Scan barcode
Reviews
The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (Yuasa) by Matsuo Bashō, Nobuyuki Yuasa
epicpinkfluffyunicorn's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review against another edition
4.0
I read a page or two at night before falling asleep, which was very soothing. I'll probably start the book over and keep up this bedtime routine.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful little book. Nobuyuki Yuasa's translation feels fresh and lively and is easy to read. He provides a very helpful introduction giving the new reader useful background and insight into haiku. I found Basho's poetry and prose forced me to slow down -- to read and reread and think about each scene. If I had rushed, I think the meaning would have been lost, because the imagery and beauty of the words needs reflection, not speed.
A haiku I particularly enjoyed --
A branch of wild azalea
Thrown into a bucket,
Behind, a woman tearing
The meat of a dried codfish.
A haiku I particularly enjoyed --
A branch of wild azalea
Thrown into a bucket,
Behind, a woman tearing
The meat of a dried codfish.
oninka's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
mimirtells's review against another edition
3.25
Puanım 3/5 (%60/100)
Tek oturuşta 20 25 dakika gibi bir sürede bitirdim galiba ve genel olarak güzeldi. Kitap ünlü şair (özellikle haiku) Matsuo Başo'nun en ünlü eseri(ymiş). Çok beklentim yoktu ve kendisi hakkında çok şey de bilmiyordum. Kitaba aslında bir seyahatname denilebilir. Başo'nun hayattan memnuniyetsiz bir durumda kuzeye doğru çıktığı yolculukta gördüğü şeyleri günlük gibi yazdığı bir kitap. Aynı zamanda ara ara kendisinin ve dostu Sora'nın haiku'larını görmek de mümkün. Üzerinde denilecek çok şey yok bence. Okuması kolaydı ve yer yer yeni şeyler de öğrendim. Haiku hoşuma gittiği için şiir olan kısımlar da hoştu. Benim özellikle "Muro no Yaşima Tapınağı" bölümü hoşuma gitti çünkü 2. kitabımda kullanmayı düşündüğüm Kono Hana Sakuya Hime adlı tanrıçadan bahsediyordu. İthaki Japon Klasikleri serisini topluyorsanız alıp tek oturuşta bitirebilirsiniz.
Tek oturuşta 20 25 dakika gibi bir sürede bitirdim galiba ve genel olarak güzeldi. Kitap ünlü şair (özellikle haiku) Matsuo Başo'nun en ünlü eseri(ymiş). Çok beklentim yoktu ve kendisi hakkında çok şey de bilmiyordum. Kitaba aslında bir seyahatname denilebilir. Başo'nun hayattan memnuniyetsiz bir durumda kuzeye doğru çıktığı yolculukta gördüğü şeyleri günlük gibi yazdığı bir kitap. Aynı zamanda ara ara kendisinin ve dostu Sora'nın haiku'larını görmek de mümkün. Üzerinde denilecek çok şey yok bence. Okuması kolaydı ve yer yer yeni şeyler de öğrendim. Haiku hoşuma gittiği için şiir olan kısımlar da hoştu. Benim özellikle "Muro no Yaşima Tapınağı" bölümü hoşuma gitti çünkü 2. kitabımda kullanmayı düşündüğüm Kono Hana Sakuya Hime adlı tanrıçadan bahsediyordu. İthaki Japon Klasikleri serisini topluyorsanız alıp tek oturuşta bitirebilirsiniz.
aurrai's review against another edition
5.0
Nobuyuki Yuasa's translations are divine.
ふるいけや
かわずとびこむ
みずのおと
Breaking the silence
Of an ancient pond,
A frog jumped into water —
A deep resonance.
In the acknowledgements section at the start of the book, Yuasa writes:
To translate from one language into another is a fearsome task. It is a fitting punishment for that human pride which led to the great confusion of languages. When the present work was but begun some three years ago, a friend of mine who happened to see me labouring over it, remarked in an innocent manner that I was attempting an impossibility. When the work was a little more advanced, a more sympathetic friend questioned whether I had the same command of English as Bashō did of the language in which he wrote. It is, therefore, with a great deal of humility and self-reproach that I am now sending the work to the press.
On his choice to use four-line stanzas:
One final comment on the technique of translation. I have used a four-line stanza in translating haiku just as I did in my former translation (THE YEAR OF MY LIFE, a translation of Issa's ORAGA HARU, University of California Press). I shall not, of course, try to defend my stanza, for it is an experiment, and just as any other experiment in literature, the result alone can justify or disqualify it. Let me, however, state here at least three reasons for my choice. First, the language of haiku, as I have already pointed out, is based on colloquialism, and in my opinion, the closest approximation of natural conversational rhythm can be achieved in English by a four-line stanza rather than a constrained three-line stanza. Second, even in the lifetime of Bashō, hokku (the starting piece of a linked verse) was given a special place in the series and treated half-independently, and, in my opinion, a three-line stanza does not carry adequate dignity and weight to compare with hokku. Finally, I had before me the task of translating a great number of poems mixed with prose, and I found it impossible to use three-line form consistently. In any case, this translation is primarily intended for lovers of poetry, and only secondarily for scholars whose minds should be broad enough to recognize the use in a translation like this. The present translation is not for purists who insist (without believing either in its validity or possibility, I presume) that haiku should be translated with the original seventeen syllable scheme or at least into three lines.
alfredgd's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
Roads to the Deep North don’t get much Narrower than this
cakereads's review against another edition
3.0
What struck me most about this book is how Basho refers to "ancient poets", and now we are reading his words 321 years later and he's an ancient poet to us.
The last haiku of The Narrow Road to the Deep North reminds me of The Last Goodbye from The Hobbit soundtrack.
The last haiku of The Narrow Road to the Deep North reminds me of The Last Goodbye from The Hobbit soundtrack.
As firmly cemented clam-shells
Fall apart in autumn,
So I must take to the road again,
Farewell, my friends.
bentoth1's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book with my whole heart. Written in the 1600s, this travel-journal in the Haibun style (prose + haiku) is riddled with gorgeously niche natural imagery, a strong sense of an emotional authorial voice, and surprisingly extensive documentation of Japan's geography.
Bashō climbed mountains, sought out the visions of ancient poets, and processed the brutality of the 4 seasons with a profound calmness. He covered over 2,400km of harsh terrain in about 156 days...usually in straw sandals...usually alone.
The books in my favorites shelf have gently parted, making way for this relic of curiosity, creativity, and reverence for nature. I can imagine myself reading this again and again as I grow old, noticing my warbling reflection in the most peculiar of words every time.
"Nothing remained the same in my native village. Even the faces of my brothers had changed with wrinkles and white hair, and we simply rejoiced to see each other alive. My eldest brother took out a small amulet bag, and said to me as he opened it, 'See your mother's frosty hairs. You are like Urashimal whose hair was turned white upon his opening a miracle box.' After remaining in tears for a few moments, I wrote:
Should I hold them in my hand,
They will disappear
In the warmth of my tears,
Icy strings of frost."
"To talk casually
About an iris flower
Is one of the pleasures
Of the wandering journey."
Bashō climbed mountains, sought out the visions of ancient poets, and processed the brutality of the 4 seasons with a profound calmness. He covered over 2,400km of harsh terrain in about 156 days...usually in straw sandals...usually alone.
The books in my favorites shelf have gently parted, making way for this relic of curiosity, creativity, and reverence for nature. I can imagine myself reading this again and again as I grow old, noticing my warbling reflection in the most peculiar of words every time.
"Nothing remained the same in my native village. Even the faces of my brothers had changed with wrinkles and white hair, and we simply rejoiced to see each other alive. My eldest brother took out a small amulet bag, and said to me as he opened it, 'See your mother's frosty hairs. You are like Urashimal whose hair was turned white upon his opening a miracle box.' After remaining in tears for a few moments, I wrote:
Should I hold them in my hand,
They will disappear
In the warmth of my tears,
Icy strings of frost."
"To talk casually
About an iris flower
Is one of the pleasures
Of the wandering journey."