<P> いざ さらば 雪見 に ころぶ 所 迄 iza saraba / yukimi ni korobu / tokoromade now then, let's go out / to enjoy the snow...until / I slip and fall! (1688) </P> <P> Bashō's private planning for another long journey, to be described in his masterwork Oku no Hosomichi, or The Narrow Road to the Deep North, culminated on May 16, 1689 (Yayoi 27, Genroku 2), when he left Edo with his student and apprentice Kawai Sora (河合 曾良) on a journey to the Northern Provinces of Honshū . Bashō and Sora headed north to Hiraizumi, which they reached on June 29 . They then walked to the western side of the island, touring Kisakata on July 30, and began hiking back at a leisurely pace along the coastline . During this 150 - day journey Bashō traveled a total of 600 ri (2,400 km) through the northeastern areas of Honshū, returning to Edo in late 1691 . </P> <P> By the time Bashō reached Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture, he had completed the log of his journey . He edited and redacted it for three years, writing the final version in 1694 as The Narrow Road to the Interior (奥 の 細道, Oku no Hosomichi). The first edition was published posthumously in 1702 . It was an immediate commercial success and many other itinerant poets followed the path of his journey . It is often considered his finest achievement, featuring hokku such as: </P> <P> 荒海 や 佐渡 に よこ た ふ 天河 araumi ya / Sado ni yokotau / amanogawa the rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way (1689) </P>

The story of the aged mother by matsou basho