Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) is the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan.

During his lifetime, Bashō is recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku (then called hokku).

Matsuo Bashō's poetry is internationally renowned; and, in Japan, many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites.

Although Bashō is justifiably famous in the West for his hokku, he himself believes his best work lay in leading and participating in renku.

He is quoted as saying, "Many of my followers can write hokku as well as I can.

Where I show who I really am is in linking haikai verses."

Bashō is introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo (modern Tokyo) he quickly becomes well known throughout Japan.

He makes a living as a teacher; but then renounces the social, urban life of the literary circles and is inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing.

His poems are influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements.