Narrow Road to the Interior

In this beautiful translation of one of the most-loved classics of Japanese literature, Bashō (1644–1694) recounts his journey through the far northern provinces of Japan. The author, a great luminary of Asian literature who elevated the haiku to an art form of utter simplicity and intense spiritual beauty, is renowned in the West as the writer of Narrow Road to the Interior, a travel diary recounting his journey through the far northern provinces of Japan. This edition also includes Hamill’s introduction, detailing Bashō’s life and the art of haiku; three other important works by Bashō—Travelogue of Weather-Beaten Bones, The Knapsack Notebook, and Sarashina Travelogue—and two hundred and fifty haiku from all four works.