Takarai Kikaku, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Takarai Kikaku

Japanese poet

Date of Birth: 11-Aug-1661

Place of Birth: Edo, Japan

Date of Death: 01-Apr-1707

Profession: writer, poet

Nationality: Japan

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Takarai Kikaku (Japanese: ????; 1661–1707) also known as Enomoto Kikaku, was a Japanese haikai poet and among the most accomplished disciples of Matsuo Basho.
His father was an Edo doctor, but Kikaku chose to become a professional haikai poet rather than follow in his footsteps.Kikaku is best known for his haiku, such as the one in this anecdote about him and his master: One day, Kikaku composed a haiku, Red dragonfly / break off its wings / Sour cherrywhich Basho changed to, Sour cherry / add wings to it / Red dragonfly;thus saying that poetry should add life to life, not take life away from life.
His master is known to have denigrated Kikaku's 'flippant efforts'.
Kikaku wrote of coarser subjects than Basho, and in this respect his poetry was closer to earlier haikai.
Kikaku set the tone for haikai from Basho's death until the time of Yosa Buson in the late 18th century.Kikaku left an important historical document, describing Basho's final days, and the immediate aftermath of his death, which has been translated into English.In commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Kikaku's death, Nobuyuki Yuasa led an international bilingual (Japanese and English) renku, or collaborative linked poem, which opened with the following hokku by Kikaku: ???????????????Springtime in Edo, Not a day passes without A temple bell sold.