Sarumino (猿蓑, Monkey's Raincoat) is a 1691 anthology, considered the magnum opus of Bashō-school poetry.[1] It contains four kasen renku as well as some 400 hokku, collected by Nozawa Bonchō and Mukai Kyorai under the supervision of Matsuo Bashō.[2] Sarumino is one of the Seven Major Anthologies of Bashō (Bashō Shichibu Shū),[3][4] and, together with the 1690 anthology, Hisago (The Gourd), it is considered to display Bashō's mature style (Shōfū) at its peak.[3] Bashō's influence on all four of the kasen in Sarumino was profound[5] and when he sat with Bonchō, Okada Yasui and Kyorai at Yoshinaka Temple to write "Kirigirisu", he extolled them, "Let's squeeze the juice from our bones."[5]

Contents

Example

The first side of the renku Natsu no Tsuki (Summer Moon), translated by Donald Keene:[6]

In the city
What a heavy smell of things!
The summer moon.
(Bonchō)
How hot it is! How hot it is!
Voices call at gate after gate.
(Kyorai)
The second weeding
Has not even been finished,
But the rice is in ear.
(Bashō)
Brushing away the ashes,
A single smoked sardine.
(Bonchō)
In this neighborhood
They don't even recognize money—
How inconvenient!
(Bashō)
He just stands there stupidly
Wearing a great big dagger.
(Kyorai)

Translations

English

Other languages

French

German

Translations of individual kasen

References

  1. ^ Shirane 1998, 20
  2. ^ Mayhew 1985, 15
  3. ^ a b Yuasa 1966, 40
  4. ^ Shirane 1998, 33
  5. ^ a b Mayhew 1985, 17
  6. ^ Keene 1999, 111

Bibliography

Categories