# Old Pond

Updated October 9, 2026
The complete text of Old Pond, with the story of its author, what it means, and notes to help you read it well.

## The poem

**Matsuo Basho** (1644–1694)
*Composed around 1686; Basho's most famous haiku.*

An old pond:
a frog leaps in,
the sound of water.

### Original Japanese text

古池や
蛙飛び込む
水の音

Romaji reading:
*Furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto*

## About the author

Matsuo Basho (1644–1694) was a Japanese poet who elevated haiku, then a light linked-verse game, into a serious art form. Born near Kyoto to a samurai family, he became a Zen-influenced wanderer, traveling Japan on foot and writing travel journals such as The Narrow Road to the Deep North. The old pond haiku, composed around 1686, is the most famous haiku ever written.

## Themes

Stillness broken by motion, then stillness restored. The ancient pond is eternal quiet; the frog's leap is a single moment; the sound of water is the trace the moment leaves. In seventeen Japanese syllables, Basho captures the Zen insight that eternity can be found inside an instant.

## Reading note

Read the three lines as three beats: stillness, splash, resonance. The cutting word 'ya' after 'old pond' works like a held breath before the frog jumps. The English translation on this page is my own; every translator renders the haiku slightly differently, which is part of its endless life.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a haiku?

A short Japanese poem, traditionally of seventeen syllables in a 5-7-5 pattern, usually capturing a single moment in nature. Basho did not invent haiku, but he made it a vehicle for depth and spiritual insight rather than wordplay.

### What does 'ya' mean in the first line?

'Ya' is a cutting word (kireji): it cuts the poem in two, separating the old pond from what follows. It works like a held breath or a colon, creating a pause that makes the frog's leap feel sudden.

### Why is this haiku so famous?

It is often called the haiku that defined haiku. Before Basho, the form was mostly a clever game; this poem showed it could hold stillness, motion and eternity in three lines. It has been translated hundreds of times, more than any other Japanese poem.

### Is the English translation here accurate?

It is my own translation, and like all translations it is one choice among many. 'Furu ike ya' is literally 'old pond: [cutting word]'; 'kawazu tobikomu' is 'a frog leaps in'; 'mizu no oto' is 'the sound of water'. Other translators choose different shades of the same meaning.