Matsuo Basho

[ . BACK to TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Matsuo Basho, a Haiku Poet 　松尾芭蕉

See below for Basho-Ki memorial day, as a kigo for haiku.
Matsuo Bashoo, Basho Matsuo, Bashoo


WKD : Matsuo Basho, the Haiku Poet


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Japan Times: July 1, 2005 (C) All rights reserved http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050701se.htm MATSUO BASHO Walking the path of a legendary poet By SUMIKO ENBUTSU A 1830s woodcut print is the image of the great haiku poet Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), rendered by Hasegawa Settan (1778-1843). Depicting a legendary scene in which the poet was inspired to pen one of his masterpieces, Basho is seated at his writing desk in a humble cottage thatched with straw. A brushwood fence in the foreground on the right-hand side, moss-covered stepping stones in the garden, a pond overgrown with reeds, and stark surroundings suggested by thick horizontal lines in the background, all combine to conjure up the image of a hermit in seclusion from worldly concerns. Pausing in his work, the poet casts a glance at the pond and sees a frog leap into the water, creating ripples. This was the birth of his famous haiku: "Listen! a frog, Jumping into the stillness, Of an ancient pond!" (Translation by Dorothy Britton). In 1680, Basho moved to Fukagawa on the east bank of the Sumida River to escape the din and bustle of Nihonbashi, near the center of the city, where he had lived for nine years. In those days, Fukagawa was a sparsely populated piece of reclaimed land beyond the boundary of Edo City. With no bridge yet built on the Sumida, boats plied busy waterways during the day, but early in the morning and evening silence prevailed in the area and Basho could hear the gongs of temple bells ringing in Ueno and Asakusa, 4 km away. Nearby was a Zen temple, Rinsen-ji, where he was admitted to practice meditation. The whole set-up was to his taste and met his needs so Basho made Fukagawa his base in Edo until his death in 1694. It was from here that he struck out on his many travels. He was especially pleased by a banana tree planted in the garden and used the plant name, basho, to call his cottage Basho-an. He also changed his pen name from Tosei to Basho. The plant, which had been introduced from China for medicinal purposes and to get fiber for weaving, was probably loved for the sound it made when raindrops pattered. Our exploration of Fukagawa starts at Kiyosumi Shirakawa Station on the Hanzomon and Toei Oedo lines. Leaving the station via Exit A1, make a U-turn right to reach Mannenbashi bridge, passing the Oguruma-beya sumo stable along the way (marked by a sake keg at the front door). You might see young wrestlers out on the street after morning training. Let us hurry to cross the bridge and look for Basho Inari-jinja shrine on a lane to the left. Though dedicated to Inari, the god of rice harvest and business prosperity, the shrine is a Tokyo Metropolitan Government-designated historic site that commemorates Basho's abode. As Basho moved twice within Fukagawa, and the whole area underwent drastic changes in land ownership in modern times, the exact locations of all the Basho-related sites were forgotten and became difficult to determine. However, when a large tsunami hit the area in 1917, a stone frog was discovered at this spot, suggesting the possibility that his last cottage stood here, especially as the poet had a fondness for the amphibian. Local citizens then decided to dedicate a shrine to his spirit as well as to the Inari god whose shrine was marked here on the old area map. As the original wooden building was burnt down by the 1945 air raids, they built a new one in concrete. The poet is honored by another, more modern memorial nearby. At the end of the lane, a pocket-size park is tucked away behind a wooden gate and short flights of rugged stone steps. Ascending to an airy terrace on the very edge of the Sumida, visitors would hold their breath at the sight of Kiyosubashi Bridge straddling the broad expanse of the river water as boats passed by underneath it, with their white wakes. A bronze statue of Basho on a pedestal is installed at the center of the platform, surrounded by bamboo, banana trees and other plants that sway in the wind, as well as reproductions of Basho-themed old sketches. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050701se.htm

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Haiku-Links for Basho:

BASHO: Basho-an Dot Com japanese only. 日本語だけ。
Exhaustive Database about Basho and his work. Many valuable Pictures.

Matsuo Basho ... Matsuo Basho (2) ... Matsuo Basho (3)
About the Poet.

BASHO : Complete Biography in English
Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale Research, 1998.

BASHO : Narrow Road .. by Makoto Ueda
Comments to the text.

BASHO: Basho's World <> Yuasa, Nobuyuki Translation
English Translaton of Oku no Hosomichi. With nice pictures.

BASHO : His complete works 芭蕉の俳句集。日本語
Explanations to all the famous haiku

BASHO in Russian, English and Japanese
Various translations offered for each haiku.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Basho Memorial Day, kigo for early winter

also called
Winter Rain Anniversary (shigure ki 時雨忌, shigure-e 時雨会)
Old Master's Day (Okina no hi 翁の日)
Green Peach Day (Toosei ki 桃青忌）　
'Green Peach' was Basho's pen name before he choose the Banana plant, Basho.

"Basho's Day, basho-ki, 芭蕉忌

On the 12th day of the 10th lunar month of 1694 (25 November, Gregorian), Basho, the founder of haikai and haiku as we know them today, died. He was at a stopover midway on yet another journey, in Osaka, and attended by a number of disciples. Still observed according to the lunar calendar, which varies considerably from year to year with respect to the Gregorian, the date is associated with the characteristic early WINTER DRIZZLE.

In Japanese the name of an important figure followed by ki means the person's death anniversary. In English, we have sometimes used "remembered" to suggest this...
In haikai the Master's Day or Master's Anniversary (okina no ki　翁の忌) always refers to Basho's Day."

Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac by William J. Higginson

Quoted from　here, where you find much more information and haiku about this day :
http://hometown.aol.com/Vanpire13/bk.htm

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..

There is some dispute as to the exact day of his death.

Bashô's Memorial Day (bashooki, early winter). Day 12 of the 10th lunar month, 28 Nov 1694 Gregorian.
http://renku.home.att.net/500ESWd.html

.. .. .. .. .. ..

FRAGMENTARY NOTES ON BASHO By Susumu Takiguchi Basho’s Death It is generally held that Basho died at the Saru-no-Koku (around 4 o’ clock in the afternoon) on the 12th day of the Kamina-zuki (October according to the lunar calendar) of the 7th year of the Genroku Era, or 1694. He was taken ill on his last journey in Osaka and came to the end of his 50 years of life at the house of Hanaya Nizaemon in Minami-Mido-Mae, watched by many of his disciples who hurriedly assembled at his bedside. (The equivalent date of his death according to the solar calendar is 28 November.) (Note) There are not a few discrepancies in the Japanese kigo in terms of regional differences (space) and historical changes (time). The discrepancies caused by the change of Japanese national calendar from the lunar to solar system in 5 Meiji (1972), when 3 December was designated 1 January 1973, are the most pronounced. Even today, there are still a lot of cases of confusion in the use of these season words and those relating to the dates of death of famous literary figures are no exception. In many cases both lunar calendar date and solar calendar date are used interchangeably, though in some cases such as that of Ariwara-no-Narihira (date of death: 28 May 880 under the lunar calendar) the same date of the lunar calendar is used to celebrate his anniversary of death even under the solar calendar (i.e. 28 May). In the case of Basho-ki, the practice is presumably mixed in the sense that some poets use the same date of the lunar calendar (12 October) even if it means that it is more than a month earlier than the precise equivalent of solar calendar (28 November). 12 of October in Japan could still be warm or even hot in some places while 28 of November could be very cold and this would give a totally different perception about the circumstances of Basho's death. .. .. .. Basho-ki The day of Basho’s death has been celebrated since soon after he died, and has been given various names of which Basho-ki is the most well-known. Other names include: Shigure-ki, Shigure-e, Okina-ki, Okina-no-hi, Tosei-ki, Basho-e. These are all used as kigo (early winter). Basho-an-Kobunko, which was edited by Fumikuni and published in 9 Genroku (1696), has a memorial haiku by the editor himself: Basho-e to moushi-some-keri zo no mae we have started to call it Basho-e before his statue Some examples of Basho-ki haiku: Basho-ki no suzuke no hiya ya Ohmi-kabu Mori Sumio Basho-ki… the cool of Ohmi turnips pickled in vinegar mizu-umi no samusa o shira-nu Okina-no-Ki Takahama Kyoshi realising the coldness of the lake, on Okina-no-ki tabi ichiya akete Okina-no-Ki nari-keri Azumi Atsushi one night on my journey, I woke up to find the day was Okina-no-ki Basho-ki ya zori ni nagomu tsuki-akari Watanabe Suiha Basho-ki... the moonlight looking comfortable on my zori sandals http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1659

.. .. .. .. .. ..

Two german researchers, Udo Wenzel and Gerhard P. Peringer have found various dates for this day, for example
October 12, November 8, November 25 and November 28 of 1694

Read it all here in German:
http://kulturserver-nds.de/home/haiku-dhg/Archiv/Wenzel_Bashos%20Todestag.htm

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

HAIKU

ばせを忌やことしもまめで旅虱
bashôki ya kotoshi mo mame de tabi-jirami

Basho's Death-Day--
another year in good health
my journey's lice

.. .. ..

翁忌や何やらしゃべる門雀
okina-ki ya naniyara shaberu kado suzume

Basho's Death-Day--
what are you chattering
sparrows at the gate?

Read 17 haiku by Issa, translated by David Lanoue.
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/searchissa.php?s_string=basho&sorter=date

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Basho-ki ya zori ni nagomu tsuki-akari

Basho-Tag ...
das Mondlicht behaglich
auf meinen Strohsandalen

(Watanabe Suiha, 1882 – 1946)

.. .. ..

mizu-umi no samusa wo shiri-nu Okina-no-ki

ich spüre
die Kälte vom See —
des Alten Meisters Gedenktag

(Takahama Kyoshi, 1874 – 1959)

(Übersetzungen von Gabi Greve und Udo Wenzel)
http://kulturserver-nds.de/home/haiku-dhg/Archiv/Wenzel_Bashos%20Todestag.htm



ume ga ka ni notto hi no deru yamaji kana
梅が香にのっと日の出　山路かな

in the fragrance of plum blossoms
the sun comes out
on this mountain road

Click on the haiku to see the memorial stone in Doi, Okayama prefecture.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Read about the Renku Meeting Halls in Old Osaka.

Hirano Rengasho 平野連歌所


External LINK

Photos and Illustrations about Basho
松尾芭蕉ノート..


*****************************

WKD : More about
Matsuo Basho


Sound of Water (mizu no oto) and how to translate it ... 　


Kitamuki Unchiku ... 北向雲竹 Calligraphy teacher of Basho.


Back to the Daruma Museum Index

Back to the Daruma Forum

Alphabetical Index of World Kigo