The Narrow Road to Oku

by Basho Matsuo

***Oku no Hosomichi*** (奥の細道, originally おくのほそ道, meaning "Narrow road to/of the interior"), translated alternately as ***The Narrow Road to the Deep North*** and ***The Narrow Road to the Interior***, is a major work of _haibun_ by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, considered "one of the major texts of classical Japanese literature." The text is written in the form of a prose and verse travel diary and was penned as Bashō made an epic and dangerous journey on foot through the Edo Japan of the late 17th century. While the poetic work became seminal of its own account, the poet's travels in the text have since inspired many people to follow in his footsteps and trace his journey for themselves. In one of its most memorable passages, Bashō suggests that "every day is a journey, and the journey itself home." The text was also influenced by the works of Du Fu, who was highly revered by Bashō. Of _Oku no Hosomichi_, Kenji Miyazawa once suggested, "It was as if the very soul of Japan had itself