Basho's aim of the journey was to visit the grave of his mother who had died the previous year; he and Chiri left Edo and traveled on the Tokaido (East Sea Road) to Ise, from where they set out for Iga Ueno to Yamato Province, Ogaki in Mino Province, and Nagoya.
芭蕉は前年に死去した母の墓参を目的に、江戸から東海道を伊勢へ赴き、伊賀上野を経て大和国から美濃国大垣、名古屋などを巡る。