It is located near the Yamadera temple, where poet Matsuo Bashō visited in 1689 during his travels that were chronicled in Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North).

The museum primarily chronicles Bashō's life and his contributions to the literary style of haiku.

[2] Many writings by Bashō, and literati and artists from his time and later, are regularly displayed.

The facility includes many traditional Japanese style meeting rooms and tea rooms used for tea ceremonies and other cultural programs, including seminars on literature and haiku taikai poetry writing contests (俳句大会), in both Japanese and English.

The buildings in traditional sukiya-zukuri (数寄屋造り) tea ceremony room style were designed by architect Masao Nakamura.