. During his lifetime he basically reinvented haiku, and Basho's haiku gave the poetic form a seriousness and cultural power that it had not had before him.
Matsuo Basho began studying and writing poetry quite young, and by his twenties was already considered a brilliant haiku poet. By his thirties he was teaching poetry and considered a haiku master, but it wasn't until the last decade of his life (after tiring of literary life, ironically) that Matsuo Basho really remade the form, and developed the iconic, simplistic style that he is revered for today. He is considered to be not only one of the world's most famous haiku poets, but one of the world's great lyric poets as well.
Basho: The Haiku Poet Named After a Banana Tree
Basho's haiku show what a dedicated and diligent poet he was, and his obsessive search for perfect phrases and expressions. Known for his intense dedication to perfecting the form, he said that "a poet needs to discipline himself every day," and this penchant for perfection shows in the thousands of ingenious, beautiful haiku that he wrote.
Basho's Haiku
Basho's haiku are often brilliant, intense and heartfelt. The examples below are just some of the stunning examples of his ability to juxtapose images, to capture emotionally intense moments with simple language, and of his acceptance and understanding of the transient nature of life and the natural world around him.
*
The crane's legs
have gotten shorter
in the spring rain.
*
A field of cotton–
as if the moon
had flowered.
*
Another year gone–
hat in my hand,
sandals on my feet.
*
Harvest moon–
walking around the pond
all night long.
*
The oak tree:
not interested
in cherry blossoms.
*
A bee
staggers out
of the peony.
*
A cicada shell;
it sang itself
utterly away.
*
The Zen of Basho's Haiku and Life
Basho's haiku and life show his study of traditional poetry and Zen, and his general non-attachment to a material life. This non-attachment could have been the result of his studies of Chinese Taoism and Buddhism, or, more likely, of having lived a life marked by regular events of sadness and loss. Sadly, starting at a very young age, Basho seemed to be followed by tragedy. When he was twelve, his father died. When he was twenty-two, his young friend and master died. When he was in his forties, his house burned down and then shortly after, his mother died. It was after this time that Basho began his homeless pilgrimage, wandering and writing travel journals that are now considered Japanese classics (like The Narrow Road to the Deep North). With these experiences to draw upon, it should probably come as no wonder that Basho's haiku would so often (and so brilliantly) call upon the transient nature of life.
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Sources
The Essential Haiku: Versions of Baho, Buson and Issa. Robert Hass. The Ecco Press, 1994.
Basho: The Complete Haiku. Jane Reichhold. Kodansha International, 2008.
Jennifer Silva - Jenn is a professional writer and editor with experience in: technical communications (medical, manufacturing and publishing ...
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