Matsuo Basho

Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉)
A statue of Bashō in Hiraizumi, Iwate
Born	Matsuo Kinsaku (松尾 金作) 1644 Near Ueno, Iga Province
Died	November 28, 1694 (aged 50) Osaka
Pen name	Sōbō (宗房) Tōsē (桃青) Bashō (芭蕉)
Occupation	Poet
Nationality	Japanese
Notable works	Oku no Hosomichi

Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉^?, 1644–1694), born 松尾 金作, then Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa (松尾 忠右衛門 宗房^?), was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. 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). Matsuo Bashō's poetry is internationally renowned; and, in Japan, many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Although Bashō is justifiably famous in the West for his hokku, he himself believed his best work lay in leading and participating in renku. He is quoted as saying, "Many of my followers can write hokku as well as I can. Where I show who I really am is in linking haikai verses."

Bashō was introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo (modern Tokyo) he quickly became well known throughout Japan. He made a living as a teacher; but then renounced the social, urban life of the literary circles and was inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing. His poems were influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements.

Bashō was born in 1644, near Ueno, in Iga Province. His father may have been a low-ranking samurai, which would have promised Bashō a career in the military, but not much chance of a notable life. His biographers traditionally claimed that he worked in the kitchens. However, as a child, Bashō became a servant to Tōdō Yoshitada (藤堂 良忠^?): together they shared a love for haikai no renga, a form of collaborative poetry composition. A sequence was opened with a verse in 5-7-5 mora format; this verse was named a hokku, and would centuries later be renamed haiku when presented as a stand-alone work. The hokku would be followed by a related 7-7 mora verse by another poet. Both Bashō and Yoshitada gave themselves haigō (俳号^?), or haikai pen names; Bashō's was Sōbō (宗房^?), which was simply the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading) of his adult name, "Munefusa (宗房^?)". In 1662, the first extant poem by Bashō was published. In 1664, two of Bashō's hokku were printed in a compilation.