On the Narrow Road to the Deep North: Journey Into a Lost Japan

By Lesley Downer

Book Overview

Lesley Chan Downer retraces Basho's pilgrimage through Japan, blending travel, haiku, and contemporary reflections.

After eight years working in Japan, immersing herself in its language and literature, Lesley Chan Downer set off in the footsteps of Matsuo Basho, Japan's most cherished poet, to explore the country's remote northern provinces. Basho's pilgrimage to find the landscapes that had inspired the great medieval poets gave birth to Japan's most famous travel book, rich in strange imagery and sometimes comic encounters along the road. In this intriguing cross-threading of journeys, perceptions and exquisite haiku, Lesley creates her own funny, loving and honest portrayal of contemporary Japan. As she walks, she finds at one and the same time a drab post-industrial landscape of concrete and cable, but also a land still full of the old enchantments. Nights in thatched highland villages and sake-drenched poetry sessions encourage her to see for herself if any of the legendary hermit-priests still survive in the sacred mountains of the north.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1780602308
• ISBN13: 9781780602301
• Release Date: January 2025
• Publisher: Eland Publishing
• Length: 320 Pages

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable

Unlike Alan Booth, who wrote my favorite books by a westerner in Japan, Lesley Downer seemed to admire and revere Basho. Alan Booth seemed to think he was a drunkard and a leech. Lesley Downer attempts to follow the path that Basho took 300 years earlier through the wilds of northern Honshu. Miss Downer does take advantage of modern transportation throughout her travels unlike Basho who couldn't, but probably would have if it had been available. I found it a little bit incredible that Miss Downer was disappointed that so much from Basho's time had disappeared. I'm surprised that she found as much evidence of his travels as she did in the 1980's. Still, the book is engaging, interesting, well written and different. It certainly should be included if, like me, you are interested in reading anything written by westerners who have lived in Japan.

An excellent choice for fans of Matsuo Basho and/or haiku

Lesley Downer retraces Matsuo Basho's famed 17th century journey to unknown northern Japan documented in his book "On the Narrow Road to the Deep North." Ms. Downer rediscovers a "lost" Japan. The journey and the writing are well worth the effort.