Quote of the day by Japanese poet Yosa Buson: ‘What you want to acquire, you should dare to acquire by any means…’ – Lesson on desire, courage and life's fleeting opportunities

Opportunities have a habit of disguising themselves as inconveniences. The dream trip that seems too expensive, the book we mean to buy later, the person we intend to speak with “someday,” the experience we postpone because another chance will surely come along. Yet life rarely offers guarantees. Doors close, circumstances change, and moments that once seemed within reach quietly disappear.

More than 250 years ago, Japanese poet and painter Yosa Buson captured this truth with remarkable clarity. His words remind us that desire alone is not enough. If something truly matters, we must be willing to pursue it while the opportunity exists. Waiting for a perfect moment can often mean missing the moment altogether.

Quote of the day

“What you want to acquire, you should dare to acquire by any means. What you want to see, even though it is with difficulty, you should see. You should not let it pass, thinking there will be another chance to see it or acquire it. It is quite unusual to have a second chance to materialize your desire.”

Who was Yosa Buson?

Yosa Buson (1716–1784) was one of the greatest poets of Japan's Edo period and is widely regarded as one of the three classical masters of haiku alongside Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa. But Buson was much more than a poet. He was also an accomplished painter, calligrapher and literary innovator whose work helped shape Japanese artistic culture for generations.

Born near present-day Osaka, Buson left home as a young man and traveled to Edo, now Tokyo, where he studied haiku poetry under the respected master Hayano Hajin. After his teacher's death, he spent years wandering through different regions of Japan, following routes associated with Bashō and absorbing the landscapes, people and experiences that would later influence both his poetry and paintings.

Unlike many artists who excel in a single discipline, Buson became renowned in two. He earned a reputation as a master of haiku while simultaneously establishing himself as one of the leading painters of the literati, or nanga, tradition.

Buson eventually settled in Kyoto, where he spent much of his later life teaching poetry, painting and helping revive the artistic legacy of Bashō. His work combined vivid visual imagery with emotional depth, producing haiku that felt almost like miniature paintings.

What does the quote mean?

At its heart, Buson's quote is a warning against complacency. People often assume that opportunities are renewable. If they miss one chance, another will arrive. If they delay a dream, there will always be more time later. Buson challenges this assumption. He argues that many of life's most meaningful opportunities are unique and may never return.

The quote encourages decisiveness. If there is something worth pursuing, a place worth visiting, a skill worth learning, an experience worth having or a goal worth achieving, then it deserves action rather than endless hesitation.

Importantly, Buson is not advocating recklessness. Rather, he is emphasizing commitment. Great experiences and accomplishments often require effort, sacrifice and courage. The fact that something is difficult should not become a reason to avoid it.

His words also reflect an awareness of impermanence, a theme that runs deeply through Japanese aesthetics and philosophy. Seasons change, people move on, circumstances shift and opportunities vanish. Appreciating life means recognizing that many moments are temporary.

Buson's philosophy of observing life closely

Much of Buson's poetry reveals a deep attentiveness to the world around him. His haiku often focus on small, fleeting details: moonlight, flowers, rain, birds or distant sounds.

That sensitivity helps explain the quote's emphasis on seeing things while they can still be seen. For Buson, observation was not passive. To truly experience life required presence, curiosity and willingness to engage with the moment before it disappeared.

As both a painter and poet, he understood that beauty is often temporary. A blossom blooms and fades. A season arrives and departs. A chance encounter becomes a memory. His quote extends that insight beyond art and into everyday life.

More memorable quotes by Yosa Buson

“Throw open your window and let the scenery of clouds and sky enter your room.”

“Lighting one candle from another – Winter night.”

“I came to the flowers; I slept beneath them; this was my leisure.”

“In the spring rain, the pond and the river have become one.”

“The sea at springtime. All day it rises and falls, yes, rises and falls.”