In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

41 Chapter 2 From Falsehood to Sincerity The Danrin’s gûgen style prevailed in the world of haikai in the middle of the Enpô era (1673–1681). By the end of the 1670s, some of the Danrin poets were pushing “the free exaggerations” and “the most deluding falsehoods ” to an extreme, promoting a style that some critics described as deviant (itai) and dissipated (hôratsu).1 While this deviant new phase of Danrin haikai invited more ¤erce criticism from the Teimon and other haikai circles, poets who were tired of the endless debate over different styles asserted that the genre should be essentially natural and truthful. This new trend, accompanied by a renewed interest in Daoist ideas, was re¶ected in the works of many major haikai poets, such as Ikenishi Gonsui, Shiinomoto Saimaro, Uejima Onitsura, and Matsuo Bashô. These poets shared a tendency toward naturalness and profundity, with the most gifted of the group, Bashô, epitomizing the characteristics of the new haikai style. The Chinese Style and the Rise of the Shômon School From the end of the 1670s to the late 1680s, the “Chinese style” (kanshibun chô) prevailed among haikai circles. Use of Chinese words had been the hallmark of the haikai language (haigon) since the ¶ourishing of the Teimon School, but the Chinese-style movement in this period utilized not only Chinese words but also Chinese syntax, often with an entire verse drawing upon classical Chinese texts. A strong force behind this development was a determination to elevate haikai to an art comparable to the best of Chinese poetry. It also was an effort to seek profound connotations of the haigon from a revered literary tradition other than that of waka and renga. Matsuo Bashô, who wrote under the pseudonym Tôsei at the time, founded a new haikai school (later referred to as Shômon) amid the 42 Chapter 2 Chinese-style movement. The name Tôsei, as many scholars have noted, indicates the haikai master’s great admiration for the famous Chinese poet Li Bo (701–762). Tôsei, meaning “peach green” when translated literally, forms a perfect match with the name Li Bo, which literally means “plum white.” Indeed, Chinese models played an important part in the Shômon’s imagination from its start. Inaka no kuawase (Hokku contest in the boondocks , 1680), ¤fty verses by Bashô’s disciple Takarai Kikaku (1661–1707) arranged in the form of a contest with Bashô’s comments, represents the Chinese style of the time. The preface to Inaka no kuawase says: Master Tôsei taught us the “haikai doctrines of boundlessness” in his Flitting and Fluttering Study (Kukusai). He starts his lecture from the elegant taste of Su Shi, the unworldliness of Du Fu, and the sentiments of Huang Tingjian. The haikai style he advocates is profound and tranquil . Master Tôsei said: “Imagine the spring mists over the north bank of the Wei River when you are standing under the cherry blossoms on the Nerima hills; behold the clouds over the east bank of the Yangzi River when you are looking at the moon above the Kasai shore.” Inspired by the Master’s words, Rasha2 composed ¤fty verses in Chinese style and divided them into left and right sides, called “the countrymen” and “the boors,” respectively. Since the verses are coarse and the expressions robust , the contest is named “Hokku Contest in the Boondocks.” It was judged by Master Tôsei. His comments encapsulated the quintessence of Zhuang Zi’s thought; it could make the eloquent Lin Xiyi speechless.3 As did many Chinese-style writings of the time, this short preface uses many Chinese names and references. The three Chinese poets there mentioned, Su Shi (1037–1101), Du Fu (712–770), and Huang Tingjian (1045–1105), are also cited frequently in Lin Xiyi’s explanation of the Zhuangzi, which indicates that Bashô’s interest in Chinese poetry was closely associated with his reading of the Zhuangzi. As observed earlier, Lin’s vernacular explanation of the Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi Juanzhai kouyi, was widely read in Japan at the time and greatly in¶uenced the haikai poets’ reading of the Daoist classic. Evidently, Bashô and his disciples also read the Zhuangzi through Lin’s text. “The north bank of the Wei” implies the place where Du Fu once lived, and “the east bank of the Yangzi River” refers to Huiji, where Li Bo spent time composing poetry. By associating the “Nerima hills” and the “Kasai shore...

Share