Early one spring morning in 1689 Basho, arguably the greatest of all Japanese poets, accompanied by his friend and disciple Sora, set forth on foot from his hermitage in Edo (old Tokyo) on one final journey. This pilgrimage took him through the backlands and highlands north of the capital, then across the island of Honshu and down the west coast toward Lake Biwa, a journey of nearly 1,500 miles. Basho would not return to Edo until 1691, three years before his death.

Back Roads to Far Towns, the last of Basho's travel diaries, is the evocative account of this arduous journey, the crowning achievement of a lifetime of writing. This edition is introduced by Robert Hass, Poet Laureate of the United States.