Fleas and lice

nomi shirami / uma no shitosuru / makuramoto

Fleas and lice

Horses urinating

Close to my pillow

Translated by Donald Keene

Arguably the most famous of Bashō's poems was penned in border guard's house on what is now the Dewa Sendai Highway, where he and his travelling companion Kawai Sōgorō (Soro) spent a couple of nights in the Summer of 1689. The house still stands and, until about 50 years ago, was still lived in by descendants of the border guard who took them in. It is the only remaining structure in which Bashō took shelter on his journey along the narrow road to the north.

Bashō sat by this hearth (apparently to the left). To this day, the fire is lit daily. as the smoke safeguards the 400+ year old building from the humidity (and the mozzies).