was one of the principal disciples of Bashō

Matsuo Basho

, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...

, and himself also a respected haiku

Haiku

' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...

 writer in the Genroku

Genroku

was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. This period spanned the years from September 1688 through March 1704. The reigning emperor was .The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative...

 period of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Originally, he was a samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 from Owari

Owari

Owari may refer to:* Owari Province* Owari Domain* Owari, more commonly spelled oware, a game* Owari Mandarin orange, a form of citrus fruit...

, but he had to leave military service due to ill health. Taking up the literary life, he became a devout disciple of Bashō

Matsuo Basho

, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...

, and when the Master died in 1694, Naito mourned him for a full three years, and remained his devout follower for the rest of his life.

Examples of Naitō's Haiku

Mountains and plains/ all are taken by the snow --/ nothing remains

No need to cling/ to things --/ floating frog.

These branches/ were the first to bud --/ falling blossoms.

A lightning bolt/ splits in two and strikes/ the mountaintop.

The sleet falls/ As if coming through the bottom/ Of loneliness.