The+Narrow+Road+to+the+Deep+North

=The Narrow Road to the Deep North= By: Ben Trouvais

History
//The Narrow Road to the Deep North//, written by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho in 1689, is the journal that Basho used when he made a long and perilous journey through the region of nothern Japan known as Oku (Present day Honsu). The book not only contains the written journal of Basho, but also various Haiku poems written by him. Basho originally set off on the journey to see the places that poets before him had written about. By doing so, Basho hoped the journey would help improve his artistic abilities and skills. The trip took 156 days, with Basho and his traveling partner, Sora, covering 1,500 miles. After the long and toilsome journey, Basho took five years revising the book into the work of art the world knows today.

Impact on Today's Culture
Basho's work has inspired a countless number of people in more ways than one. Both Japanese citizens and tourists from around the world recreate Basho's journey and travel in his footsteps, almost in the same manner as Basho himself did more than 300 years ago. Others are inspired by Basho's writings and poems, using what he had recorded in making their very own similar works of art. In the long run, however, the story can inspire each and everyone of us, no matter what our intentions or ideals may be. Basho's journey represents the journey that each and everyone of us take in our lives. His physical pain and struggle is equivalent to our thinking and understanding of our lives; the land he walked on represents our desires and hopes. He showed the world that even though things may get tough and you may often have to sacrifice physical and mental belongings, as long as you push through tough times and stay persistant, you will be rewarded. This may not neccesarily come in a physical reward, but more often a mental reward knowing that you accomplished something that you never thought you could.