This poem clearly highlights that Basho is a troubled man. Part of the poem reads that as the wind swings the Basho tree, his inside freezes, and he weeps while surrounded by the darkness that defines the night. Shortly after arriving from his previous journey, Basho writes a poem that reveals a troubled soul. One for the main motivations for Basho, before he begins the journey, is the need for spiritual enlightenment. Finally, the paper highlights how Basho’s concept of travel and writing compares with the memoir-writing of Lady Sarashina coupled with the common themes that unite these writers. The paper also highlights the spiritual goals that Basho tries to meet by having this journey.

This paper explores Basho’s motivations for travel when he begins the journey coupled with how it fits in with his religious sensibility. He has to travel and experience nature and perhaps rejuvenate, inspire, and sharpen his writing artistry. The book is an account of Basho’s traveling experiences when he sets out on a journey towards the northern provinces of Japan.Ī deep-seated desire troubles Basho’s heart and it cannot let him stay at home. On the surface, Basho’s accounts appear as normal travel experiences, but a deeper and critical look at the context reveals more than that presumption. The work revolves around Basho’s travel experiences to different provinces in Northern Japan. The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a chef-d’oeuvre collection of life experiences as recorded by Matsuo Basho.

The narrow road to the north