Matsuo Bashō

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) is the earliest and most revered of the great haiku masters. His impact on the form remains unmatched, as his thinking continues to influence artists, philosophers, and students of aesthetics. Suffering from depression and a persistent sense of loneliness, Basho's work embodies wabi-sabi. While difficult to articulate, wabi-sabi, for Basho, concerns the pursuit of simplicity - "lightness" - and the beauty of loneliness, "akin to, but deeper than, nostalgia."