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anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

compiled by Japanese poet

Matsuo Bashō born then was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative '' haikai no renga'' form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest ma ...

, in which each haiku is followed by critical commentary he made as referee for a haiku contest.Jestice, Phyllis G. (2004). ''Holy people of the world: a cross-cultural encyclopedia.'' ABC-CLIO, It is Bashō's earliest known book, and the only book he published in his own name.Ueda, Makoto (1970). ''Twayne's World Authors Series.'' Twayne PublishersUeda, Makoto (1982). ''Matsuo Bashō''. Kodansha, p148 The work contains 60 haiku by 36 poets, including two by Bashō himself.Ueda, Makoto (1992). ''Bashō and his Interpreters''. Stanford University Press, p29 The format is based on a children's game where two seashells were placed side by side and compared. Bashō compares pairs of haiku by different authors in the same manner in the book. According to scholar Sam Hamill, ''The Seashell Game'' shows Bashō "to be witty, deeply knowledgeable, and rather light-hearted."Hamill, Sam (2008). ''A poet's work: the other side of poetry.'' Carnegie Mellon University Press,

Example

Bashō compares the following pair of verses on the topic of colourful autumn leaves: :How like it is to :A midwife's right hand– :Crimson maple leaf! :—''Sanboku'' :"I haven't crimsoned. :Come and look!" So says the dew :On an oak branch :—''Dasoku'' In his commentary, Bashō declares that the first poem "ranks thousands of leagues" above the second.

References

Edo-period works Japanese poetry collections Literary criticism Articles containing Japanese poems Haiku {{poetry-collection-stub