Bashō Matsuo

Born in 1644, Matsuo Bashō became the most celebrated poet of the Edo period and is widely seen as the great master of haiku. He was born into a samurai family in Iga Province, in present-day Mie Prefecture, and later took the pen name Bashō after a banana plant that grew near his hut in Edo.

His writing grew out of both literary skill and a life of travel. Bashō made long journeys across Japan and turned those experiences into haikai poetry and prose, especially in works such as The Narrow Road to the Deep North. His poems often focus on small, precise moments in the natural world, yet they carry a feeling of depth and stillness that has kept them alive for centuries.

He died in 1694, but his influence has never faded. Readers around the world still return to Bashō for the way he makes brief poems feel spacious, observant, and full of life.