- The Seashell Game
-
The Seashell Game (貝おほひ Kai Ōi) is a 1672 anthology compiled by Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, in which each haiku is followed by critical commentary he made as referee for a haiku contest.[1] It is Bashō's earliest known book, and the only book he published in his own name.[2][3] The work contains 60 haiku by 36 poets, including two by Bashō himself.[4]
The format is based on a children's game where two seashells were placed side by side and compared. Bashō compares pairs of haiku by different authors in the same manner in the book. According to scholar Sam Hamill, The Seashell Game shows Bashō "to be witty, deeply knowledgeable, and rather light-hearted."[5]
Example
Bashō compares the following pair of verses on the topic of colourful autumn leaves:
- How like it is to
- A midwife's right hand–
- Crimson maple leaf!
- —Sanboku
- "I haven't crimsoned.
- Come and look!" So says the dew
- On an oak branch
- —Dasoku
In his commentary, Bashō declares that the first poem "ranks thousands of leagues" above the second.[3]
References
- ^ Jestice, Phyllis G. (2004). Holy people of the world: a cross-cultural encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, ISBN 9781576073551
- ^ Ueda, Makoto (1970). Twayne's World Authors Series. Twayne Publishers
- ^ a b Ueda, Makoto (1982). Matsuo Bashō. Kodansha, ISBN 0870115537 p148
- ^ Ueda, Makoto (1992). Bashō and his Interpreters. Stanford University Press, ISBN 0804725268 p29
- ^ Hamill, Sam (2008). A poet's work: the other side of poetry. Carnegie Mellon University Press, ISBN 9780887482250
Categories:- Poetry collection stubs
- Edo period works
- Japanese poetry
- Literary criticism
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
