BLOG 3: Bashō
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ASSIGNMENT: Watch the video on “Matsuo Bashō.” Discuss the combination of poems
and images. Why do you think the maker of the video paired the images and poems
in the way he did?
In the
short video “Matsuo Bashō” created by Raul Santiago Sebazco (2010) several of
Bashō’s poems are presented between beautiful images of Edo period art and set
to Koto music. The presentation of the poems in combination with the art and
music work to conceptually take the viewer on Bashō’s transformational travels
across the Edo Five Routes. This epic journey transformed the prior
introspective focus of Bashō’s poetry into poetry that was more external and
observational which reflected the changing scenery and life that was presented
before him. The images move across the screen as if to relay the feeling of
Bashō moving onward. In the background beautiful Koto music is played creating
a simultaneous sense of serenity and wonderment. This music was perhaps chosen
to reflect the beauty and wonderment that Bashō was
exposed to along the way. Bashō’s travels facilitated a sense of serenity
despite that fact that his causes for travel were initially motivated by grief.
Bashō’s vivid metaphorical use of nature to connect with themes concerning the
human condition creates a powerful sense of universal connection despite the
differences in context that influenced his work. For this reason Bashō’s work
remains highly impactful to the modern reader.
Works Cited
Sebazco, R. S. “Matsuo Basho”. YouTube, 9 April 2010. Web. 31 May 2015.
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