This one of the many versions of "Narrow Road" is interesting because it also includes the renga sequence "Farewell Gift to Sora." ( )

This is a translation of Basho's "Narrow Road to a Far Province". Basho recounts his journey through Japan with his companion Sora. The tale is told in prose form with haiku interspersed throughout, in a form called haibun. They encounter and stay with people along the way, from monks to merchants to prostitutes. They join in renga sessions and visit various uta-makura, "poetic places" -- places which are mentioned in traditional poetry.

Sato's version is an excellent translation. The language has a natural simple beauty and strikes one as being very faithful to the original. His version is much more the scholar's reference, with extensive and interesting footnotes, romaji versions of all the haiku, excerpts from numerous renga composed during the journey, and a complete and annotated renga at the end called "A Farewell Gift to Sora" which was composed during the trip when Sora had to separate from Basho and go on ahead because of an illness. ( )