The first person to conceive of haiku in the modern sense was Matsuo Basho. Prior to his poetry, Japanese poets would write longer pieces utilizing the 5-7-5 pattern as an opening verse. Basho realized that this short verse by itself could be a profound and beautiful poem.

Basho’s most famous work is called 奥の細道　(oku no hosomichi / the narrow road to the interior). It is essentially a poetic travel log, wherein he recounts his experiences traveling over 1500 miles across Japan in 156 days. In it, he writes short passages followed by haiku that simultaneously conclude and embody the passages’ contents.

The combination of short story and haiku is today referred to as 俳文 (haibun). The spirit of haibun is wonderment and appreciation of the world and one’s own experiences.

一言も事実であれば話しなり

ひとこと も　じじつ であれば　はなし なり


A single word
that speaks of truth
can tell a story.




Frustrated by Michiko: Illustrated by Michiko