174 Quotes by Matsuo Bashō

The fact that Saigyo composed a poem that begins, “I shall be unhappy without loneliness,” shows that he made loneliness his master.

When I speak My lips feel cold – The autumn wind.

Breaking the silence Of an ancient pond, A frog jumped into water – A deep resonance.

There came a day when the clouds drifting along with the wind aroused a wanderlust in me, and I set off on a journey to roam along the seashores.

Traveler’s heart. Never settled long in one place. Like a portable fire.

On a bare branch a crow is perched – autumn evening.

At the ancient pond the frog plunges into the sound of water.

How much I desire! Inside my little satchel, the moon, and flowers.

Awakened at midnight by the sound of the water jar cracking from the ice.