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BASYO-O SEIKA (Birth Home) |
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 Basho was born in 1644 in present-day , Iga City. From childhood, he served
the family of Todo Shinshichiro, a samurai general in charge of Iga region
of the Todo clan, and studied haikai under Sengin, the head of the family.
After Sengin's death Basho resigned from the lord's family. Later he went
on to Edo (Now Tokyo) and became a haikai master. His original pen name
was Tosei. At age 37 he published Tosei Montei Dokugin Nijukkasen (Twenty
Solo Kasen by Tosei's Disciples), thereby gaining peominence in the haikai
world. Eventually he established his new Basho Style haikai. He passed
away at the age of 51 on October 12, 1694 while traveling in Osaka. |
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CHOGETUKEN (Moon Hanging Eaves) |
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 Located behind Basho's birth home, this is the cottage where Basho compiled
and wrote Kai Oi (Shell Matching), his first collection of verses. When
he returned to Iga, he stayed here. |
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UENO TENJINGU (Ueno Tenjin Shrine) |
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 At age 29, When he was using the pen name Soubou, Basho compiled the verses
of his haikai friends in Iga into the sanjuban kuawase (thirty verse matchings),
which is titled Kai Oi (Shell Matching), and was dedicated to this shrine. |
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MINOMUSHIAN (Bagworm Hermitage) |
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 This is one of Basho's five hermitages, the other four being Mumyoan, Sairokuan,
Torokuan, and Hyochikuan. Only Minomushian remains today. It originally
belonged to Hattori Doho, one of Basho's disciples. To commemorate the
completion of the hermitage in March 1688, Basho wrote a verse: “minomushi
no ne wo kikini koyo kusa no io(come and listen to the sound of bagworms
thatched hermitage)”.
The name of the hermitage was thereby taken from the verse. At this hermitage
Doho compiled Basho's sayings and produced Sanzoshi (Three Color Notebooks). |
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KOKYOUZUKA (Hometown Grave) |
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 This temple, Henkozan Ganjoji, belongs to the Shingon sect, and is the
family temple of Matsuo Basho. Since Aizenmyoo (Ragaraja or All-Accepting
Diety) resides here, the temple is also called Aizen'in. In the temple
ground rests Basho's grave which contains his hair. The grave was restored
during the cultual renaissance in the 18th century by Chogetsuan jakuo,
a samurai of the Omura clan in Kyushu. During the Meiji period Ozaki Koyo
and Emi Suiin paid a visit here and had their picture taken, which is still
preserved intact. |
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HAISEIDEN (Haikai Master's Pavilion) |
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 This hall was built in 1942 by the late Kawasaki Katsu to commemorate the
300th anniversary of Basho's birth. The building represents Basho's traveling
style: The round roof is his sedge hat, the octagonal lower roof his straw
raincoat, the pillars his walking stick, and the wooden frame of the building
arranged as the face. Inside the hall is a statue of a meditating Basho.
Its prototype was sculpted by Hasegawa Eisaku, a member of the Academy
of Art, and fired into Iga earthenware by Kawasaki Katsu. |
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BASHO-O KINENKAN (Basho Memorial Museum) |
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 As a tribute to Basho this museum was built in 1959 with funds donated
by Kanbe Mitsunosuke. Its Basho Library preserves Basho's own writings
as well as many documents representing pre-modern renga and haikai literature,
which are on display. |
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BASHOSAI (Basho Festival Oct.12) |
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 Since 1947, the Basho Festival has been held yearly on October 12, Basho's
death anniversary. The forerunner of this festival was the Shigure Memorial
Day which was held yearly from 1694 to 1946. Besides a ceremony, a national
haiku contest is held and pilgrimages are made to places of interest related
to Basho. This poetic event captures the spirit of the culture and history
of this wonderful mountain town. |
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