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On a Bare Branch: Bashō and the Haikai Profession

1997; American Oriental Society; Volume: 117; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/605622

2169-2289

Steven D. Carter,

Chinese history and philosophy

Matsuo Basho's decision to leave his burgeoning practice as a marker in Nihonbashi in the winter of 1680 and move across the river to take up a more solitary and frugal life in Fukagawa has always mystified scholars. Most see his act as evidence of a new seriousness of purpose, a desire to pursue spiritual rather than material goals. However, when viewed as a professional choice, Basho's move was a precedented act with implications readily understandable to those in the world of haikai society. That he stopped working as a marker did not mean that he stopped practicing his profession. Indeed, it is argued here, his action was as an instance of what those in the highest ranks of a profession are always wont to do: to test their competence in a wider arena, and by so doing to claim a transcendent status for themselves and their occupations.