Five Haikus About Five Haikuists

1. Basho Matsuo (1644-1694)
Matsuo taught us
Haiku's importance of thought.
Our first great poet.

2. Buson Yosa (1716-1783)
Yosa's peaceful scenes
Idealized, not realistic,
Show truth in landscapes.

3. Ippekiro Nakatsuka (1887-1946)
Made free-form haiku
And fought the tyranny of
Haiku magazines.

4. Hisajo Sugita (1890-1946)
Distance and foreground
From haiku's first feminist
In The Kitchen Songs.

5. Koi Nagata (1900-1997)
Where does life come from?
Koi Nagata was filled with
Youthful ambition.

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