Narrow Road To The Deep North

Presents travel writings which chronicle the author's perilous journeys through Japan and also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him.|Matsuo Basho (Author) Matsuo Basho the Japanese poet and diarist was born in Iga-ueno near Kyoto in 1644. He began to write verse while studying as the companion of the son of the local lord and continued to write when he moved to Edo (now Tokyo) in 1667. He eventually became a recluse and on his travels relied on the hospitality of temples and fellow poets. His work was much influenced by Zen Buddhism.Nobuyuki Yuasa (Translator) Nobuyuki Yuasa taught English at the University of Hiroshima.|'It was with aweThat I beheldFresh leaves green leavesBright in the sun'When the Japanese haiku master Basho composed The Narrow Road to the Deep North he was an ardent student of Zen Buddhism setting off on a series of travels designed to strip away the trappings of the material world and bring spiritual enlightenment. He writes of the seasons changing the smell of the rain the brightness of the moon and the beauty of the waterfall through which he sensed the mysteries of the universe. These writings not only chronicle Basho's travels but they also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him.Translated with an Introduction by Nobuyuki Yuasa