Matsuo Bashō

Known for

Master of haiku, The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Biography

Japanese poet of the Edo period who elevated the haiku from a playful pastime into a serious literary art, composing much of his best-known work while travelling on foot across Japan.

A well-known line

"An old pond / A frog jumps in — / The sound of water."

Major works

• The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Oku no Hosomichi)