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Matsuo Basho

Historical Figure
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Japanese haiku master whose compressed poems reveal depth, humour, travel, and the transience of ordinary things.

Detailed Definition
Matsuo Basho transformed haiku into a vehicle of spiritual and aesthetic insight. His frogs, journeys, grasses, and weathered roads show how a momentary perception can open into vastness. In poetry, his name suggests brevity, exactness, wabi-sabi simplicity, and the art of finding eternity in a passing sound, a seasonal image, or a humble scene.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet might use Matsuo Basho to suggest brevity, travel, and attention to ordinary things; The frog and old pond associated with Basho show how a small moment can open vast stillness; A poem might invoke Basho when a single image carries emotional depth; His name may signal haiku, roads, rain, autumn fields, and disciplined simplicity
Additional Notes
Matsuo Basho is a key figure for understanding haiku as more than brevity. His poems often combine plain observation with seasonal awareness, humour, travel, loneliness, and sudden depth. In poetry, his name may suggest the old pond, the narrow road, the traveller’s hut, or the Zen-like intensity of ordinary things. Students should avoid treating haiku as mere syllable counting.
Also Known As
Bashō Basho Matsuo Kinsaku Matsuo Munefusa
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