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.
“Are you asleep?” strange that the dog’s tail holds its shape
芭蕉連句全注解、 ７巻 ｐ。４６
１３ すずしさの裸になりて月を待 良品
裸になって涼しき夕べ、出でんとする月をまつとした
１４ 筵をたてにはしりとびする 芭蕉
夕方の庭先では子供達まではだかになって 筵を盾にして走りとび越えて遊んでいる。
１５ ねて居るかおかしく犬の尾をすべて 風麦
おかしく恰好で尻尾を握えたまま、眠っているような犬
Ryoban shows us little children with no inhibition at all about taking off their clothes when the heat is so oppressive even in the evening. Waiting for the moon to rise may carry the hidden meaning of “waiting for puberty.” Basho adds the joy of free full-body movement to the scene – the only author in world literature to make such an observation of children moving exuberantly.
Basho says naked is okay, but how about a bit of restraint? The kids hold thin straw mats about a meter square in front of them as they dash about screaming. Still we see their “moons.” Children still in the paradise of innocence, but feeling the first hints of that embarrassment to emerge when bodies begin to show sexual traits.
One naked child notices a dog lying nearby and squats down beside the dog to observe. The animal seems fully asleep -- but holds its tail up in a perfect curl, the furry underside curling around to show on top, as round as the moon (ahh the link between the three stanzas). Shiba and Akita dogs, the original breeds on these islands, are known for perpetually holding their tails this way. The poet 300 years ago makes this observation, through the eyes of a child, about Japanese dogs, and we can see the same any evening in a Japanese neighborhood: dogs with upright curling tails. The brain signals which produce this tail shape are programmed into Shiba and Akita dog genes.
The child who runs and jumps about in naked joy can become still and observe the natural world, wondering how consciousness and sleep relates to muscle control. Each stanza deepens our perception of children’s humanity.
すずしさの 裸になりて 月を待つ
筵をたてに はしりとびする
ねて居るか おかしく犬の 尾をすべて
I am searching for someone to translate the above commentary to Japanese
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.
