1. MATSUO BASHO’S
OKU-NO-HOSOMICHI
(THE NARROW ROAD TO THE FAR NORTH)
THROUGH TAIKO
Rebecca Baumann

2. TAIKO
~ A rhythmic style of drumming that
is usually done in ensembles
Historians are not positive as to where is originated, but it is
known to have been in Japan for over 2000 years
The taiko drum was originally used as a battlefield
instrument, but soon it became a representation of the gods,
nobility, and religious ceremony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n-6KC2RdGQ&feature=related

3. MATSUO BASHO AND
HAIKU
Born in 1644 in Osaka, Japan
He is renowned for the artistry in his Haiku poems
He studied Zen, History, and poetry in Edo, Japan (now
modern Tokyo)
Wrote The Narrow Road to the Far North in 1689

4. THE NARROW ROAD
TO THE FAR NORTH
~A series of travelogues mixed with haiku
It talks about Basho’s dangerous journey through Japan
Basho is comfortable with travel and states, “every day is a
journery, and the journey itself home.”

5. THE TAIKO MYTH
One day Ameterasu was so angered by the teasing of her brother that she locked herself in a cave, rolled a
huge stone across the entrance and vowed never to come out again. The world lay in darkness as the other
gods tried pleas, threats and even force to roll back the stone and open the cave, but to no avail. All knew
that if the sun goddess kept her light hidden in the cave too long, the plants and animals of this world would
surely die. At last Uzume, a wild and wily goddess, came along and announced that she could force
Ameterasu from the cave. The others sneered, as the mightiest of the other gods had tried to move the
stone and failed miserably. Uzume simply smiled as she opened a sake barrel, dispensed its contents and
turned it upside down. Then she began the most boisterous and frenetic dancing upon the head that any
there had ever seen or heard. All around her laughed and sang as she danced and pounded on the barrel.
Ameterasu, hearing the commotion outside the cave, wondered as to what could so amuse the gods that
they had forgotten the darkness. Curious, she rolled away the stone and emerged from the cave. And that
is how sunlight returned to the world and how the first taiko was made.

6. TAIKO AND HAIKU
Both Taiko and Haiku
are associated with nature and spirituality
Use rhythms in meter

7. BAHO’S WORK IN
MUSIC
Counting Rhythm and Meter
4/4: 1+2+3+4
5/8: 1+2+3+4+5 OR 1+2+3+1+2
7/8: 1+2+3+4+5+6+7 OR 1+2+3+4+1+2+3

9. COMPOSITION AND
HAIKU
In comparison to The Narrow Road to the Far North,
the song:
begins with loud traditional taiko drums, starting the journey
uses 4/4 meter to represent the prose of Basho’s work
then switches between 5/8 and 7/8 to produce the 5-7-5 haiku format
uses traditional sounds and representations of incidents from the
work: a shaker as the cicada’s call, loud cymbals show peril that Basho
may encounter on the road, people laughing represent Basho’s run-in
with prostitutes at a hotel, ends in tranquility-mirroring Basho’s state
of mind when traveling.

11. SOURCES
http://www.taiko.com/taiko_resource/
history.html#overview
http://www.seattlekokontaiko.org/SKTHistory.html
http://www.poemhunter.com/matsuo-basho/biography/