The great Japanese poet Matsuo Basho is rightly considered the creator of the now popular worldwide poetic genre of haiku. Through his efforts, tercets from purely playful, half-joking poetry gradually turned into high poetic art, imbued with the spirit of Zen Buddhist philosophy. In addition to numerous haiku and “linked stanzas,” Basho’s literary heritage includes travel diaries, the most famous of which is “On the Paths of the North.” Basho's work is so multifaceted that it is difficult to reduce it to one denominator. He called himself a “sorrowful man,” but he was also a great lover of peace. When reading Basho's poems, one should remember one thing: they are all short, but in each of them the poet sought a path from heart to heart.