Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum 35th Anniversary & Commemorating Basho's 380th Birthday
Special Exhibition "Basho and His Times－Literature, Art, and Travel in the Edo Period－"
Exhibition Period: November 2nd to December 16th
（Closed: Wednesdays〔except November 13th〕）
Matsuo Basho, a haiku poet of the Edo period, completed his travelogue "Oku no Hosomichi" (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), a masterpiece in Japanese literary history, in Genroku 7 (1694), after his journey of "Oku no Hosomichi" in Genroku 2 (1689), through which he arrived at the haikai philosophy of "fueki ryuko" (immutability and change).
In the Edo period, travel became common even among ordinary people due to the development of various roads and sea routes, and the active distribution of goods. Literature also followed a path of diversification and popularization where the refined and the popular coexisted, and lower-ranking samurai and townspeople became proponents of literature. Furthermore, tea ceremony and literati paintings and calligraphy formed unique cultures. Amidst this, in the field of haikai, Matsuo Basho, who studied under Kitamura Kigin of the "Teimon" school, a nationally influential school, elevated haikai from what was previously a linguistic game to the realm of art.
This exhibition introduces a glimpse into the literature, art, and travel that influenced Basho's way of life and sensibilities. We hope this serves as a clue to understanding Basho's literature.
Related Events
Gallery Talk
Date and Time Reiwa 6 (2024), November 10th (Sunday), from 1:30 PM (approx. 25 minutes)
Participation Fee 400 yen admission fee only（Free for high school students and younger, and those presenting a disability certificate.）
〔No advance registration required〕