Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road through the Provinces)

奥之細道図

At a glance — Painting · Edo period · held by Kyoto National Museum · designated Important Cultural Property of Japan · Yosa Buson.

Fact Sheet

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財)
Category: Paintings
Period: Edo period
Date: 1701–1800
Creator: Yosa Buson (与謝蕪村、紫狐庵蕪村、蕪村)
Dimensions: 29.2cm31cm
Held by: Kyoto National Museum
Location: Higashiyama, Kyoto
Catalogue ID: cobas-5505

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Same period: Edo paintings →
Same creator: Yosa Buson →
At this museum: All 680 works here →

The text comes from the famous travelogue Oku no hosomichi by the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694). It describes the poet’s epic journey on foot through north-eastern Japan and was written in form of verse and prose. For this set of handscrolls, Buson copied its text and added his own illustrations.

— Museum description: Kyoto National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.

Record & Sources

Designation: Important Cultural Property (重要文化財), Government of Japan
Catalogue ID: cobas-5505 (permanent)
Official record: Japan Search — jpsearch.go.jp/item/cobas-5505
Holder's collection: ColBase — Kyoto National Museum
Photograph: Kyoto National Museum, via ColBase — CC BY 4.0. CC BY 4.0 licence

Cite this page: “Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road through the Provinces)（奥之細道図）.” Treasures of Japan, catalogue no. cobas-5505. Kyoto National Museum. https://treasures.yamato-kenkou.com/treasures/oku-no-hosomichi-the-narrow-road-through-the-provinces/ — entry last verified 1 November 2026.

Full record data (as published in the official catalogue record)

Genre: Painting
Category: Paintings, sketches, and prints:Japan:Early modern paintings
Cultural property designation: Important Cultural Property
Size: 29.2cm31cm
員数: 2巻
分類: 絵画
時代世紀: 江戸時代中期・18世紀
種別: 絵画:日本:近世絵画
法量: 29.2cm:31cm
銘文等: 下巻の末「安永戌冬十一月寫於平安城南夜半亭旦畫六十三翁蕪村」・白文方形「謝長庚」白文方形「謝春星」

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