Yosa Buson (1716-1783) was a haiku poet and remarkably talented painter of Bunjinga (Japanese Literati Painting) and Haiga (Haikai paintings) from the Edo period. He made many scrolls and folding screens based on the famous work by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), Narrow Road to the Deep North. These productions were related to the revival movement of Basho's poetic style during the late 18th century. This article proposes that the context for Buson's extensive output of works inspired by Basho was not so much based only on an inherent respect for Basho's work, rather it was due more to commercial interests, as works based on Basho's writings proved to be lucrative at the time. This paper also looks at whether a difference in Buson's style of haiga can be seen after this period, compared to his earlier works created prior to his work based on Basho.
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