Background of the Study
American society. Japan’s foremost authority on Zen Buddhism, Daisetz T. Suzuki’s greatest achievement was to open up a path to the essential spirit of Zen
thought to the West. In 1936 DT. Suzuki as a Zen scholar gave lectures on various occasion in England and America. A section of the study was love of nature
which was given in Japan to a group of Western people in 1935, and was published in The Eastern Buddhist. Suzuki, 1988: v.
Landis Bahmil the current translator of Basho ’s Haiku, wrote the
introduction for the understanding of Basho’s poems, and said that Basho is
almost too appealing, because its impact of his Haiku in the life of Japanese people and Japanese culture is significant. The influence of Basho is not only
spread in Japanese culture but also in the American modern culture. The last fifty years after the book was published there have been increasing interest in Basho
’s work among scholars, poets, nature writers, and environmental philosophers. It
was about one hundred years ago that Basho became known in the West through the translations of Basil Hill Chamberlain and more importantly, it was known
that the influence on the poet Ezra Pound was Basho Bahmil, 2004: ix. Basho had his spiritual journey and expressed his experience in his Haiku.
He developed his own aesthetics that reflected spiritual depth. In 1688, he travelled to Sarashina village to see the harvest moon, which was written in
Sarashina Journal Sarashina kiko, an then he returned to Edo in September. He left Edo in May 1689 for a very long journey to the north country and the west
coast of Japan, which became the basis for The Narrow Road to the Deep North Oku no hosomichi. In 1690 he lived from May to August in the hut by Lake
Biwa, and then moved to his native village of Ueno. He began to speak of his new poetic ideal of lightness karumi.
He spent late May at the “Villa of Fallen Persimmons
“ in 1691 in the hills west of Kyoto, where he wrote Saga Diary Saga nikki. The linked-verse anthology
Monkey’s Straw Raincoat Sarumino was published. In December he returned to Edo. In 1692 after many relatively
quiet months, a new hut was built for him, and he became busy again as a haikai master Bahmil, 2004: 3. The Result is the six Great Haiku which portray his
deep spiritual life, as a poet and as a Zen man. Those six Haiku were written in the period of his journey, and noticed as
the time when he reached the highest point of his spiritual life. The first Haiku is; Old pond-
a frog jumps in, water’s sound
Bahmil, 2004:54 This poem was written in Spring 1686, Bahmil, 2004: xii. The second Haiku
was written in Spring 1689. Under one roof,
prostitutes, too, were sleeping; the bush clover and the moon
Suzuki, 1988:230 It was written when Basho left Edo in May, which became the basis for his next
series of poems. The third Haiku was written in Autumn 1689, Bahmil, 2004: i: Stormy sea-
Stretching out over Sado, Heaven’s River
Bahmil, 2004:97 The fourth Haiku was written in Summer 1690:
Soon to die Yet no sign of it:
A cicada’s cry Bahmil,2004:114
In Autumn 1690 he wrote another poem of a dragonfly, when he started to move from his hut to a village. He moved to the village of Ueno.
Dragonfly Unable to hold on
To the Grass Blade Bahmil,2004:114
In Spring 1691 he wrote again a poem, when he spent time in May at the Villa of Persimmons to wrote Saga diary, one poem of Saga diary is about the life of the
cherry trees.
Year upon year Fertilizing the cherry trees:
Blossom dust Bahmil,2004:121
Besides influencing the art, Zen influences Western culture through the aspect of human psyche. How Zen and Psychoanalysis are conducted and spread
for the benefits for human is useful knowledge. T hrough Basho’s Haiku it will be
understood more deeply that Zen helps people to cultivate their inner strength for their peaceful life. B
orrowing Shelley’s words, Basho produced knowledge in the term of poetry, because Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
That is how Zen discussion is important, and this thesis tries to react to the issues. Considering the significant influence of Haiku in Japanese life and western people
life, the study is meant to reveal the meaning of Haiku, to reveal the ideas of Zen in the form of Zen philosophy.