Editing Matsuo Bashō (section)

=== Last years ===
[[Image:MatsuoBasho-Haka-M1932.jpg|thumb|right|Bashō's grave in [[Ōtsu]], [[Shiga Prefecture]]]]
On his return to Edo in the winter of 1691, Bashō lived in his third ''bashō'' hut, again provided by his disciples. This time, he was not alone; he took in his nephew Toin and a female friend Jutei, who were both recovering from illness. He had many great visitors.

Bashō wrote to a friend that "disturbed by others, I have no peace of mind".{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=348}} Until late August 1693, he continued to make a living from teaching and appearances at ''haikai'' parties. Then he shut the gate to his ''bashō'' hut and refused to see anybody for a month. Finally, he relented after adopting the principle of ''karumi'' or "lightness", a semi-Buddhist philosophy of greeting the mundane world rather than separating from it.

Bashō left Edo for the last time in the summer of 1694, spending time in Ueno and Kyoto before arriving in Osaka. There, he came down with a stomach illness and surrounded by his disciples, died peacefully.{{sfn|Ueda|1992|p=34}} Although he did not compose a formal [[death poem]],{{sfn|Kikaku|2006|pp=20–23}} the following is generally accepted as his poem of farewell:

{{Blockquote|<poem>
{{lang|ja|旅に病んで夢は枯野をかけ廻る}} 
   {{Transliteration|ja|''tabi ni yande / yume wa kareno wo / kake meguru''}}
       falling sick on a journey / my dream goes wandering / on a withered field [1694]<ref>[https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Death.pdf Japanese Death Poems] terebess.hu</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://matsuobashohaiku.home.blog/2019/10/28/matsuo-bashos-death-haiku/ | title=Matsuo Bashō's Death Haiku | date=October 28, 2019 }}</ref>
</poem>}}