The Culturium

Timeless, Wise & Beautiful

  • Blog
  • About
  • Categories
    • Categories & Subcategories
    • Literature
    • Film
    • Wisdom
    • Visual Arts
    • Performing Arts
    • Guest Posts
    • Interviews
    • Archives
  • The Culturium Collection
    • The Culturium Collection
    • Books & eBooks
      • Literature
      • Film
      • Wisdom
      • Visual Arts
      • Performing Arts
    • CDs & Digital Music
    • DVDs & Digital Movies
  • Donate
  • Contact

Sep 02 2016

Matsuo Bashō: Deep Silence

Isaac Levitan, A Quiet Monastery - The Culturium
Isaac Levitan, A Quiet Monastery.
Photograph: [Public Domain] Wikimedia Commons

How can silence be explained in words?

MATSUO BASHŌ’S FAMOUS haiku is a profound meditation on the power of poetry to express the inexpressible and convey the unspoken eloquence of all that is.

閑かさや 岩にしみ入る 蝉の声
Shizukasa ya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe

deep silence
the shrill of cicadas
seeps into rocks

—Matsuo Bashō
(1644–94)

[Haiku composed at Yama-dera, “Mountain Temple”, Japan, 1689.]

Matsuo Basho, On Love and Barley - The Culturium

Buy Book

Post Notes

  • Matsuo Bashō: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
  • John Zerzan: Silence
  • Gabriel Rosenstock: To Thine Own Self Be True
  • Emily Dickinson: A Woman Before Her Time
  • Roger Housden: Ten Poems for Difficult Times
  • Liam Ó Muirthile: Camino de Santiago, Dánta, Poems, Poemas
  • Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden & Zen Master Ryokan

Join Our Newsletter

Written by Paula Marvelly · Categorized: Literature · Tagged: haiku, isaac levitan, japanese, matsuo bashō, poetry, silence

Donate With PayPal

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

You might also like some of the following recent posts on The Culturium …

  • Julian Marshall: Gertrud Kolmar February 26, 2023
  • Jerry Katz: A Simple Life January 29, 2023
  • Suzanne Moss: Love is a Place December 18, 2022
  • Michael Molinos: The Spiritual Guide November 27, 2022
  • Yahia Lababidi: Desert Songs October 30, 2022
  • Victor Kossakovsky: Gunda + Marie Amiguet & Vincent Munier: The Velvet Queen September 25, 2022
  • Daniel Ladinsky & Marwa Adel: Rumi August 28, 2022
  • Rupert Spira: A Meditation on I Am July 31, 2022
  • Jean-Raphael Dedieu: Jnana Agni June 26, 2022
  • Affiliates
  • Archives
  • Copyright Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2023 The Culturium · All rights reserved · Built on the Rainmaker Platform ·

~The Culturium has affiliate links with Amazon Associates Program and Apple Services Performance Partners Program, powered by Geniuslink~