The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Timeline

1. c. 1689Journey from Edo to Ogaki · JapanBashō and Kawai Sōra departed from Fukagawa, passing through Nikkō and Sendai to Hiraizumi, then turning through Dewa and Echigo along the coast, reuniting with disciples at Ogaki. They visited utamakura and old battlefields along the way, composing hokku on the spot, which became the material for the later text.
2. c. 1692–1694Edo and Iga · JapanAfter the return journey, Bashō spent several years rewriting the prose and hokku, producing a near-final manuscript before his death in 1694. The Encyclopædia Britannica records 1694 as the publication year, but it is more likely the year of completion or the manuscript's establishment, not identical to the year of later printed editions.
3. 1702Kyoto · KyotoAfter the manuscript line of disciple Mukai Kyorai was printed by the Izutsuya shop in Kyoto, the book became a model text for the Bashō school and later haikai, and was selected for modern language education, becoming one of the most widely read travel accounts in Japanese classical literature.