The only substantial
collection in English
of Basho's renku, tanka,
letters and spoken word
along with his haiku, travel
journals, and essays.
The only poet in old-time
literature who paid attention with praise
to ordinary women, children, and teenagers
in hundreds of poems
Hundreds upon hundreds of Basho works
(mostly renku)about women, children,
teenagers, friendship, compassion, love.
These are resources we can use to better
understand ourselves and humanity.
Interesting and heartfelt
(not scholarly and boring)
for anyone concerned with
humanity.
“An astonishing range of
social subject matter and
compassionate intuition”
"The primordial power
of the feminine emanating
from Basho's poetry"
Hopeful, life-affirming
messages from one of
the greatest minds ever.
Through his letters,
we travel through his mind
and discover Basho's
gentleness and humanity.
I plead for your help in
finding a person or group
to take over my 3000 pages of Basho material,
to edit and improve the material, to receive 100%
of royalties, to spread Basho’s wisdom worldwide
and preserve for future generations.
Quotations from Basho Prose
The days and months are
guests passing through eternity.
The years that go by
also are travelers.
The mountains in silence
nurture the spirit;
the water with movement
calms the emotions.
All the more joyful,
all the more caring
Seek not the traces
of the ancients;
seek rather the
places they sought.
Complete Basho Renku Intepretative Anthology volume 7, p. 299
芭蕉連句注解、７巻 ｐ。２９９ より
Young and helpless with bow and arrows, the boy kneels
White hair seen through gaps in bamboo blind
The two stanzas are sections of a jigsaw puzzle, separated by blank spaces. I fill in the missing pieces I see between the two stanzas – and welcome you to paint the puzzle pieces differently than I do:
The newest student at an archery dojo kneels on the floor, feeling small and weak. To this we add an image of the dojo where tall powerful men strut about with dangerous weapons, making the boy feel the way he does. Next, a description of his kneeling position, hiza-mazuki, hips resting on heels propped up on feet with toes forward – students of Japanese martial arts will recognize this -- a position of alert readiness; so
he struggles to keep his skinny back and shoulders straight, with all the resolution hecan muster against the intimidation.
White hair shows in long horizontal gaps between thin bamboo stalks tied in parallel; this belongs to the boy’s grandfather who hides behind the screen to watch without the boy knowing. He understands that his grandson must not see him, for this would interfere with his training. How does he know this? Granddad (in my jigsaw puzzle) is an accomplished archer – in Japanese, a shihan – who has trained in this dojo since
he was a child. With this final piece, the fulfilment of this thread, as the old man watches, he can see himself kneeling there young and helpless 50 years ago today. He sees the entire process of little boy becoming aged master.
So we cooperate with the poet to fulfil a life-affirming vision. With the missing pieces filled in, the two stanzas convey a profound human truth: the grandfather’s compassionate concern for his grandson, a bond which passes through to the third generation.
I request your assistance in getting out the wordon the warm affectionate Basho who wrote hundreds of poems about women and children, about friendship, love, and compassion; hundreds of Basho works unknown to all, yet the most pro-female, child-centered, and life-affirming works ever written?
I plead for your help in finding a person or group to take over my 3000 pages of Basho material, to edit and improve the presentation, to receive all royalties from sales, to spread Basho’s wisdom worldwide and preserve for future generations.
The only substantial
collection in English
of Basho's renku, tanka,
letters and spoken word
along with his haiku, travel
journals, and essays.
The only poet in old-time
literature who paid attention with praise
to ordinary women, children, and teenagers
in hundreds of poems
Hundreds upon hundreds of Basho works
(mostly renku)about women, children,
teenagers, friendship, compassion, love.
These are resources we can use to better
understand ourselves and humanity.
Interesting and heartfelt
(not scholarly and boring)
for anyone concerned with
humanity.
“An astonishing range of
social subject matter and
compassionate intuition”
"The primordial power
of the feminine emanating
from Basho's poetry"
Hopeful, life-affirming
messages from one of
the greatest minds ever.
Through his letters,
we travel through his mind
and discover Basho's
gentleness and humanity.
I plead for your help in
finding a person or group
to take over my 3000 pages of Basho material,
to edit and improve the material, to receive 100%
of royalties, to spread Basho’s wisdom worldwide
and preserve for future generations.
Quotations from Basho Prose
The days and months are
guests passing through eternity.
The years that go by
also are travelers.
The mountains in silence
nurture the spirit;
the water with movement
calms the emotions.
All the more joyful,
all the more caring
Seek not the traces
of the ancients;
seek rather the
places they sought.
