The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches

Front Cover
Penguin UK, Feb 27, 2020 - Poetry - 176 pages

'It was with awe
That I beheld
Fresh leaves, green leaves,
Bright in the sun'

When the Japanese haiku master Basho composed The Narrow Road to the Deep North, he was an ardent student of Zen Buddhism, setting off on a series of travels designed to strip away the trappings of the material world and bring spiritual enlightenment. He writes of the seasons changing, the smell of the rain, the brightness of the moon and the beauty of the waterfall, through which he sensed the mysteries of the universe. These writings not only chronicle Basho's travels, but they also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him.

Translated with an Introduction by Nobuyuki Yuasa

 

Selected pages

Contents

Acknowledgements
The Records of a WeatherExposed Skeleton
Central Japan
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches
Matsuo Basho
Limited preview - 1967
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches
Matsuo Basho
No preview available - 1967
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches
Matsuo Basho
No preview available - 1967

Common terms and phrases

Atsuta Shrine autumn wind barrier-gate Bashō is referring Bashō wrote beauty bloom boat bush-clovers called cherry blossoms clouds cuckoo dark dates unknown Deep North disciples Emperor emperor of Japan example famous flowers following poem full moon Gassan grass Haguro haiku Heian period hermitage hokku horse irregular form Ise Shrine islands Japan Japanese name Kamakura period Kashima Shrine Kisagata Kūkai Kyorai Kyōto leaves linked verse linking technique Lord Major Anthologies Matsushima miles mind morning Mount Mount Fuji mountains Muromachi period Nagoya Nara Narrow Road native night Nikkō Obanazawa Ōgaki Ōsaka passed pen name pine tree plum poetry Prefecture priest province rain Records rock Saigyō Shū Sōgi Sōin Sora spring starting piece style summer Teitoku temple Tendai town travel sketches Travel-Worn Satchel Tsuruga verse is taken visited walked wandering Weather-Exposed Skeleton Written by Sora Written by Tōsei Yoshino Yoshitsune

About the author (2020)

Matsuo Basho (Author)
Matsuo Basho, the Japanese poet and diarist, was born in Iga-ueno near Kyoto in 1644. He began to write verse while studying as the companion of the son of the local lord, and continued to write when he moved to Edo (now Tokyo) in 1667. He eventually became a recluse, and on his travels relied on the hospitality of temples and fellow poets. His work was much influenced by Zen Buddhism.

Nobuyuki Yuasa (Translator)
Nobuyuki Yuasa taught English at the University of Hiroshima.

Bibliographic information

TitleThe Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches
AuthorMatsuo Basho
Translated byNobuyuki Yuasa
ContributorNobuyuki Yuasa
Editionreprint
PublisherPenguin UK, 2020
ISBN0141913657, 9780141913650
Length176 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Literary Collections / Essays
Poetry / Asian / Japanese
Poetry / General
Travel / Essays & Travelogues
  
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