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Narrow Road To The Interior [Book]

    By: Matsuo Bashō

    Book Overview: A masterful translation of one of the most-loved classics of Japanese literature—part travelogue, part haiku collection, part account of spiritual awakening

    Bashō (1644–1694)—a great luminary of Asian literature who elevated the haiku to an art form of utter simplicity and intense spiritual beauty—is renowned in the West as the author of Narrow Road to the Interior, a travel diary of linked prose and haiku recounting his journey through the far northern provinces of Japan.

    Post(s) Inspired by this Book:

    19 Quotes from Narrow Road To The Interior on Solitude, Travel, and Poetry

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      “That is what literature offers—a language powerful enough to say how it is. It isn’t a hiding place. It is a finding place.”

      Jeanette Winterson, via Between Two Kingdoms (Page 107)

        “I’d always imagined myself as the kind of writer who would help other people tell their stories, but increasingly I found myself gravitating toward the first person. Illness had turned my gaze inward.”

        Suleika Jaouad, Between Two Kingdoms (Page 107)

          Men go forth to wonder at the heights of mountains,

          the huge waves of the sea,

          the broad flow of the rivers,

          the vast compass of the ocean,

          the courses of the stars,

          and they pass by themselves without wondering.

          Saint Augustine, via Becoming Wise (Page 163)

            “History always repeats itself until we honestly and searchingly know ourselves.”

            Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise (Page 3)

              “One has not understood until one has forgotten it.”

              Suzuki Daisetz, via Sunbeams (Page 109)

                “‘The things we see,’ Pistorius said softly, ‘are the same things that are within us. There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such unreal lives. They take the images outside them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself.'”

                Hermann Hesse, Demian, via Sunbeams (Page 89)

                  “To be rational today, we have to do just three things: First, we must look inward. Next, we must examine ourselves critically. Finally, we must make our own decisions—uninhibited by biases or popular notions.”

                  Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic (Page 122)

                    “Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece after all.”

                    Nathan W. Morris (Read Matt’s Blog On This Quote)