My writing artist choice for today is Japanese poet and painter Matsuo Basho. He was a celebrated poet of the Edo period who was born to a low rank Samurai and considered a haiku master. Basho worked as a teacher under the name Tosei and published his students work as a collection titled The Best Poems of Tosei’s Twenty Disciples. As he chose to relocate and distance himself from the literary scene, his students built him a house and planted a banana tree on the property in his honor. It is then that he took on the name Matsuo Basho which translates into banana tree. His seclusion and immersion in nature became a key theme in his poems which are inscribed on a number of monuments in Japan. Below are three of his haikus.
Shaking the Grave
shaking the grave
my weeping voice
autumn wind
Temple Bells Die Out
Temple bells die out.
The fragrant blossoms remain.
A perfect evening!
The Warbler Sings
the warbler sings
among new shoots of bamboo
of coming old age
- Matsuo Basho
My 4th writing artist pick for the month is Yosa Buson. A Japanese poet and painter from the Edo period of Japan, he is one of the most prominent for the Haiga style. Haiga is the incorporation of haiku poems into paintings. Yosa apprenticed under Hayano Soa, and ten years after his master's death changed his name from Saicho to Buson. The name Buson translates into cease to be a village. I didn't find many examples of Yosa Buson's haiga work but I have included a few of his haikus and paintings in this post. Enjoy!
kagero ya ajika ni tsuchi wo mezuru-hito
The shimmering heat
…soil in a wicker basket
someone dear
waga zukin ukiyo no sama ni nizu mo gana
In this hood of mine
I hope I bear no likeness
to the worldly scene
kogarashi ya hitato tsumazuku modori-uma
A cold winter wind—
it stumbles suddenly
the returning horse
