Basho, while walking along the coast of the Sea of Japan back to his hometown from his journey, composed this haiku at Echigo (present-day Niigata). Exhausted from walking on steep, narrow roads, he saw Sado on the opposite shore and was perhaps greatly impressed with the sight of the island. This haiku is set in the season of the Festival of the Weaver, and Basho tells of the Milky Way looking as if it is pouring into the Sea of Japan. Michael Yamashita visited Izumozaki during the same season. He took this photo in the cold rain, with Sado lying far across the wild sea.