Basho, perhaps the greatest of Japanese haiku poets, was a man of ultimate simplicity. He loved his homeland and spent much of his later life walking its length and breadth carrying with him the simplest of belongings. It was during these travels that Basho was often inspired to write his haiku. In this stunning book Dawnine Spivak describes some of Basho's many experiences as he traveled throughout Japan and, on each spread, offers a haiku by Basho that may have been inspired by that experience. On each spread, as well, appears the Japanese character for a word that arises from both the haiku and the story. This is a book that can be used in a number of ways: as a story of an unusual man; as a book about the inspiration of art; and as a book about the beauty of language and the world around us.