Matsuo Bashō — a remark

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“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.”

Encourages artistic independence rather than imitation of established masters · Conversation and teaching, as commonly translated

About Matsuo Bashō

Matsuo Bashō

1644–28 November 1694

Matsuo Bashō, born in 1644 and dead on 28 November 1694, occupies a singular place in Japanese literature: he was at once a professional poet, teacher, traveler, theorist, editor, correspondent, and restless seeker after a way of seeing. His name is now inseparable from haiku, although the compact poems for which he…

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Poems by Matsuo Bashō

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