MUKAI KYORAI

born 1651, Nagasaki, Japan died Oct. 8, 1704, Kyoto original name Mukai Kanetoki, also called Rakushisha Japanese haiku poet of the early Tokugawa period (16031867) who was one of the first disciples of the haiku master Matsuo Basho. Kyorai first trained as a samurai, but at age 23 he gave up martial service and turned to the writing of poetry. In 1684 he made the acquaintance of Takarai Kikaku, a disciple of Basho, and shortly thereafter Kyorai also became a disciple. He built a small retreat on the outskirts of Kyoto, which Basho often used. There Basho wrote Saga nikki (1691; Saga Diary). Kyorai helped edit two major collections of haiku by Basho and his followers, Arano (1689; Wilderness) and Sarumino (1691; The Monkey's Raincoat). After his master's death in 1694 Kyorai devoted himself to teaching haiku and to interpreting Basho's works. He published several anthologies of his own poetry and essays that illustrated his principles, including Kyorai sho (1775; Conversations with Kyorai) and Tabine ron (1778; Discourses of a Weary Traveler).