matsuo basho - 18.6.08

I think I need a little bit of explanation before I present the artist of the day. First, this type of art is called haiku, which is a kind of Japanese poetry. It is usually written in three lines to equate to the three parts of a haiku in Japanese that traditionally consist of five, seven, and then five on (the Japanese count sounds, not syllables). In English, it produces a poem that is actually quite a bit longer, with more content, than a haiku in Japanese.

This type of poetry is more of meditative, a more objective art. Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) was the most famous poet of Edo period in Japan. He mastered the art of haiku through meditation and putting himself as part of the action. He wrote about 2,000 poems even on his death bed.

The before an after poem is captured: the silence before you see the frog… the sound of the water… and even greater silence afterward…

So don't be alarmed... here is the short and simple haiku poem:


An old pond!
A frog jumps in-
The sound of water.