The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Meiwa Edition

1770

Donated by Fujii Haruyasu

The earliest known editions of Matsuo Bashō’s seminal travelogue, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, included four editions during the Genroku (1688–1704) and Meiwa (1764–1772) eras, and six during the Kansei era (1789–1801). In 1694, Bashō had the calligrapher Soryū create a copy of this travelogue. After Bashō’s death, the Kyoto-based publisher Izutsuya produced and printed Soryū’s copy, which reached many readers.