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.
"Make tsukeku ride the Energy; Chime in incorrectly, you ruin the rhythm."
俳諧は気に乗せてすべし 相槌あしく拍子をそこなう
Haikai wa ki ni nosete subeshi aizuchi ashiku hyoushi o sokonau
Basho seems to have jumped forward to our times, and brought back some New Age consciousness.
-------------------------------------
For commentaries, see Section 3 B
Selected and Translated by Jeff Robbins
Basho’s own words in bold
Words of other poets not in bold
Gems of water falling into a dream realm of magic
Sun bumps Her forehead 3: 24 on peak of Mount Fuji
夢 にいる / 玉 落 の 滝 / 雲 の 洞
日に 額 を うつ 富士の 峰 上げ
Yume ni iru / tama chiru no taki / kumo no dō
Hi ni gaku o utsu / fuji no mine age
From his seclusion 3: 28 he comes to peak in on
his wife and kids
With one song in his ears the play quarters linger
遁世のよ所に妻子を覗き見て
つぎ歌耳にのこるよし原
Tonsei no / yoso ni tsumako o / nozoki mite
Tsugi uta mimi ni / nokoru Yoshiwara
Ritual wands aflame spirit of white dove
Prayers for the dead 3: 50 moon shines on the mirror stained with blood
幣 火に もえて / 白 鳩 の 神ン
奏聞（？）/ 月 照 鏡 / 血 ぬるらん
Nusa hi ni moete / shiro-bato no shin
sōmon (?) / tsuki teru kagami / chi numeruran
Breaking off a lotus to adorn a lovely girl
Iridescent 3: 51 kingfisher alights on dance stage
蓮華をおりて / 美女にかんざす
彩 の / 翡翠 舞筵に / 落ちる か と
Renge o orite / bijo ni kanzasu
Aidori no / hisui mushiro ni / ochiru ka to
Making love to young lord clouds over hunting ground
Our first princess 3:96 in headman’s household shall be nurtured
狩場 の 雲 に / 若 殿 を恋
一 の 姫 / 里 の 庄家に / 養 はれ
Kariba no kumo ni / waka dono o kō
Ichi no hime / sato no shōka ni / yashinaware
Watch Master Basho swat at butterflies!
This rotten 3: 98
verse even a dog would not eat
芭蕉あるじ の / 蝶 たたく 見よ
くせいたる /俳諧 犬 も / 食らわず や
Bashō aruji no / chō tataku mi yo
Kuseitaru /haikai inu mo / kurawazu ya
Ridiculed for his Little Murasaki cast in gold.
Black as fins of bream 3: 99 A happy woman’s breasts
嘲りニ / 黄金ハ鋳る / 小紫
黒鯛 黒し / おとく女 が 乳
Azakuri ni / ōkon wa iru / Ko-Murasaki
Kurodai kuroshi / otoku me ga chichi
With iron bow go out to confront the brutal world
Tigress at daybreak 3: 100 yearns to be pregnant
鉄の /弓 取 猛き / 世に出よ
虎 懐かしき / 妊るあかつき
Kurogane no / yumi tori kakeki / yo ni de yo
Tora natsukashiki / migomoru akatsuki
A secret man, for shame! 3: 120 your life so wretched!
As morning glory vines twist and turn, shaken awake -- Forlorn she cuts her hair, their lies spread like kudzu
Clinging to mama 3: 120 she turns her back on the Moon’s orb
密 夫 はぢよ / いのちつれなき
あさがおの /くねるにゆすり /おかされて
うしと 髪 きる / 葛の いつはり
母の 親 に / あまえて月 を / 背け おり
Ma-otoko wa haji yo/ inochi tsurenaku
Asagao no / kuneru ni yusuri / okosarete
Uso to kami kiru / kudzu no itsuwari
Haha no oya ni / amaete tsuki o / somuke ori
After thirty years in the Yoshiwara, age of hair ninety-nine
On the bedroom pillar 3: 125
nembutsu is written
吉原の / 三十年を老の / つくも 髪
ねや の はしら に / 念仏 書いて おく
Yoshiwara no / misoji o oi no / tsukumo-gami
Neya no hashira ni / nembutsu kaite oku
Heat shimmers, building Lord’s mansion The Sun-Carpenter 3: 134
Brides blossom within brides a hundred years of grain
陽炎の / 具 殿屋 作る / 日 の 大工
嫁 に 嫁 咲 / 百年 の 粟
Kagerou no / gu tonoya tsukuru / hi no daiku
Yome ni yome saku / hyakunen no zoku
Seeds start to sprout for our treasured grass
Giving birth to 3: 158 love in the world, she adorns herself
早苗 はじめて / 得し 寶 草 yo no ai o /
世の愛を / 産みけん人 の / 御 粧
Sanae hajimete / eshi takara kusa .
umiken hito no / on-yosoi
Whose nation is recalled? as a mirror the moon shines 3: 161
Fascinated by a song written for the koto
誰が 國の/ 記念 ぞ 鏡 / すむ 月 は
琴の 唱歌 に / 作り 艶れて
Daga koku no / katami zo kagami / sumu tsuki wa
Koto no shōka ni / tsurite tawarete
Till her hair grows back she has to hide her self 3:185
In the bitterness of delusion, squeezing out milk to throw away Beside unfading stupa in distress she cries
Shadow figure in the cold of dawn lights a fire 3: 186
An empty house, owner removed by poverty
髪 はやす ま を /しのぶ 身 の ほど
偽りの / つらしと 乳を /しぼりすて
きえぬ卒塔婆に / すごすごと なく
影法の / あかつきさむく / 火を焚いて
あるじはひんに / たえし虚家
Kami hayasu ma o / shinobu mi no hodo
Itsuwari no / tsurashi chi o / shibori-sute
Kienu sotoba ni / sugo sugo to naku
Kagebōshi no / akatsuki samuku / hi o taite
Aruji wa hin ni / taeshi kara ie
Coming down from Court to street of gossipy neighbors -- “How are blossoms at the palace?” nun asks the second nun
“A butterfly among wireweed!” 3:188 she says, blowing her nose
となりさかしき / 町に下り居る
ニの尼に / 近衛の花の / さかりきく
蝶 は むぐら にと / ばかり鼻 かむ
Tonari sakashiki / machi ni kudari iru
Ni no ama ni / konoe no hana no / sakari kiku
Chō wa mugura ni to / bakari hana kamu
From late night
pillow talk, I realize
we are cousins
Our marriage cut off 3:198 my grief remaining
床ふけて / 語ればいとこ / なる男
縁さま だけ の / 恨み のこりし
Toko fukete / katareba itoko / naru otoko
En sama dake no / urami nokorishi
Tomorrow to the enemy our heads shall be sent
Having Kosanda 3: 199 hold my sake cup one song to sing
明日は かたきに / 首 送りせん 小三太 に / 盃 とらせ /ひとつ うたい
Asu wa tataki ni / kubi okurisen
Kosanda ni / sakezuki torase / hitotsu utai
Bamboo fence crumbled and washed away by the tsunami
A Buddha was eaten 3: 210 by fish we cut open
まがきまで / 津波 の 水 に / くずれ行
佛 喰たる / 魚 解き けり
Magaki made / tsunami no mizu ni / kuzure yuki
Hotoke kuitaru / sakana hodoki keri
Lady love to tear off 3: 213 her sleeve for my muffler
With such a lover I’ll drink up the barrel for my coffin
襟に 高雄 が / 片 袖 を とく
あだ 人と / 樽 を 棺に / 呑はさん
Eri ni Takao ga / kata sode o toku
Ada hito to / taru o hitsugi ni / nomuwasan
With one poppy petal fell his Zen name
Crescent moon, 3: 214 toll of a temple bell darkens the east
芥子の一重に / 名を こぼす禅
三ヶ月の /東は暗く / 鐘の声
Keshi no hitoe ni / na o kobosu zen
Mike-zuki no / higashi wa kuraku / kobosu zen
No wind blows and no sake in jug, 3: 218 autumn day
かぜ吹かぬ / 秋の日瓶に / 酒なき日
Kaze fukanu / aki no hi kame ni / sake naki hi
No fire in the kotatsu 3: 220 the departed I see
火おかぬ 火燵 / 無き 人を見む
Hi okanu kotatsu / naki hito o mimu
Allowed from carriage flowers on the hillside
Seeing these bones 3: 235 unwilling flow the tears striking back at me
籠輿ゆるす木瓜の山あい
骨を見て / 漫ろに泪ぐみ / うちかえる
Roukoshi yurusu / boke no yama ai
Hone o mite / sozoro ni namida gumi / uchikaeru
Making tofu, I begin mourning for my mother
The Saint Gensei’s 3: 237 tears have destroyed sleeves of his robe
豆腐つくりて / 母の喪に入る
元政の / 草の袂も / 破ぬべし
Tofu tsukurite / haha no mo ni iru
Gensei no / kusa no tamoto mo / yabunu beshi
In a haze he worships beauty of female form
From the far north 3: 258 the groom a frustrated wordless butterfly
美人の かたち / 拝む 陽炎
蝦夷の 婿 / 声 なき 蝶 と /身を 詫びて
Bijin no katachi / ogamu kagerō
Ezo no muko / koe naki chou to / mi o wabite
Sorcerer in Kyoto to heal my tumor
Base of Fuji 3:259 wearing conical hat riding a horse
京に 名 高し / 瘤 の 呪う
富士の 根と / 笠 きて馬に / 乗りながら
Kyō ni na takashi / kobu no uranai
Fuji no ne ni / kasa kite uma ni / norinagara
Dew where the coffin 3: 261
has soon disappeared
Torn apart soldiers’ armor sent to their country After Korean campaign he grows vegetables
棺 いそぐ / 消がた の 露
やぶれたる / 具足 を 国 に / 送りけり
高麗のあがた に / 畠 作りて
Hayaoke isogu / kiegata no tsuyu
Yaburetaru / gusoku o kuni ni / okurikeri
Koma no agata ni / hatake tsukurite
Sake drinking auntie is so very lonely
In a letter 3: 296 she tells all her grief playing dice
酒 飲む 姥 の / いかに さびしき
双 六の / 恨み を 文に / 書 尽し
Sake nomu uba no / ika ni sabishiki
Sugoroku no /urami o bun ni / kaki tsukushi
Under the harvest moon geisha at barrier gate
For this woman 3: 298 to entertain us, autumn night still not enough
Geisha o tomuru / meigetsu no seki
Omoshirosa no / yuujo no aki no / yo sugaraya
芸者をとむる名月の関
面白の / 遊女の秋の / 夜すがらや
Bone fragments in cascade 3: 299 transformed by morning sun
Reverence on Buddha’s stone seat blossoms eternal
舎利とる滝に / 朝日うつろう
畏まる/石の御坐の / 花久し
Shari toru taki no / asashi utsurou
Kashikomaru / ishi no omaji no / hana hisashi
The sake has changed into a haori at blossom-party
Writing a poem 3: 300 to a woman with silkworms I am sending
羽織に酒を /かえる櫻屋 歌よみて / 女に蚕ぽ / おくりけり
Haori ni sake o / kaeru sakura-ya
Uta yomite / onna ni kaiko / okurikeri
Comes a dream of woman cutting her jet black hair
Love seen through, morning glory moon 3: 310
鳥羽玉の / 髪 切る / 夢 に きて
恋 をみやぶる / 朝顔 の 月
Ubatama no / kami kiru onna / yume ni kite
Koi o miyaburu / asagao no tsuki
With roof thatch restored, so little dust no need to sweep
My treasures shall be 3: 330 a number of years
萱ふきの /わづかな塵を / 掃もせで
人のたからは / としの数なり
Kaya fuki no / wazukana chiri o / haku mo sede
Hito no takara wa / toshi no kazu nari
Bridge over confusion built then left behind
Love like grass 3: 332 for that Casanova my despair
蜘手の 橋の / かけつはづしつ
恋ぐサを / 其 中将 / おもひわび
Kumote no hashi no / kaketsu hazushitsu
Ai-gusa o / sono chuugon to / omoi wabi
Basho’s most famous haiku was the opening stanza to a renku sequence of only two stanzas, the second by Kikaku. The only place I have found with Kikaku's stanza is Ogata Tsutomu's enourmous Basho Taisei
Strangely the verse does not appear in rhe BRZ, however chronologically it belongs to the beginning of section 4.
Old Pond – Ogata: 202 frog jumps in water-sound
Young leaves of reed, spanned by spider’s thread
古池や / 蛙 飛び込む / 水 の 音
芦 の 若葉 に / かかる 蜘蛛の巣
Furuike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto
Ashi no wakaba ni / kakaru kumo no su
In tsukeku is a realm which cannot be taught. You must pass through it yourself. Some poets have made no effort to pass through, merely counting things and trying to remember them without passing through. Moreover, without good friends, this would be difficult.
俳諧は教えてならざる処あり。能く通ずるにあり。
或る人の俳諧はかって通ぜず。
ただ物をかぞえて覚ゆるようにして、通ずる物なし。
まして宜よき友ともなくては成りがたし
Haikai wa oshite narazaru tokoro ari.
Yoku tōzuru ni ari.Aru hito no haikai wa katte tōzezu.
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.
