Matsuo Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep

NorthA Brief Understanding of Haiku

and Japanese History and Culture

What is Haiku?

a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.

(This should probably go on your vocab list)

Example

Furuike yakawazu tobikomu

mizu no oto

Breaking the SilenceOf an ancient pond

A frog jumped into water-A deep resonance

Remember:

Japanese and English are two very different languages

The English translations of the poems will not always follow the syllable structure of 5-7-5

When you read the Japanese versions the trick to pronunciation is to say each and every letter’s sound

A bit ‘o history

Basho lived from 1644-1694 during the Edo Period, also known as the Tokugawa period

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Periods of Japanese History

Jomon Period through 300 B.C. Yayoi Period 300B.C.-300AD Kofun or Yamato Period 300-680 Asuka Period 645-710 Nara Period 794-1185 Heian Period 794-1185 Kamakura Period 1185-1333 Ashikaga Bakufu 1336-1467 Era of Warring states 1467-1600 The Tokugawa Shogunate and the Edo Period 1600-1868 Meiji Restoration Period 1868-1912 Modern Japan

The Warring States Era

The Warring States Era was a time of sustained internal struggle among many groups. Violence and anarchy were especially prevalent

The Edo Period

The Edo era brought the establishment of a rigid social hierarchy and Tokyo as a leading city in Japan.

The industrial age of the rest of the world is quickly catching up and invading Japan's isolationism.

This is also an era of great culture and society.

Tokugawa Shogunate

Life in Tokugawa Japan was strictly hierarchical with the population divided among four distinct classes: samurai, farmers, craftspeople, and traders.

Prior to the Tokugawa period there was some movement among these classes, but the Tokugawa shoguns, intent upon maintaining their power and privilege, restricted this movement.

Samurai

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Samurai

The samurai were the warrior class. At the top was the shogun. Beneath him were the daimyo, local lords who

controlled large amounts of land. In addition, samurai in the large cities such as

Edo might fulfill a variety of functions--as officials in the Shogun's government or as policemen.

Of the approximately 30 million Japanese during the Tokugawa period, about 2 million were samurai.

Ronin

Ronin were "masterless" samurai, without a lord to answer to, but also without any definite means of support.

Many of them wandered the countryside, looking for gainful employment. Some sold their services as hired warriors to the highest daimyo bidder. Of the approximately 30 million Japanese during the Tokugawa period, about 2 million were samurai.

Farmers

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Farmers