In homage to r/bookclub's continuing read of James Clavell's series, it is time to go back to feudal Japan, where Matsuo Basho (1644 – November 28, 1694), or just Basho, like Madonna, reigned supreme as a poet of the Edo period, during which the Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan.

He was just a young boy from a ninja-trained family of samurai origin, when he ended up working for the local feudal lord of Ueno, Tōdō Yoshitada. It is not known exactly what he did, though it was of humble means, perhaps working in the kitchen or as a page. But somehow, it was from Yoshitada that Basho began to love poetry and they began composing it together, in a cooperative form called ""Haikai no Regna", as well as the traditional Renga. Alas, Yoshitada died in 1666, and Basho left for Edo, where he studied poetry further and began to make a name for himself with his simple but clever haikus. Although his verses gained him fame, he shunned public attention and purposefully became more reclusive, living in a simple hut, built by his disciples, away from the city. They also planted a Japanese banana tree ( 芭蕉, bashō), from where he took his famous moniker. He didn't stay in the capital for long, but left to travel on his own, documenting his journey, most famously in "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" (1964), which established the "Haibun" ( 俳文, literally, haikai writings), which linked haiku to narrative prose. Basho also experimented with Zen meditation, but did not find peace. He set out on the road again, and again, returning to Edo to teach and also reaching out to other poets and students on his travels. When at home, he alternated between rejoicing in his visitors and wishing to be left alone. He died peacefully in Osaka, surrounded by his disciples, forever having changed the world of poetry.

And before I go into the poem, let us take a brief dip into different forms of Japanese poetry. First, you have the traditional form of Renga ( 連歌) or "linked poem") where two or more poets would collaborate, each writing a stanza, or "ku", which ran either in 5-7-5 or 7-7 mora) and successively linked together in a poetic conversation. The themes of these poems were usually the seasons, nature or love. The opening stanza was known as a "Hokku" ( 発句, lit. "starting verse"). Soon enough, the traditional form got subverted into the above mentioned "Haikai no Regna" ( 俳諧の連歌, "comic linked verse"), which used the collaborative form of poetry to turn to comedy or downright vulgarity. Of course, Basho refined and elevated this form with his travel writing. And, with further refinement, eventually the "Hokku" became a standalone form- the familiar "Haiku" (俳句), which runs to 17 short syllables in Japanese, or "on" and while it can also run freestyle, most recognizable is the 5-7-5 in three phrases of on. When a haiku is written in another language, it can keep the 5-7-5 form, but it does vary on how words are pronounced, in terms of fitting into the structure.

Another aspect to consider is the inclusion of "Kigo" ( 季語, "season word") which uses a word to add a short reference to the Japanese seasons. For example, cherry or plum blossoms, the phases of the moon, wisteria, the first sparrow, set the scene and can be used a shorthand for winter, spring, fall, summer, as well. Again, the vagaries of translation and crossing cultures! And how important is Basho to the haiku? Well, if you scroll down to read a "typical" haiku, yes, it is one of his, titled "Old Pond", and yes, it includes a "kigo" in the frog, signaling spring. More on this poem in the links below.

He is quoted as saying, "Many of my followers can write hokku [haiku] as well as I can. Where I show who I really am is in linking haikai verses."[5]

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The Cry of the Cicada

By Matsuo Basho

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The cry of the cicada

Gives us no sign

That presently it will die.

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—Translation by William George Aston

This poem is in the public domain.

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Some things to discuss might be how this poem immediately approaches a seismic topic (death) through the use of a kigo, and how this simplicity of words and ideas in combination can produce such an intricate theme. This might be a good opportunity to turn your own hand to poetry since you've now had the benefit of months of study and write a seasonal haiku for yourself or to share with us! I only grazed the topic of Zen Buddhism and Basho's poetry, but there are some interesting links below if you would like to discuss more about this aspect. I didn't even begin to skim the aesthetics of Basho's haikus, which embody the sense of beauty in imperfection, of the ephemeral enchantment of the natural seasons and flora and fauna, of which you can read more on the wabi sabi link or indeed on the last link about cicadas. What is it about the strictness of the form that gives a poet the ability to reach new ways of expressing what is there? If you read the Bonus Poem (and I encourage you to also take a look at "Old Pond"), how do you compare the works? Are you familiar with other forms of Japanese poetry? Why do you think the haiku has become so famous, even in different languages, as a form of poetry?

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Bonus Poem: I Come Weary

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Bonus Link # 1: 10 Types of Japanese Poetry

Bonus Link # 2: More about Matsu Basho. Many, many of Matsuo Basho's Haikus in Romanized Japanese with English Translations

Bonus Link #3: "Old Pond" with illustration "Old Pond" in many translations

Bonus Link #4: Basho's Zen Video on Basho and Eastern Philosophy Wabi Sabi

Bonus Link #5: Periodical Cicadas (BBC Earth)

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If you happened to miss last month's poem, you can find it here.