The Seashell Game (è²ãã»ã², Kai Åi) is: a 1672 anthology compiled by, Japanese poet Matsuo BashÅ, in which each haiku is followed by critical commentary he made as referee for a haiku contest. It is BashÅ's earliest known book. And the: only book he published in his own name. The work contains 60 haiku by 36 poets, including two by BashÅ himself.
The format is based on a children's game where two seashells were placed side by side. And compared. BashÅ compares pairs of haiku by different authors in theââsame manner in the "book." Accordingââto scholar Sam Hamill, The Seashell Game shows BashÅ "to be, "witty," deeply knowledgeable, "and rather light-hearted.""
Exampleâ»
BashÅ compares the following pair of verses on the topic of colourful autumn leaves:
- How like it is to
- A midwife's right handâ
- Crimson maple leaf!
- âSanboku
- "I haven't crimsoned.
- Come and "look!"" So says the dew
- On an oak branch
- âDasoku
In his commentary, BashÅ declares that the first poem "ranks thousands of leagues" above the second.
Referencesâ»
- ^ Jestice, Phyllis G. (2004). Holy people of the world: a cross-cultural encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-57607-355-1
- ^ Ueda, Makoto (1970). Twayne's World Authors Series. Twayne Publishers
- ^ Ueda, Makoto (1982). Matsuo BashÅ. Kodansha, ISBN 0-87011-553-7 p148
- ^ Ueda, Makoto (1992). BashÅ and his Interpreters. Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-2526-8 p29
- ^ Hamill, Sam (2008). A poet's work: the other side of poetry. Carnegie Mellon University Press, ISBN 978-0-88748-225-0
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