Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

When Basho went to Shinano province, he wrote this letter to one of his pupils, Rokaku. The haiku Basho included in the letter reads:

Yuki chiruya hoya no susuki no karinokoshi
Snow is falling! Even though pampas grasses for the festival remain uncut.

For another letter by Basho, the most revered figure in the history of early modern Japanese literature, see Unrivalled Splendor: The Kimiko and John Powers Collection of Japanese Art (Houston: The Museum of Fine Arts, 2012), pl. 63.