Yosa Buson

Buson scarcely discussed his childhood, but it is commonly thought that he was the illegitimate son of the village head and a migrant worker from Yoza.

[4] According to the Taniguchi family in Yosano, Kyoto, Buson was the son of a servant woman named Gen, who had come to work in Osaka and had a child with her master.

He learned poetry under the tutelage of the haikai master Hayano Hajin, who named the house he taught in Yahantei (Midnight Pavilion).

[17] Peony petals fall, two or three on each other[4] Other Hokku the morning glory— in each flower, the color of a deep pool[19] spring drizzle barely enough to moisten seashells on the beach[19] Buson believed that poems should be natural, without strict rules or guidelines.

His training in Yahantei had promoted a light-hearted approach that stressed individual style, rather than replicating the work of a master.

Because of Buson's lack of interest in the modern trends of his time in terms of poetry, his works were considered by some to be outdated.