The Narrow Road to Oku

The Narrow Road to Oku PDF Author: Matsuo Basho
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1568365845
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In the account which he named "The Narrow Road to Oku," Basho makes a journey lasting 150 days, in which he travels, on foot, a distance of 600 ri. This was three hundred years ago, when the average distance covered by travelers was apparently 9 ri per day, so it is clear that Basho, who was forty years old at the time, possessed a remarkably sturdy pair of walking legs. Nowadays with the development of all sorts of means of transportation, travel is guaranteed to be pleasant and convenient in every respect, so it's almost impossible for us to imagine the kind of journey Basho undertook, "drifting with the clouds and streams," and "lodging under trees and on bare rocks." During my countless re-readings of "The Narrow Road to Oku," I would bear that in mind, and the short text, which takes up less than 50 pages even in the pocket-book edition, would strike me as much longer than that, and I would feel truly awed by Basho's 2,450-kilometer journey. I chose "The Narrow Road to Oku" as the theme of the exhibition marking the thirtieth anniversary of my career as an artist. As somebody who has been illustrating works from Japanese literature for many years, the subject naturally attracted and interested me. But once I'd embarked on the project, it wasn't long before I realized I'd chosen a more difficult and delicate task than I ever imagined, and I wanted to reprove myself for my naivete. Last year, to mark the centenary of Tanizaki Jun'ichiro's birth, I produced a set of 54 pictures for his translation of "The Tale of Genji." This was a formidable undertaking, as I had to grapple with the achievement of a literary genius whom I had personally known. But if producing a single picture to represent each chapter in "The Tale of Genji" was a matter of selecting a particular "face," or "plane" to represent the whole, producing a picture to represent each haiku in "The Narrow Road to Oku" was without a doubt a matter of having to select one tiny "point"--a mere "dot." One misjudgment in my reading, and the picture would lose touch with the spirit of Basho's work, and end up simply as an illustration that happened to be accompanied by a haiku. I had to meticulously consider every word in those brief 17-syllable poems. Then, if I was fortunate, from the vast gaps and the densely packed phrases a numinous power would gather and inspire me: at times I felt as if I was experiencing what ancient people called the "kotadama," the miraculous power residing in words. A self-styled "beggar of winds and madness," Basho originated and refined a unique genre of fictional travel literature, which used poetry that enabled one to render, empty-handedly, all of creation. I believe that I could ask for no greater favor from my painter's brush than that I too be able to glean the merest fragment of what the saint of haiku Basho saw, and be able to reproduce it in my work. — Miyata Masayuki

The Narrow Road to Oku

The Narrow Road to Oku PDF Author: Matsuo Basho
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1568365845
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In the account which he named "The Narrow Road to Oku," Basho makes a journey lasting 150 days, in which he travels, on foot, a distance of 600 ri. This was three hundred years ago, when the average distance covered by travelers was apparently 9 ri per day, so it is clear that Basho, who was forty years old at the time, possessed a remarkably sturdy pair of walking legs. Nowadays with the development of all sorts of means of transportation, travel is guaranteed to be pleasant and convenient in every respect, so it's almost impossible for us to imagine the kind of journey Basho undertook, "drifting with the clouds and streams," and "lodging under trees and on bare rocks." During my countless re-readings of "The Narrow Road to Oku," I would bear that in mind, and the short text, which takes up less than 50 pages even in the pocket-book edition, would strike me as much longer than that, and I would feel truly awed by Basho's 2,450-kilometer journey. I chose "The Narrow Road to Oku" as the theme of the exhibition marking the thirtieth anniversary of my career as an artist. As somebody who has been illustrating works from Japanese literature for many years, the subject naturally attracted and interested me. But once I'd embarked on the project, it wasn't long before I realized I'd chosen a more difficult and delicate task than I ever imagined, and I wanted to reprove myself for my naivete. Last year, to mark the centenary of Tanizaki Jun'ichiro's birth, I produced a set of 54 pictures for his translation of "The Tale of Genji." This was a formidable undertaking, as I had to grapple with the achievement of a literary genius whom I had personally known. But if producing a single picture to represent each chapter in "The Tale of Genji" was a matter of selecting a particular "face," or "plane" to represent the whole, producing a picture to represent each haiku in "The Narrow Road to Oku" was without a doubt a matter of having to select one tiny "point"--a mere "dot." One misjudgment in my reading, and the picture would lose touch with the spirit of Basho's work, and end up simply as an illustration that happened to be accompanied by a haiku. I had to meticulously consider every word in those brief 17-syllable poems. Then, if I was fortunate, from the vast gaps and the densely packed phrases a numinous power would gather and inspire me: at times I felt as if I was experiencing what ancient people called the "kotadama," the miraculous power residing in words. A self-styled "beggar of winds and madness," Basho originated and refined a unique genre of fictional travel literature, which used poetry that enabled one to render, empty-handedly, all of creation. I believe that I could ask for no greater favor from my painter's brush than that I too be able to glean the merest fragment of what the saint of haiku Basho saw, and be able to reproduce it in my work. — Miyata Masayuki

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches PDF Author: Matsuo Basho
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141913657
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
'It was with awe That I beheld Fresh leaves, green leaves, Bright in the sun' When the Japanese haiku master Basho composed The Narrow Road to the Deep North, he was an ardent student of Zen Buddhism, setting off on a series of travels designed to strip away the trappings of the material world and bring spiritual enlightenment. He writes of the seasons changing, the smell of the rain, the brightness of the moon and the beauty of the waterfall, through which he sensed the mysteries of the universe. These writings not only chronicle Basho's travels, but they also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him. Translated with an Introduction by Nobuyuki Yuasa

Narrow Road to the Deep North

Narrow Road to the Deep North PDF Author: Edward Bond
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
ISBN: 9780413308405
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Bashō's Journey

Bashō's Journey PDF Author: Matsuo Bashō
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791483436
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
In Bashō's Journey, David Landis Barnhill provides the definitive translation of Matsuo Bashō's literary prose, as well as a companion piece to his previous translation, Bashō's Haiku. One of the world's greatest nature writers, Bashō (1644–1694) is well known for his subtle sensitivity to the natural world, and his writings have influenced contemporary American environmental writers such as Gretel Ehrlich, John Elder, and Gary Snyder. This volume concentrates on Bashō's travel journal, literary diary (Saga Diary), and haibun. The premiere form of literary prose in medieval Japan, the travel journal described the uncertainty and occasional humor of traveling, appreciations of nature, and encounters with areas rich in cultural history. Haiku poetry often accompanied the prose. The literary diary also had a long history, with a format similar to the travel journal but with a focus on the place where the poet was living. Bashō was the first master of haibun, short poetic prose sketches that usually included haiku. As he did in Bashō's Haiku, Barnhill arranges the work chronologically in order to show Bashō's development as a writer. These accessible translations capture the spirit of the original Japanese prose, permitting the nature images to hint at the deeper meaning in the work. Barnhill's introduction presents an overview of Bashō's prose and discusses the significance of nature in this literary form, while also noting Bashō's significance to contemporary American literature and environmental thought. Excellent notes clearly annotate the translations.

Narrow Road to the Interior

Narrow Road to the Interior PDF Author: Bashō Matsuo
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0877736448
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Matsuo Basho was the greatest of the Japanese haiku poets, whose genius elevated the haiku to an art form of intense spiritual beauty. This, one of the most revered classics of Japanese literature, is a diary of Basho's journey to the northern interior of Japan.

Basho's Narrow Road

Basho's Narrow Road PDF Author: Matsuo Basho
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press, Inc.
ISBN: 9781880656204
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Poems that were written by Matsuo Basho in 1689. Ostensibly a travel diary, th book is rich in allusions to literature and Zen.-Stone Bridge Press. In this remarkable translation we find the elliptical, allusive, suggestive richness of the original. [This is] the most accessible version in English.-Cor van den Heuvel.

Bashō's Haiku

Bashō's Haiku PDF Author: Matsuo Bashō
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791484653
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
2005 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Basho's Haiku offers the most comprehensive translation yet of the poetry of Japanese writer Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694), who is credited with perfecting and popularizing the haiku form of poetry. One of the most widely read Japanese writers, both within his own country and worldwide, Bashō is especially beloved by those who appreciate nature and those who practice Zen Buddhism. Born into the samurai class, Bashō rejected that world after the death of his master and became a wandering poet and teacher. During his travels across Japan, he became a lay Zen monk and studied history and classical poetry. His poems contained a mystical quality and expressed universal themes through simple images from the natural world. David Landis Barnhill's brilliant book strives for literal translations of Bashō's work, arranged chronologically in order to show Bashō's development as a writer. Avoiding wordy and explanatory translations, Barnhill captures the brevity and vitality of the original Japanese, letting the images suggest the depth of meaning involved. Barnhill also presents an overview of haiku poetry and analyzes the significance of nature in this literary form, while suggesting the importance of Bashō to contemporary American literature and environmental thought.

Back Roads to Far Towns

Back Roads to Far Towns PDF Author: Bashō Matsuo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
One spring morning in 1689, Basho, arguably the greatest of all Japanese poets, set forth on foot, accompanied by his friend and disciple Sora, from his hermitage in Edo (old Tokyo) on one final journey--a pilgrimage that eventually took him nearly 1,500 miles. Now, more than 300 years later--via beautifully spare prose sprinkled with haiku and graceful translation--this book provides the account of Basho's arduous trek. 16 illustrations.

Anthology of Japanese Literature, from the Earliest Era to the Mid-nineteenth Century

Anthology of Japanese Literature, from the Earliest Era to the Mid-nineteenth Century PDF Author: Donald Keene
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 0802150586
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
Collection of Japanese works including poetry, prose and drama.

On Love and Barley

On Love and Barley PDF Author: Matsuo Basho
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141907770
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
Basho, one of the greatest of Japanese poets and the master of haiku, was also a Buddhist monk and a life-long traveller. His poems combine 'karumi', or lightness of touch, with the Zen ideal of oneness with creation. Each poem evokes the natural world - the cherry blossom, the leaping frog, the summer moon or the winter snow - suggesting the smallness of human life in comparison to the vastness and drama of nature. Basho himself enjoyed solitude and a life free from possessions, and his haiku are the work of an observant eye and a meditative mind, uncluttered by materialism and alive to the beauty of the world around him.