19 The Haiku and Haijin
Naples National Archaeological Museum, public domain.
“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
The Haijin:
Basho - the poet
Pondering, penning - afoot
Your journey, and mine.
Basho
Master of the haiku and Japan's most popular poet, Basho was born in 1644 in Ueno, Japan as Matsuo Kinsakin.
His father, a samurai, served the ruling lord of Ueno. At a young age, Bashō moved into the Ueno Castle and became a study companion to lord’s heir, Yoshitada. The boys both were interested in poetry and studied it and wrote it. Then, suddenly, Yoshitada died. At the age of 22, Bashō left Ueno Castle and traveled around Japan. No one knows for certain exactly what he did during this time. Some suggest that he studied literature in Kyoto or Zen at a Kyoto monastery. He did keep beautiful travel logs, called haibun. He finally settled in Edo, which is called Tokyo today, where he continued his studies.
Writing, he began to become popular. In his life-time, he would teach over 2000 students. Taking a literary name, he first, in honor of the well-known Chinese poet Li Po, whose name means plum in white, called himself Tosei (桃青), unripe peach in blue. Students settled around him to learn from him. One story goes that in 1680, a student built a hut for him and called it the Basho-an (Banana-tree retreat). From this time, he became known as Basho (松尾芭蕉) another story says that the student gave him a banana tree and after planting it in his garden in Edo, it became his favorite tree.
Basho often traveled. In fact, he spent the last ten years of his life, traveling. As he walked, he wrote. He journaled and penned poems. As said before, the journals he created are known as haibun, a mix of poetry and prose. His haibun Narrow Road to the Interior is widely celebrated.
Basho collaborated with many poets to create rengas; but somehow shifted into only focusing on the opening three lines and began using those opening lines to the longer poem as a stand alone poem which is today known as the haiku. At the same time, he shifted the tone - pushing the haiku away from a more comic and bawdy style characterized by puns and parody to a more serious expression of the human experience with the natural world. Bashō developed the 5–7–5 syllable pattern used in haiku today. He influence is global.
He died in 1694, when he was 50, with stomach complications.
“The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.”
Resources
Boucquey, Thierry. “Bashō.” Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries, Facts On File, 2005. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=101204&itemid=WE54&articleId=40855. Accessed 15 Sept. 2021.
Cook, James Wyatt. “Bashō.” Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2014. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=101204&itemid=WE54&articleId=37728. Accessed 15 Sept. 2021.
Questions
What do you know about Basho?
Have you ever read or listened to a haiku by Basho?
Do you have a favorite writing by Basho?
If you could ask Basho a question about his work, what would it be?