Basho

[ bah-shaw ]

noun

1. Basho Matsuo, 1644?–94, Japanese poet.

basho

¹

/ ˈbæʃəʊ /

noun

1. a grand tournament in sumo wrestling

Basho

²

/ bɑːˈʃɔː /

noun

1. BashoMatsuo16441694MJapaneseWRITING: poetTRAVEL AND EXPLORATION: travel writer full name Matsuo Basho , originally Matsuo Munefusa . 1644–94, Japanese poet and travel writer, noted esp for his haiku

Word History and Origins

Origin of Basho¹

C20: from Japanese

Example Sentences

So, it seems entirely fitting that the novel begins with a heart-wrenching lyric of the Beatles — “Once there was a way to get back home” — and ends with a haiku by the 17th century poet Basho: “An autumn night — don’t think your life didn’t matter.”

From Seattle Times

Matsuo Basho was born in the mid-17th century and spent his life as a wandering poet.

From New York Times

Setting out from Senju, on the banks of the Sumida River, in present-day Sumida-ku, Basho composed this haiku: Departing spring, birds cry out, tears in the eyes of fishes.

From New York Times

The poem connotes a scene in which even the birds and the fishes mourn the passing of spring, which is compounded by Basho’s lament that he doesn’t know whether he will die on this journey.

From New York Times

Levin expresses her mixed emotions about poetry in Basho’s mixed form; not quite a haiku, her own verse, “such as it was,” feels more like an epitaph, or graffiti, straddling the line between eternities: “I/lived” and “I/died.”

From New York Times