Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村

与謝蕪村 Yosa Buson (1716-1784)
Haiku poet and painter of the mid-Edo period. Yosa Buson is famous as one of the three great masters of haikai (Haiku poets) in the Edo period, along with 松尾芭蕉 Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) and 小林一茶 Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828). Born into a farming family, he lost his parents when he was a teenager and set out for Edo (now Tokyo) at the age of 20. In Edo, he learned haikai from 早野巴人 Hayano Hajin (1676-1742). After his master's death, he traveled around Kanto and Oshu, and then moved to Kyoto. His haikai style is full of realism, romance, and lyricism, and he became a central figure in the haikai circles of the middle age. He is also an excellent painter, and along with 池大雅 Ike no Taiga (1723-1776), is considered a great master of literati painting.