“From night to early morning, frost enfolds the bamboo leaves.”
 
The poem evokes the leaves of bamboo, which after being exposed to the cold air during the night are frozen and appear like small blades. Matsuo Basho uses the two terms yasukara (all night) and kesa (this morning) in this haiku to create a sense of time passing and the emotional response of the poet.

Only few works inscribed with this poem are known today. Likewise, it is unclear when Basho composed the verse, but the compilation of Basho’s calligraphy Basho-o shinseki-shu (Genuine works by Basho) includes a woodblock-printed reproduction of it, matching the writing style of the master’s final years. This hanging scroll, Bamboo in Ink, closely resembles the work reproduced in Basho-o shinseki-shu and may therefere also date to the final years of Basho’s life. The poem is also found on paper slips (tanzaku) thought to be written around the same time. In previous scholarship, these works have been dated to the Jokyo (1684-1688) or Genroku (1688–1704) eras.

Based on the box inscription and accompanying documents of Bamboo, it is possible to partially reconstruct its provenance. The box inscription by Kigyoan Uncho, a mid-Edo period haiku poet who also was a traveling monk in Kyushu and later settled in Kaga and Shinano provinces, reads as follows: “This scroll once was a treasured possession of the Toreishi, but for certain reasons was passed on to Danseki.” The letter by Takakuwa Ranko, an eighteenth-century Basho revivalist from Kaga province, states: “Formerly owned by Torei from Uozu in Etchu province, then by Danseki from Kanazawa in Kaga province. Thereafter, it came into my possession, but I gave it to Baisen, who lives in the Esshu (Hokuriku) area.” There is not much known about Torei, Danseki or Baisen except their names, but it seems likely they were provincial haiku poets who revered Basho’s style. Both Uncho and Ranko inscribed haiku on the box to express their deep appreciation of Basho’s work: “Under the flowers of frost, the bamboo retains its green” writes the former, “Shining bright moonlight, and ice over bamboo leaves” the latter. Another document included in the box of the letter of authentication by Okura Kosai, dated 1826. As can be inferred from the text, the authentication was requested by a certain Izutsuya Genbei, hence at that time the scroll must have had changed hands once more. Izutsuya, by the way, was a publishing house that had virtually monopolized the publications of the Basho school. It is therefore no coincidence they were keen on acquiring Basho’s original works. As is apparent throughout Oku no hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), Basho had a close connection to the Northern Japanese hinterland and attracted many local followers, especially in the Hokuriku region. The eventful transmission history of this hanging scroll is telling of the high reputation and admiration Basho enjoyed in these areas.

Matsuo Basho (haiku poet; 1644–1694)
A native of Iga Province (today Mie Prefecture), Basho initially served his local feudal lord but in 1666 abandoned his warrior status and moved to Edo. He first mastered the Teimon style and then the Danrin style of haikai poetry, but eventually left the urban poetry circles. Elevating the status of the hokku (starting verse of a linked verse session, now known as haiku), Basho established his own Shofu style. Many of his works reflect is his travels in rural or remote areas.