The Basho Road Into the Heartland of Awakening

We follow the road over the bridge, underneath which runs a fast-flowing mountain river, then through the village of shops, their souvenirs and foodstuffs almost spilling onto the street, and reach the stairs to Ryushaku-ji. We climb and then follow a wide path. There, after various shrines, we find statues of Basho and his companion Sora, visitors to this temple mountain in 1689. Between them stands a stone monument inscribed in kanji, the Oku No Hosomichi poem he later wrote about his asc...