A masterful translation of one of the mostloved classics of Japanese literature part travelogue, part haiku collection, part account of spiritual awakening Bash (1644 1694) a great luminary of Asian literature who elevated the haiku to an art form of utter simplicity and intense spiritual beauty is renowned in the West as the author of Narrow Road to the Interior, a travel diary of linked prose and haiku recounting his journey through the far northern provinces of Japan. This edition features a masterful translation of this celebrated work. It also includes an insightful introduction by translator Sam Hamill detailing Bash 's life and the art of haiku, three other important works by Bash Travelogue of Weather Beaten Bones, The Knapsack Notebook, and Sarashina Travelogue and two hundred and fifty of his finest haiku, making this the most complete singlevolume collection of Bash 's writings.