Bashō
Matsuo Bashō was born in 1644 near Ueno in Iga Province, Japan. Originally named Matsuo Kinsaku, he served a samurai family before turning to poetry. He studied haikai under Kitamura Kigin and developed a style blending classical and everyday language. In the 1680s, he moved to Edo (now Tokyo), where his haiku gained acclaim for their subtlety and spiritual depth. Bashō traveled extensively, composing poems and travel journals such as The Narrow Road to the Deep North. Revered as the master of haiku, he died in Osaka in 1694 while on one of his poetic journeys.
Spring / 春
- A Spring Day ~ Issa and Bashō
- Bashō’s New Year’s Wealth
- Cheering Blossoms at Kisakata
- Nameless Mountain ~ The Humor of Bashō
- Ransetsu and the Childless Woman
- Shiki’s Pear Tree: War, Ruins, and a Reply to Bashō
- Spring (and Setsubun) Before the New Year in Poetry
- The Skylark’s Song: Bashō’s Haiku on Spring’s Fleeting Beauty
- Uguisu Poop and Karumi
Summer / 夏
Autumn / 秋
- An Autumn Moon Above Edo
- Follow the Moon, Traveling to an Inn, a Haiku Journey
- Silent Moon
- Summer or Autumn, Which is Which?
- To Not be Enlightened – The Zen of Bashō
- Unfazed and Unenlightened Toad
Winter / 冬
- Broken Sticks and Dead Branches
- Cold Night and Loneliness
- Drunk and Playing in the Snow with Bashō
- Echoes of Absence: Bashō’s Autumn Reflection
- I Am Poor: Bashō’s Pursuit of Poetic Purity