By Pico Iyer Japan’s most celebrated poet, writing in the 17th century under the name of Matsuo Basho, found his truest home on the road. Sleeping on a grass pillow, seeking out auspicious ...

The Saitama Prefecture city of Soka is the first locale to be named in Basho's major work, which mixed prose and poetry to describe his 150-day, 2,400-kilometer journey in 1689, mostly done on foot.

PHOTO: GEOFFREY EU The year was 1689, but much of the route still exists. A poet, teacher and travel diarist, Basho (1644-1694) had an insatiable urge to wander the country, seeking inspiration from ...