1662-1664 (Kanbun 2 - 4), 19 - 21 years old
What is "haiku"?
Today, Basho is known throughout the world as a master of haiku poetry. What many do not realize, however, is that in Basho's time, "haiku" as we know it did not even exist - as Adam Kern, the translator and compiler of The Penguin Book of Haiku, writes in his fascinating preface. The style of haiku we know today - a short poem by a single poet - was actually formulated by the poet and critic Matsuoka Shiki in 1894, long after Basho's death. What prevailed in Basho's time was a form of collaborative literary play called "witty linked verse" (haikai no renga, or renku). In this type of poetry, seventeen-syllable stanzas alternated with fourteen-syllable stanzas, with the entire linked sequence typically consisting of 36 or 100 stanzas (although other lengths were also possible). There were complicated rules for linking and for the content of the various stanzas in the link. The number of participants could vary from several to nine or more.However, as Japan moved toward modernization and Westernization in the late 19th century, collaborative forms like linked verse seemed not only outdated in the face of Western individualism, but also not at all serious compared to European literature - and therefore not real art. Shiki stepped in to modernize poetry. He distilled the complex, collaborative poetic games into the refined essence of haiku as an independent art form. Shiki noted that the first stanza of a linked verse, known as a hokku, historically stood alone as a poem and set the tone for the entire composition, and he began to call primarily these verses "haiku".
But while it is true that hokku stanzas were singled out centuries ago because they set the tone for the sequence of verses that followed (some anthologies even consisted entirely of hokku), these were not meant to be stand-alone poems, but rather examples of how to begin a linked sequence of verses. Thus, the presence of seemingly independent hokku does not imply a tradition of stand-alone poetry in Japan.
Shiki declared that hokku represented pure literature similar to Western forms, while linked verse did not, effectively marking the end of collaborative verse. This led to the invention of modern haiku out of the premodern tradition of linked verse.
Basho's early life
Basho was born in 1644 (Shoho 1) in the Akasaka ward of the castle town of Ueno in Iga Province, which is now part of Mie Prefecture, about 50 kilometers southeast of Kyoto. His father, Matsuo Yozaemon, was originally from Tsuge, a mountain village about 15 kilometers from Ueno, but had moved to the castle town around the time of Basho's birth. Thus, the exact place of Basho's birth remains uncertain, as it could have been in Tsuge or Akasaka in Ueno. The exact day and month of his birth are also unknown. Originally named Kinsaku, Basho was the second son and had an older brother named Hanzaemon Norikiyo, an older sister, and three younger sisters. About his mother we only know that her parents had emigrated from Iyo
Province (now Ehime prefecture).
The family status was respectable, but not very high. The Matsuo family had belonged to the samurai class until the time of Basho's grandfather. By the time of his father, however, the family had lost that status for reasons unknown. Basho's father, Yozaemon, belonged to a special group known as the Musokunin, whose primary occupation was farming, but who could be called upon for military service in an emergency. Despite their military role, Musokunin had no samurai status - they didn't receive stipends like the samurai and had to pay regular taxes, but they were allowed to bear a family name.
During Basho's upbringing, his family resided in the matchlockers' section of Ueno, indicating Yozaemon's military involvement, which likely included regular training to maintain proficiency with muskets. Basho's brother, Hanzaemon, who took over the family after Yozaemon's death in 1666, didn't continue the Musokunin tradition, leading to another decline in the family's status - Hanzaemon was just a landed farmer.
At the age of ten, Basho probably became a page (kogosho) of the Todo clan. The Todo clan, from humble beginnings in Omi province, ruled over Ise and Iga provinces during the Edo period. Basho served Yoshitada, the eldest son of the second generation of the Todo branch that ruled Iga, a young man who was passionately interested in haikai no renga and whose haikai name was "Sengin". As no record of his service survives, Basho must at first have had a low position, it is for example possible he acted as a sort of butler to Yoshitada.
When Basho was thirteen, his father died (age unknown).
In 1662, at the age of eighteen, Basho's involvement in haikai no renga with Yoshitada intensified. He adopted the poetic name "Sobo" (a sinified reading of his then personal name, Munefusa). Under Yoshitada's guidance, Basho began to write haiku seriously, even acting as a messenger to deliver Yoshitada's poems to the Teimon School haikai master Kitamura Kigin in Kyoto for correction. This role allowed Basho to receive training from Kigin. Kigin was a member of the influential Teimon school founded by Matsunaga Teitoku (1571-1653). The Teimon school aimed to create an elegant, humorous style made up of allusions to classical literature mixed with wordplay and witty associations. It is possible that Yoshitada at a very young age had been a student of Teitoku, just before the latter's death.
It was during this year that Basho's earliest known verse was written, marking the beginning of his poetic journey.
The family status was respectable, but not very high. The Matsuo family had belonged to the samurai class until the time of Basho's grandfather. By the time of his father, however, the family had lost that status for reasons unknown. Basho's father, Yozaemon, belonged to a special group known as the Musokunin, whose primary occupation was farming, but who could be called upon for military service in an emergency. Despite their military role, Musokunin had no samurai status - they didn't receive stipends like the samurai and had to pay regular taxes, but they were allowed to bear a family name.
During Basho's upbringing, his family resided in the matchlockers' section of Ueno, indicating Yozaemon's military involvement, which likely included regular training to maintain proficiency with muskets. Basho's brother, Hanzaemon, who took over the family after Yozaemon's death in 1666, didn't continue the Musokunin tradition, leading to another decline in the family's status - Hanzaemon was just a landed farmer.
At the age of ten, Basho probably became a page (kogosho) of the Todo clan. The Todo clan, from humble beginnings in Omi province, ruled over Ise and Iga provinces during the Edo period. Basho served Yoshitada, the eldest son of the second generation of the Todo branch that ruled Iga, a young man who was passionately interested in haikai no renga and whose haikai name was "Sengin". As no record of his service survives, Basho must at first have had a low position, it is for example possible he acted as a sort of butler to Yoshitada.
When Basho was thirteen, his father died (age unknown).
In 1662, at the age of eighteen, Basho's involvement in haikai no renga with Yoshitada intensified. He adopted the poetic name "Sobo" (a sinified reading of his then personal name, Munefusa). Under Yoshitada's guidance, Basho began to write haiku seriously, even acting as a messenger to deliver Yoshitada's poems to the Teimon School haikai master Kitamura Kigin in Kyoto for correction. This role allowed Basho to receive training from Kigin. Kigin was a member of the influential Teimon school founded by Matsunaga Teitoku (1571-1653). The Teimon school aimed to create an elegant, humorous style made up of allusions to classical literature mixed with wordplay and witty associations. It is possible that Yoshitada at a very young age had been a student of Teitoku, just before the latter's death.
It was during this year that Basho's earliest known verse was written, marking the beginning of his poetic journey.
[Basho-o Seika, the house In Ueno where
Basho was purportedly born. Now it is a museum.]
Basho's first verse (1662-1664)
The first haiku by Basho that has come down to us was written on February 7, 1663 (other researchers give 1662). It is a joking poem in the style of the Teimon school:
(1)
In the lunar calendar, the 29th of the 12th month was known as the "second last day," kotsugomori (the last day of the year, the 30th of the 12th month, was called otsugomori). One could also call kotsugomori "Little New Year's Eve," as opposed to otsugomori, New Year's Eve (as Andrew Fitzsimons does in Basho: The Complete Haiku of Matsuo Basho). Normally, the first day of spring, called risshun, would fall on the lunar New Year's Day, but on rare occasions this day would come one or more days earlier. In 1662 it fell on "Little New Year's Day" (February 7 in the Gregorian calendar for that year). In other words, the beginning of spring happened to fall within the old year, and this inspired Basho to write this witty but rather artificial verse. Also in keeping with the Teimon school's use of themes from classical poetry, it is a parody of a well-known waka that opens the Kokinshu.:
spring has come
before the old year is gone -
what about the rest of the year -
shall we say 'last year',
or shall we say 'this year'?
toshi no uchi ni | haru wa kinikeri | hitotose wo | kozo to ya iwamu | kotoshi to ya iwamu
And if that is not enough, it is also a parody of a poem in the Ise Monogatari:
was it you who came
or was it I who went?
I can't remember...
was it a dream or real?
was I sleeping or awake?
kimi ya koshi | ware wa yukiken | omohoezu | yume ka utsutsu ka | nete ka
(1)
has spring dawned or has the old year faded? - Little New Year's Eve
haru ya koshi | toshi ya yukiken | kotsugomori
春や来し年や行きけん小晦日
In the lunar calendar, the 29th of the 12th month was known as the "second last day," kotsugomori (the last day of the year, the 30th of the 12th month, was called otsugomori). One could also call kotsugomori "Little New Year's Eve," as opposed to otsugomori, New Year's Eve (as Andrew Fitzsimons does in Basho: The Complete Haiku of Matsuo Basho). Normally, the first day of spring, called risshun, would fall on the lunar New Year's Day, but on rare occasions this day would come one or more days earlier. In 1662 it fell on "Little New Year's Day" (February 7 in the Gregorian calendar for that year). In other words, the beginning of spring happened to fall within the old year, and this inspired Basho to write this witty but rather artificial verse. Also in keeping with the Teimon school's use of themes from classical poetry, it is a parody of a well-known waka that opens the Kokinshu.:
spring has come
before the old year is gone -
what about the rest of the year -
shall we say 'last year',
or shall we say 'this year'?
toshi no uchi ni | haru wa kinikeri | hitotose wo | kozo to ya iwamu | kotoshi to ya iwamu
And if that is not enough, it is also a parody of a poem in the Ise Monogatari:
was it you who came
or was it I who went?
I can't remember...
was it a dream or real?
was I sleeping or awake?
kimi ya koshi | ware wa yukiken | omohoezu | yume ka utsutsu ka | nete ka
samete ka
As Makoto Ueda remarks in Matsuo Basho (p. 37): "This poem is rather trite and contrived, for it centers on a pretended confusion at a slightly unusual coincidence." And he adds, referring to the association with the Ise Monogatari: "Basho's haiku was intended to amuse the reader by the clever borrowing of a phrase from an entirely different context."
As Makoto Ueda remarks in Matsuo Basho (p. 37): "This poem is rather trite and contrived, for it centers on a pretended confusion at a slightly unusual coincidence." And he adds, referring to the association with the Ise Monogatari: "Basho's haiku was intended to amuse the reader by the clever borrowing of a phrase from an entirely different context."
This hokku is not included in the Shogakkan volume of Basho's complete hokku - is there perhaps any doubt about its authenticity? But Donald Keene in World Within Walls treats it as the authentic first hokku by Basho, as does Makoto Ueda in Basho and his Interpreters.
(2)
follow the moon's lead: welcome to our traveler's inn
tsuki zo shirube | konata e irase | tabi no yado
月ぞしるべこなたへ入せ旅の宿
"There were about one hundred haikai poets in the province of Iga at the time, but only a few managed to publish in the collections edited in Kyoto and other centers. Basho and Sengin were so honored. In 1664 Matsue Shigeyori's collection Sayo no Nakayama-shu included two poems by Basho and one by Sengin, the first appearance of both in print," as stated by Donald Keene (World Within Walls, p. 73). This hokku and the next one are the first published poems by Basho.
This hokku is usually dated to the fall of 1663. It is a rather twisted poem with a pun in the style of waka poetry: "tabi" is used as a pun, for "irase tabi" means "please come in" (tabi is then a form of the verb tabu, which means "to honor with") and in "tabi no yado" it means "an inn for travelers".
In true Teimon style, it also contains an allusion to the No play (yokyoku) "Kurama Tengu," which contains the line "The blossoms will lead the way, please come in." In other words, Basho borrowed from a No text an innkeeper's call to customers. From the graceful language, one could also infer that the speaker is an elegant woman, perhaps standing in front of the inn to attract travelers with her charms.
The season is autumn (kigo: tsuki).
(3)
the rosebud cherry blooms - a beautiful memory of old age
ubazakura | saku ya rogo no | omoiide
姥桜さくや老後の思ひ出
Another rather twisted poem. "Ubazakura" (literally, "old lady cherry tree") is also called Kohigan or Higanzakura (Prunus subhirtella) because it blooms very early, around Higan (March 20) in central Japan. In English, it has various names such as winter-flowering cherry, spring cherry, or rosebud cherry. The fact that it blooms before the leaves appear has led to its association with old age, and hence "ubazakura": ironically, "without leaves", "ha nashi," is a pun on "ha nashi", "without teeth" (the sad fate of the elderly in premodern societies). "Rogo", "old age" also refers to "old lady cherry tree".
There is alliteration in "ubazakura saku ya," and the old cherry tree is personified, a device common in the Teimon school.
Also typical of that school is the allusion to classical literature, here to the No play "Sanemori", which contains the line of an old samurai who says of his expectation to die in battle that no event in his old age will be more memorable - it will be his happiest memory.
However, it is debatable whether the poet really means something like "May your honor flourish in your old age" (like the old samurai, therefore referring to the fact that the elderly woman still retains some of the beauty of her youth), or whether it is a cynical comment on an old lady dressed in fine clothes and heavy makeup. Either way, the allusion to Sanemori expands the meaning of the hokku, and that may have been the main interest of readers in Basho's time.
The season is spring (kigo: ubazakura)
Basho Complete Haiku