By Matsuo Bashō
1688
Donated by Wajima Shigeo
This haiku was written in 1688 when Bashō was 45 years old, when he travelled to what is now Nagano Prefecture with his pupil, Etsujin, from August 11th until later that month for moon-viewing, a hallowed autumn pastime in Japan. A Visit to Sarashina (Sarashina Kiko), a travelogue recording his impressions of the journey, includes this haiku, which in full reads: izayoi mo / mada Sarashina no / kōri kana. Its title refers to the 16th night of the Japanese lunar calendar. Broadly speaking, the haiku describes being entranced by the moon in Sarashina, and still being unable to leave on the following evening; ‘Sarashina’ is interpreted by some as a pun on ‘saranai,’ meaning ‘not to leave.’ As a whole, the haiku is thought to convey the joy of seeing the full moon at Mount Obasute on the 15th night of the lunar calendar, followed by another moon-viewing in the Hanishina district on the night of the 16th.