American readers have been fascinated, since their exposure to Japanese culture late in the nineteenth century, with the brief Japanese poem called the hokku or haiku. The seventeen-syllable form is rooted in a Japanese tradition of close observation of nature, of making poetry from subtle suggestion. Infused by its great practitioners with the spirit of Zen Buddhism, the haiku has served as an example of the power of direct observation to the first generation of American modernist poets like Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and also as an example of spontaneity and Zen alertness to the new poets of the 1950's.
This definite collection brings together in fresh translations by an American poet the essential poems of the three greatest masters: Matsuo Basho in the seventeenth century; Yosa Buson in the eighteenth century; and Kobayashi Issa in the early nineteenth century. Robert Haas has written a lively and informed introduction, provided brief examples by each poet of their work in the halibun, or poetic prose form, and included informal notes to the poems. This is a useful and inspiring addition to The Essential Poets series.

The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson & Issa (The Essential Poets, Vol. 20)

Literature & Fiction

Buson

Basho

Issa

Poetry

Ecco Press

Quintessential classical Japanese haiku--selected and translated by one of America's premier poet-translators--now available in a pocket edition. In this collection of haiku, translator Sam Hamill has compiled the best from the tradition, spanning the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, with particular focus on the three great masters: Bashō, Buson, and Issa. Based on images from nature, the poems address the themes of joy, temporality, beauty, wonder, loneliness, and loss. Haiku may be the most popular and widely recognizable poetic form in the world. In just three lines a great haiku presents a crystalline moment of image, emotion, and awareness. Elements of compassion, silence, and a sense of temporality often combine to reveal a quality of mystery. Just as often, haiku may bring a startling insight into the ordinary, or a flash of humor. Collected here are over two hundred of the best haiku of Japanese literature--written by the great masters of the genre. The featured poets are Bashō, Buson, Issa, Moritake, Sōin, Sanpū, Kikaku, Ransetsu, Kyorai, Raizan, Kakei, Onitsura, Taigi, Chiyo, Sogetsuni, Sogi, Fuhaku, Teiga, Kikusha-ni, Tayo-jo, Sōchō, Shōha, and Shiki. This is a pocket-size reissue of The Sound of Water (Shambhala, 1995).

The Pocket Haiku

History & Criticism

Shambhala

Haiku Master Buson is the only translation of the work of this important haiku poet in English. Buson (1716–1783), along with Basho and Issa, is recognized as one of the three Japanese masters of the haiku. In addition to a large selection of haiku, the book also includes a selection of Buson’s prose and a critical introduction.
 Edith Shiffert is a poet who has lived in Kyoto, Japan, since the 1960s. Her most recent volume is titled Pathways.
The late Yuki Sawa was a professor at Kyoto Seika University.

Haiku Master Buson (Companions for the Journey)

White Pine Press

Bajo la sombra silvestre de un naranjo: Una pizca de poemas japoneses (Spanish Edition)

Saigyō

Bashō, Matsuo

Buson, Yosa

Shikibu, Izumi

Issa, Kobayashi

Ryokan

Trevizo, Édgar

Sodo, Yamaguchi

Literary

Medusa Editores

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Buson. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Buson