In later life Basho turned to Zen Buddhism, and the travel sketched in
this volume relfect his attempts to cast off earthly attachments and
reach out to spiritual fulfillment. The sketches are written in the
"haibun" style--a linking of verse and prose. The title piece, in
particular, reveals Basho striving to discover a vision of eternity in
the transient world around him and his personal evocation of the
mysteries of the universe.