Product Description

Basho, one of the greatest of Japanese poets and the master of haiku, was also a Buddhist monk and a life-long traveller. His poems combine ‘karumi’, or lightness of touch, with the Zen ideal of oneness with creation. Each poem evokes the natural world - the cherry blossom, the leaping frog, the summer moon or the winter snow - suggesting the smallness of human life in comparison to the vastness and drama of nature. Basho himself enjoyed solitude and a life free from possessions, and his haiku are the work of an observant eye and a meditative mind, uncluttered by materialism and alive to the beauty of the world around him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11111 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

About the Author
Basho was born near Kyoto in 1644. A poet and diarist, he spent his youth as companion to the son of the local lord, and with him studied the writing of poetry. In 1667 he moved to Edo (now Tokyo) and continued to write verse. Eventually, he became a recluse. His writings are strongly influenced by the Zen sect of Buddhism. Lucien Stryk is a well-known translator.

Customer Reviews

For contemplation
An excellent collection of Basho's haiku - Some of which are almost audiovisual, others you can nearly taste. Great for contemplating life on secluded sunkissed beaches and rainy Highland hillsides alike.

Very good
This book is very light an therefore perfect to carry around and read a haiku here and there on the underground, in a park or while waiting for someone. Not all haikus are easy to interpret, but they are all beautifully written by the master of haiku, Basho. An example? "Spring rain - under trees a crystal stream."
Phenomenal.