Iida Dakotsu (
1885-
1962) was a reclusive
Japanese poet and essayist, the author of nine collections of
haiku.
Dakotsu was the son of a prominent landowner in the
Yamanshi prefecture near
Mt. Fuji. He studied
English literature at
Waseda University and wrote Western influenced poetry and short stories. In
1909, he gave up his studies, sold his books, and returned to rural Yamanshi.
In Yamanshi, he took the
pseudonym "
Sanro" ("mountain hut") and retired to a relatively reclusive life in his native mountain village. However, Dakotsu was still active, perhaps more so now, as an author. He became the editor of a small local haiku magazine,
Isinglass, and under his stewardship it became a first-rate publication. He traveled frequently, visiting
China and
Korea. The years from
1941 to
1946 were bleak for Dakotsu, because he lost his parents and three sons.
He has been called the "modern
Basho" because of his reverence for nature and the serene dignity and beauty of his poetry. His collections of haiku include
Collection of Poems at a Mountain Hut (
1932),
Collection of Mountain Echoes (
1940),
Spring Orchids (
1947), and
Snowy Valleys (
1951).