Although there have been various haiku poets throughout time, we can notably refer to Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa and Masaoka Shiki for revolutionizing what we see of our modern haiku. Although most did not practice their haiku the way it is used today and practiced Hokku instead, their achievements have helped change haiku and develop it into what it is today.
Matsuo BashoHe was one of the three most famous haiku poets to transform Haiku. He was very well known for his great poetry but he focused on the similar and not exact form of hokku and Hakai. He became a master of this art and one of his most notable and famous works is called the "Harvest Moon." In his old age he focused on Chinese poetry, but he originally started the process of popularizing haiku.
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Yosa BusonAs another one of the important poets to rectify haiku, Yosa played an important part in other Japanese arts. He took lots of his inspiration from different paintings. His poems were very sensual and invigorating and encouraged people to be more informed in it's excellence. However, he never managed to reach the excellence of Matsuo Basho.
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Kobayashi IssaUnlike the other two Poets who highly focused on enjoying life and understanding its deeper meanings, Issa's poetry was mostly composed of sadness. He also helped to popularize Hokku and started the process into turning it into Haiku. His Childhood is a sad one, and we can see this painful sorrow reflected on his pained but thought provoking work.
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Masaoka Shiki
He is by far the most important of the four poets. The other three highly focused on Hokku or Haikai, whereas he revolutionized the art of this poetry and refined it into the most modern version of today's haiku. He was the poet that transitioned the poetry from Hokku into Haiku and a modern version of the native Japanese poetry. His poems often focus on facts, but also analyze various important and touching situations.
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