Narrow Road to the Deep North
Introduction
‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ is a travelogue that was written by the poet Matsuo Basho. The travelogue is filled with poems describing his journey through Japan north Eastern region of Tohoku. Tohoku was initially viewed a poor rural region with harsh climate however the travelogue by Basho has made artist to be interested in the region such that the area is now rife with visitors who have come to view the scenery of the region.
Some of the attractions include: traditional castles and historic residences for the samurai. The region has cities with beautiful scenic sites such as Morioka city which has breath taking rivers that flow throughout the year, Miyako city which is host to the spectacular beach of Jodogahama. A destination like Osore is also a main attraction as the mythical gate to hell (Tweed, 2008).
Discussion
In Basho’s travelogue he vividly gives an account of his journey and adventure, the vivid description of the regions he visited made Tohoku to be a major tourist attraction for artist and non artist who wanted to visit the scenic sites discussed in the travelogue ‘Narrow road to the Deep North’ through his poems and observation Basho continued to hold in the highest regards each of the regions he visited during his adventurous journey (Tweed, 2008).
Due to the dangers that he expected to face in his journey Basho did not expect to return and in preparation for his demise he sold his property and wrote a will. It was believed that that region was full of bandits ands hermits and the possibility for survival were minimal but the fear that Basho had is in the past now and there are no bandits and hermits in the region. Visitors are however advised to be more cautious of the harsh climatic conditions in the region (Ipgrave, 2007).
Basho’s focus on the region of Tohoku while mainly focusing on it vastness and inaccessibility had an impact on Tohoku’s mystique which lingered on for years in the mind of the Japanese and the art lovers who wanted to also take an adventurous trip top Tohoku. In his travelogue, Basho describes nature with simplicity taking poetic liberty every once in while to be able to bring forth the true intention of his meaning. The travelogue mentions of the seasonal changes that he encounters, the beauty of the water fall, how the rain smells when it falls and beauty of the moonlight. The descriptive perspective of Basho’s travelogue can be analyzed to indicate a sense of serenity and peace. The journey to the deep north is a sort of souls searching journey, a journey n search of peace and self identity free off all worldly material pleasures (Bergmann, 2009).
Basho has used the concept of travel in a metaphoric way. He gives a description of his journey while indicating the beauties and the hardship that he encountered on his way. This descriptive journey is a metaphoric representation of the journey of life “…spends every minute of their lives traveling” (Yuasa, 1966). Basho uses this travelogue to indicate that life is journey, in every activity, hour and day that passes by it is a journey/travel to eternity.
Basho’s travelogue has a spiritual connotation; the journey has a spiritual sense in that the poet embarked on the journey having sold all his old property. In a spiritual sense it is the journey of self discovery, letting go of the past and rediscovering the new you (Ipgrave, 2007).
The writer also uses poems in between the description of his journey to relieve the readers from the boredom of reading the tales of his journey all through the text, it therefore acts as breather. The poems are also symbolic for instance “behind this door… a generation will celebrate” (Yuasa, 1966). The poem is symbolic to the writer letting go off his past life and venturing to a journey of self discovery.
From another perspective Basho wrote the travelogue as a way of positioning himself as a poet. Conspicuously the regions that Basho visited were mainly mentioned by other poets in their literary works, for instance Basho focused on the beauty of the region of Matsushima, however that region is not as scenic as other such as Seiko. However the mentioning of Matsushima was intentional so as to indicate his visit to the literary privilege regions.
Basho’s travelogue focuses on the concept of determination and undying never give up spirit. Though Basho is aware that his journey will be treacherous, he is still determined to carry on “…very home is the open road” (Yuasa, 1966). Readers, by reading the travelogue are encouraged to face life no matter how gloomy and hopeless it appears to be.
Conclusion
Basho mastery in his poetry prowess as well as the use of prose to narrate the journey he had distinguishes him from the rest of the poets. Basho uses the narration of his journey in as a metaphor to show us how the journey of life is. Styles such as metaphors, use of poems and pose form interchangeably and use of descriptive skills is an indicator of prowess in the literary field.
Reference
Bergmann, S. (2009). Nature, space and the sacred: transdisciplinary perspectives. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Ipgrave, M. (2007). Encountering Japanese Spirituality. Retrieved from http://www.theway.org.uk/Back/s104Ipgrave.pdf 19th May 2011
Tweed, T. (2008). Crossing and Dwelling: A Theory of ReligionHarvardUniversity Press
Yuasa, N. (1966). The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches.
Penguin Books, Ltd.
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