Circa mid-Edo period (18th century)
Donated by Fujii Haruyasu
Designated Cultural Property of Sakata City
It is said that this statue of Bashō was carved by one of his pupils in his memory, using a willow tree from the garden of Bashō’s hermitage. This was once part of Basho’s possessions, together with the “Final Verses” of the Zen monk Bucchō Oshō from Ungen-ji Temple in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture. However, both were taken from of his ownership when a disagreement arose with another poetry school. It was passed down from the poet Kamiya Genbubou of the Mino poetry school to Takenaga Yuribou, and then gifted to the Fujii family before entering the Homma Museum of Art’s collection.
This statue has a stern, samurai-esque bearing, but also an elegant and noble countenance. This statue of Bashō, considered the founder of haikai poetry (comic linked verse), is a suitable figure to make offerings of incense to.