Japanese haiku is the world’s shortest fixed form of verse. Expressed in only 17 syllables, haiku must contain a word representing the season. It has millions of aficionados and is enjoyed in about 70 countries; just like a snapshot, anyone can easily compose one. Haiku was created in the middle ages, and, MATSUO Basho is reputed to be the greatest haiku poet, having brought about the current blossoming of the art form. Basho left behind many masterpieces; one of them is “Furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto ” (an ancient pond, a frog leaps in, the splashing sound of water). The literal translation of “furuike” is “old pond,” but it is often translated as “ancient pond,” or “quiet pond.” The word “furuike” (old pond) denotes absolute silence. In short, this work captures the instant in which the world of silence was torn. Basho was born to the son of a farmer, who held the status of a samurai in Iga-Ueno (present day Mie Prefecture). Fascinated by haiku from a young age, he demonstrated a talent that gained him quite a reputation as a haiku poet in Iga. At the age of 33, he moved to Nihonbashi in Edo (present day Tokyo). However, he was engaged in clerical work for a waterworks for some years, as he could not make his living by simply teaching haiku to his disciples. In those days, witty and flamboyant works were lionized and haiku masters competed for fame and for numbers of disciples. Disgusted by this state of affairs, Basho moved to Fukagawa in the suburbs, aiming to create literary haiku that could move the soul. After that his mother, and some years later his father, passed away. On each occasion Basho returned to Iga, travelling to various places, sketching scenes that moved him with haiku. At the age of 45, he wished to travel to Tohoku (the northeast of Japan), and set forth with his disciple Sora to travel around the Tohoku, Hokuriku and Chuubu regions. Poems created during this journey were compiled in his travel journal “Oku no Hosomichi” (The Narrow Road to the Deep North). At Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture he created the famous haiku: “Natsukusa ya tsuwamonodomo ga yume no ato” (The summer grasses, the traces of dreams of noble warriors). This haiku draws a comparison between the foolishness of human beings and the eternity of the earth, and has something in common with the famous poem created by Chinese poet DU Fu: “The country was destroyed, yet mountains and rivers remained…” At Risshaku-ji Temple in Yamagata Prefecture, he composed: “Shizukasa ya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe” (Silence, cutting through the rock, the cicada’s call) Having created numerous masterpieces of this sort, he ended his 150 day journey. Through this journey, Basho created universal works that would not fade away despite changing times. After completing “Oku no Hosomichi” he resumed traveling, but fell ill in Osaka and passed away. His last haiku is representative of Basho’s love of travel: “Tabi ni yande yume wa kare no wo kake meguru” (Being sick on a journey my dreams wander the desolate fields). Thus, Basho ended his life, but recently the rumor came out that he had been a spy. One of the reasons is that he came from Iga, an area known to be the home of the ninja (spy). The biggest evidence for this is said that he had enough money, in spite having travelled so much. Such theories may have been fabricated just because he is such a legendary figure. Even though more than 300 years have passed, Basho’s works have not lost their sparkle. (From February issue, 2014/ 2014年2月号より）