174 Quotes by Matsuo Bashō

He who creates three to five haiku poems during a lifetime is a haiku poet. He who attains to completes ten is a master.

The old pond, ah! A frog jumps in: The water's sound.

The haiku that reveals seventy to eighty percent of its subject is good. Those that reveal fifty to sixty percent, we never tire of.

I hope to have gathered To repay your kindness The willow leaves Scattered in the garden.

Felling a tree and gazing at the cut end - tonight's moon

Sabi is the color of haikai. It is different from tranquility. For example, if an old man dresses up in armor and helmet and goes to the battlefield, or in colorful brocade kimono, attending (his lord) at a banquet, [sabi] is like this old figure.

O cricket from your cherry cry No one would ever guess How quickly you must die.

Summer grasses, All that remains Of soldiers' dreams

Now the swinging bridge Is quieted with creepers ... Like our tendrilled life.