What was Matsuo Bashō's birth name?

Matsuo Bashō’s birth name was Matsuo Kinsaku.

He was born in 1644 near Ueno in Iga Province, now part of Mie Prefecture. “Matsuo Bashō” is therefore not the name he received at birth. Bashō was a later literary name, one of several names he used during a career shaped by poetry, travel, teaching, and Zen-influenced aesthetics.

Before adopting Bashō, he used names including Sōbō and Tōsei. The name Bashō, meaning “banana plant,” was inspired by a banana tree given to him by a disciple and planted near his hut in Edo. The hut itself became known as the Bashō-an, or Banana Tree Hut.

Bashō is often called the greatest master of haiku, although the modern term haiku was popularized after his lifetime. He generally wrote hokku within the broader haikai and renku traditions, and he also produced celebrated travel prose, including The Narrow Road to the Deep North.