Saigyo Hōshi (西行法師, 1118-1190) The Poet-Monk Who Inspired Bash
Saigy Hshi, originally named Sat Norikiyo (佐藤義清)was a samurai-turned-Buddhist monk and poet of the late Heian period (794-1185). His poetry, characterized by themes of impermanence (無常, mujo), solitude, nature, and longing, had a profound influence on Matsuo Basho nearly 500 years later.
1. Saigyo’s Life: From Samurai to Wandering Monk
Born into a warrior family, Saigyo served as a samurai in the court of Emperor Toba.
Around age 23, he experienced a deep spiritual crisis and renounced his military career.
He became a Buddhist monk and took the name Saigyo (西行, western Journey), signifying a life of detachment and pilgrimage.
He spent much of his life traveling, staying in remote mountain hermitages, temples, and shrines - especially in Yoshino, Ise, and Mount Kya.
2. Saigyo’s Poetic Themes and Style
Saigyo’s poetry is primarily waka (和歌, 31-syllable poems, 5-7-5-7-7), and it blends personal longing, Buddhist detachment, and deep communion with nature.
A) Impermanence (無常, mujo) & Buddhist Detachment
Saigyo’s poetry is steeped in Buddhist awareness of transience - the fleeting nature of life, emotions, and worldly attachments.
(It is hard to detach
until you grow weary of the world,
but in this borrowed dwelling,
I rest my fleeting self.)
The phrase “borrowed dwelling” (kari no yadori) refers to both his hermitage and human life itself - a temporary stop before disappearing.
B) Solitude & Exile (Sabi)
Saigyo often longs for solitude, but his poetry also reveals a tension - a deep loneliness within his chosen exile.
(Even in this heart
that seeks detachment,
sadness lingers
A snipe lifts from the marsh
on an autumn evening.)
The snipe flying away mirrors his own wandering, evoking a quiet, poignant loneliness (sabi) that deeply influenced Basho’s aesthetic vision.
C) Nature as a Spiritual Refuge
Saigy often retreats into nature, where he finds both solace and longing.
(Each time I gaze
at the moon from my mountain hut,
I wonder
Does the sky over the capital
look the same?)
Here, Saigyo’s exile is never absolute - he still feels a subtle connection to the world he left behind, mirroring Basho’s later tension between solitude and nostalgia.
3. Saigyo’s Influence on Bashō
Bashō saw Saigyo as his poetic and spiritual predecessor, and much of his later haikai and haibun reflect Saigyo’s sensibilities.
Saigyo (Waka, 12th Century) |
Bashō (Haiku, 17th Century) |
Solitary wanderer, ascetic life in nature |
Travel as a way of being, pilgrimage as poetry |
Impermanence & sabi |
Haiku’s focus on fleeting moments & wabi-sabi aesthetics |
Nature as a site of spiritual realization |
Haiku capturing deep insight in nature’s smallest details |
Example: Basho Echoing Saigyo
Saigyo:
(Sick on the road,
even my dreams wander
through withered fields.)
Bashō:
(Summer grass
all that remains of
warriors dreams.)
Both poems evoke a landscape of impermanence, where past glory and present reality dissolve into a dream-like vision of transience.
Saigyo’s Model for “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” (Oku no Hosomichi)
Basho’s greatest work, Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), was inspired by Saigyo’s wandering lifestyle and poetic travel diaries.
Basho consciously followed Saigyo’s footsteps, visiting the same sacred and remote locations.
4. Saigyo’s Legacy & Why He Still Matters
He merged samurai, Buddhist, and poetic traditions, making his work a bridge between classical court poetry and later Zen-influenced verse.
His themes of solitude, exile, and transience resonate not just with Bashō, but also with modern writers and poets seeking a deeper connection between poetry, nature, and existence.
Basho famously said:
“I seek to follow the way of Saigyo in poetry, the way of Sogi in renga, the way of Sesshu in painting, and the way of Rikyu in tea.”
This shows how deeply Saigyo’s poetic model shaped his haikai philosophy.
Conclusion: Saigyo as the First Haiku Poet?
While Saigyo never wrote haiku, his compressed, vivid, nature-infused waka already contained the essence of haiku aesthetics. Without Saigyo, Basho’s poetic transformation into a Zen-influenced wanderer might never have happened.
Would you like to see a renga (linked poem) in the spirit of Saigyo and Bashō? Or perhaps compose a haiku inspired by Saigyo’s solitude?