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THE PATH OF FLOWERING THORN: The life and Poetry of Yosa Buson. By Makoto Ueda. Stanford (Califomia): Stanford University Press. 1998. vii, 226 pp. US$39.50, cloth. ISBN 0-8047-3042-3.
MAKOTO UEDA'S study of Yosa Buson's life and work begins with a vivid image of the poet strolling through the fields on a summer day. The poet's feelings are communicated through two haiku (or hokku, in the terminology used during Buson's lifetime) referring to the flowering thorn bush of the title. In the first, the path is blocked by the bush, and in the second, the fragrance of the flowers evokes memories of the poet's childhood home. However, although the vein of longing and poignant nostalgia is a common feature of Buson's...