Bashō’s monument

Circular column with a height of 1.7 m, carved with the same contents as the “Basho Jiga Sangu” (Ishiyamadera temple’s possession) which is a haiku Basho himself wrote “Akebono ha mada murasaki ni hototogisu (Dawn is still purple yet the cuckoo is singing)”. It is located under the stairs leading to the multi-storied pagoda, standing side by side with the Murasaki Shikibu Memorial Tower. From the inscription behind the haiku slab, you can see that it was built in the 2nd year of the Kaei era (1849).