Nozarashi Kikō
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| Nozarashi Kikō | |
|---|---|
| by Matsuo Bashō | |
| Original title | 野ざらし紀行 |
| Written | 17th century, Edo period |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Travel literature |
| Form | Haibun |
Nozarashi Kikō (野ざらし紀行), variously translated as The Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton or Travelogue of Weather-Beaten Bones, is the first travel journal haibun by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō. Written in the summer of 1684, the work covers Bashō's journey. According to translator Nobuyuki Yuasa, it is "the first work of Bashō where we find glimpses of his mature style."[1]
In the summer of 1683 (one year before the journey), Bashō's mother died. In the following winter, Bashō's friends and disciples built a home for him in Fukagawa.[1] On the occasion, Bashō wrote:
Overhearing the hail,
My old self sits again
In the new house,
Like an overgrown oak.
— Matsuo Bashō, transl. Nobuyuki Yuasa.
