Basho crosses many barrier gates in the course of his journey. These barriers were established at key points on all major highways and roads for the purpose of monitoring and controlling traffic around the country, particularly to prevent hostile armies from amassing and threatening the government. The barrier at Shirakawa had originally been established in the Nara period or before to protect the country from invasion or attack by the Emishi or primitive people who lived in the remote north country. The original barrier was located on the old road, the one followed in the Heian period by Saigyo and Noin. The new road, the one Basho followed, had been opened sometime prior to 1575. According to Sora's journal they followed the new road, but made a detour to visit the site of the old barrier. No one is exactly certain where the old barrier was actually located, but Basho visited what he believed was the place.

Crossing the barrier at Shirakawa was one of the high points on Basho's trip. In his opening lines he specifically mentions how eagerly he looks forward to the crossing at Shirakawa. Now that he has arrived he reveals that he has felt uneasy for many days, but that from here on he can gain a certain balance and composure. Why did Basho feel so unsettled at this point? There are several explainations. His anxiety may be just the conventional piling up of days before reaching this remote place as spoken of by many earlier poets. In any case, he says that for him this marks the entrance to the northern regions, and thus marks the true beginning of his journey. Up till now he has identified several experiences that mark the beginning of his trip: 1) when he said good-bye to his hermitage at Fukagawa, 2) when he said good-bye to his friends at Senju, 3) and now as he crosses over from what he considers civilzation into the true north country.

As is so often the case at key points on his journey, Basho chooses not to write a poem to commemorate this important event although we know from Sora's diary that he did write a number of poems here. Instead of presenting his own work, he relies on Sora for a poem. He does, however, make a great many poetic allusions. He uses the phrase hi kazu kasanaru mama ni (& igrave;.êîèdÇ»ÇÈÇ<& Ccedil;<Ç…Åjreferring to the piling up of days; a phrase commonly used by the poets of old in referring to Shirakawa.

Later, at the next stage Basho will present a poem about Shirakawa. Thus, he looks forward to this place while still in Edo, passes through it with great feeling, and refers back to it at a later stage of his trip. We see Basho using this technique of anticipation and memory to reinforce an experience at other places as well.

The ancient traveller with a burning desire to wrote home to Kyoto (ikade miyako e to tayori, ǢǩÇ≈ìs& Ccedil;÷ÇΔï÷ÇËÅj is a reference to a poem by Taira no Kanemori in the Shuishu which says "If only I could send a letter, I would like to let it be known in the capital that today I have managed to cross the barrier at Shirakawa." (èEà,& egrave;WÅFÇOmegaÇÊÇËÇ& raquo;ÇÁÇOEÅ^Ǣǩ& Ccedil;≈ìsÇ÷Å^çêÇ∞& Ccedil;,ÇÁÇÒÅ^ç°ree;ì.& icirc;íâÕ ÇÃÅ^ä÷ÇÕâzÇ& para;Ç ÇΔÅBÅj Just as Kanemori wants to share his feelings on this occasion with the people back home in Kyoto, Basho, too, wants to share this moment with the friends he left behind in Edo. Basho adds significance to the occasion by commenting that Shirakawa is one of the three great barrier gates of the north country; the others are Nakoso of Hitachi and Nezu of Dewa. This barrier was flanked by two shrines, on the south is one dedicated to the male deity of Sumiyoshi and on the north is one dedicated to the female deity Tamatsushima. At all times the place would have been lively with daimyo processions and private travelers, and there were tea houses nearby which sold michi rice cakes, the specialty of the region.

When Basho says that many poets have passed this way, he uses the term Fuso (ïóëõÅj which in Chinese poetic useage means 'a traveler' (óVêlÅj.? Certainly many poets had preceeded Basho to this place and had left their poems in many forms. One critic has counted more than 40 verses in the shi, waka, renga, and haiku forms that have celebrated this barrier prior to Basho's arrival.

Basho describes crossing the barrier in a curious way. He says the trees on both sides were laden with thick foliage, but that he can hear the autumn wind and see the autumn tints. Mention of the autumn wind sets up a contrast with the early summer season which is his real time. This autumnal reference alludes to a poem by Noin : (ìsÇÇOEÅ^& acirc;#ÇΔÇ«ÇfiÇ…Å^& oacute;ßÇøǵǩÇ& laquo;Å^èHïóǺêÅ& Ccedil;≠Å^îíâÕÇÃä& divide;ÅjÅ@ which says that he left the capital in spring, but that the autumn wind was blowing by the time he reached the barrier at Shirakawa. For Basho, hearing the autumn wind is hearing the echo of Noin's poem. Similarly, the vision of autumn tints gives a visual aspect to the auditory sound of the wind, but the vision, too, is both imaginary and allusive. The reference is to a poem by Minamoto no Yorimasa (åπ& oacute;äê≠Åj from the Senzaishu which goes: ìs& Ccedil;…ÇÕÅ^Ç<ÇOmegaê& not;ótDžǃÅ^å©Ç& micro;Ç©Ç«Ç#Å^çgót& eacute;UÇËǵÇ≠Å^îí& acirc;ÕÇÃä÷ÅB He says he saw the green leaves still when he left the capital, but that the red leaves of autumn greeted him by the time he had reached the Shirakawa barrier. There are several poems that associate red leaves with Shirakawa to make a contrast between red and white. In the next line Basho speaks of the white blossoms on green-leafed branches creating a further contrast between green and red leaves which reinforces the contrast of the seasons but remains linked with the image of white. The changing colors are emblematic of the changing seasons and this complex dynamic of time is important because it shows Basho moving through time in his references to earlier poets, and also moving in tie through the seasons. His present is in early summer, but his mind is in autumn and then winter. He not only travels back over theyears, but he also moves around through the seasons. This superimposed scene is a good example of how Basho can keep himself simultaneously in the present and in the poetic past. This is a characteristic technique of Basho's writing.

In describing the scene he sees as he passes through the barrier gate, Basho makes reference to the white blossoms of the unohana and to the brambles, or ibara. Both these flowrs bloom in the fourth month situating Basho in his seasonal present and they reinforce each other with their mutual white color . This leads to the snow image which pushes the earlier seasonal progression from autumn into winter and presents the notion that even if these were drifts of snow instead of summer flowers, he would still cross the barrier. Many poems have also been written associating snow with Shirakawa as we see in a verse by Kuga Michiaki (ãvâo/ooí å1& Aring;jin the Fuboku Waka Shu: îíâÕÇ& Atilde;ä÷ÇÃèHÇΔÇ& Otilde;ïΣǴǵǩÇ& laquo;èâê⋅ï™Ç≠Ç& Egrave;éRÇÃÇ◊ÇÃìπ& Aring;B Basho is on the very fringe of civilization here and all the poems he alludes to make the contrast between the rustic, frontier nature of Shirakawa and the civilized spohistication of the capital, and yet it is being here that puts his heart at ease as he marks the true beginning of his journey.

The story of the ancient traveller who straightened his cap before crossing the barrier refers to Takeda no Taiyu Kuniyuki (í|ìcÇ& Atilde;ëÂïvçëçsÅj and is found in Book Three of Fujiwara Kiyosuke's (ì°ree;å¥ê& yen;ï"Åj Fukurozoshi (ë<ëêété& Uuml;Åj. Having straightened his cap before crossing, people asked why he had done it. He replied that it would be impossible for him to wear ordinary clothes while crossing the place where Noin composed the poem quoted above. [Fujiwara Kiyosuke was born in 1104 and died in 1177 at the age of 74. He was a late Heian poet of the Rokujoke who opposed Shunzei. He was especially noted for his studies of poetry.]

Sora's poem uses the verb kazashi meaning 'to decorate by putting flowers in one's hair and hat.' There are two interpretations of this poem: 1) that it refers to Takeda Taiyu no Kuniyuki, or 2) that it refers to Sora himself. The second is the most commonly accepted interpretation. It suggests that while the ancients changed and decorated their clothes when they crossed the barrier, poor mendicants like Basho and Sora do not have fine clothes to change into, so they decorate themelves instead with the unohana which grows everywhere in such profusion. With these natural decorations he can cross over properly attired. His is a very poetic attitude; he is poor in material things, but rich in poetic sensibility.

Although Basho in his description and Sora in his poem make it sound like a sunny, summer day as they pass through the flower-clouded barrier, Sora's diary says that they spent two days at the barrier, 4.20-1 (6.7-8) and tells us that the rain and mist were as thick as smoke as they walked around trying to locate both the old and new barriers in conditions that were as miserable as they were daunting. Sora says they set out from their lodging at about 7:30 and visited the Myojin Shrine at the site of the old barrier. From there they climbed Sekiyama and visited the Manganji Temple and then went on to Shirakawa where they visited a man named Gozaemon who showed them around. On the afternoon of the 21st they went on to Yabuku arriving at about three o'clock and stayed overnight there continuing on to Sugagawa the following day.

One of the striking features of this passage is the large number of poetic allusions Basho makes referring to Kanemori, Noin, Yorimasa, Kuniyuki; a remarkable number of references in so short a passage. This is not just Basho showing off his knowledge, one of his objectives on this trip was to visit the places that inspired the poets of old and to share their feelings. This is one of those places. Also by creating this flood of allusions to ancient poetry Basho establishes his own poetic mood as he crosses over into the north country. It is almost like a religous incantation as he is determined to bring the civilizing influence of poetry to this remote region; to bring order to what is wild.