Basho

51 of Matsuo Bashō's haiku, in the original Japanese, with word-by-word readings, kanji you can trace, and notes on what's still said today.

Basho is a study companion for the haiku of Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694), Japan's most celebrated poet. Presented in Japanese in a minimal, Zen-inspired interface. Built for the English-language study of Japanese and haiku. Fifty-one poems, arranged in the order Bashō wrote them, from his early years in Edo through the journey recorded in Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) to his final poems in 1694.

TAP ANY WORD Every poem is broken down word by word — reading, meaning, and whether the word is still used in everyday Japanese, has faded into classical literary language, or is Kireji (cutting words, used exclusively in poetry).

LEARN THE KANJI Each poem comes with a glossary of its kanji: meanings, on'yomi and kun'yomi readings, stroke count, and JLPT level where applicable. Tap a character to open a practice pad that shows you the stroke order so you can learn how to write the poem tracing by hand.

NO ACCOUNTS, NO TRACKING Basho works entirely offline. There's no sign-in, no analytics, and nothing ever leaves your device.

Note: translations and word notes are meant as a starting point for study, not a substitute for scholarly translation, a place to begin but worth double-checking as you go deeper.