Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Bashō, born 松尾 金作, then Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa, was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku. Matsuo Bashō's poetry is internationally renowned; and, in Japan, many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Although Bashō is justifiably famous in the West for his...
NationalityJapanese
ProfessionPoet
CountryJapan
Orchidbreathing incense into butterfly's wings
When composing a verse let there not be a hair's breath separating your mind from what you write; composition of a poem must be done in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree or a swordsman leaping at a dangerous enemy.
Calm and serene The sound of a cicada Penetrates the rock.
Awakened at midnight by the sound of the water jar cracking from the ice
Harvest moon: around the pond I wander and the night is gone.
Along my journey / through this transitory world, / new year's housecleaning.
Ballet in the air... Twin butterflies until, twice white They Meet, they mate
Seek on high bare trails Sky-reflecting violets... Mountain-top jewels
Breaking the silence Of an ancient pond, A frog jumped into water - A deep resonance.
Go to the pine if you want to learn about the pine, or to the bamboo if you want to learn about the bamboo. And in doing so, you must leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself. Otherwise you impose yourself on the object and you do not learn.
Nothing in the cry of cicadas suggests they are about to die
Summer grasses, All that remains Of soldiers' dreams
O cricket from your cherry cry No one would ever guess How quickly you must die.
From all these trees, in the salads, the soup, everywhere, cherry blossoms fall.