The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches: Matsuo Basho (Penguin Classics)

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches: Matsuo Basho (Penguin Classics)

by Matsuo Basho (Author), Matsuo Basho (Author), Nobuyuki Yuasa (Translator)

Synopsis

In his perfectly crafted haiku poems, Basho described the natural world with great simplicity and delicacy of feeling. When he composed The Narrow Road to the Deep North he was a serious 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 wrote of the seasons changing, of 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 travel writings not only chronicle Basho's perilous journeys through Japan, but they also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him.

$5.81

Save:$5.48 (49%)

Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 176
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Published: 31 Mar 2005

ISBN 10: 0140441859
ISBN 13: 9780140441857

Author Bio
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 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 is much influenced by Zen Buddhism. Nobuyuki Uasa teaches English at the University of Hiroshima.