The months and days are the travelers of eternity. The years that come and go are also… — Matsuo Basho

The months and days are the travelers of eternity. The years that come and go are also voyagers... I too for years past have been stirred by the sight of a solitary cloud drifting with the wind to ceaseless thoughts of roaming.

In the original Japanese

月日は百代の過客にして、行かふ年も又旅人也 … 予もいづれの年よりか、片雲の風にさそはれて、漂泊の思ひやまず、海浜にさすらへ、去年の秋江上の破屋に蜘の古巣をはらひて、やゝ年も暮。

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Provenance
Current citation
Basho, Matsuo. "The Narrow Road to the Deep North." The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa. Penguin Classics, 1967.
Original citation
Basho, Matsuo. おくのほそ道 [The Narrow Road to the Deep North]. Tokyo, 1702.