Bashō | Japanese poet
Bashō, in full Matsuo Bashō, pseudonym of Matsuo Munefusa, (born 1644, Ueno, Iga province, Japan—died Nov. 28, 1694, Ōsaka), the supreme Japanese haiku poet, who greatly enriched the 17-syllable haiku form and made it an accepted medium of artistic expression. Interested in haiku from an early age, Bashō at first put his literary interests aside and entered the service of a local feudal lord. After his lord’s death in 1666, however, Bashō abandoned his samurai (warrior) status to devote himself to poetry. Moving to the capital city of Edo (now Tokyo), he gradually acquired a reputati...
Source: britannica.com
