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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -
. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .
After the difficult crossing of the Natagiri Pass 山刀伐峠,
Basho rested for 10 days, mostly at the expenses of his friend Seifu:
from the 17th to the 27th of the 5th lunar month. 1689
元禄2年5月17日 - 27日
Obanazawa literally means "Swamp of Safflowers". A town in Yamagata prefecture.
Basho also stayed at temple Yoosenji 養泉寺 Yosen-Ji.
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- - - Station 25 - Obanazawa 尾花沢 - - -
I visited Seifu in the town of Obanazawa.
He was a rich merchant and yet a man of a truly poetic turn of mind. He had a deep understanding of the hardships of the wandering journey, for he himself had travelled frequently to the capital city. He invited me to stay at his place as long as I wished and tried to make me comfortable in every way he could.
I felt quite at home,
As if it were mine,
Sleeping lazily
In this house of fresh air.
Crawl out bravely
And show me your face,
The solitary voice of a toad
Beneath the silkworm nursery.
With a powder-brush
Before my eyes,
I strolled among
Rouge-plants.
In the silkworm nursery,
Men and women
Are dressed
Like gods in ancient times. -- Written by Sora
Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english
尾花沢にて清風と云者を尋ぬ。かれは富るものなれども、志いやしからず。都にも折々かよひてさすがに旅の情をも知たれば、日比とゞめて、長途のいたはり、さま％＼にもてなし侍る。
涼しさを我宿にしてねまる也
涼しさを我が宿にしてねまるなり
這出よかひやが下のひきの声
まゆはきを俤にして紅粉の花
蠶飼する人は古代のすがた哉 曾良 Sora
蚕飼
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source : tomoshiho_oonm
涼しさを我宿にしてねまる也
suzushisa o waga yado ni shite nemaru nari
coolness
is now at my lodgings
and I take a rest
The greeting hokku for his host, the rich merchant Seifuu 清風 Seifu and to the temple where Basho lodged.
The cut marker NARI is at the end of line 3.
nemaru is the local dialect of the region. It can denote to sleep, rest or sit around.
鈴木清風 Suzuki Seifu
(1651 - 1721) . Suzuki Michiyuu 鈴木道祐
残月軒清風
He traveled a lot to Edo and Osaka and was a patron of many haiku poets.
In 1685 and in 1686 he met Basho in Edo at Koishikawa. In 1688 his wife died. In 1692 his father retired and at age 49 he had to take over the family business. In 1711 he retired himself at age 61.
His home was about 700 meters away from the temple Yosen-Ji.
He was a dealer in safflowers (benibana), a speciality of the region. Their extract was an important ingredient in cosmetics and for dying cloths since the Heian period.
When Basho and Sora arrived it was just the high time of the safflower harvest, so he could not spent enough time with his haikai friends and lodged them in the nearby temple.
. WKD : Safflower (benibana 紅花).
quote
. . . considering that Seifu was probably not adequately hospitable to Basho and Sora, Basho may have described in this hokku the comfort he and his friend found in Yosei Temple.
Bashō's Narrow Road: Spring & Autumn Passages : Two Works
source : books.google.co.jp
鈴木清風について
source : bashouan.com/pxSeihuu.htm
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At temple 養泉寺 Yosen-Ji, 涼塚 "the Cool Lodging"
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source : www.bashouan.com
這出よかひやが下のひきの声
hai-ide yo kaiya ga shita no hiki no koe
haiide yo kaiya ga shita no hiki no koe
crawl out!
beneath the silkworm shed
the croak of a toad
Tr. Haldane
kaiya 飼屋, 蚕室 shed where the silkworms were kept
In many regions, the silk worms were kept in the second floor of a farmhouse.
. WKD : kaiko 蚕 silkworm .
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まゆはきを俤にして紅粉の花
mayuhaki o omokage ni shite beni no hana
reminiscent
of eyebrow brushes –
safflower blossoms
Tr. Haldane
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Matsuo Basho also included a haiku by Sora about silkworms :
蚕飼する人は古代のすがた哉
. kogai suru hito wa kodai no sugata kana .
. . .
Also discussed in the above link is the following hokku:
五月雨や蠶煩ふ桑の畑 蚕
samidare ya kaiko wazurau kuwa no hata
summer rains--
a silkworm ill
in the mulberry field
Tr. Barnhill
It has been suggested that Basho saw himself in the sick silkworm.
The haiku was written in 1694, the last year of Basho's life.
kaiko 蚕 / 蠶 silkworm
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Look at more photos here:
source : ojun/okunohosomiti
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Basho Seifu History Museum (Suzuki family residence)
This museum opened on July 3, 1983.
The museum buildings are the former house and sake shop belonging to Yahei Suzuki, which were moved and reconstructed here. They provide a precious glimpse into a merchant's home of the Edo period, in this town where Basho spent ten nights.
source : english.yamagata-museum.jp
芭蕉 - 清風資料館 - Basho and Seifu Museum
尾花沢市中町5番36号
A quizz for the modern traveller.
source : city.obanazawa.yamagata.jp
source : www.visitjapan-tohoku.org
おくの細道尾花沢そば街道
While Basho stayed at the Suzuki residence, he is sure to have eaten the local speciality, offering soba buckwheat noodles to visitors そば切り振舞 (sobakiri furumai).
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- Further English Reference -
one painting for each station :
source : binyou/basyou8
鳴子から新庄へ（二人旅）with many photos
source : yosi-emon
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While staying in Obanazawa for a while to rest after a difficult part of his journey, people talked to him about the mountain temple Yamadera, Ryushaku-ji - 立石寺 - Risshaku-ji, which he decided to visit next.
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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .
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