Editing Matsuo Bashō (section)

==Biography==<!--
===Names=== -->

===Early life===
[[Image:MatsuoBasyoSeika.jpg|thumb|left|Bashō's supposed birthplace in [[Iga Province]]]]
Matsuo Bashō was born in 1644, near [[Ueno, Mie|Ueno]], in [[Iga Province]].{{sfn |Carter |1997 |p=62}}{{sfn |Kokusai |1948|p=246}} The Matsuo family was of [[samurai]] descent, and his father was probably a {{Nihongo|''musokunin''|無足人}}, a class of landowning peasants granted certain privileges of samurai.{{sfn |Ueda |1992 |p=17}}{{sfn |Carter |1997 |p=62}}

Little is known of his childhood. The Matsuo were a major [[ninja]] family, and Bashō was trained in ninjutsu.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stevens |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zt9iEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA246 |title=The Art of Budo: The Calligraphy and Paintings of the Martial Arts Masters |date=2022-12-06 |publisher=Shambhala Publications |isbn=978-1-64547-054-0 |location=[[Boulder, Colorado]] |pages=246 |language=en}}</ref> In his late teens, Bashō became a servant to {{nihongo|Tōdō Yoshitada|[[:ja:藤堂 良忠|藤堂 良忠]]}} most likely in some humble capacity,{{sfn |Carter |1997 |p=62}}{{sfn |Ueda |1982 |pp=17–20}} and probably not promoted to full samurai class.{{sfn |Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus |2015}} It is claimed he served as cook or a kitchen worker in some near-contemporaneous accounts,{{Refn|group=Notes |[[Ichikawa Danjūrō II]]'s diary ''Oi no tanoshimi'' says "cook"; {{nihongo|Endō Atsujin|遠藤曰人}}'s biography ''Bashō-ō keifu'' "kitchen-worker".{{sfn |Kon |1994 |p=12}}}}<!--at the kitchen of Yoshitada's father Yoshikiyo (藤堂 良精),--> but there is no conclusive proof.{{sfn |Carter |1997 |p=62}} A later hypothesis is that he was chosen to serve as [[Page (servant)|page]] ({{interlanguage link|koshō{{!}}''koshō''|ja|小姓}}) to Yoshitada<!--pen name Sengin-->, with alternative documentary evidence suggesting he started serving at a younger age.{{sfn |Hibino |1978 |p=28}}

He shared Yoshitada's love for ''[[Renku|haikai no renga]]'', a form of collaborative poetry composition.{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=20}} A sequence was opened with a verse in 5-7-5 [[mora (linguistics)|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 {{Nihongo|''haigō''|俳号|}}, or ''[[haikai]]'' [[pen name]]s; Bashō's was {{nihongo|'''Sōbō'''|宗房}}, which was simply the ''[[on'yomi]]'' (Sino-Japanese reading) of his adult name, "{{nihongo|Munefusa|宗房}}." In 1662, the first extant poem by Bashō was published. In 1726, two of Bashō's hokku were printed in a compilation.{{clarify|date=February 2018}}

In 1665, Bashō and Yoshitada together with some acquaintances composed a hyakuin, or one-hundred-verse ''[[renku]]''. In 1666, Yoshitada's sudden death brought Bashō's peaceful life as a servant to an end. No records of this time remain, but it is believed that Bashō gave up any possibility of samurai status and left home.{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=21}} Biographers have proposed various reasons and destinations, including the possibility of an affair between Bashō and a Shinto ''[[miko]]'' named {{Nihongo|Jutei|寿貞|}}, which is unlikely to be true.{{sfn |Okamura |1956}}{{page needed|date=November 2020}} Bashō's own references to this time are vague; he recalled that "at one time I coveted an official post with a tenure of land", and that "there was a time when I was fascinated with the ways of homosexual love": there is no indication whether he was referring to real obsessions or fictional ones.{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=22}} (Biographers of the author, however, note that Bashō was involved in homosexual affairs throughout all his life<ref>{{cite book |title=Cartographies of Desire: Male-Male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600–1950 |author=Gregory M. Pflugfelder |year=1999|page=39 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520251656}}</ref> and that among his lovers were several of his disciples;{{sfn|Leupp|1997|p=137}} in Professor Gary Leupp's view, Bashō's homoerotic compositions were clearly based on his personal experiences{{sfn|Leupp|1997|p=83}}). He was uncertain whether to become a full-time poet; by his own account, "the alternatives battled in my mind and made my life restless".{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=23}} His indecision may have been influenced by the then still relatively low status of ''renga'' and ''haikai no renga'' as more social activities than serious artistic endeavors.{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=9}} In any case, his poems continued to be published in anthologies in 1667, 1669, and 1671, and he published a compilation of work by himself and other authors of the [[Teitoku]] school, {{nihongo|''[[The Seashell Game]]''|貝おほひ|Kai Ōi}}, in 1672.{{sfn|Kokusai|1948|p=246}} In about the spring of that year he moved to [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]], to further his study of poetry.{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=29}}

===Rise to fame===
[[File:Poet-Basho-and-Moon Festival-Tsukioka-Yoshitoshi-1891.png|thumb|Bashō meets two farmers celebrating the mid-autumn moon festival in a print from [[Yoshitoshi]]'s ''[[One Hundred Aspects of the Moon]]''. The haiku reads: "Since the crescent moon, I have been waiting for tonight."]]
In the fashionable literary circles of [[Nihonbashi]], Bashō's poetry was quickly recognized for its simple and natural style. In 1674 he was inducted into the inner circle of the ''haikai'' profession, receiving secret teachings from Kitamura Kigin (1624–1705).{{sfn|Carter|1997|p=62}} He wrote this ''hokku'' in mock tribute to the ''[[shōgun]]'':

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|甲比丹もつくばはせけり君が春}} {{Transliteration|ja|''kapitan mo / tsukubawasekeri / kimi ga haru''}}
   the Dutchmen, too, / kneel before His Lordship— / spring under His reign. [1678]
</poem>}}

When [[Nishiyama Sōin]], founder and leader of the [[Danrin school]] of haikai, came to Edo from Osaka in 1675, Bashō was among the poets invited to compose with him.{{sfn|Matsuo|1966|p=23}} It was on this occasion that he gave himself the ''{{ill|haigō|jp|俳号|vertical-align=sup}}'' of Tōsei, and by 1680 he had a full-time job teaching twenty disciples, who published {{nihongo|''The Best Poems of Tōsei's Twenty Disciples''|桃青門弟独吟二十歌仙|Tōsei-montei Dokugin-Nijukasen}}, advertising their connection to Tōsei's talent. That winter, he took the surprising step of moving across the river to Fukagawa, out of the public eye and towards a more reclusive life.{{sfn|Carter|1997|p=57}} His disciples built him a rustic hut and planted a {{nihongo|[[Musa basjoo|Japanese banana]] tree|芭蕉|bashō}} in the yard, giving Bashō a new ''haigō'' and his first permanent home. He appreciated the plant very much, but was not happy to see Fukagawa's native [[miscanthus]] grass growing alongside it:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|ばしょう植ゑてまづ憎む荻の二葉哉}} {{Transliteration|ja|''bashō uete / mazu nikumu ogi no / futaba kana''}}
   by my new banana plant / the first sign of something I loathe— / a miscanthus bud! [1680]
</poem>}}

Despite his success, Bashō grew dissatisfied and lonely. He began to practice [[Zen]] [[meditation]], but it seems not to have calmed his mind.{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=25}} In the winter of 1682 his hut burned down, and shortly afterwards, in early 1683, his mother died. He then traveled to [[Yamura]], to stay with a friend. In the winter of 1683 his disciples gave him a second hut in Edo, but his spirits did not improve. In 1684 his disciple [[Takarai Kikaku]] published a compilation of him and other poets, {{nihongo|''Shriveled Chestnuts''|虚栗|Minashiguri}}.{{sfn|Kokusai|1948|p=247}} Later that year he left Edo on the first of four major wanderings.{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=95}}

Bashō traveled alone, off the beaten path, that is, on the [[Edo Five Routes]], which in medieval Japan were regarded as immensely dangerous; and, at first Bashō expected to simply die in the middle of nowhere or be killed by bandits. However, as his trip progressed, his mood improved, and he became comfortable on the road. Bashō met many friends and grew to enjoy the changing scenery and the seasons.{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=26}} His poems took on a less introspective and more striking tone as he observed the world around him:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|馬をさへながむる雪の朝哉}} {{Transliteration|ja|''uma wo sae / nagamuru yuki no / ashita kana''}}
   even a horse / arrests my eyes—on this / snowy morrow [1684]
</poem>}}

The trip took him from Edo to [[Mount Fuji]], Ueno, and [[Kyoto]].<ref group="Notes">Examples of Basho's ''haiku'' written on the Tokaido, together with a collection of portraits of the poet and woodblock prints from Utagawa Hiroshige, are included in {{harvnb|Forbes|Henley|2014}}.</ref> He met several poets who called themselves his disciples and wanted his advice; he told them to disregard the contemporary Edo style and even his own ''Shriveled Chestnuts'', saying it contained "many verses that are not worth discussing".{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=122}} Bashō returned to Edo in the summer of 1685, taking time along the way to write more ''hokku'' and comment on his own life:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|年暮ぬ笠きて草鞋はきながら}} {{Transliteration|ja|''toshi kurenu / kasa kite waraji / hakinagara''}}
   another year is gone / a traveler's shade on my head, / straw sandals at my feet [1685]
</poem>}}

When Bashō returned to Edo he happily resumed his job as a teacher of poetry at his ''bashō'' hut, although privately he was already making plans for another journey.{{sfn|Ueda|1982|p=29}} The poems from his journey were published as ''[[Nozarashi Kikō]]'' (野ざらし紀行).

In early 1686, Bashō composed one of his best-remembered haiku:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|古池や蛙飛びこむ水の音}} {{Transliteration|ja|''furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto''}}
   an ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water [1686]
</poem>}}

This poem became instantly famous. In April, the poets of Edo gathered at the ''bashō'' hut for a ''haikai no renga'' contest on the subject of frogs that seems to have been a tribute to Bashō's ''hokku'', which was placed at the top of the compilation.{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=138}} For the rest of the year, Bashō stayed in Edo, continuing to teach and hold contests.

In the autumn of 1687 he journeyed to the countryside for [[tsukimi|moon watching]], and made a longer trip in 1688 when he returned to Ueno to celebrate the [[Japanese New Year|Lunar New Year]]. Back home in Edo, Bashō sometimes became reclusive: alternating between rejecting visitors to his hut and appreciating their company.{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=145}} At the same time, he retained a subtle sense of humor, as reflected in his ''hokku'':

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|いざさらば雪見にころぶ所迄}} {{Transliteration|ja|''iza saraba / yukimi ni korobu / tokoromade''}}
   now then, let's go out / to enjoy the snow ... until / I slip and fall! [1688]
</poem>}}

=== ''Oku no Hosomichi'' ===
{{Main|Oku no Hosomichi}}
{{See also|Sora's Diary}}
[[Image:Basho in Ogaki.JPG|thumb|left|A statue commemorating Matsuo Bashō's arrival in [[Ōgaki]]]]

Bashō's private planning for another long journey, to be described in his masterwork ''Oku no Hosomichi'', or ''The Narrow Road to the Deep North'', culminated on May 16, 1689 (Yayoi 27, [[Genroku]] 2), when he left Edo with his student and apprentice {{nihongo|Kawai Sora |[[:ja:河合曾良|河合 曾良]]}} on a journey to the Northern Provinces of [[Honshū]]. At the time, these provinces were relatively unsettled.<ref name="Gateways to World Literature Volume 2">{{cite book |last1=Damrosch |first1=David |date=2012 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=0205787118 |page=103}}</ref> Bashō and Sora headed north to [[Hiraizumi]], which they reached on June 29. They then walked to the western side of the island, touring [[Kisakata]] on {{nowrap|July 30}}, and began hiking back at a leisurely pace along the coastline. During this 150-day journey Bashō traveled a total of 600 ''[[Japanese units of measurement#Length|ri]]'' (2,400&nbsp;km) through the northeastern areas of Honshū, returning to [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] in late 1691.{{sfn|Kokusai|1948|p=241}}

By the time Bashō reached [[Ōgaki, Gifu|Ōgaki]], [[Gifu Prefecture]], he had completed the log of his journey. He edited and redacted it for three years, writing the final version in 1694 as {{nihongo|''The Narrow Road to the Interior''|奥の細道|Oku no Hosomichi}}. The first edition was published posthumously in 1702.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Harold Bolitho |last=Bolitho |first=Harold |title=Treasures of the Yenching: Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Harvard-Yenching Library |publisher=Chinese University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-962-996-102-2 |page=35}}</ref> It was an immediate commercial success and many other itinerant poets followed the path of his journey.{{sfn|Kokusai|1948|p=246}} It is often considered his finest achievement, featuring ''hokku'' such as:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|荒海や佐渡によこたふ天の川}} {{Transliteration|ja|''araumi ya / Sado ni yokotau / amanogawa''}}
   the rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way [1689]
</poem>}}

=== Last years ===
[[Image:MatsuoBasho-Haka-M1932.jpg|thumb|right|Bashō's grave in [[Ōtsu]], [[Shiga Prefecture]]]]
On his return to Edo in the winter of 1691, Bashō lived in his third ''bashō'' hut, again provided by his disciples. This time, he was not alone; he took in his nephew Toin and a female friend Jutei, who were both recovering from illness. He had many great visitors.

Bashō wrote to a friend that "disturbed by others, I have no peace of mind".{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=348}} Until late August 1693, he continued to make a living from teaching and appearances at ''haikai'' parties. Then he shut the gate to his ''bashō'' hut and refused to see anybody for a month. Finally, he relented after adopting the principle of ''karumi'' or "lightness", a semi-Buddhist philosophy of greeting the mundane world rather than separating from it.

Bashō left Edo for the last time in the summer of 1694, spending time in Ueno and Kyoto before arriving in Osaka. There, he came down with a stomach illness and surrounded by his disciples, died peacefully.{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=34}} Although he did not compose a formal [[death poem]],{{sfn|Kikaku|2006|pp=20–23}} the following is generally accepted as his poem of farewell:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|旅に病んで夢は枯野をかけ廻る}} 
   {{Transliteration|ja|''tabi ni yande / yume wa kareno wo / kake meguru''}}
       falling sick on a journey / my dream goes wandering / on a withered field [1694]<ref>[https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Death.pdf Japanese Death Poems] terebess.hu</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://matsuobashohaiku.home.blog/2019/10/28/matsuo-bashos-death-haiku/ | title=Matsuo Bashō's Death Haiku | date=October 28, 2019 }}</ref>
</poem>}}