In this passage Basho describes the dark evil associated with the Murder Stone, but he balances it or lightens the mood in several ways; once by discussing the farmer or groom who is leading his horse, and once again by talking about the willow tree where Saigyo had found inspiration years ago.

Basho describes the farmer leading his horse as "yasashiki koto" which can have several meanings depending on the kanji one uses to write it. 1) embarassed (hazukashii), 2) simple, light (taiyasui), or 3) admirable (shusho de aru). Basho may have intended all these meanings, but certainly the third choice sems appropriate. Basho is startled and a contrast is established because Basho has not expected such a sensitive request from a mere farmer . At the same time, Basho also appreciates the opportunity this provides for spontaneity this provides; relief from the mannered formalism that is often associated with poetry. So, the farmer is elevated by the sensitivity of his request and the poet is brought back to earth by the spontaneous and rustic nature of the situation; both poet and farmer benefit from the exchange.

As we might expect under these circumstances, the poem Basho recites is spontaneous and even though it does contain som allusions, they are not profound and the poem is not complex in any artful way. The seasonal word is hototogisu which indicates summer. This poem derives from an earlier one with the headnote Umaue Kakko: Oyobubeki/ kumoi naranedo/ hototogisu/ koma hikimukete/ shitau koe kana.

The story of the Killing Stone comes from the legend of Tamamo no mae which we encountered in the previous passage. This beautiful woman was transformed into her real form as a demonic fox and ruthlessly exterminated, but her malignant spirit congealed into a rock which released poisonous gasses harmful to men and animals alike. The sulphuric and arsenic gasses that emerge from the earth here are truly poisonous.

The legend is that around the year 1247 in the reign of the Emperor Gofukakusa, many years after Lady Tamamo was caused to take her true form as a fox and shot, Minamoto Okina Zenshi received a summons and was sent to Nasu where he recited a spell and smote the stone with his staff causing it to split apart. That night a beautiful young woman appeared to him saying she wished to be instructed in the truth of the Buddhist Law and to be reborn into paradise. This woman, of course, was the malignant spirit of Lady Tamamo, bound still to this world by the ties of her hatred and resentment. Another version of the legend says that Minamoto Okina occasionally passed this way on his travels and heard the story of Lady Tamamo from an old woman who lived nearby. When he recited a spell to relieve Lady Tamamo's misery, the stone split into three parts and released her spirit.

According to Sora's account, on the 19th of the Fourth Month Basho visited the Yusen Daimyojin Shrine (Nasu Jinja) and saw there the historical accounts of the founding of the shrine as well as the fan Yoichi shot off the mast of the enemy ship, several types of arrows, and other relics. Later the host of their lodging took them to see the Murdering Stone. Sora says there were numerous hot polls for bathing along the river here. Basho, however, notes that the stone still has "poisonous gas rising from it." He is suggesting that Minamoto Okina's spell ought to have purified the place, but it did not do so completely.

In the first part of this passage Basho gives us a carefully textured account that mixes the dark and lingering legacy of the Lady Tamamo with the unexpected poetic sensibility of the farmer leading his horse. In the second part of the passage Basho visits the willow of Ashino which has its own ghostly legend, but here the mood is a pure celebration of poetry and light.

Basho begins by quoting from Saigyo's poem the lines "Kiyomizu nagaruru no yanagi wa," the willow beside the small stream of clear water. Saigyo's poem in SKKS says there was a small stream of clear water flowing beside the road in the shadow of a willow tree. He stopped and paused there, he thought, just for a moment. This encounter is echoed in the No play Yugyo Yanagi where the priest Yugyo Shonin encounters the spirit of a decayed willow tree which tells him that this is the site where Saigyo composed his famous poem. The mood of the No play is to remind us that even in this remote location poetic inspiration has occurred; this echoes also the encounter with the farmer in the first part of the passage. We have a contrast between the fresh flowing stream here and the poisonous miasma of the Killing Stone. We also have a variation in Basho's poem; Saigyo comes to the willow and pauses, Basho pauses under the willow, then moves on.

The local ruler who urged Basho to see this site was Ashino Yasuyoshi who was also known by the name of Minbu, who had spent some time in Edo and had apparently known Basho there. Perhaps he was in Edo at the time of Basho's visit since neither Basho nor Sora speaks of meeting him here. He died in 1692 at the age of 56.

This is a summer poem since planting the rice fields is a summer occupation. One interpretation of the poem is that it is a celebration of the graceful, willow-waisted maidens who are planting the fields. They finish planting and depart leaving only the peaceful silence and the lone willow behind, the willow being an embodiment of the spirit of the maindens. In this way the poem conveys both activity and tranquiltiy. Another way to see it is that the maidens stay and plant their fields while Basho, the rootless traveler, departs on his way. Thus in one short poem Basho expresses two ideas; the one who departs and the one who remains behind. The interaction is between Basho and the maidens, but also between Basho and Saigyo. As Basho sits in the shade dreaming about Saigyo, he watches the girls finish planting their field and leave. Then Basho, too, gets up and leaves. Only the willow remains embodying the spirit of Saigyo and the spirit of the maidens.

Basho must have felt greatly moved to be able to rest in the shade of the same tree that had given relief to Saigyo.