Basho’s birth house
This house where Basho was born is at the entrance to the northeastern part of Iga Castle Town.
At that time, it was in Akasaka-cho, where Machiya, lower-class samurai residences, and farmers coexist.
Basho’s father, Matsuo Yozaemon, moved from Tsuge in Iga, and his older brother, Hanzaemon, inherited it, and the Matsuo family lived until late 1800s .
The current house is presumed to be from mid 1800s, not from Matsuo’s house at that time.
Since it was designated as a historic site in Iga City in 1955, it has been open to the public while undergoing several repairs. However, due to tilting, rain leaks, and ensuring earthquake resistance, this house was closed from 2018 and undergone a major renovation by Iga City.
This renovation has been devised so that you can view (use) it safely while preserving the atmosphere of the past and the appearance of a machiya .
Please use this facility not only for viewing, but also for haiku parties, etc. by going up to the tatami room as if you were Basho’s family. >> MAP
CHOGETUKEN
Located behind Basho’s birth home, this is the cottage where Basho compiled and wrote Kai Oi (Shell Matching), his first collection of verses. When he returned to Iga, he stayed here. >> MAP
UENO TENJINGU
At age 29, When he was using the pen name Soubou, Basho compiled the verses of his haikai friends in Iga into the sanjuban kuawase (thirty verse matchings), which is titled Kai Oi (Shell Matching), and was dedicated to this shrine. >> MAP
MINOMUSHIAN
This is one of Basho’s five hermitages, the other four being Mumyoan, Sairokuan, Torokuan, and Hyochikuan. Only Minomushian remains today. It originally belonged to Hattori Doho, one of Basho’s disciples. To commemorate the completion of the hermitage in March 1688, Basho wrote a verse: “minomushi no ne wo kikini koyo kusa no io(come and listen to the sound of bagworms thatched hermitage)”.
The name of the hermitage was thereby taken from the verse. At this hermitage Doho compiled Basho’s sayings and produced Sanzoshi (Three Color Notebooks). >> MAP
| Admission | Adults: 300 yen (group: 200 yen) Elementary, junior high and high school students: 100 yen (group: 60 yen * chaperons go free) * Group rates apply to groups of 20 or more people. Preschool children: free Visitors with certificate of disability: free |
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| Hours | 8:30 am-5 pm * Last admission 4:30 pm |
| Closed | Tuesday(The next day if it is a Japanese holiday),Year-end and New Year holidays |
| Tel | +81 (0595) 23-8921 |
KOKYOUZUKA
This temple, Henkozan Ganjoji, belongs to the Shingon sect, and is the family temple of Matsuo Basho. Since Aizenmyoo (Ragaraja or All-Accepting Diety) resides here, the temple is also called Aizen’in. In the temple ground rests Basho’s grave which contains his hair. The grave was restored during the cultual renaissance in the 18th century by Chogetsuan Jakuo, a samurai of the Omura clan in Kyushu. During the Meiji period Ozaki Koyo and Emi Suiin paid a visit here and had their picture taken, which is still preserved intact. >> MAP
HAISEIDEN
This hall was built in 1942 by the late Kawasaki Katsu to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Basho’s birth. The building represents Basho’s traveling style: The round roof is his sedge hat, the octagonal lower roof his straw raincoat, the pillars his walking stick, and the wooden frame of the building arranged as the face. Inside the hall is a statue of a meditating Basho. Its prototype was sculpted by Hasegawa Eisaku, a member of the Academy of Art, and fired into Iga earthenware by Kawasaki Katsu. >> MAP
Basho Memorial Museum
As a tribute to Basho this museum was built in 1959 with funds donated by Kanbe Mannosuke. Its Basho Library preserves Basho’s own writings as well as many documents representing pre-modern renga and haikai literature, which are on display.
>> Detail of Basho Memorial Museum