Having achieved fame as a poet, he grew tired of human company and decided to live in a little house on the outskirts of Edo (Tokyo), but when even that failed to satisfy him, he decided it was time to hit the road. The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa, published by Penguin Classics) is a short book collecting several accounts of journeys Bashō took towards the end of his life.
Sounds fun, no? There is one catch, though – we’re walking all the way 😦 You see, he was also a man who liked to travel, and today’s January in Japan selection has us tagging along on several trips around Japan. If asked what I knew about Matsuo Bashō, I’m sure (like many of you) I would have mumbled something about haikus and frogs splashing into ponds, but while the famous Japanese poet, is of course, mainly known as a master of short verse, he does have another string to his bow.
0 kommentar(er)
