On the Narrow Road to the Deep North

In 1689 Matsuo Basho, a Japanese poet, set out on his last and longest journey, to the remote northern provinces. Inspired by Basho's writing, the author set off in his footsteps and discovered a world which most Japanese believe vanished centuries ago.

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In 1689 Matsuo Basho, a Japanese poet, set out on his last and longest journey, to the remote northern provinces. His account, rich in strange, surreal and comic encounters along the road, is a famous work in Japanese literature. Three hundred years later, inspired by Basho's writing and her writing for Japan, Lesley Downer set off in his footsteps. Walking and hitchhiking hermit priests, meeting people who had never seen a Westerner and dining on flowers and sauteed grasshoppers, she discovered a world which most Japanese believe vanished centuries ago.