The Seashell Game (貝おほひ,Kai Ōi) is a 1672anthology compiled by Japanese poetMatsuo Bashō, in which eachhaiku is followed bycritical commentary he made as referee for a haiku contest.[1] It is Bashō's earliest known book, and the only book he published in his own name.[2][3] The work contains 60 haiku by 36 poets, including two by Bashō himself.[4]
The format is based on achildren's game where two seashells were placed side by side and compared. Bashō compares pairs of haiku by different authors in the same manner in the book. According to scholarSam Hamill,The Seashell Game shows Bashō "to be witty, deeply knowledgeable, and rather light-hearted."[5]
Bashō compares the following pair of verses on the topic of colourful autumn leaves:
In his commentary, Bashō declares that the first poem "ranks thousands of leagues" above the second.[3]
 | Thisliterary criticism-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
