Manuscript Scroll of Nozaraishi Kikō － Atsuta Shrine, Nagoya

Nozarashi Kikō is the first travelogue written by Basho. In August 1684, at the age of 41, Bashō left Edo to travel via Nagoya and Ise to his hometown of Iga. Returning to Edo via Kyoto, then through Ōmi and Nagoya, at the end of April he arrived back at his hut in Fukagawa. Along the way he composed haiku and the record of this journey largely took this form. An epoch-making work, it firmly established Bashō’s style of short-form poetry. After this opening preface by Yamaguchi Sodō, the rest of manuscript includes descriptive prose, haiku, and even 21 illustrations, all in Bashō’s own hand. It is one of only two remaining handwritten works by Bashō. Reproductions of text extracts from this work are generally used in school textbooks. As the sole complete travelogue with corresponding illustrations, it is a precious resource for the study of Bashō.