He quit samurai life 1666, and in 1675 he moved to Edo, today called Tokyo. There, in 1678, he got to be a haiku master (""Sosho"") and began the life of a working poet. In 1680, he moved to Fukagawa, where he had a house. This was just outside of Edo. One of his followers gifted him a banana plant ("basho-an"). He planted the plant and called himself "Basho" because it became his favorite tree in his garden.