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Basho: The Complete Haiku | 
| Author: Matsuo Basho
Creators: Shiro Tsujimura, Jane Reichhold
Publisher: Kodansha International
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.91
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 37222
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 4770030630
Dewey Decimal Number: 895.104108
EAN: 9784770030634
ASIN: 4770030630
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081012212256T
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Product Description
Basho stands today as Japans most renowned writer, and one of the most revered. Wherever Japanese literature, poetry or Zen are studied, his oeuvre carries weight. Every new student of haiku quickly learns that Basho was the greatest of the Old Japanese Masters.
Yet despite his stature, Bashos complete haiku have not been collected into a single volume. Until now.
To render the writers full body of work into English, Jane Reichhold, an American haiku poet and translator, dedicated over ten years of work. In Basho: The Complete Haiku, she accomplishes the feat with distinction. Dividing his creative output into seven periods of development, Reichhold frames each period with a decisive biographical sketch of the poets travels, creative influences and personal triumphs and defeats. Scrupulously annotated notes accompany each poem; and a glossary and two indexes fill out the volume.
Reichhold notes that, Basho was a genius with words. He obsessively sought out the right word for each phrase of the succinct seventeen-syllable haiku, seeking the very essence of experience and expression. With equal dedication, Reichhold sought the ideal translations. As a result, Basho: The Complete Haiku is likely to become the essential work on this brilliant poet and will stand as the most authoritative book on the subject for many years to come. Original sumi-e ink drawings by artist Shiro Tsujimura complement the haiku throughout the book.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
A Treasure For Those Who Love Haiku September 23, 2008
This book is complete collection of all of Basho's haiku. Although he lived more than 300 years ago, he is still considered on of the finest Japanese writers ever to have lived. His work has influenced other writers, in other countries, for hundreds of years.
You do not have to be an expert in either haiku, or Japanese literature, to appreciate this book. There is so much information in the introduction, and index, that you will quickly learn to appreciate all the nuances of this form. The poems themselves are written on beautiful paper, in a beautiful format, with beautiful illustrations.
It is a perfect gift for yourself, or a friend, to have in your library collection.
Basho The complete Works by Jane Reichhold August 30, 2008
It is a beautiful book. Jane Reichhold deserves thanks from all the readers and admirers of Basho. She has done an excellent job. The get up of the book is superb.
 Basho: An interpretation August 25, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Matsuo Basho is the undisputed master of haiku. He refined what was seen as a simple, almost comic, style of verse into something that we would call high art. A collection like this, with all of his haiku translated and gathered together into a single, annotated volume is an absolute treasure, and the only surprise is that it wasn't published many years ago.
Of course, collecting the haiku is easy. There are numerous collections available in Japanese, and it is simply a matter of reprinting them. But translating his haiku is a different problem all together. Haiku are a form of art that take unique advantage of the Japanese language, and they can only be approximated at best. There are two general styles, a more-literal translation that tries to capture the form and order of the writer, and an artistic translation that tries to capture the feel of the poem while using the flow of the English language. The main difference is with the third line, which in a Japanese haiku is always a non-sequitur image that relates only indirectly with the first two lines, providing the scenery for the story.
Jane Reichhold takes the artistic approach, and I must admit it is one I am not particularly fond of. This is definitely "Jane Reichhold's Basho: The Complete Haiku", with the emphasis being on her interpretation rather than on introducing people to Basho's poetry. She is undoubtedly talented and respected, having published such books as Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands-on Guide and Narrow Road to Renga: A Collection of Renga, and her translations have a beauty and power all of their own, but she ignores Basho's forms, and creates continuous narratives in the poems, narratives that do not exist in the original.
Ultimately, it is a matter of style, and preference of one over the other. I prefer a more literal translation that is true to the Japanese original. Others prefer the artistic approach. Some of the best haiku collections, such as The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology (Dover Thrift Editions), present the same poem translated by several different people so you can see how the meaning can change depending on the interpretation.
To me, the greatest section of "Basho: The Complete Haiku", which I wish had been the focus of the book rather than tucked into the back, is the appendix with all of Basho's haiku in both their original kanji and in the Alphabet-characters romaji, along with a literal English translation and annotations. This is the true treasure trove, with the master's art in his own words. To make this book perfect, and to take the emphasis off of Reichhold and put it back on Basho, the appendix wouldn't have been tucked into the back but threaded throughout the front with each poem being presented in its original Japanese and accompanied by the annotations and both literal and artistic translations. As it is, I find myself reading the back of the book much more than the front, but even so it is an amazing addition to my library and I am happy to have all the poems collected at last.
Absolutely Essential August 2, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Ever since I first discovered Basho, some forty-plus years ago in a seventh grade English class, I have been influenced by the seeming simplicity and power of his poetry. But a complete collection of his haiku did not exist in English and I had to make do with the various partial collections which surfaced now and again.
Now, at long last, thanks to Jane Reichhold and Kodansha International, we have all of Basho's haiku in English. Basho: The Complete Haiku is a literary tour de force which every lover of haiku, poetry, and Basho needs to have on his or her bookshelf.
The book itself is beautifully done with the artwork of Shiro Tsujimura. Subtle and subdued, the illustrations please and tantalize the eye. Offering a wonderful visual counterpoint to the poems themselves.
Reichhold, a haiku poet in her own right, has been on the English haiku scene from the beginning. Her understanding of the form is second to none and she stands amongst the best of English-language haikuists. What better tribute to a poet than for another to translate his work?
Reichhold's labor of love enriches us all. In Basho: The Complete Haiku, we learn of Basho's life, what were the possible influences upon him, and how he in turn influenced others. We gain an understanding of his literary techniques, as Reichhold presents us with an appendix of analysis. A glossary of important terms is also provided. Then, of course, there are the poems.
Basho's haiku are presented in two sections: the main section, which are the superb translations; a second which gives the Japanese, a literal rendering into English, and explanatory notes. The translations themselves are spare, clean, yet full of life. The translator has clearly been touched by the spirit of her mentor. The literal renderings and notes provide the reader an opportunity to go deeper into the poem for an even richer experience of nuanced meanings. This addition gives the book greater depth.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to Jane Reichhold for translating the work of Basho and to Kodansha International for bringing the work to the world. We non-Japanese readers can now savor the full range of haiku of one of the truly great poets and philosophers. I cannot help but think the spirit of Matsuo Basho is smiling and filled with great joy.
Essential July 16, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is an essential book for anyone interested in, well, living fully. Basho is one of the world's great writers and this book is the best way to immerse yourself in his work. Doing so will make each moment longer, fuller, more connected.
Basho can help you to see,
white chrysanthanums
looking closely
no dust
(my translation)
To age,
this autumn
why am I older
a bird in clouds
(my translation)
Think of one's neighbours,
autumn deepens
so what does he do
the man next door
(Reichold's translation)
Smile,
miming a fan
drinking sake in the shade
of the cherry blossoms
(my translation)
The book contains fine translations of all of Basho's haiku, among the best, all of the poems in Japanese and in transliteration with literal translations, good notes and helpful essays on Basho, haiku techniques, etc.
A must have book.
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