On the Poet's Trail - Photo Gallery - National Geographic Magazine

Current Issue July 2008
Table of Contents »

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Basho's Trail

Travels along the path of Matsuo Basho, Japan’s 17th-century haiku master, help bring his words to life.

/galleries/bcove/assets/5f32ae42-e239-4753-935c-367011b81922.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/80293a5c-1525-4009-8108-b10b9679cd06.jpg Narrow Road to a Far Province, described a path, still visible on Natagiri Pass, that devotees have followed ever since.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128056 /galleries/bcove/assets/b1714fa9-15e3-4514-9995-881489abee5f.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/3e46a838-fbb0-4573-924a-6316fd630570.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name= /galleries/bcove/assets/33a0a3c4-eadb-4d7f-9df2-6c6437f70e1f.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/c7fa7c77-3a6c-4baa-8de1-8fde14819eb4.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128058 /galleries/bcove/assets/a50e46a3-75a7-440a-80db-f67039b6c5ec.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/47060937-19e2-4138-a3ce-b7118e85a745.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128057 /galleries/bcove/assets/09c06a27-fd9d-4baa-be7e-59d7964ab143.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/ffa1923f-a46b-44f0-a93c-f6af9902f9b4.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128052 /galleries/bcove/assets/c21f4eca-5e07-447a-8373-f39ff87b0515.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/086a5293-6fe1-458e-bf66-748bc6d52a68.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128051 /galleries/bcove/assets/3a5bebc9-6bb3-4bdb-9cbd-f6fa12b632f3.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/fbd2208f-4cff-4aeb-bcc2-85ac48055c9e.jpg uta-makura, or poetic pillows: shrines, mountaintops, cherry-tree groves, and other spots memorably described by other writers. Many of the haiku in his book allude to these earlier verses—Basho’s way of adding layers of mood and meaning to the landscape he evoked.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128053 /galleries/bcove/assets/e9b1cffe-7483-4d84-94d0-fe4e03067468.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/0d5441ab-6f7c-4102-a0b2-c5d44d7a7a86.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128054 /galleries/bcove/assets/6a9c5b2e-c17c-4996-910b-1628f03933fc.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/f34b6eb9-eb35-4101-865f-9b47c817ad66.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128055 /galleries/bcove/assets/6e983699-14c1-48ce-8a0a-2f77b92c35f6.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/09630396-90d1-4469-951c-3b4c1f3dd42b.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128217 /galleries/bcove/assets/d8cb0d82-0ee5-49b1-ad8b-b94b4cf02362.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/826baf0f-05ab-4bd7-9f80-727c70853dc7.jpg Narrow Road to a Far Province, Basho found lyric use for the iris and its brilliant hue. Presented with a gift of straw sandals with blue laces, Basho was moved to write: “Sandal thongs of blue: / We’ll seem shod with irises / Of the bravest hue!”]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128215 /galleries/bcove/assets/4c8ea8e2-8f58-4187-b515-f8eaf387cdd2.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/88b52674-827d-405b-b28f-ffdf150d794e.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128216 /galleries/bcove/assets/409a6285-a8de-4eec-bcad-6d096007c4de.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/3e9b141d-3690-4f65-8aba-672874e3fb63.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128218 /galleries/bcove/assets/a01db795-c299-4166-b070-076c3443dd8f.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/bcf9aa08-492a-4525-aabd-84bd50a66f28.jpg haikai—linked verse. He also stayed at shrines, where the discipline of the monks deeply impressed him. And at least once, according to his diary, he slept outdoors, witnessing the sunrise on the snowy heights of mount Gassan. ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1128214