First Snow

First Snow - context Summary

Composed During First Snow, 1686

Matsuo Basho wrote this haiku in 1686 while living in his hut in Fukagawa, Edo, during the season’s first snow. He observed snow falling on a half-finished bridge that was being built in the neighborhood. The short poem records that immediate scene as part of Basho’s Arano collection; it was first published in 1689. The context links seasonal observation with everyday urban change.