Sunday Poet: Yosa Buson

Here is a little biography of Yosa Buson from Famous Poets and Poems:

Yosa Buson was a Japanese haiku poet and painter. He ranked second only to Matsuo Bashoa, Japanese master of haiku, among poets of the Edo or Tokugawa period (1600-1868).

Buson was born in a suburb of Osaka, Japan, and apparently lost both parents while he was still young. In 1737 he moved to Edo (now Tokyo) to study painting and haiku poetry in the tradition of Basho. After the death of one of his poetry teachers in 1742, he toured northern areas associated with Basho and visited western Japan, finally settling in Kyoto, Japan, in 1751.

Particularly active as a painter between 1756 and 1765, Buson gradually returned to haiku, leading a movement to return to the purity of Basho's style and to purge haiku of superficial wit. He married about 1760. In 1771 he painted a famous set of ten screens with his great contemporary Ike no Taiga, demonstrating his status as one of the finest painters of his time. Buson's major contribution to haiku is his complexity and his painter's eye. Buson's technical skill as an artist is reflected in the visual detail of his poetry.

The poetry group that he formed published its first book in 1772. His haiku poems show a more objective, pictorial style than Basho's humane, wide-ranging work. While Basho taught, "Master technique, then forget it," Buson's technique is less transparent and his poems more consciously composed. He was a poet of enhanced sensibility and evocation. In 1776 his group built a Bashoan (Basho house) for gatherings. Also, his daughter married that year, although this unhappy marriage grieved Buson. Despite his poetic brilliance, Buson was remembered more as a painter until essays by modern Japanese writers Masaoka Shiki and Hagiwara Sakutaro revived his reputation. Besides haiku, he wrote longer verse influenced by both Chinese and Japanese classics.

When I was trying to learn the haiku form and subtleties a while back, Buson was one of my favorite sources for inspiration. I find his poems precise and evocative. Here are a few of the poems that I like best, including a series that all begin with the same line.

Lighting one candle

Lighting one candle
with another candle--
spring evening.

* * *

Listening to the moon

Listening to the moon,
gazing at the croaking of frogs
in a field of ripe rice.

* * *

White blossoms of the pear

White blossoms of the pear
and a woman in moonlight
reading a letter.

* * *

Not quite dark yet

Not quite dark yet
and the stars shining
above the withered fields.

* * *

The willow leaves fallen

The willow leaves fallen,
the spring gone dry,
rocks here and there.

* * *

Variations on 'The short night'
Below are eleven Buson haiku beginning with the phrase 'The short night--'


The short night--
on the hairy caterpillar
beads of dew.


The short night--
patrolmen
washing in the river.


The short night--
bubbles of crab froth
among the river reeds.


The short night--
a broom thrown away
on the beach.


The short night--
the Oi River
has sunk two feet.


The short night--
on the outskirts of the village
a small shop opening.


The short night--
broken, in the shallows,
a crescent moon.


The short night--
the peony
has opened.


The short night--
waves beating in,
an abandoned fire.


The short night--
near the pillow
a screen turning silver.


The short night--
shallow footprints
on the beach at Yui.

* * *

You can find more of Yosa Buson at these sites:
~ Famous Poets and Poems
~ History of Haiku
~ Wikipedia entry
~ Poem Hunter
~ Introduction to Haiku
~ Who Is Yosa Buson

Tags: Yosa Buson, haiku, poetry, Japan, poet, Sunday Poet