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Podcast: The Daily Poem
Episode: Matsuo BashÅ's Spring Haiku
Description: Todayâs poems are all about the ineffable experience of spring. Happy reading! The 17th-century Japanese haiku master BashÅ was born Matsuo Kinsaku near Kyoto, Japan, to a minor samurai and his wife. Soon after the poetâs birth, Japan closed its borders, beginning a seclusion that allowed its native culture to flourish. It is believed that BashÅâs siblings became farmers, while BashÅ, at Ueno Castle in the service of the local lordâs son, grew interested in literature. After the young lordâs early death, BashÅ left the castle and moved to Kyoto, where he studi...