Basho Revisited, why have you changed

Basho had a few real friends and a lot of disciples. He wasn't an easy man to deal with, but always righteous.

The following haiku is an example of Basho written as consideration for one of his friends.

aoku te mo   aru beki mono wo   togarashi


though green
why have you changed
red pepper

This verse was the starting link for a 36-link renga Basho wrote with Ranzan and Taisu. It was the result of the visit of Shado, a physician from Omi, who stayed with Basho at his new home from September to the following January. Basho was concerned about his impatient and ambitious personality. Later, his feelings proved valid as it was Shado who caused friction among the disciples due to his lack of consideration for others. This hurt Basho very much. In the end, Shado abandoned Basho and refused to attend his funeral.
Why? Basho was a haiku poet with great love and consideration with nature and humanity. He was into Zen Buddhism and therefor someone who had completely efface Self. To write a new haiku in the same sense as the one by Basho will be tough. I am almost the same as Basho, not a Zen Buddhist, but I am considered with all and everything around me. Maybe this is the result of being a male oncology nurse. My love is unconditional and I see in every human a part of God as God is part of everyone and everything.

heat of summer
the roses in my backyard
have decomposed

A sad day. After the heat wave my roses died unless the daily watering. Is this a haiku in the same way as that by Basho? I think so.

Basho Revisited, wisteria beans

In Basho's lifetime it was common to write a preface to a haiku. In Jane Reichhold's "Old Pond", she has prefaces discovered by a lot of haiku. The preface shows some background information such as the place where the haiku was written and e.g. for whom.
The following haiku had a preface that's telling the reader where and when the haiku was written. This haiku was one of the first which Basho wrote after he returned home from his Narrow Road to the Far North.
First I will give the preface followed by the haiku.

"A certain Sogyu of Seki visited me when I stayed in Ogaki. I composed this for him in the lingering scent of the flowers which Sogi (1421-1502, a famous renga poet) had called the flowers of Fujishiro (white wisteria) Misaka". When Sogi had passed through this same area, he had seen some white wisteria growing on the slope and had written: 'seki koe te / koko mo fujishiro / misaka kana' (crossing  Seki / there still are the white wisteria / at the town in Misaka).

fuji no mi wa   haikai ni se n   kana no ato


wisteria beans
let's make that a theme for haikai
a flower fruit

In this verse the second sentence refers to renga. Haiku which are included in a renga are called haikai. As I earlier in this series have told the first verse of a renga was called 'hokku'. Just to inform you, my dear reader, the last closing verse of a renga was called 'ageku'. The ageku closes the 'circle' of verses of a renga by association on the first verse, the hokku. So a renga was an enclosed chain. You can say that the 'hokku' and the 'ageku' are the lock of a necklace and the verses inbetween are the 'links'.
I have been part of several renga sessions on the Internet (e.g. on Haiku-Ritsu, a Dutch haiku website). I loved doing that. An amount of my haiku were once part of a renga. I will include a few 'haikai' and 'hokku' after the new haiku I will write as inspired by the haiku of Basho.

what a party
writing a renga together -
waterfall of flowers

It's a new haiku in which I have tried to draw a picture of a renga session. Writing renga together with friends is a joyfull activity. Try it yourself it will be wonderful to write renga with friends.

As promised a few haikai. I have translated them to English out of Dutch (my maiden language).

This one was the 'hokku' of the renga "snow is softly falling":

snow is softly falling
along the windowglass
the fireplace burns

A link from the above mentioned renga:

a last leaf
struggles with the storm -
moonless night

Another 'hokku', this one is from the renga "spring heat":

tonight my skin
will miss the spring heat
it seems colder

And a link from the renga "spring heat":

midsummer night
in the light of the full moon
a young woman dancing

Well I hope you liked these verses from two renga in which I participated.

Sincerely,

Also published for: The Gooseberry Garden's Poetry Picnic

The Gooseberry Garden's Poetry Picnic

Basho Revisited, a good day



Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

 Basho was the leader/master of a renga group at Yakushiji Temple. They came once in a month together to write renga.
The biggest part of Basho's haiku were written during renga sessions.
Renga was a chain-like poem in which several poets were working together to make a long chain of poems. (There are renga known with over 1000 verses). The first verse of the Renga was called 'hokku' and as we can see, this was the verse we now know as haiku (Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), another haiku poet, introduced the name haiku, which now is commonly in use for this kind of verse). Haiku that emerged from a Renga can also be called 'haikai'.

A lot of his haiku were the 'hokku' of a Renga. The following haiku was the 'hokku' of one of the monthly meetings of the renga-group at Yakushiji Temple.

hatsu zakura    orishimo kyo wa    yoki hi nari

first cherry blossoms
it just happens to be
a good day

As we can read, this haiku is of Spring. It was written in 1688, Basho was at that time 43 yrs of age and a well known and established haikumaster with a group of students. With his students he also wrote Renga.
I have been part of several renga sessions and I loved doing renga.
Maybe it's an idea to write a few blogs about Renga. I love renga sessions and it brings us back to the classical time of this Japanese verse.

Back to Basho Revisited. In part one of Basho Revisited I stated to write in every part a new haiku. So ... the next haiku I wrote for this part of Basho Revisited.

what a day!
the Cherry tree in full bloom
in the light of dawn

This haiku is about the Cherry tree in my own backyard. I love that tree and I would never cut it down.
Sincerely,