Basho's Haiku Journeys

by Freeman Ng, Cassandra Rockwood-Ghanem (Illustrator)

The 17th-century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho practically invented the haiku. He's most famous for his travel journals. But how did he come to be such a traveler in the first place?

Written entirely in haiku and illustrated with scenes taken directly from the poet's written travelogues--tells the true story of Basho’s decision to abandon his comfortable city life and of the five great journeys he then took through the length and breadth of Japan.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, History

40 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2021

About the author

Freeman Ng is a former Google software engineer and the author of Bridge Across the Sky , a YA verse novel based on the Chinese immigration experience through Angel Island in the early 1900s (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024); Basho’s Haiku Journeys , a haiku picture book (Stone Bridge Press, 2021); The House We Sheltered In and The Masks We Wore , a pandemic picture book; Haiku Diem , a daily haiku feed; and Trumpbert , a political webcomic. He’s also the creator and illustrator of The Shape a Wing Makes , selected poems of Fran Claggett-Holland paired with Freeman’s digital art, and the co-author, with Peter Dale Scott, of Poetry and Terror: Politics and Poetics in Coming to Jakarta , a discussion of Scott’s seminal book-length poem that combined autobiography with an exposé of the 1965 Indonesian Massacre (Bloomsbury USA, 2019). Ripples, a picture book about gravitational waves and friendship written by Freeman and illustrated by Daniel Miyares, is forthcoming from Neal Porter Books in Fall 2027.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in awhile you come across a book that just makes you happy to see; this introduction to haiku written by Bashō is a wonderful book to read with a small child. The images go well with the poems - this is the type of book that can help kindle a love of poetry that will grow with the passing years.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pleasant enough book, certainly to look at, but one that will leave many a young reader nonplussed. In a narrative collection of haikus, our author has tried to introduce Basho to the primary school classroom, and convey all five of the journeys and treks he notably wrote about. But in providing haiku that are not quite, for want of a better word, Zen enough, the book actually manages to become too Zen. Basho is aware, in planning the third trip, that he hasn't seen all that was available for him to see on his first – but all we watch him witnessing is a hut, and then a baby deer, and then he's gearing up for the fourth! I wanted this to succeed, despite the doubts I had on requesting it that it could – and I'm afraid to say I don't see it having much mileage. Unlike its subject, of course.

[The Voracious Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Note: I received a free digital review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

I must admit, before reading Basho’s Haiku Journeys I knew next to nothing about Matsuo Basho, the Japanese poet who lived in the seventeenth century and is credited with inventing the haiku. For those of you unfamiliar with the form, a haiku is a short-form poem most often containing seventeen syllables in three lines, with five in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third and last line. Most haiku are about nature and haiku purists insist that only haiku about nature can be considered true haiku, but the form has evolved to include other topics.

For most of his life, Basho lived a comfortable and cosmopolitan life in Edo, which was then the capital city of Japan. He made his living teaching and writing, but there was an unfulfilled longing inside him—to see more, to experience the vibrancy of life more fully. He lived in a hut outside Edo that his students had built for him, and one night it caught fire and burned to the ground.

Most people would feel devastated at the loss of all their earthly possessions, but Basho felt liberated. He wandered into the woods, basking in the elation he felt at his change in fortune. It was then he decided to adopt an itinerant lifestyle, beginning the first of what would become five long journeys. From 1684-1689, Basho would traverse the length of his country and write about the beauty of the natural world in books that would later become classics of Japanese literature.

Ng honors Basho by telling his story in haiku form and the result is nothing short of breathtaking. One of the hallmarks of a good book is that it leaves you wanting more and in that regard Ng has more than succeeded. Cassandra Rockwood Ghanem’s gorgeous hand-painted illustrations add depth and clarity to Basho’s story. This book is a must-purchase for children’s librarians, language arts teachers, and parents and guardians who want their children to be curious and creative citizens of the world.

Basho’s Haiku Journeys is due to be released on October 19th, 2021 by Stone Bridge Press and is now available to preorder wherever books are sold.

This review also appears on my blog The Voracious Bibliophile at https://thevoraciousbibliophile.com/2...

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing a prospective reader should be clear about is that these aren’t Basho’s haiku. Basho wrote travelogues in haibun (a spare form of prose typically matched with one or more haiku,) and so one might expect the poems to be from them. On a related note, while all of the poetry is haiku in form, not all of it is haiku in substance. That is to say, it’s all presented in a three-line 5 – 7 – 5 syllable format, but some of it reads like a prose description of events chopped up into 5 – 7 – 5 syllable bit-sized pieces. That’s not to say that there aren’t many poems that do have the feel of true haiku, presenting spare natural imagery juxtaposed but not explained, analyzed, or judgement-laden. It seemed like the further into the book I got, the more of the poems felt like proper haiku.

It is a children’s book, so I don’t think it’s a major concern that it focuses on the most rudimentary elements of haiku (i.e. syllable count and nature imagery) at the expense of subtler elements. The Zen nature of Basho’s haiku might be challenging for a young reader. I addition to the colorful and whimsical artwork, showing prominent places from Basho’s travels, there is a single page explanation of haiku to help get kids writing their own.

If you’re looking for a book to get a child interested in nature, haiku, or travel, you should give this one a look.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a big Basho fan, I was curious to see how the authors' would present this in a way that would be meaningful to children. Often beautiful books like this one are books that adults end up liking more than children. But, in this case, the authors did a good job. Haiku are brief enough to be readable for children, but also hold enough meaning to paint a picture. And if the picture IS actually painted a child can really grasp the meaning quickly and even consider the word choices. I could imagine a parent reading this with very young children. I could imagine this being used as a resource and reference book for a Poetry Unit or a Japan Unit in an elementary school. And of course it also works as a coffee table book.

The illustrations are beautiful and playful and should appeal to both adults and children. A reader could linger for quite a long time over each page. Highly recommended and would be an excellent gift.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

[Irina R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, i loved the vibrant colours of the hand-painted illustrations in the book. The cover itself is visually stunning!. I first heard about Matsuo Basho when i was reading a book on Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) written by Dr. Qing Li. In that book, there is a sub-topic on natural silence where Basho is said to have gotten the inspirations for his haiku from the observations of nature.

Hence, this book provides a glimpse of Basho's life and his source of inspirations from his travel journeys in Japan's natural landscapes. What is unique and interesting about this book is it is written in haiku form (the five syllable 5-7-5 pattern) So, the story itself is a haiku about Basho's haiku (or a haiku within another haiku). Next, it is also written in a mini travelogue journal style (stating the beginning of the first year of his journey in 1684 until the end of his journey and his life in 1689,making a total of five years of traveling. Each of traveling years, he had some kind of missions that he wants to accomplish and places he wishes to go.

His story begin with him leaving his life in the city and choosing the life of a wayfarer instead. Throughout the five years of his travel, he explored every breadth and depth of the beautiful natural landscapes of Japan and met with various life encounters and discoveries. Thus, this book also uncovers many themes following the ebbs and flows of life such as life and death, birth, impermanence, etc. Each of his natural events made him ruminates about life and death. Consequently, he found the ideas and inspirations for his haiku writing from his travelling.

In short, this book provides a rather interesting approach in introducing about Basho's life story and his travelling experiences. From this story, readers are given a glance of his source of inspirations in his haiku writings. To me, this book is more suitable for older children and adults than younger children as its haiku style of writing might be quite difficult for a child to understand and decipher its subtle meanings and messages unless with adults or parents guidance and supervision.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the e-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

[April Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting concept for a children's book, and I think it would be especially good for National Poetry Month each April, or for any poetry based projects kids might have going on. It tells of 17th century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho's life, specifically about the five great journeys he took across Japan from 1684-1689. I knew of Basho as a master of haiku, but I wasn't as aware of his travel journals, which are what he's most famous for. The text of the book is written entirely in haiku, and includes a brief explanation of the poetry form at the end, encouraging young poets to try some haiku of their own. While a few of Basho's haiku are included, I do wish more of his work had been incorporated into the book. Still, this is a good introduction to the form for young readers, without being overwhelming. The illustrations are soft and inviting, and go well with the story.

[Vidya Tiru · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I did not intend for this to happen, Basho’s Haiku Journeys is kind of a bio poem of sorts; describing the five great journeys that the poet Basho undertook in his life. He explored Japan and wrote about his travels extensively, and is well known today as a true haiku maestro as well as for his travelogues.

This book shows its readers the hows, whys, whens, and wheres of his travels exclusively through haiku. I love the concept, the haiku range from sublime to humorous to deeply reflective, and the artwork is stunning and detailed. A book that is sure to inspire readers to learn more about Basho, his journeys, the places he traveled to, and of course, to write and read more haiku themselves.

In Summary
A beautiful book indeed, in words and artwork!

Source: e-RC from NetGalley

[Julia Hahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

I learned about Basho during my senior year in college, so I was interested to read this graphic novel. The illustrations are beautiful—they give a vivid image of what the haiku are saying as they tell the story of Basho “wandering around Old Japan.”

This book is very short—and I can’t decide if I like that or not. This is a book to introduce children to Basho, so maybe it is the appropriate length for the targeted age group.

At the end, the author explains (in prose) how Basho is famous for writing his own haiku, and after explaining the structure of a haiku, encourages the reader to write one of their own.

Interesting read.

[Denise Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

17th century Japanese power Basho is recognised as having invented haiku. Throughout his life he went on several journeys and wrote travel journals. This book, written entirely in haiku, tells us briefly about those journeys.

If you are wanting a travel book, this is not the book for you. However if you want to introduce children to where haiku came from and show them some examples of nicely worded haiku, then this book is what you’re after. In all the years I’ve taught haiku as a poetic style, I didn’t know about its origins. In future, I will use this book to give pupils a fuller understanding of the haiku form and to add background, cultural detail.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[MookNana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and beautiful! The haiku describing Basho's journeys were simple, elegant, and almost meditative. This would be a great way to introduce students to the concept of haiku since it successfully demonstrates both the typical form and feeling that is generally the goal.

As appealing as the text was, the illustrations are the real standout. They're breathtaking and vivid and will definitely pull students in to engage with the text. This would be an excellent addition to school and classroom libraries for almost any grade level.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

[Lottie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super short but sweet read, I enjoyed learning about Basho and thought his story was portrayed well through the haiku format. The illustrations beautifully complimented the haiku’s and Basho’s tale. In addition, I think this would make an excellent learning tool for use in the classroom, the illustrations are bright and captivating which would help to engage children and provides examples and information about the haiku form all while teaching us about the history of one of Japan’s most famous poets.

[Bozhena Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this beautiful book. This book is about the life of the 17th century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho who invented haiku. Written entirely in haiku and gorgeously illustrated, this is the perfect book to introduce haiku style to children while simultaneously learning about the person who invented it. I can’t wait to use this wonderful book with my English language learners and would be recommending it to the general and special education classroom teachers.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book biography of poet Basho that looks primarily at his three great journeys around 17th century Japan.

This is sparse in details (but given the time period of the person, that isn't surprising). It is actually pretty amazing we still know the exact places he visited on his travels. The haikus are done well, and true to how they were originally used, focus primarily on the nature Basho saw on his journeys.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative journey written in haiku form telling the story of Basho's five trips around Japan in the 17th century. Pictures resonate with the tale woven through the poem. The book finishes with a little bit of information on the style of haiku encouraging readers to try writing a haiku for themselves. On that note...
Interesting read
in 'Basho's Haiku Journey';
It's worth checking out!

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haiku is Japanese very short poem, in three lines, counting the syllables, unlike the rhyming poems we usually see. This book told us the story of Basho, a famous Haiku poet, in Haiku manners, which is entertaining. You can use this book to familiarize yourself with Haiku, and learn more on how to do it.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a beautifully illustrated book, I cannot say enough about the individually painted pages. The story is written in Haiku and is based on Basho real life travel journeys across Japan during the seventeenth century. I highly recommend this book.

[Tamara]

I absolutely adored this sweet picture book biography of Basho’s life. Told completely in wonderfully poignant yet accessible haiku, the words were accompanied with a perfect counterpoint of beautiful illustrations. Highly recommend for readers of all ages.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

unique, part biography

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basho was a 17th century poet known for practically inventing the haiku. This is a biographical book of his journeys, written in haikus.

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had some pretty good pictures, but not really my kind of book. Look at my goodreads if you want to know more.

[Lys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great addition for the classroom.
This book tells the story of Matsuo Basho through haiku. The illustrations and short poetry form create palatable bite-sized chunks of information for young readers. This is great for adding diversity to the library, as an informational text, and also for practicing the haiku form.

Lovely illustrations. Very cute and informative book with lots of good examples to engage children. A great example of educational material in a pleasing package. As an adult, I learned new things reading this. Children will enjoy the lovely illustrations and will soak up the information like sponges without even realizing all that they are learning.