Haruo Shirane :: What
Bashô does is he takes this very popular form and raises it to new
heights. And he's important in a number of respects: one, he becomes the
embodiment of the Japanese tradition for subsequent generations. And this
is for a number of reasons. One, because he draws on the medieval tradition,
so he represents the medieval tradition in some sense. He comes from the
Tokugawa period, and he's addressing the Tokugawa period audience and has
commoner concerns, he's using the commoner language. And he's also refining
the hokku, the opening verse, into what would become haiku, the most popular
form in Japanese literature, in Japanese culture. And so he's looking forward
to the modern period when haiku becomes the most important poetic form. |