SOURCE: In an introduction to Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda, translated by John Stevens, Weatherhill, 1980, pp. 9-29.

In the following excerpt, Stevens discusses Santoka's poetry, life, and worldview.

Recently, a remarkable interest in the life and poetry of the mendicant Zen priest Santoka Taneda (1882-1940) has developed in Japan. Collections of Santoka's haiku and accounts of his life are being published regularly. At present, more books on Santoka are available than perhaps on any other Japanese poet, ancient or modern. In addition, he is considered to be a great Zen master much like Ikkyu, Hakuin, and Ryokan. How is it that such an eccentric, drink-loving haiku poet came to be so highly regarded?

From a literary standpoint, Santoka's poems are generally admired for their unadorned style, representative of the "new haiku movement," but this does not explain his great popularity with all types of people, not...