Motif of The Natural World in The Narrow Road to The Deep North

“The Narrow road to the Deep north” is a novel that falls under the category of travel literature written by Matsuo Basho a Japanese poet and author who lived during the 17th century. The novel follows Basho as he travels from Edo, today's Tokyo, towards the northern provinces of Japan. In the journal the author documents his daily life and the people he interacts with, creates thorough descriptions of the world around him and of course writes poetry. During his pilgrimage Basho composes Haiku poetry, “a form of poetry that consists of 17 syllables that are divided into three sections of five-seven-five”.

Haiku poems are usually very descriptive and have a strong focus on nature. Nature in fact is a theme that repeatedly emerges in the book; In fact Basho uses elements found in nature as well as as nature itself as a motif in order to help the reader understand how he views the world and the role that nature has in it. Basho through the usage of natural elements as motifs points out the differences between human beings and nature; Humans are mortal and impermanent creatures that contradict the permanent and immortal essence of nature. Basho explores that through the use of pine trees, rivers and rocks as motifs.

The immortality of nature and the mortality of humans is shown by comparing humans and their creations to the immortal nature; for example on page 118 the author visits the village of Hiraizumi, where the estate of the Fujiwara family resided, he writes the following “It is here that the glory of the Fujiwara family passed away like a snatch of an empty dream. . . when a country is defeated, there remain only mountains and rivers, and on a ruined castle only grasses thrive”. In this passage there’s a direct comparison between the fleeting and impermanent human lives and their creations that ultimately crumble no matter how grand they were and the permanent and ever thriving nature. The simile “like a snatch of an empty dream” further emphasizes the fragileness and irrelevance of humanity by comparing it to a sliver of a meaningless dream.

On the other hand the brute strength and timelessness of nature is being highlighted not only by the fact that it prevails among the ruins; in fact on page 118 the quote “Mount Kinkei alone retained its original shape” using the mountain, again as a motif, basho implies that nature isn’t just immortal and simply completely superior to humans but that it can also quite literally erase any imprints of humanity. Other significant examples that function in similar ways in “The Narrow road to the Deep north” are the following. On page 104 Basho mentions the hermitage of the priest Buccho “The temple was situated on the side of a mountain completely covered with dark cedars and pines. . . Even the woodpeckers Have left it untouched, This tiny cottage In a summer groove”. This extract has similar connotations as the one on page 118, that the priest is dead but nature, meaning the mountain and the trees, elements that are repeated in the novel hence are used as motifs, lives on; the only difference here is that a man made creation, the hut, still exists.

A more straightforward expression of nature’s permanence is being displayed through the usage of pines, rocks and mountains when Basho writes on page 122 “The whole mountain was made of massive rocks thrown together and covered with age old pines and oaks. The stony ground itself bore the colour of eternity”. Here the author basically directly states that nature is eternal and massive with the use of the phrase “the colour of eternity; meaning that nature is “coloured”, “covered” and “soaked” in eternity. Commentary directly on mortality can be seen in the following quotation “A great number of Tombstones [were] scattered among the trees. It was a depressing sight indeed for young or old, loved or loving, we must all go to such a place at the end of our lives. ” The tombstones are of course a symbol of death and people’s mortality, they are also significantly smaller than the trees thus metaphorically less important and powerful. The trees are used as a motif to symbolise the vastness and permanence of nature. Those examples lead to the conclusion that Basho considers nature permanent and a predominant force and humans an impermanent creature that submits to nature. Even though human are quite insignificant compared to nature they also contribute to its glory and are important in their own way. Basho states that on page 125 by writing: “It’s glory will never perish as long as man continues to live on earth”. That implies that nature is glorious because humanity is there to glorify and appreciate it.

Additionally Basho's own concerns about life and death are being implied here. Perhaps he seeks to immortalise himself through his creations, meaning his poems, like the monk who’s hut “lived on” after his death. He could also be questioning the importance of his life. Basho delves into the vastness, and the power of nature mostly by using mountains and rivers, natural elements as a motif.

Nature in “The Narrow road to the Deep north” often times is seen as an overpowering force that humans don’t just respect but are also afraid of or at least are intimidated by. There’s a repetitive use of rivers and mountains as sources of strength that provoke fear. For example on page 121 Basho is trying to cross a “huge body of mountains” to reach Dewa but the path is terribly unsafe. After Basho and his guide successfully cross the mountains the following scene takes place “My guide congratulated me saying I was indeed fortunate to have crossed the mountains in safety, for accidents of some sort had always happened on his past trips… fear lingered in my mind sometime after that”. The imagery that helps the reader visualize the huge mountains compared to the tiny humans and the fact that Basho is so overwhelmed by the danger the mountains pose link the mountains and thus nature with an uncontrollable and dangerous force.

A second example that paints a clear image of the author’s perspective on the brute strength of nature can be found on page 123. Basho is trying to cross the river Mogami a stream with “many dangerous spots”. The following scene is one of the most agonizing ones in the book; “As I descended this river in a boat, I felt as if the mountains were ready to fall down upon me, for the boat was a tiny one. . . The river was swollen to the brim and the boat was in constant peril”. The description of this incident along with the usage of hyperbole, when he mentions the mountains falling on him, and the visual as well as auditory imagery is placed here by Basho to express the imposing power of nature. The mountains, a motif in this book, this time express the colossal power nature possessed by comparing their mass and strength with that of a human and presenting them in an aggressive manner. The river too agitates the boat, a creation of humans and thus an extension of them, with it’ catastrophic flow, or as its being described on page 124 by basho himself, “it’s violent stream”.

The constant reference to rivers and mountains is being used by Basho as a motif in order to convey the utmost power of nature and the position of humans against it. However it should be noted that nature isn’t hostile towards humans in Basho’s eyes. It’s vast power simply overpowers that of humans but that is viewed as something natural not something deliberately malicious and aggressive. and as mentioned above nature is so great not just because of its power and beauty but because humans are there to appreciate it as well.