Saigyo Introduction – December 2021

Saigyō Hōshi was a famous Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period. He later took the pen name Saigyō, meaning “Western Journey”, a reference to Amida Buddha and the Western paradise. He lived alone for long periods in his life in Saga, Mt. Koya, Mt. Yoshino, Ise, and many other places, but he is more known for the many long, poetic journeys he took to Northern Honshū that would later inspire Bashō in his Narrow Road to the Interior.