【A designated cultural property of Yamagata Prefecture】
1689 (Genroku era)
In June 1689, during his “Narrow Road to the Deep North” tour, Matsuo Basho was invited to the home of
the merchant Omi Yasaburobei (also known by his haiku name of Gyokushi) in Sakata. What you see here
is an improvised haiku created by Basho as a token gesture of consideration when treated to a special melon. What really underlines the value of this relic is its rarity – the only remaining handwritten record in ink of Basho’s stop-off in Sakata. With three other peers present also contributing their own poems, four works were written in total. Matsuo’s haiku can be translated as:
The first melon harvested
Into quarters shall I cut?
Or into rings?
Slightly more specifically, what he wanted to convey was “I was offered the chance to feast on the first
makuwa melon. How delicious it looks! Shall I split it lengthwise into four or cut it horizontally into rounds
and eat it?”
The wording is spontaneous and convivial, as befitting the feast put on and reflecting the feelings of gratitude toward the host. Sora was a pupil of Basho. Fugyoku Itō (Genjun) occupied center stage within Sakata haiku circles and worked as a town doctor in the city, serving as attendant physician to the Lord of the Shōnai domain, the Marquis Sakai.