This is how Kagami Shikō, a disciple of Matsuo Bashō, described the circumstances surrounding the composition of his master’s most famous poem, published in 1686. Bashō
was spending the spring in seclusion in his house, the Bashō-an, though he was as usual accompanied by many of his disciples.
One day...the rain was gently falling, the cooing of the pigeons was deep-throated, and the cherry blossoms were slowly falling in the soft wind. It was just the kind of day when one most regrets the passing of the third month. The sound of frogs leaping into the water could frequently be heard, and the Master, moved by this remarkable beauty, wrote the second and third lines of a poem about the scene: “A frog jumps in,/ The sound of the water” [kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto]. Kikaku, who was with him, suggested for the first line “The yellow roses” [yamabuki ya], but the Master settled on “The ancient pond” [furuike ya]. (Keene, World 88-89; Japanese phrases added)
If Shikō’s account can be trusted, Bashō did not initially compose the first line but was open for suggestions.