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.
The physical form must be graceful, then a musical quality makes a superior verse.” 体格はまづ優美にして、一曲あるは上品なりTeikaku wa mazu yubi ni shite ikkyoku aru wa johin nari.
Mountains are burned 6: 11 grass painted with blood
Only a few years in this world, betrayed by her stepmother Grief on a pillow of waves
in northern harbor town
山 は こがれて / 草 に 血を ぬる
わずかなる / 世 を や 継母も/ 偽られ
秋田酒田 の / 浪 まくら うき
Yama wa kogarete / kusa ni chi o nuru
Wazuka naru / yo o ya keibo mo / itsuwarare
Akita sakata no / nami makura uki
On last year’s field burdock sprouts emerge
Frog asleep 6: 14 will you borrow dreams from the butterfly?
去年のはたけに牛蒡芽を出す
蛙 ねて / 胡蝶に夢を / かりぬらん
Koso no hatake ni / goboume o dasu
Kawazu nete / kochō ni yume o / karinuran
Sunshiny day celestial maiden caresses the rock spring
Chant of Lotus Sutra 6: 15
at the window elegantly
はるる日は / 石の井なでる / 天おとめ
艶 なる 窓 に / 法華 読む 声
Haruru hi wa / ishi no i naderu /ten otome
En naru mado ni / hokke yomu koe
Final day of mourning, sadness speaks through catalpa bow
Now in a world of grief 6:25 her mirror to sell
はての日は / 梓にかたる / あわれさよ
今ぞうき 世に / 鏡 うりける
Hate no hi wa / azusa ni kataru / awaresa yo
Ima zo uki yo ni / kagami urukeru
Papa gone, she cries in bedroom till daybreak -- Never moving yet covered by clouds the North Star –
Today too for zazen 6: 28 climbing onto the rock
父が旅寝を / 泣きあかすねや
うごかずも / 雲の遮る / 北の星
今日も座禅に / 登る石上
Chichi ga tabine o / naki-akasu neya
Ugokazu mo / kumo no seagiru / kita no hoshi
Kyou mo zazen ni / noboru ishi ue
Summer rains 6: 33 gathering rushing Mogami river
A post on the bank holds firefly here
さみだれを / 集めてすずし / 最上川
きしに蛍を / 繋ぎ鮒杭
Samidare o / atsumete suzushi / mogami-gawa
Kishi ni hotaru o / tsunagi funa kui
Never snowed on this pine tree, for itself, has grown fat
Pressing down bush clover 6: 55 wild boar makes her bed
雪ふかぬ / 松はおのれと / ふとりけり
萩ふみしける / 猪 の 妻
Yuki fukanu / matsu wa onore to / futori keri
Hagi fumi-shikeru / inoshishi no tsuma
Camp fires are seen
below the fortress Respectfully 6: 59
serving the emperor
meager fish
山 城の / 裾に見ゆる / かがり火
奉る / 供御の肴も / 疎か居て
Yamajiro no suso ni / miyuru kagari bi
Tatematsuru / kugo no sakana mo / oroka nite
He stays for two nights before his enemy’s gate -- Sweeping away dreams, on the field stands Jizo statue
Longing for a wifes love? 6: 76 call of a mountain dog
敵 の 門 に/ ニ夜寝にけり
かき消える / 夢 は 野中 の /地蔵にて
妻 恋 するか / 山 犬 の 声
Kataki no mon ni / futayo ne ni keri
Kaki-kieru / yume wa nonaka no / jizou nite
Tsuma koi suru ka / yama inu no koe
Pulled awake to see the Full Moon in her shame
Hair fanned by maids, 6: 74 her thin robe of dew
月見 よと / ひきおこされて / はずかしき
髪あふがする / うすもの の 露
Tsukimi yo to / hiki-okosarete / hazukashiki
Kami augasuru / usumono no tsuyu
Startled by clappers a window in the thicket
Sister cries 6: 79 for her life married to a thief
鳴子 おどろく/ 方 藪 の 窓
盗 人 に /連れ添う妹が / 身をなきて
Naruko odoroku / kata yabu no mado
Nusubito ni / tsuresō imo ga / mi o nakite
Onto my face falling and scattering pear blossoms
“Butterfly” engraved 6: 84 beneath sake cup
吾 顔に / おちかかりたる / 梨 の 花
銘を 胡蝶 と /つけし さがづき
Waga kao ni / ochikakaritaru / nashi no hana
Mei o kochō to / tsukeshi sakazuki
“In from the snow so fire will warm you, I remove iron pot.”
Still in her nightgown 6: 89 yet make-up beautiful
此 雪に/ 先あたれ とや / 釜 揚げて
寝まき ながら の / けはひ 美し
Kono yuki ni / saki atere to ya kama agete
Nemaki nagara no / kehai utsukushi
As moon rises we borrow a guard’s room and bring sake
From the earthen stove 6: 104 smoky autumn wind
月出れば / 関やおからん / 酒もって
土ものの竈の / 煙る秋風
Tsuki dereba / seki ya okaran / sake motte
Domono no kamado no / kemuru aki kaze
Morning devotions at a family temple the bell tolls
One more day of life 6: 107 beggar on an island
あさ勤め / 妻帯 寺 の / かね の 声
今日も 命 と / 嶋 の 乞食
Asa tsutome / saitai-dera no / kane no koe
Kyō mo inochi to / shima no kojiki
Saying something, the tree spirits respond in spring breeze
Form of mountain goddess 6:109 disperses in the rapids
物 いえば /木魂 にひびく / 春 の 風
姿 は 瀧 に / 消える 山 姫
Mono ieba / kodama ni hibiku / yama no kaze
Sugata wa taki ni / kieru yama hime
“Tomorrow strangle!” goose alive and forced into straw bag
The moon breathtaking 6: 110 market for army camp
明日しめん / 雁 を 俵 に/ 生け置て
月 さえすごき / 陣中 の 市
Ashita shimen / kari o tawara ni / ike-oite
Tsuki sae-sugoki / jinchuu no ichi
The Priest sends away my ordinary clothing
That my face 6: 111 resembles my mother’s fascinates
小袖 袴 を / 送る 戒 の 師
吾 顏の / 母 に似たるも / ゆかしくて
Kosode hakama wo / okuru kai no shi
Waga kao no / haha ni nitaru mo / yukashikute
Oh so many disappointments assail me
The mirror reflects 6: 138 my laughing face
数 々に /恨みの 品の / 指しつぎて
鏡 に 移す / 我が わらいがお
Kazu kazu ni / urami no hin no / sashi-tsugite
Kagami ni utsusu / waga warai-gao
Butterfly mourns for wing in shadow of candle
Spring rain is 6:140 tears at the tonsure of a little boy
蝶の羽おしむ / 蝋燭 の 影
春 風 は / 髪 剃 児子の / 泪 にて
Chō no ha oshimu / rōsoku no kage
Haru kaze wa/ kami soru chigo no / namida nite
Pulling manure 6: 145 on a sled is strange over the snow
One flock of crows flies close to people
糞を 引 / 雪車も おかしき / 雪 の 上
一 むら からす / 人 馴れて 飛ぶ
Koe o hiku / sori mo okashiki / yuki no ue
Ichi mura karasu / hito narete tobu
Pines and oaks, are battered, the storm makes a sound
Child shot by an arrow 6: 147 bed of the wild boar
松 柏 / 荒れて 嵐の /音 す なり
子を 射させたる /猪 の 床
Matsu kashiwa / arete arashi no / oto su nari
Ko o sasasetaru / inoshishi no toko
Still standing he leaves his letter near the door
Coins held in her hand 6: 155 the grandmother cries
立 ながら / 文 書て置く/ 見せの 端
銭 持 手 にて / 祖母 の 泣かるる
Tachinagara /bun kaite oku / mise no hashi
Zeni motsu te nite / baba no nakaruru
Rear figure 6: 163 of one seen off, lonely autumn wind
Until spring has come falling willow shadows
見送りの / うしろや 寂し / 秋 の 風
来る 春 まで と / 柳 ちる 陰
Miokuri no / ushiro ya sabishi / aki no kaze
Kuru haru made to / yanagi chiru kage
Only in substance bullfrog has no croak
With one whack 6: 179
of the cane awakened to moon’s crescent
かたち ばかりに/ 蛙 声 なき
一棒に / うたれておがむ / 三日の 月
Katachi bakari ni / kawazu koe naki
Ichibō ni / utarete ogamu / mika no tsuki
“So fine a moon!” 6: 203 for wrestling, they step on hakama to remove
Sword drawn in a flash then held to a stop
月よしと/ 相撲に袴 / 踏みぬぎて
鞘ばしりしを / やがてとめけり
Tsuki yoshi to / suumo ni hakama o / fumi-nugiru
Saya bashirishi o / yagate tome keri
Four or five play women wander about the boonies
In these scribbles 6: 205 I see ... is the name of your darling
遊女 四五 人 / 田舎 わたらひ
落 書 に / 恋しき 君が / 名 も ありて
Yuujo yongo nin / inaka watarai
Rakugaki ni / koishiki kimi ga / na mo arite
First he wipes off dew bamboo hunting bow
Autumn wind 6: 207 saying not a word child in tears
White sleeves passing on in funeral procession
露 まづ 拂う/ 狩 の 弓 竹
秋 風 は / 物 いはぬ 子 も / 涙 にて
白き たもと の / 續く 葬礼
Tsuyu mazu harau / kari no yume take
Aki kaze wa / mono iwanu ko mo /namida nite
Shiroki tamoto no / tsuzuku sōrei
In a small silver pot broiled parsley is served
Hand for a pillow, 6: 209 brushing bits of dust from bed cushion
銀 の 小鍋 に/ 出す 芹 焼き
手 枕 に /しとね の ほこり / 打ち 拂い
Gin no konabe ni / idasu seri yaki
Ta-makura ni /shitone no hokori / uchi harai
Rain clearing to cloudy the biwa have ripened
Long slender 6: 212 Figure of a goddess So gracefully she wrings out red dye 6: 212 into the white rapids
雨 晴れくもり /枇杷の つはる 也
細 長き/ 仙女 の 姿 / たおやか に
あかねをしぼる /水 の しら 浪
Ame hare kumori / biwa no tsuharu nari
Hoso nagaki / sennyo no sugata /taoyakana ni
Akane o shiboru / mizu no shira nami
Basho said:
In the verses of other poets, there is too much making and the heart’s immediacy is lost. What is made from the heart is good; the product of words shall not be prefered.”
或る人の句は、作に過ぎて心の直ぐを失ふなり。
心の作はよし、詞の作は好むべからず。
Aru hito no ku wa, saku ni sugite kokoro no massagu o ushinau nari.
Kokoro no saku wa yoshi, kotoba no saku wa konomu bekarazu.
Strike the bell 6: 213 for fun, so blossoms scatter on us Drunken crazies with 6: 214 April come to an end
酔狂人と /弥生暮行
鐘ついて /遊ばん 花 の / ちりかかる
Suikyounin to / yayoi kureyuku
Kane tsuite / asoban hana no / chirikakaru
Writing a letter to his first beloved, his hand falters
Accustomed to world, 6: 219 monk makes it risqué
Paper lanterns intimately entrusted to a hot spring girl
初恋に / 文 書く すべも / たどたどし
世につかわれて / 僧 の たまめく
提灯を / 湯女にあずける / むつましさ
Hatsu koi ni / bun kaku sube mo / tadotadoshi
Yo ni tsukawarete / sō no tamameku
Chōchin o / yujo ni azukeru / mutsumajika
From last year’s battle bones bleached white
On her day off 6: 222 the wife escorted home in falling rain
The fragrance of mist as she washes her hair
去年の 軍 の / 骨 は 白暴
やぶ入るの / 嫁 や 送らむ / 今日 の 雨
霞む にほひ の / 髪 洗うころ
Kozo no ikusa no / hone wa nozarashi
Yabu iru no / yome ya okuramu / kyō no ame
Kasumu nioi no / kami arau koro
Farmers get seedlings 6: 224 from ancestral house
Morning moon, leaving baby to rock in the cradle
本家 の 早苗 / もらう 百姓
朝 の 月 /囲車に 赤子 を / ゆすり捨て
Honke no sanae / morau hyakushō
Asa no tsuki /isha ni akago o / yusuri sute
My beloved sends me this letter I rip to shreds!
The face of a demon 6: 239 I cry out at the sight
いとおしき / 人の文さえ / 引きさきて
般若の面を / おもかげに泣く
Ito oshiki / hito no bun sae / hikisakite
Hannya no men o / omokage ni naku
To become a nun? parting in the night
By moonlight 6: 260 at him in battle gear
she looks, deeply
尼に成るべき / 宵のきぬぎぬ
月 影 に / 鎧 と やら を / 見 透して
Ama ni naru beki / yoi no kinuginu
Tsuki kake ni / yoroi to yara o / mi sukashite
Now to this brothel my body has been sold -
Can I trust you 6: 275 with a letter I wrote? mirror polisher
此 ごろ 室に / 身を売られたる
文書いて / たのむ 便よりの / 鏡 とぎ
Kono goro muro ni / mi o uraretaru
Bun kakite / tanomu tayori no / kagami toki
While asleep accustomed to the peaceful sound of a cascade
Your poetry improving, 6: 290 sake-drinking disciple
寝る時馴れば安き瀧の音
風雅しあげし酒飲の弟子
Neru toki mo / narureba yasuki / taki no oto
Fuuga shiageshi / sake nomi no deshi
The monk shaves his head on the evening of O-bon
Somehow envious 6: 291 of maiden flower, he steps on and crushes
僧の髪剃る / 盆の夕暮
女郎花な / なに妬くやと/ 踏敷て
Sou no kami soru / bon no yuugata
Ominaeshi / nani netaku ya to / fumi shikite
Crest on the kimono shall melt in the dew
Grown children 6: 321 squabble over who will inherit
露 に けさ ばや / 着る物 の 紋
子どもらが / 傳える 家を / あらそいて
Tsuyu ni kesa baya / kirumono no mon
Kodomora ga / tsutaeru ie o / arasoite
Woman with a cough behind door of weeds
Upon leaving, 6: 334 sweet baby-boar mochi he gives to her
女咳たる / 藪の戸の内
後朝の / ゐの子の餅を / 配るとて
Onna sekitaru / yabu no to no uchi
Kinu ginu no / inokono mochi o / kubaru tote
Under the moon 6: 339 even a frowning face is beautiful
She pounds the cloth in argument with love
月の 前 / しかみし 顔 も / うつくしく
砧 うち 々 / 恋 の いさかい
Tsuki no mae / shikamishi kao mo / utsukushiku
Kinuta uchi uchi / koi no isakai
Now I speak 6: 343 with the nun Shosho
Village snow You are the pure sand I the bitter wind
少将の / あまの話や / 志賀の雪
あなたは真砂 /ここはこがらし
Shoushou no / ama no hanashi ya / shiga no yuki
Anata wa ma suna / ore wa kogarashi
A straw broom only this, in old age snow on the house
Surrounding the brazier 6:344 robes dyed black
草箒 / かばかり 老の/ 家 の 雪
火桶を つつむ 黒染め に きぬ
Usa houki / ka bakari oi no / ie no yuki
hioke o tsutsumu / kurosome ni kinu
“A verse not organized is 1000 chirps of a tongue tip”
句調はずんば 舌頭に千囀せよ。
Ku totonowazunba zettou ni senten se yo
“Poetry benefits from the realization of ordinary words”
俳諧の益は俗語を正すなり
Haikai no eki wa zokugo o tada nari
“The physical form first of all must be graceful then a musical quality makes a superior verse.”
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.
