[An ancient pond!]

^{translated from the Japanese by William George Aston}

An ancient pond!
With a sound from the water
Of the frog as it plunges in.

Credit

From A History of Japanese Literature (William Heinemann, 1899). This poem is in the public domain.

Author

Matsuo Bashō

Matsuo Bashō, originally Matsuō Chuemon Munefusa, was born in Ueno, Japan, in 1644 to a family of samurai descent. Basho was introduced to poetry at a young age by Todo Yoshitada, for whom he worked and shared a mutual love of renga. After Yoshitada’s death in 1666, Bashō moved to the capital city of Edo (now Tokyo), where he studied poetry and gained recognition for his use of the haiku form.

Date Published

01/01/1899