02 A Visit to the Kashima Shrine

In A Visit to the Kashima Shrine (Kashima Kikō), Matsuo Bashō travels with two companions to view the mid-autumn moon at the sacred shrine. Journeying past fields, rivers, and Mount Tsukuba, they lodge with a hermit priest. Though rain initially hides the moon, it breaks through at dawn. Together with local friends and hosts, they compose poems reflecting on nature, rural life, and impermanence.