In this passage Basho introduces his travelling companion, Sora. In doing so he uses the term "Dogyo" which means more than a companion, it is a fellow pilgrim, once again emphasizing the religious aspect of this trip.

Sora was a native of Suwa, in the mountains of Shinano, but he was raised by an uncle, a priest at Nagashima in Ise. Sora served as a low ranking samurai in the Nagashima domain, but withdrew from service and went to Edo where he studied Shinto and Waka poetry under the guidance of Kitsukawa Koretaru. He was also an expert in Kendo, Japanese fencing. He became a disciple of Basho's around 1685. He lived near the Bashoan and helped Basho with such routine daily chores and firewood and water. In 1687 he had accompanied Basho on his trip to Kashima. After Basho's death, Sora resumed his former name and assumed a government post. He died in 1710 at the age of 62. There is some question as to why Sora was chosen from among all of Basho's disciples to have the honor of accompanying the master on this trip. Certainly Sora was a close and devoted disciple, but he was from the same part of the country as Basho and they had in common the fact that they were both former samurai.

We know that Muro was the original name for this place, and both the Kojiki and the Nihongi give legends that explain the derivation of the name. The story from the Nihongi is this:

"The August Grandchild accordingly favored (i.e., married) her, whereupon in one night she became pregnant. But the August Grandchild was slow to believe this, and said, 'Heavenly Deity though I am, how could I cause anyone to become pregnant in the space of one night? That which thou hast in thy bosom is assuredly not my child.' Therefore Ka- ashi-tsu-hime was wroth. She prepared a doorless muro (called utsumuro), and entering, dwelt therein. Then she made a solemn declaration saying, 'If that which is in my bosom is not the offspring of the Heavenly Grandchild, it will assuredly be destroyed by fire, but if it is really the offspring of the Heavenly Grandchild, fire cannot harm it.' So she set fire to the muro . The child which was born from the extremity of the smoke which first arose was called Honosusori no Mikoto (He was the ancestor of the Hayato)..." [W.G. Aston, p. 71-3]

The Heavenly Grandchild referred to here is the deity who descended from the High Plain of Heaven to Takachiho and thus provides the living link between heaven and earth. According to another version of this story, the princess secluded herself in a cave which became a birthing room, and she purified it with fire to insure a safe birth. In this room she gave birth to three deities; Hosuseri, Hoakari, and Hohodemi.

In recounting this legend to Basho, Sora explains the origin of the word muro in the place name, but does not seem to know where yashima came from. Place name dictionaries say that the fields here were flooded with water with hummocks sticking out. "Yashima" means 'eight islands,' or 'eight hummocks.' Steam rising from the standing water looked like the smoke which is also associated with the place. Some dictionaries say that 'yashima' is an archaic word for cauldron which also has an association with the image of rising smoke. On the shrine grounds is a pond which at one time had eight islands in it, but commentators say this was a later construction reflecting the name, but was not the source of the name.

The image of the rising smoke is one poets have for ages associated with this place, and the smoke is also related to the konoshiro fish and the prohibition against eating it. People do not simply avoid eating this fish, they are forbidden to do so because when the fish is cooked, it smells like human flesh burning (as in cremation). This cluster of images is also associated with the agony of the goddess giving birth to a child in the midst of fire. The name konoshiro for the fish has several legends to explain its derivation. All the legends deal with a parent who pretends to kill a child and cremate it in order to save it from an unwanted suitor or wicked stepmother, or something else. In order to carry out this deception the parent burns this fish to create the proper smell. The word konoshiro is a homophone for a phrase meaning "in place of a child."

According to Sora's account the two travellers set out on the 28th of the Fourth (sic) Month (5.17) from Kusakabe, passed Kurihashi and spent the night at Mamada. They left there early on the morning of the 29th, turned off the main highway, passed through Iizuka, specifically in order to visit Muronoyashima which has been much celebrated in poetry. Basho wants to share the spirit of the ancient poets.

In this section Basho simply records Sora's account of the legend concerning Muronoyashima. As a student of shinto, Sora had evidently read a number of works to prepare himself for the places they planned to visit on this trip. Basho seems to accept Sora's authority for the legend he recounts.