Matsuo Bashō

thumb|Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉, 1644 – 28 November 1694) was a major Japanese poet, primarily known for his haiku poems and poetic diaries. Quotes Oku no Hosomichi - The Narrow Road to the Interior (1702) Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. Translation of Sam Hamill, Narrow Road to the Interior and other writings (2000), page 3 thumb|right|Seek not the paths of the ancients; Seek that which the ancients sought. 行く春や鳥啼き魚の目は泪yuku haru yatori naki uo nome wa namida Spring passesand the birds cry out—tearsin the eyes of fishes Matsuo Bashō, Narrow Road to the Interior and other writings, Boston, 2000, p. 4 (Translation: Sam Hamill) Spring is passing by!Birds are weeping and the eyesOf fish fill with tears. Matsuo Bashō, The Narrow Road to Oku, Tokyo, 1996, p. 23 (Translation: Donald Keene) 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡natsukusa yatsuwamonodomo gayume no ato The summer grasses—For many brave warriorsThe aftermath of dreams. Donald Keene, Travelers of a Hundred Ages, New York, 1999, p. 316 (Translation: Donald Keene) The summer grasses—Of brave soldiers' dreamsThe aftermath. Matsuo Bashō, The Narrow Road to Oku, Tokyo, 1996, p. 87 (Translation: Donald Keene) 静けさや 岩に滲み入る 蝉の声shizukesaya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe How still it is!Stinging into the stones,The locusts' trill. Donald Keene, World Within Walls: Japanese Literature of the Pre-Modern Era, 1600-1867, New York, 1999, p. 89 (Translation: Donald Keene) Individual poems thumb|I am oneWho eats his breakfast,Gazing at morning glories. 朝顔に我は飯食ふ男かなasagao niware wa meshi kûotoko kana I am oneWho eats his breakfast,Gazing at morning glories. The Way of Silence: The Prose and Poetry of Basho (1970), Richard Lewis 京にても京なつかしや時鳥kyou nitemokyou natsukashi yahototogisu Even in Kyōto—hearing the cuckoo's cry—I long for Kyōto Robert Hass (1994) The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, and Issa Bird of time –in Kyoto, piningfor Kyoto. Basho, On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho, London, 1985, p. 43 (Translation: Lucien Stryk) 古池や蛙飛び込む水の音furu ike yakawazu tobikomumizu no oto The old pond:A frog jumps in,—The sound of the water. Classical Japanese Database, Translation #64 (Translation: Reginald Horace Blyth) At the ancient pondthe frog plunges intothe sound of water (Translation: Sam Hamill)Old pond,leap-splash –a frog.Basho, On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho, London, 1985, p. 58 (Translation: Lucien Stryk)Breaking the silenceOf an ancient pond,A frog jumped into water –A deep resonance.Matsuo Bashō, The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches, London, 1966, p. 9 (Translation: Nobuyuki Yuasa) やがて死ぬけしきは見えず蝉の声yagate shinukeshiki wa miezusemi no koeSoon to dieyet showing no signthe cicada's voice 旅に病で夢は枯野をかけ廻るtabi ni yandeyume wa kareno wokake-meguruSick on a journey,my dreams wanderthe withered fields.Bashō's last poem, written while he was dying of a stomach illness. (Translation: Robert Hass)Sick on a journey –over parched fieldsdreams wander on.Basho, On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho, London, 1985, p. 81 (Translation: Lucien Stryk)Travelling, sickMy dreams roamOn a withered moor.(Unknown translator) Reported as Basho's death poem. Moon almost fullI'm thirty-ninea child still. Translation of David Young, Moon Woke Me Up Nine Times: Selected Haiku of Basho (2013) Miscellaneous quotations 古人の跡を求めず，古人の求めしところを求めよ。kojin no ato wo motomezu, kozjin no motometaru tokoro wo motomeyoSeek not the paths of the ancients; Seek that which the ancients sought.Translation found in Jackson, B. (2014) The Inspirational Atheist: Wise Words on the Wonder and Meaning of Life, where it is cited as being from "Words by a Brushwood Gate" I feel lonely as I gaze at the moon. I feel lonely as I think about myself, and I feel lonely as I ponder upon this wretched life of mine. I want to cry out that I am lonely, but no one asks me how I feel. Basho: The Complete Haiku (2013), Jane Reichhold Even if you have three or four extra syllables—or as many as five or seven—you need not worry as long as the verse sounds right.' From a letter to Takayama Biji, 20 June 1682, as quoted in Basho: The Complete Haiku (2013) by Jane Reichhold It rains during the morning. No visitors today. I feel lonely and amuse myself by writing at random. These are the words:Who mourns makes grief his master.Who drinks makes pleasure his master. Robert Hass (1994) The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, and Issa It was a rainy day when I crossed over the Hakone Barrier, and all the mountains were veiled in clouds. Days like this, when Mt Fuji cannot be seenFor the misty rain,Have an appeal all on their own. The Literature of Mt Fuji: Japanese Classical Literature, 2017, Chuo University; cited as being from "Nozarashi kiko 野ざらし紀行（Bleached Bones in the Field, 1684)" This haiku also translated by Jane Reichhold in Basho: The Complete Haiku (2013) as:misty showersthe day one cannot see Mount Fujiit is more attractive Mount Fuji, towering up from the earth, supporting the firmament so high above, seems to rend open the clouds that the sun and moon might shine through. Viewed from any position, the mountain seemingly presents its finest vista, infinitely changing. The poet is at a loss for suitable verses; the scholar finds his words lacking; the painter, throwing down his brushes, scurries off. Even if by chance an immortal should descend from Mount Miǎogūyè, would he be able to compose suitable verses, or paint a faithful picture? All in an instant, now amidst clouds, now within mist,One hundred beautiful scenes are revealed. The Literature of Mt Fuji: Japanese Classical Literature, 2017, Chuo University; cited as being from "Shiho no san 士峰の賛 (In Praise of Mount Fuji), which is essentially a preface to one of Bashō's poems" The fact that Saigyō composed the poem that begins, "I shall be unhappy without loneliness," shows that he made loneliness his master. He also wrote:In the mountain villagewho are you calling, yobuko-bird?I thought you lived alone. There's nothing so intriguing as living alone. Robert Hass (1994) The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, and IssaMy body, now close to fifty years of age, has become an old tree that bears bitter peaches, a snail which has lost its shell, a bagworm separated from its bag; it drifts with the winds and clouds that know no destination. Morning and night I have eaten traveler's fare, and have held out for alms a pilgrim's wallet.Genjūan no Fu ("Prose Poem on the Unreal Dwelling") in Donald Keene, Anthology of Japanese Literature, p. 374 (Translation: Donald Keene) The haiku that reveals seventy to eighty percent of its subject is good. Those that reveal fifty to sixty percent, we never tire of. As quoted in Collected Haiku Theory, eds. T. Komiya & S. Yokozawa, Iwanami, 1951 (Unknown translator) He who creates three to five haiku poems during a lifetime is a haiku poet. He who attains to completes ten is a master. As quoted in Collected Haiku Theory, eds. T. Komiya & S. Yokozawa, Iwanami, 1951 (Unknown translator) Quotes about ... the sparrow’s chirp, the crow’s caw, the willow’s green, the cherry blossom’s pink, are the truth of the Zen master and the essence of Basho's style. Masaoka Shiki, Janine Beichman, 1982, Masaoka ShikiDisputed The yellow rosepetals—one by one—gone intoroaring waterfalls Attributed to Basho by Arun Shourie in Preparing: For Death (2020) See also Saigyo Masaoka Shiki Kobayashi Issa Shotetsu External linksClassical Japanese Database'', featuring various poems by Bashō in original and translation "Matsuo Bashô: Frog Haiku", featuring 31 translations and one commentary of the haiku Category:Poets from Japan Category:1644 births Category:1694 deaths Category:Buddhists from Japan Category:Gay poets