Basho Haiku Poems
Matsuo Basho was the most famous poet of the in Japan. During his lifetime, Basho was recognized for his haiku poems works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku poems. His haiku poetry is internationally renowned, and within Japan many of his haiku poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites.
Summer grasses,
all that remains
of soldiers' dreams
Unknown to birds and butterflies
A flower blooms
The autumn sky
Even leaves don't move
Awesome is the
Summer grove
Summer grass
Great warriors
Remains of dreams
Nothing in the cry
of cicadas suggests they
are about to die
How much I desire!
Inside my little satchel,
the moon, and flowers!
Red pepper pods!
Add wings to them,
and they are dragonflies!
Spring departs.
Birds cry
Fishes' eyes
are filled with tears
What luck!
The southern valley
Make snow fragrant.
Sleep on horseback,
The far moon
in a continuing dream,
Steam of roasting tea.
The wind from Mt. Fuji
I put it on the fan.
Here, the souvenir from Edo.
Summer zashiki
Make move and enter
The mountain and the garden.
From all directions
Winds bring petals of cherry
Into the grebe lake.
An autumn wind
More white
Than the rocks
in the rocky mountain.
Even a wild boar
With all other things
Blew in this storm.
The crescent lights
The misty ground.
Buckwheat flowers.
Bush clover in blossom waves
Without spilling
A drop of dew.
