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Matsuo Bashō

File:Basho_by_Morikawa_Kyoriku_(1656-1715).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Matsuo Bashō

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Japanese poet (1644–1694)

OverviewAI-generated

Matsuo Bashō, born Matsuo Kinsaku in 1644, was a Japanese poet who wrote in the haikai genre. He studied under Kitamura Kigin and taught students including Takarai Kikaku, Hattori Ransetsu, Morikawa Kyoriku, and Mukai Kyorai. Bashō worked in Edo and is known for notable works such as *Oku no Hosomichi* and the *Frog Poem*. Other significant works include *Basho Ichidai Shu*, *Soran Oku no Hosomichi Zuiyoki*, *Hyosetsu Saga Nikki*, *Kashu Ginko*, and *Basho no Koi Kuku*.

He died on November 28, 1694, in Midōsuji. Bashō spoke and wrote in Japanese. His name in his native language is 松尾芭蕉. The Musa basjoo plant is named after him. He is listed among vital articles and has been referenced by 593 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 39 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Crossref, Wikiquote, Europeana Sparql, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
1644
Died
1694
Works
209

Top works

  • 己ヶ光
  • 芭蕉俳句全錄
  • 評伝・年譜, 芭蕉遺語集
  • 発句篇
  • 巡礼記「おくのほそ道」

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Origin
United States
Active from
1644
Active to
1694
folkguitaristpianist

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
5
Total plays
12

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Matsuo+Bash%C5%8D">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Matsuo Bashō

Quotes

  • やがて死ぬけしきは見えず蝉の声yagate shinukeshiki wa miezusemi no koe
  • I feel lonely as I gaze at the moon. I feel lonely as I think about myself, and I feel lonely as I ponder upon this wretched life of mine. I want to cry out that I am lonely, but no one asks me how I feel.
  • Even if you have three or four extra syllables—or as many as five or seven—you need not worry as long as the verse sounds right.
  • It was a rainy day when I crossed over the Hakone Barrier, and all the mountains were veiled in clouds.
  • The fact that Saigyō composed the poem that begins, "I shall be unhappy without loneliness," shows that he made loneliness his master. He also wrote:In the mountain villagewho are you calling, yobuko-bird?I thought you lived alone.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Works in European collections

1 object attributed to Matsuo Bashō, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

~23 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉; Japanese pronunciation: [ma.tsɯ.o (|) ba.ɕoː], 1644 – November 28, 1694); born Matsuo Kinsaku (松尾 金作), later known as Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa (松尾 忠右衛門 宗房) was the most famous Japanese poet of the Edo period. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku (then called hokku). He is also well known for his travel essays beginning with Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton (1684), written after his journey west to Kyoto and Nara.

Matsuo Bashō's poetry is internationally renowned, and many of his poems are inscribed on monuments and traditional sites in Japan. Although Bashō is famous in the West for his hokku, he himself believed his best work lay in leading and participating in renku. As he himself said, "Many of my followers can write hokku as well as I can. Where I show who I really am is in linking haikai verses."

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Matsuo Bashō” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (8)