Talk:Narrow Road to the Deep North

Kudos
This is a great article! WTG, man. --(WT-en) Evan 22:38, 9 Feb 2005 (EST)


 * Ta. I followed a part of the route on my longer trip outside Tokyo and have pretty much been in love in Tohoku ever since. (WT-en) Jpatokal 23:24, 9 Feb 2005 (EST)

Stages 1-2: Sugamo?
Section #Go reads that Basho went to Sōka by Sugamo, but that's not written in the text. Wasn't Basho's route to Nikko highway via a ferry town Senju as:
 * quote: Basho took a ferry across the Sumida river... unquote (Narrow Road to the Deep North in Japanese Wikipedia).

It puzzles me that you actually are not heading to Sendai, but going back toward the terminus, aprox. 4 km to Sugamo. Geologically, Sugamo is to the west of Fukagawa, the street Basho's home was in the Sumida river area, or the waterway you need to cross going up north toward Sendai. People would take a ferry to Senju on Nikko highway, a station town renowned as the last/first stop entertaining travelers. (NB: Basho relaxed at Senju to bid farewell to his fans/patrons: sources at Senju station and Basho on Japanese Wikipedia.)

Reaching Sugamo from Basho's home, he would have to climb up the cliff dividing the down town (Ueno-Yanaka) and up town, with his back towards the Deep North. Of course, detouring by Sugamo would be very natural if you would visit and bid farewell to your loved ones/Samurai elder, before starting a long journey. And Sugamo surely is on the Nikko highway, or Nikko Kaido, and its mere landmark of the first ri mound (ichiri-zuka) could have interested Basho...

"Stages 1-2: Sugamo (Tokyo)

Basho starts off from the traditional areas (shitamachi) of Edo, bidding farewell to Ueno and Yanaka — both well worth a visit." Omotecho (talk) 03:21, 9 December 2023 (UTC)