WKD - Matsuo Basho Archives: O -

Showing posts with label O - - Oku no Hosomichi. Show all posts

30/11/2012

Oku no Hosomichi

source with haiku :　basho/footmark

In 1689 - 元禄2年3月27日 - 9月6日

He leaves for "Oku no Hosomichi"奥の細道
on the 27th day of the 3rd lunar month and reaches Ogaki
on the 6th day of the 9th lunar month.

The dates for the Gregorian calendar are given with varying dates,
starting from May 6 to May 24.

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Road measurements are given in ri　理.
1 ri - 36 choo　町　- about 3,9 km.
Most official roads of the Edo period had a stone marker and tree on a mound at each ri.

ichirizuka 一里塚 mound at each RI
(equivalent of a milestone)

These mounds were a mark for a restplace, travelers could rest in the shade of the tree.
Usually they were pine (sugi　杉 or matsu　松), or
. enoki 榎 nettletree, Chinese hackberry tree . .

Basho's trip took 600 Ri in 150 days,
about 2400 kilometers of walking.

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. Oku no Hosomichi - NHK 2007 .

. Was Basho a ninja or onmitsu spy? .
Onmitsu : Oku no Hosomichi 隠密 - 奥の細道
Sora, Kawai Sora 河合曾良

奥 OKU - what does this stand for?
. Michinoku, Mutsu 陸奥 region in Tohoku .

Basho traveled to the Tohoku region, where he had less friends than in Kansai, but could visit places in memory of
. Priest Saigyo Hoshi 西行法師 .
and
. Priest Noin Hoshi 能因法師 (Nooin Hooshi)　 .
(988-1051)

. - His outfit as a traveler in the Edo time - . 　　

with 23 pairs
source : www.yumekougei.com

- - - - -

蕪村筆「奥の細道画巻」
Paintings by Yosa Buson
- Reference with paintings -

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The first poem of the trip begins with

yuku haru 行く春 spring is ending

The last poem ends with

yuku aki 行秋 autumn is ending

This shows Basho's keen appreciation of the seasons.

quote
In the actual journey that Basho took in the spring of 1689, he had extremely limited success in finding new disciples in Michinoku.
- snip -
Basho, in short, made no significant new contacts in the northeast, the original destination of the journey, and his style and school did not take root in this area (Yamagata).
By contrast, Dewa and the area facing the Japanese Sea, particularly the Shonai region (northwest Yamagata. . .) and the Hokuriku area - Echigo, Etchu, Kaga and Echizen (Fukui) - proved to be a haikai goldmine.
Although Basho had almost no connections in the Shonai region, he encountered a number of young and talented poets:
- snip -
- Shirane, Traces of Dreams, page 250
source : books.google.co.jp

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Kuniharu Shimizu
source : tfship.net/bookstore

西本鶏介

天野吉則 Amano paintings on the way

芦原伸
taking the train, Basho on my weekends
CLICK for more samples of Japanese books !

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Oku no Hosomichi - Karuta 奥の細道かるた

Basho karuta -
study your culture
while you play

. WKD : HAIKU KARUTA .

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Basho speaks paradoxically about how the gods have motivated his decision to travel.
He refers to two types of gods.

The first is Sozorogami, the other are the Dosojin　道祖神.

Vom Kofferpacken und dem Gott des Fernwehs.

sozorogami そぞろ神 / そヾろ神 / 漫ろ神
suzurugami すずろがみ / 漫神
sowasowa no kami　そわそわの神
. WKD : Aruki-gami 歩行神 God of Wandering .

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"Unfortunately, Japanese haiku loses a lot in translation ... "

おくのほそ道: Oku No Hosomichi - Professor Donald Keene
- source : http://books.google.co.jp

Narrow Road to the Interior:
And Other Writings
Bashō Matsuo, Sam Hamill

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Oku no Hosomichi - Haiku and Senryu
おくのほそ道・俳句・川柳
田中貴子

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External LINKS - ENGLISH

Notes to the transalations
source : terebess.hu/english

Barnhill, David Landis Barnhill
Basho's Journey: The Literary Prose of Matsuo Basho - 2005
- source : books.google.co.jp

Britton, Dorothy Britton (1941 - September 16, 2014)
- source : http://books.google.co.jp

Cid Corman and Kamaike Susumu
Back Roads To Far Towns:
Basho's Travel Journal (Companions for the Journey)
- Full Text - PDF file -

Sato, Hiroaki Sato - Bashō's Narrow Road: Spring & Autumn Passages : Two Works
- source : http://books.google.co.jp

Yuasa, Nobuyuki Yuasa
Matsuo Basho's "Narrow Road to the Deep North"
with extensive literature links
source : terebess.hu/english

- - - - -

Chilcott, Translation - bilingual by Dr Tim Chilcott
source : Simply Haiku

Utamakura: Storied Places
Bashō’s Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Roads of Oku)
with google map and all !
source : Dennis Kawaharada

Oku no hosomichi - Wikipedia
With a long list of all the publications, books etc.
source : en.wikipedia.org

Oku no Hosomichi - Wiki Travel
Narrow Road to the Deep North
source : http://wikitravel.org/en/Narrow_Road

- Further Reference -

Basho in Akita Prefecture　秋田県
source : Akita International Haiku Network

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JAPANESE

The Text of Basho's Oku no hosomichi
source : etext.virginia.edu

Detailed Itinerary with all the dates and distances
source : itoyo/basho/okunohosomichi

Translation into modern Japanese - Rodoku
with sound track to listen to roodoku　おくのほそ道」の朗読
source : hosomichi.roudokus.com

source :　www.e-hon.ne.jp

神社仏閣一覧 shrines and temples visited during Oku no Hosomichi
source : komichan/tanbou

みちのくの足跡
source : www.bashouan.com

おくのほそ道芭蕉・曽良句集 - with beautiful images
source : www.bashouan.com kushuu

私の芭蕉紀行 - 私の「おくのほそ道」
source : intweb.co.jp/miura

walking along, drawing paintings . . .
source : hide-tabi.blog

- Further Reference - おくのほそ道

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External LINKS - DEUTSCH - GERMAN

Auf schmalen Pfaden durchs Hinterland
Geza S. Dombrady and Ekkehard May - Dieterich’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Mainz 1985
(Vollstaendiger Text)
http://www.k5.dion.ne.jp

Bashô (1644 - 1694) und sein Tagebuch "Oku no Hosomichi"
Hans Ueberschaar
source : books.google.co.jp

Landschaft und Erinnerung: Zu Bashōs Oku no Hosomichi
Robert F. Wittkamp
- - - - - mit Holzschnittbildern aus dem Bashō-ō Ekotoba-den
source : deutsche-ostasienstudien.de

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source : www.yasudaya-kagu.com

Paper Umbrella with Basho and Sora
wagasa from Gifu 和傘 - 岐阜

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. Enpitsu de Oku no Hosomichi - えんぴつで奥の細道 .
Tracing the Narrow Road to the Deep North with a Pencil

. Oku no Hosomichi - NHK 2007 .

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Izakaya Oku no Hosomichi 居酒屋おくのほそ道 - 太田和彦, 村松誠 -

. Sake no Hosomichi のほそ道 "The Narrow Roads of Ricewine".
Manga by Razuweru Hosoki ラズウェル細木 Rozwell Hosoki

Mochi no Hosomichi　もちの細道 in Memory of Basho
. Mochi Rice Cakes　餅　 .

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Novel by Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North
by Roger Pulvers
The time line of Richard Flanagan’s new novel, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” slips back and forth from prewar Tasmania, Melbourne and Adelaide to postwar Sydney, among other locations. Yet there is only one stark, unrelenting and everlasting present — “the Line,” the 415-km-long Burma-Thailand railway that was built between June 1942 and October 1943 by more than 300,000 prisoners of war under the command of the Japanese. One in three prisoners’ lives was lost on that arch-brutal forced march. Of those who perished, 90 percent were Asian, primarily Burmese and Malayans, but also Chinese, Tamils, Thais and Javanese. Nearly 3,000 Australians were among those killed. Richard Flanagan’s father was one of the lucky POWs who survived.
snip
This being a newspaper published in Japan, it seems appropriate to mention that some of the haiku appearing in the novel are badly mistranslated. (The novel’s title comes from Basho’s classic and, as such, haiku play a key role in the narrative.)

The translation of Issa’s haiku about “the world of dew” that forms a chapter heading in the novel renders kenka as “struggle,” when what the poet means here is “quarrel.” Issa was commenting on a dispute of inheritance he had with his family. “Struggle” might be more meaningful in the context of wartime suffering, but it’s not what the original expresses and it sends the wrong signals.

The first chapter of the novel is preceded by Basho’s haiku about a bee emerging from the depths of a peony. The translation used has the bee “staggering out” of the peony, while in the original, from “Nozarashi Kikō,” tells us that the bee is coming out of the flower not staggering but with reluctant regret. Basho (the bee) is expressing gratitude to his hosts who took such good care of him on the road, telling them how sad he is to leave them.
- source : /www.japantimes.co.jp - November 2013

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kojiki no yo 乞食の世　 "A Beggar's world"
. Travels by Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶　.

. WKD : Calendar Systems .

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28/11/2012

Hosomichi - his outfit

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -

Narrow road to the interior

source with haiku :　basho/footmark

Form 元禄2年3月27日 - 9月6日

He leaves for "Oku no Hosomichi"奥の細道
on the 27th day of the 3rd lunar month and reaches Ogaki
on the 6th day of the 9th lunar month.

The dates for the Gregorian calendar are given with varying dates,
starting from May 6 to May 24.

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Main Entry
. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道 - .

年暮れぬ笠着て草鞋はきながら
toshi kurenu kasa kite waraji hakinagara　

end of this year -
a traveler's hat on my head
and straw sandals on my feet　

. Basho, the Eternal Traveler . 　　

under construction
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Days and months are the travelers of eternity.
The years that pass are also but travelers in time.

Sora and Basho
Painting by Kyoroku 森川許六 when they left Edo.
. - Morikawa Kyoroku / Kyoriku 森川許六 - .

What did a traveler in the Edo time carry with him?

Basho had to remember all his poems, Chinese poems, kigo collections and other things,
no handy or cellphone for him !

But for his frogs!
. . . and so the word spread into the rest of the world . . .

source :　jp.fujitsu.com
keitai denwa 携帯電話 in the frog pond

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Items of his travel equipment, in ABC order
CLICK on the images for more samples.

dooboo 道帽　"hat for the road"
chajin boo 茶人帽 hat for a tea master

hayamichi 早道 (saifu 財布) purse, wallet

inro　印籠 - いんろ pillbox, small medicine container
. Inro and Netsuke 根付 .

jikitetsu　直綴　ー　じきてつ - 　
robe of a zen monk during training
doofuku 道服 "robe for the way"

. kamiko　紙子 paper robe .
a kind of raincoat.

. - kasa 笠　hat - . 　　
hinokigasa 檜笠 "cypress hat" cypress-bark hat
ajirogasa　網代笠
pilgrim's hat, traveller's hat, made from pine bark

kyahan　脚絆　－きゃはん leggins
- - - and

waraji 草鞋 straw sandals
. waraji　草鞋　わらじ　 straw sandals . 　　

. Odawara choochin 小田原提灯　 folding paper lantern .
with a candle

. oi 笈 backpack of the Edo period .

shitagi 下着 underwear, mostly an extra loincloth
It was kept in an oiled paper bag so as not to get wet when he had to cross a river.
. fundoshi 褌　- ふんどし loincloth .

.
kusamakura, kusa makura 草枕 pillows stuffed with grass .

tekkoo　手甲　covering
for the back of the hand and wrist
and leggins for the road

. tenugui 手ぬぐい　small hand towel .
To wash the head and body, to use for a cover of a wound, to fix the straw sandals and to use for other little things that happen on the road.

. tsue 　杖 walking stick .

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yatate 矢立 portable writing utensils
with a brush and ink stone.
And some paper to write his notes on.

Basho took out his yatate for the first time on the trip in Senju at the great bridge, when he wrote the famous hokku about the tears in the eyes of his friend called FISH.

是を矢立の初めとして、行く道なをすすまず。
人々は途中に立ちならびて、後かげのみゆる迄はと見送るなるべし.

There is not a memorial stone of this event at the modern bridge of Senju.

yatate hajime no hi 矢立初めの碑

And a statue of Basho at the beginning of the Road to Nikko, with his pen in hand

source :　takeb777

Oku no Hosomichi - - - - Station 2 - Departure 旅立 - - -
Senjuu　千住　Senju
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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yukata 浴衣 light cotton robe (for the night)
. yukata 浴衣 .

zudabukuro 頭陀袋 - ずだぶくろ　cloth sack
used by monks and pilgrims,
nowadays especially for the Henro Pilgrims in Shikoku.

source :　石川県立美術館

松尾芭蕉の頭陀袋 The zudabukuro of Basho !
Ishikawa Kenritsu Bijutsukan - Museum in Ishikawa

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. Basho traveling by horse .
- uma　馬 -　koma　駒　 horse, horses -

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source : www.yasudaya-kagu.com

Paper Umbrella with Basho and Sora
wagasa from Gifu 和傘 - 岐阜

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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道 - .

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18/11/2012

Oku Station 1 - Prologue

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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 .

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- - - Station 1 - Prologue 出発まで - - -

Days and months are the travellers of eternity. So are the years that pass by. Those who steer a boat across the sea, or drive a horse over the earth till they succumb to the weight of years, spend every minute of their lives travelling. There are a great number of the ancients, too, who died on the road. I myself have been tempted for a long time by the cloud-moving wind- filled with a strong desire to wander.

It was only toward the end of last autumn that I returned from rambling along the coast. I barely had time to sweep the cobwebs from my broken house on the River Sumida before the New Year, but no sooner had the spring mist begun to rise over the field than I wanted to be on the road again to cross the barrier-gate of Shirakawa in due time. The gods seem to have possessed my soul and turned it inside out, and the roadside images seemed to invite me from every corner, so that it was impossible for me to stay idle at home.

Even while I was getting ready, mending my torn trousers, tying a new strap to my hat, and applying moxa to my legs to strengthen them, I was already dreaming of the full moon rising over the islands of Matsushima. Finally, I sold my house, moving to the cottage of Sampu, for a temporary stay. Upon the threshold of my old home, however, I wrote a linked verse of eight pieces and hung it on a wooden pillar.

The starting piece was:

Behind this door
Now buried in deep grass
A different generation will celebrate
The Festival of Dolls.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa

- - - - - Notes
Eternity, in time, generations, voyagers
This is an allusion to a work by the Chinese poet Li Po.

Road, travelling, journey, journeyed
Basho's respected models all died on the road; Saigyo at Kawachi, Sogi at Hakone Yumoto, Li Po at Kiukiang, and Tu Fu who died at Lake Dotei. Where did Noin die?

Corner, road gods, Dosojin, spirits of the road
The Dosojin are pairs of male and female deities that protect travellers. These statues are located beside the roads.

Pillar, hut, cottage
A renga would be written on multiple sheets of paper with the first eight verses coming on the first page, so that is what Basho posted up. This renga no longer exists.

Dolls, well, house
By using the line "hina no ie" Basho suggests that whoever moves into this place has either a wife or a daughter. Since Basho has neither, the poem expreses how different his situation is from that of the new occupant.
source : terebess.hu/english

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月日は百代の過客にして、行かふ年も又旅人也。
舟の上に生涯をうかべ馬の口とらえて老をむかふる物は、日々旅にして、旅を栖とす。古人も多く旅に死せるあり。予もいづれの年よりか、片雲の風にさそはれて、漂泊の思ひやまず、海浜にさすらへ、去年の秋江上の破屋に蜘の古巣をはらひて、やゝ年も暮、春立る霞の空に、白河の関こえんと、そヾろ神の物につきて心をくるはせ、道祖神のまねきにあひて取もの手につかず、もゝ引の破をつヾり、笠の緒付かえて、三里に灸すゆるより、松島の月先心にかゝりて、住る方は人に譲り、杉風が別墅に移るに、

草の戸も住替る代ぞひなの家 - kusa no to mo zumikawaru yo zo hina no ie
面八句を庵の柱に懸置

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- - - - - Translation by Donald Keene

The months and days are the travellers of eternity.
The years that come and go are also voyagers.

Those who float away their lives on ships or who grow old leading horses are forever journeying, and their homes are wherever their travels take them. Many of the men of old died on the road, and I too for years past have been stirred by the sight of a solitary cloud drifting with the wind to ceaseless thoughts of roaming.

Last year I spent wandering along the seacoast. In autumn I returned to my cottage on the river and swept away the cobwebs. Gradually the year drew to its close. When spring came and there was mist in the air, I thought of crossing the Barrier of Shirakawa into Oku. I seemed to be possessed by the spirits of wanderlust, and they all but deprived me of my senses. The guardian spirits of the road beckoned, and I could not settle down to work.

I patched my torn trousers and changed the cord on my bamboo hat. To strengthen my legs for the journey I had moxa burned on my shins. By then I could think of nothing but the moon at Matsushima. When I sold my cottage and moved to Sampū’s villa, to stay until I started on my journey, I hung this poem on a post in my hut:

kusa no to mo sumikawaru yo zo hina no ie

Even a thatched hut
May change with a new owner
Into a doll’s house.

This became the first of an eight-verse sequence.
source :　en.wikipedia.org

- - - - - Translation by Barnhill :

Months and days are the wayfarers of a hundred generations,
the years too, going and coming, are wanderers.
For those who drift life away on a boat, for those who meet age leading a horse by the mouth, each day is a journey, the journey itself home. Among Ancients, too, many died on a journey. And so I to—for how many years—drawn by a cloud wisp wind, have been unable to stop thoughts of rambling. I roamed the coast, then last fall brushed cobwebs off my winter hut. The year too gradually passed, and with a sky of spring’s rising mist came thoughts of crossing the Shirakawa Barrier.
Possessed by the spirits of roving which wrenched the heart, beckoned by Dōsojin, unable to settle hand on anything, I mended a tear in my pants, replaced a cord in my hat, burned my shins with moxa, and then with the moon of Matsushima rising in my mind, I handed on my hut to another and moved to Sanpū’s cottage.

a grass hut
has a season of moving:
a doll’s house 　

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- - - - - - - - - - MORE translations of the "months and days"

Moon & sun are passing figures of countless generations,
and years coming or going wanderers too.
Drifting life away on a boat or meeting age leading a horse by the mouth, each day is a journey and the journey itself home. Amongst those of old were many that perished upon the journey.
(translated by Cid Corman and Kamaike Susumu, Back Roads to Far Towns)

The sun and the moon are eternal voyagers; the years that come and go are travelers too. For those whose lives float away on boats, for those who greet old age with hands clasping the lead ropes of horses, travel is life, travel is home. And many are the men of old who have perished as they journeyed.
(translated by Helen Craig McCullough, The Narrow Road to the Interior)

The passing days and months are eternal travellers in time.
The years that come and go are travellers too.
Life itself is a journey; and as for those who spend their days upon the waters in ships and those who grow old leading horses, their very home is the open road. And some poets of old there were who died while travelling.
(translated by Dorothy Britton, Narrow Road to a Far Province)

source : ngm.nationalgeographic.com

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kusa no to mo sumikawaru yo zo hina no ie

the grass door too
turning into
a doll’s house
Tr. Corman and Kamaike

My old grasshut
Lived in now by another generation
Is decked out with dolls.
Tr. Earl Miner

This rude hermit cell
Will be different now, knowing Dolls’
Festival as well.
Tr. Dorothy Britton

Even my grass-thatched hut
will have new occupants now:
a display of dolls.
Tr. Helen Craig McCullough

Even a thatched hut
May change with a new owner
Into a doll’s house.
Tr. Donald Keene

In my grass hut the residents change:
now a doll’s house
Tr. Hiroaki Sato

Even this grass hut
may be transformed
into a doll’s house.
Tr. Sam Hamill

even this grass hut
could for the new owner be
a festive house of dolls!
Tr. Tim Chilcott

The full translations are all here
source : www.bopsecrets.org

this old thatched hut
will change inhabitants now -
a home with hina dolls
Tr. Gabi Greve

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The months and days are wayfarers of a hundred generations,
and the years that come and go are also travellers.

Tr. Hiroaki Sato

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The moon and sun are eternal travelers.
Even the years wander on.
A lifetime adrift in a boat, or in old age leading a tired horse into the years,
every day is a journey,
and the journey itself is home.

Following Basho's Footsteps
source : Will Aitken

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Months and days are the wayfarers of a hundred generations, the years too, going and coming, are wanderers. For those who drift life away on a boat, for those who meet age leading a horse by the mouth, each day is a journey, the journey itself home. Among ancients, too, many died on the journey. And so I too--for how many years--drawn by a cloud wisp wind, have been unable to stop thoughts of rambling.

Here death is always followed by life, as life is followed by death. This is neither the cyclical change in which spring goes and then returns nor the karmic cycle of rebirth. The images of days, months, and years suggests that what passes will not return: a year once gone is gone forever. The ancients, too, have come and gone, dying on their life's journey, to be followed by other poets and religious practitioners. Now Bashō journeys, and the implication is that he too will die--and that others will follow him. The balance between the acute sense of death with strong sense of historical continuity gives this passage a pronounced tone of solemn celebration.

For Bashō, mujô is the central aspect of his religious worldview. Worldview has been defined as what a "religion affirms about the ultimate nature of reality" and it functions as a frame of perception, a symbolic screen through which experience is interpreted.3 For Bashō, mujô shaped his vision of how life ultimately is and it lead to his view of how it ought to be, which he embodied in his wayfaring lifestyle.

THE JOURNALS OF MATSUO BASHŌ
source : Barnhill

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kusa no to mo sumi—kawaru yo zo hina no ie

Even my grass hut
has changed into a home
for colourful dolls

This is from the opening haiku to Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North, which forms the first section of a renga sequence, consisting of 8 links, which Basho left on the outside post. The haiku is preceded by an adaptation to the preface of a poem by Li Po entitled On a Spring Night, Holding a Banquet at the Peach and Plum Gardens,

“Heaven and earth are like an inn, for all things are contained within the universe,
light and shadow are the travellers of a thousand generations,
Making this life nothing more than a floating dream.".

Legend and poetic myth record how Li Po, after a night of wine and poetry, boating on a lake, saw the reflection of the moon on water. In attempting to grasp it, he fell overboard and drowned.

- Tr. and Comment : Bill Wyatt

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The sponsor of Basho
. Sugiyama Sanpu, the crying Fishmonger .

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source :　kiraku88.blogspot.jp

sanri ni kyuu 三里に灸 moxabustion on the point "sanri"

ashi no sanri　足の三里　the point SANRI on the leg, ST36
there is another one on the arm.

. WKD : day for the moxabustion, kyuu suebi 灸据え日 .
kigo for mid-spring

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15/11/2012

Oku Station 20 - Shiogama

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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 .

More hokku by Basho and background information:
. WKD : Matsushima 松島 .

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- - - Station 20 - Shiogama - - -

Stopping briefly at the River Noda no Tamagawa and the so-called Rock in the Offing, I came to the pine woods called Sue no Matsuyama 末の松山, where I found a temple called Masshozan and a great number of tombstones scattered among the trees. It was a depressing sight indeed, for young or old, loved or loving, we must all go to such a place at the end of our lives. I entered the town of Shiogama hearing the ding-dong of the curfew. Above was the darkening sky, unusually empty for May, and beyond was the silhouette of Migaki ga Shima Island* not far from the shore in the moonlight.

The voices of the fishermen* dividing the catch of the day made me even more lonely, for I was immediately reminded of an old poem which pitied them for their precarious lives on the sea. Later in the evening, I had a chance to hear a blind minstrel singing to his lute. His songs were different from either the narrative songs of the Heike or the traditional songs of dancing, and were called Okujoruri (Dramatic Narratives of the Far North). I must confess that the songs were a bit too boisterous, when chanted so near my ears, but I found them not altogether unpleasing, for they still retained the rustic flavor of the past.

The following morning, I rose early and did homage to the great god of the Myojin Shrine of Shiogama. This shrine had been rebuilt by the former governor of the province* with stately columns, painted beams, and an impressive stone approach, and the morning sun shining directly on the vermillion fencing was almost dazzlingly bright. I was deeply impressed by the fact that the divine power of the gods had penetrated even to the extreme north of our country, and I bowed in humble reverence before the altar.

I noticed an old lantern in front of the shrine. According to the inscription on its iron window, it was dedicated by Izumi no Saburo in the third year of Bunji (1187). My thought immediately flew back across the span of five hundred years to the days of this most faithful warrior. His life is certain evidence that, if one performs one's duty and maintains one's loyalty, fame comes naturally in the wake, for there is hardly anyone now who does not honor him as the flower of chivalry.

It was already close to noon when I left the shrine. I hired a boat and started for the islands of Matsushima. After two miles or so on the sea, I landed on the sandy beach of Ojima Island.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa

- - - - - Explanations

Noda no Tamagawa
Noda no Tamagawa is an Uta Makura. This is one of six famous Tamagawas in Japan. Noin wrote a famous poem about it, Shinkokinshu #643: Come evening briny air starts flowing in with plovers crying over Tama's stream at Noda in Michinoku (H.H. Honda, p. 173)

Rock in the offing
A poem by Nijoin in the Senzaishu twists the meaning of this Uta Makura: -- The reference is to a stone in a small pond at Hachiman Jiohi at Taga Castle.

Sue no matsuyama
This is also an Uta makura. Among the Azuma Uta of the Kokinshu is: -- Another poem from Goshuishu by Kiyohara no Motosuke (One of the 36 poetic geniuses of the Heian period, he was also a skilled player of the koto. He was editor of the Gosen Waka Shu ((909-990)): --

Masshozan
This word is written with the same characters as "Sue no Matsuyama," so the place name and temple name reinforce each other.

End of our lives
This is a reference to the poem "Everlasting Sorrow" by Po Chu-i.

Old poem
This is an allusion to one of the Azuma Uta in the Kokinshu which goes:--

Okujoruri
Okujoruri is a kind of old style joruri, also called "Sendai Joruri" or "Okuni Joruri." In this style one narrates a story to the rhythm of a fan or biwa.

Past
In Japanese the line literally says: "He beat it with a rustic rhythm and he did it close by my pillow, but at any rate it was a tradition of this area and I could not put it from my mind, and so it seemed commendable."

Myojin Shrine
This Myojin Shrine was built by Date Masamune (1567-1639). He had inherited the Mutsu domain from his father. In 1590 he had an audience with Toyotomi Hideyoshi at his camp at Odawara and was received as a retainer of the Taiko. Later, at Sekigahara and at the seige of Osaka Castle he led attacks for Tokugawa Ieyasu and was later given the Sendai domain. He built the Shiogama Myojin shrine in 1597.

Izumi no Saburo
Izumi no Saburo was the third son of Fujiwara no Hidehira (?-1187) who built the powerful Fujiwara presence at Hiraizumi in the late Heian period. From there he ruled the north. Hidehira opposed Minamoto no Yoritomo and favored Yoshitsune. On his death bed Hidehira ordered his sons to protect Yoshitsune from Yoritomo. Saburo tried to do so and was murdered by his treacherous older brother. He died at the age of 23.

Five hundred years
Literally this passage reads: "The ghosts of 500 years ago came floating before my eyes now." This is an echo of the 1000 year old stone monument he had seen earlier at Taga Castle.
source : terebess.hu/english

末の松山 Sue no Matsuyama
それより野田の玉川沖の石を尋ぬ。末の松山は寺を造りて末松山といふ。松のあひ／＼皆墓はらにて、はねをかはし枝をつらぬる契の末も終はかくのごときと悲しさも増りて、塩がまの浦に入相のかねを聞。五月雨の空聊はれて、夕月夜幽に、籬が嶋もほど近し。蜑の小舟こぎつれて、肴わかつ声／＼に、つなでかなしもとよみけん心もしられて、いとゞ哀也。其夜、目盲法師の琵琶をならして奥上るりと云ものをかたる。平家にもあらず、舞にもあらず。ひなびたる調子うち上て、枕ちかうかしましけれど、さすがに辺土の遺風忘れざるものから、殊勝に覚らる。

塩釜明神 Shiogama Myoojin
早朝塩がまの明神に詣。国守再興せられて、宮柱ふとしく彩椽きらびやかに石の階、九仭に重り、朝日あけの玉がきをかゞやかす。かゝる道の果塵土の境まで、神霊あらたにましますこそ、吾国の風俗なれどいと貴けれ。神前に古き宝燈有。かねの戸びらの面に文治三年和泉三郎寄進と有。五百年来の俤今目の前にうかびて、そゞろに珍し。渠は勇義忠孝の士也。佳命今に至りて、したはずといふ事なし。誠人能道を勤、義を守べし。名もまた是にしたがふと云り。日既午にちかし。船をかりて松嶋にわたる。其間二里餘、雄嶋の磯につく。

. 源の義経　Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159 - 1189) .

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Tr. Britton
The following morning, I rose early and did homage to the great god of the Myojin Shrine of Shiogama. This shrine had been rebuilt by the former governor of the province with stately columns, painted beams, and an impressive stone approach, and the morning sun shining directly on the vermillion fencing was almost dazzlingly bright. I was deeply impressed by the fact that the divine power of the gods had penetrated even to the extreme north of our country, and I bowed in humble reverence before the altar.

I noticed an old lantern in front of the shrine. According to the inscription on its iron window, it was dedicated by Izumi no Saburo in the third year of Bunji (1187). My thought immediately flew back across the span of five hundred years to the days of this most faithful warrior. His life is certain evidence that, if one performs one's duty and maintains one's loyalty, fame comes naturally in the wake, for there is hardly anyone now who does not honor him as the flower of chivalry.

It was already close to noon when I left the shrine. I hired a boat and started for the islands of Matsushima.

More about Izumi no Saburo 泉三郎 and a stone lantern in his honor
. WKD : Shiogama jinja　鹽竈神社 Shrine Shiogama .
and the Salt-making Deity

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松島やああ松島や松島や

Matsushima ya
aa Matsushima ya
Matsushima ya

attributed to Kyoka-Writer Monk Tahara Bo
狂歌師田原坊 (Tawara Boo, Tawarabo)

Read more about the discussion of this poem:
. WKD : Matsushima 松島 .

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Saigyo visiting the grave of Fujiwara Sanekata, a Heian period poet who was exiled in the North:

He has left nothing
but an undying name
in this world . . .
On his grave in the withered moor
pampas grass is all I see.
Tr. Ueda

- - - - -

The sound of wind
brings the dew to the fields
on Miyagino
To the tiny bush clover
I convey my message.

If ever I should change my mind
and banish you from my heart
then let great ocean waves
rise and cross
Sue no Matsuyama
Tr. Kamens

. 　Basho and Saigyo 芭蕉と西行法師　.

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. WKD - Shiogama 塩竃市 - Sail-cord Festival .

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Oku Station 25 - Obanazawa

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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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