The Isolation in Basho and Saikaku’s World
Isolation was a constant theme explored in Japanese culture of reading and writing for a period of over 400 years. However, there were different sympathies for the idea of isolation expressed through various experiences. We witness a form of isolation in Basho’s haiku: the solitude. This kind of isolation was traced through the animals, the scenes, the nature, and the people in his poems of “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”. On the other hand, Saikaku’s world of Five Women Who Loved Love” portrait a society that were completely removed from the concept of isolation. It was expressed through the devaluation of one’s privacy
Basho’s world was full of nature. It was solely dominated by nature. One…show more content… The opposition between the singularity of the moon and the vastness of the sky signified the state of sublime. The nature was full, but it was empty as the same time. Was this just an illusion? More than that, was it the nature, the moon and the sky that expressed the isolation or Basho himself? The answer could be understand in either way. The nature here could act as a trigger for the state of his loneliness. The other way was that Basho borrowed the moon, and the sky, and season to reflect his solitude came from within himself. But why?
To understand the result in his solitude, one must understand the underline reasons laid within his lines.
Stormy sea
Stretching out over…show more content… Isolation didn’t exist there. In order to fully appreciate the condition of this time period, there is a must to investigate the Japanese society in 17 century. Merchant class gained more and more social status; but because of the divided, and social order, their wealth didn’t help them acquire the political power, or changing their class status. Thus, the merchants had to find a new way to spend their assets. They created a new type of hero for this period: the actors and courtesans, and the new values were love and money. “Five Women who loved love” portrait honestly this perspective of Saikaku’s