cha - drinking tea

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- cha 茶　tea - Tee -

Inviting friends for the tea ceremony was a well-loved entertainment of the learned poets of Edo.

The tea ceremony comes with a saijiki of its own.

. WKD : Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記 .

. WKD : Green tea from Japan 茶　.


under construction
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source :　matsukama.jugem
お茶をどうぞ！ Basho invites for a cup of tea in Matsushima




朝茶飲む僧静かなり菊の花
. asacha nomu soo shizuka nari kiku no hana .
a priest drinking tea in the morning



富士の山蚤が茶臼の覆かな
. Fuji no yama nomi ga chausu no ooi kana .
Mount Fuji looks like a mortar for grinding tea



稲雀茶の木畠や逃げ処
. inasuzume cha no kibatake ya nigedokoro .
sparrows from the rice paddies hiding in the tea bushes



五つ六つ茶の子にならぶ囲炉裏哉
. itsutsu mutsu cha no ko ni narabu irori kana .
five or six sweets for tea



木隠れて茶摘みも聞くやほととぎす
. kogakurete chatsumi mo kiku ya hototogisu .
the song of a hototogisu and the tea pickers



柴の戸に茶を木の葉掻く嵐哉
. shiba no to ni cha o konoha kaku asashi kana .
the wind sweeps tea leaves against a brushwood gate



駿河路や花橘も茶の匂ひ
. Suruga ji ya hana tachibana mo cha no nioi .
tachibana citrus blossoms smell of tea in Suruga


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摘みけんや茶を凩の秋とも知らで
tsumiken ya cha o kogarashi no aki to mo shirade

they pick tea leaves -
without considering that for the plant
it must feel like a winter storm
Tr. Gabi Greve


Written in 延宝9年, Basho age 38.

When the leaves are picked by the girls in late spring, the bushes must feel like in an autumn storm, shedding their leaves. But the picking girls do not even know this.
On the other hand, tea shrubs shed their leaves in spring, they say.
The meaning is not quite clear.

This hokku has three kigo,
chatsumi for spring, aki for autumn and kogarashi for winter.
It has the meter 5 7 7.

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馬に寝て残夢月遠し茶の煙
uma ni nete zanmu tsuki tooshi cha no kemuri / 茶のけぶり


dozing on my horse,
with dream lingering and moon distant:
smoke from a tea fire
Tr. Barnhill



On horseback half-asleep,
Half-dreaming, the moon far off,
Smoke from the morning tea.

Bashō left the inn in the early morning. He had not slept well, and he sat on the horse still half-asleep. In the western sky the moon was fading as it sank, and from here and there rose in the air the smoke of the fires being lit for the morning cup of tea. The horse, Bashō himself, the dreams of the night, the faintness of the moon in the distance, and the unwilling smoke are all in harmony with the morning stillness and half-awakeness.
Tr. and Comment by Blyth



Dozing on horseback
I’m half in a dream faraway from the moon --
smoke for morning tea

The Basho’s haiku differs from his earlier mere playfulness with words and depicts his vividly half-dreaming consciousness on a painful trip. It demonstrates a sophisticated urban rhetoric, an allusion to ancient Chinese poetry, as well as novelty in diction which when combined were useful tools for Basho to express unexpected and previously unarticulated experiences found on his trip.
source : Ban’ya Natsuishi



Napping upon my horse,
A dream lingering, a distant moon --
Smoke from preparing Tea
Tr. only1tanuki

This is an allusion to a waka by Saigyo Hoshi　西行.

In the haikai collection Sanzooshi 三冊子 it reads

馬に寝て残夢残月茶の煙


Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀行, 1684
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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侘びてすめ月侘斎が奈良茶歌
. wabite sume tsuki wabisai ga Naracha uta .
and the importance of haikai



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Hokku where the word CHA is not used directly


hoiro 焙炉 fire-heated rolling table to dry tea leaves


source :　alit.city.iruma.saitama.jp

A hoiro was a box made of wood and bamboo. The plate was made of many layers of strong Japanese washi paper. The tea leaves are constantly moved on the table while they are steamed from the oven placed below.
During this process, the tea leaves give off a very pleasing aroma.



source :lovecafe.exblog.jp
a tea house in Uji


山吹や宇治の焙炉の匂ふ時　
yamabuki ya Uji no hoiro no niou toki

mountain roses -
when tea ovens at Uji
are so fragrant
Tr. Barnhill


Yellow mountain roses -
when the ovens at Uji give off
the fragrance of tea leaves
Tr. Blyth


Yellow Japanese roses !
Smell of the green tea of Uji
Coming from the drier.
Tr. Oseko


Written in the spring of 1690, 元禄4年春
this hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 1.
It ends with TOKI 時, the time when . . .



source :　Naokimi Yamada


quote
The two parts of the toriawase are closely connected: Uji, a village south of Kyoto, was noted for both its tea and its yamabuki (“yellow mountain roses”). In spring, when the yamabuki bloom, the freshly picked tea leaves were placed in ovens to dry, thus creating a memorable aroma.
The headnote suggests that as the speaker gazes at the yamabuki in the painting, he is reminded of Uji and the aroma of tea leaves in the spring. An even more profound connection can be found, however, at the level of a mutual, diaphoric metaphor: the glow of the yellow flowers of the yamabuki (kerria) synesthetically resembles the warm fragrance of the new tea leaves being dried and roasted at Uji and vice versa.
Blyth on Basho
source : terebess.hu



source :　wikipedia
By hand of Basho:　芭蕉自畫, 1691


. WKD : Uji matsuri 宇治祭 Uji Festival .
The Uji region is famous for its green tea, gryokro　玉露, and also for its beautiful yamabuki mountain roses.


. WKD : Yellow Mountain Rose (yamabuki 山吹).
Kerria japonica



hoiro 焙炉, a contraption to dry tea leaves.


source :　www.ndl.go.jp
special hoiro by Takamatsu san
焙茶炉 - National Diet Library


quote
Long ago when tea was produced entirely by hand, the tea rollers would shout
"hoiro age!"
as they passed their just rolled tea off the fire-heated rolling table, the hoiro.
These words now are a traditional greeting uttered at the end of the shincha harvest of new tea leaves.
source : apaluya.net/Japantea


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Two hokku related to the
. Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記 .



kuchikiri, kuchi kiri kuchikiri 口切 opening a new jar of tea


口切に堺の庭ぞなつかしき　
. kuchikiri ni Sakai no niwa zo natsukashiki .
(winter) opening a new jar of green tea. garden in Sakai. full of memories

Remembering Sakai in Osaka and Sen Rikyu, the famous Tea Master.


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robiraki 炉開き "opening the hearth"
irori hiraku 囲炉裏開く（いろりひらく）"opening the open hearth"
On the first of the lunar 10th month, now in November.
Sometimes on the first day of the wild boar.
The hearth 炉 is opened for the first time since April. Tea for this ceremony is prepared with tea powder made from leaves freshly picked that summer.
This hearth, ro, will be used from now until the following April.



炉開きや左官老い行く鬢の霜　
robiraki ya sakan oi yuku bin no shimo

opening the hearth —
the aging plasterer
with sideburns of frost
Tr. Barnhill


Fireplace opening -
The plasterer is getting old
With frost in his sidelocks.
Tr. Oseko


On the 1st day of the 10th lunar month, 1692
元禄5年10月1日頃

Basho has the same plasterer come every year to help with the repairing of the hearth. When observing his hair getting white, he thought about his own ageing.


. WKD : bin 鬢 hair at the temple .


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source :　www.cafepress.co.uk

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. WKD : Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記 .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

. - KIGO used by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .


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Hayashi Toyo

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- Hayashi Tooyoo 林 桐葉 Hayashi Toyo -
lit. "paulownia leaf"

(? - 1712 正徳2年) Toyo died at age 60.
His name was Hayashi Shichisaemon 林七左衛門.
His earlier haigo was Mokuji 木而／木示

He lived in Atsuta town, Owari (now Aichi prefecture).
Basho stayed at his home twice on this way to Ise shrine.

Basho also wrote 3 letters to Toyo.

At his home, they had a few haikai parties, composing renga.


- Reference -


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Matsuo Basho visited Toyo :
in 1684 貞亨元年, Basho age 41


この海に草鞋捨てん笠時雨
此海に草鞋すてん笠しぐれ
kono umi ni waranji suten kasa shigure

Into this sea
I'll throw away my straw sandals;
Cold shower on my hat!
Tr. Oseko


On his way from Ise via Kuwana, Basho had finally arrived in Atsuta.
He was ready to throw his sandals into the sea after this long walk and stay a few days with Toyo. They held some haikai parties during his stay.


Matsuo Basho and his
. - kasa 笠　hat - .




source :　kikyou0123
haiku sweet of his hat in the sleet


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On another occasion Basho stayed there and wrote,
on his way back to Kanto, Edo:

牡丹蘂深く分出る蜂の名残哉
牡丹蘂 ふかく分出る蜂の名残哉
botan shibe fukaku wake-izuru hachi no nagori kana

From deep within
the peony pistils, withdrawing
regretfully, the bee.
Tr. Shirane

(I have stayed at your home and received such friendly welcome, like a bee filled with good honey from the peony, now taking my leave with great regret and wonderful memories.)

Basho compares Toyo with a peony and himself with a bee.

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.



source : kikyou0123


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Atsuta Jingu 熱田神宮 Atsuta Shrine

Matsuo Basho visited here on his trip "Nozarashi Kiko" 野ざらし紀行.
He wrote

I went to Atsuta to worship.
The grounds of the shrine were utterly in ruins, the earthen wall collapsed and covered with clumps of weeds. In one place a rope marked the remains of a smaller shrine, in another was a stone with the name of a god now unworshipped. All around, mugwort and longing fern grew wild. Somehow the place drew my heart, more than if it had been splendidly maintained.

. WKD : Atsuta Shrine Festivals .


. Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀行 .

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. Names of Persons used by Basho .



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namida naku tears and crying

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- tears 涙 to cry 泣くnaku -


. WKD : Tear, tears (namida 涙 . 泪 ) .
naku　泣く to cry

Basho sheding tears about others
and observing others sheding tears.


Some have already been featured in the ABC pages.
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namida 涙 tear, tears


岩躑躅染むる涙やほととぎ朱
. iwa tsutsuji somuru namida ya hototogisu .
(spring) "rock azaleas". colored by his tears. hototogisu

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撫子にかかる涙や楠の露
. nadeshiko ni kakaru namida ya kusu no tsuyu .
(summer) Nadeshiko pinks. tears are falling. dew on the camphor tree
for father and son Kusunoki 楠木


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櫓の声波ヲ打つて腸凍ル夜や涙
ro no koe nami o utte harawata kooru / yo ya namida

Sounds of an oar hitting waves
my bowels get frozen
tears in the night
Tr. Natsuishi

quote
... All of a sudden in 1680,
Basho Matsuo retired from the central quarter of Edo to its suburb “Fukagawa”. The reason of his moving to the suburb and retirement from being a haiku master in a large metropolis, whose main job it was not to compose an excellent haiku, but to select amateurs’ haiku is unknown even nowadays. Nevertheless we can suppose that he had tired of haiku as being nothing more than a frivolous urban playing with words. Basho had decided to contemplate alone and deeply in a poor hermitage. We can surmise that he had concluded that a man shall not live by rice alone.

A haiku of 10, 7 and 5 syllables in Japanese talks grievously about his solitude and poverty. It is true that Basho’s newly awakened anti-urbanism gave to his haiku poems mental depth and sonority, but his former urban training in playing with the multiple meanings of words provided him with the means to express depth in few words at his will. It is impossible to express something without sophisticated rhetoric, thus it can be said that Basho’s prior training provided him with an urbane sense that had accumulates throughout his education and shown hitherto in his published documents.

MORE
Modernity and anti-urbanism in Basho Matsuo
. Ban’ya Natsuishi .



quote
Oars beating waves, sound
freezes through to the belly —
tears flow in the night

Basho wrote this in the winter of 1680—81, rather than thinking of Li Po, this haiku refers to a poem by Tu Fu (712—70):

From the window frame, western peak covered in eternal snow
By the gate, a boat heading east ten thousand miles of sea.

- Tr. and Comment : Bill Wyatt



the sound of oars beating the waves
brings my bowles to a chill
in the evening - tears
Tr. Gabi Greve

(The kireji YA is in the middle of the last section of 5).

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手に取らば消えん涙ぞ熱き秋の霜
. te ni toraba kien namida zo atsuki aki no shimo .
(autumn) frost, tears in my hands

尊がる涙や染めて散る紅葉
. tootogaru namida ya somete chiru momiji .
(autumn) falling red leaves. my respectful tears

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source :　itoyo/basho/nozarasi
memorial stone at the temple Jooinji Join-Ji 浄因寺 in Numazu 沼津市.
沼津市大顛和尚ゆかりの浄因寺
Join-Ji was a sub-temple of Engaku-ji in Kamakura.


梅恋ひて卯の花拝む涙哉
梅こひて卯花拝むなみだ哉
ume koite u no hana ogamu namida kana

Longing for the plum blossoms
I pray to the white deutzia -
tearful eyes
source : Tr. Shirane


yearning for the plum,
bowing before the deutzia:
eyes of tears
Tr.Barnhill


During his trip, Nozarashi Kiko.
On the death of high priest Daiten 大顛和尚 of the temple Engaku-Ji 圓覺寺 / 円覚寺 in Kamakura.
Basho wrote a letter to his disciple Kikaku about this event.

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.


longing for this plum blossom
I bow to the white deutzia
with tears in my eyes . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve


. WKD : Deutzia blossom (u no hana, unohana 卯の花 ) .


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source :　syo-gu-an/akari - uzumibi poems


埋火も消ゆや涙の烹ゆる音
uzumi-bi mo kiyu ya namida no niyuru oto

even the banked fire
is dying - my tears
make a hissing sound
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written most probably in the first year of Genroku 元禄元年 in Gifu.
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.

While he sits near the smoldering coals, he remembers a good friend who has died recently and his tears do not stop.
The sound of his burning tears is a very strong expression of his sorrow and pain he feels.


. WKD : uzumibi 埋火 "hidden fire" .
Some charcoal is left under the ashes to smolder and provide a bit of warmth.
kigo for all winter

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行く春や鳥啼き魚の目は涙
. yuku haru ya tori naki uo no me wa namida .
(spring) end of spring. voice of birds, tears. fish
- for his patron, the fish dealer Sugiyama Sanpu 杉山杉風 (Sampu)
on leaving Edo for the Deep North.

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naku　泣く　to cry, I cry, I weep, I wail


旧里や臍の緒に泣く年の暮 / 故郷　古里
. furusato ya hezo no o ni naku toshi no kure .
(winter) end of the year. my hometown, navel string


俤や姨ひとり泣く月の友
. omokage ya oba hitori naku tsuki no tomo .
(autumn) moon. old woman, weeping
at Mount Sarashinayama 更科山


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塚も動け我が泣く声は秋の風
tsuka mo ugoke waga naku koe wa aki no kaze

Shake even the grave!
My wailing is
the autumn wind!
Tr. Eri Takase

quote
Basho wrote this lamenting the death of his friend Issho - a man of talent who died before his time.

From the sampling of translations below you can see there are two general interpretations of this haiku. Some use words like "crying" and "weeping" - as if Basho's felt a relatively quiet sadness or sorrow.
Dumoulin writes,
"Death and birth alike belong to the life that comes from nature and is reabsorbed by nature. In many songs Basho develops variations on the motif of the autumn wind. When he mourns the death of his young poet friend Issho, the autumn wind breathes the pure sorrow of death".

Miyamoto writes,
"This verse is an elegy of Issho, a poet of Kanazawa who, although not a personal pupil of Basho, had a warm admiration for him and his poetry. He was comparatively young, but evinced a remarkable poetic talent. Therefore Basho deeply lamented his premature death, and his feelings were powerfully excited. The result was this verse, which means :-
"The autumn wind is my lamentation; therefore, grave-mound, move with it!"
What a violent outburst of grief! Perhaps none but poets of Basho's genius and sincerity can think of such impressive symbolism."


Oh, grave-mound, move!
My wailing is the autumn wind.
Tr. Asataro Miyamori

Shake! O tomb!
The sound of my wailing
Is the wind of autumn!
Tr. Minoru Toyoda

Move, O tomb,
the sound of my weeping,
is the wind of autumn.
Tr. Hoffnam

Mound, Oh Move!
My crying voice is
The autumn wind.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

Shake, oh tomb!
My weeping voice
Is the wind of autumn.

and

Shake, oh grave!
The autumn wind
Is the voice of my wailing
Tr. Blyth

source : www.takase.com/



move the gravemound!
my wailing voice,
the autumn wind
Tr. Ueda

Here we see Basho's persistent determination to make nature serve his own emotions rather than let himself be absorbed into nature.
Abe Y.
MORE comments about this hokku:
quoted from Ueda : Basho and his Interpreters
source : http://books.google.co.jp


Written in Kanazawa, Oku no Hosomichi
on the 22th day of the seventh lunar month.


Kosugi Isshoo 小杉一笑（こすぎ　いっしょう） Kosugi Issho
元禄元年（1632）～寛永九年（1688）
"one laugh"
a tea merchant from Kaga, Kanazawa, now Ishikawa.
Basho never met Issho in person, but had been looking forward to this meeting.

. . . CLICK here for Photos of his grave stone and Kanazawa!

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笑ふべし泣くべしわが朝顔の凋む時
. warau beshi naku beshi waga asagao no shibomu toki .
(summer) morning glories. should I laugh? should I cry? withering

and MORE hokku about laughing 笑う warau

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. WKD : Tear, tears (namida 涙 . 泪 ) .
naku　泣く to cry


. Emotions expressed directly by Basho .


. - Basho about Basho and his life - .


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Tsuboi Tokoku

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- Tsuboi Tokoku 坪井杜国 -

? - 1690.4.28 - ?元禄3.3.20 ? 2月20日）
承応二年（1653）～元禄三年（1690）
The dates are varying.

He was only 34 when he died.


Tokoku was from Nagoya. His name was Shoobei 庄兵衛.
He was a grain merchant and ward supervisor in Misono Ward 御園町.

In 1684 he became a disciple of Basho, but in the following year he was banned from Nagoya (because of some fraud) and moved to the village Hobi 保美村 at the Hobi peninsula in Aichi.
貞亨2年8月19日


He traveled with Basho for a while, even to Yoshino and Mount Koya, as written in

. 笈の小文 Oi no Kobumi. .

During these trips he used the name 南彦左衛門 and 野人 or 野仁.


He had a very friendly and probably special male relationship with Basho.
Basho used to call him by his boyhood name, 万菊丸 Mangikumaru.

Even after his death, Basho dreamed about him and shed tears.

此ものを夢に見ること謂所念夢也
夢の中で杜国を思い出し、涙で目がさめた


Basho also wrote this hokku about their relationship, when he spent a night in Toyohashi talking with his disciple Etsujin 越人:

寒けれど二人寝る夜ぞたのもしき
samukeredo futari neru yoru zo tanomoshiki

even if it is cold
sleeping together on such a night
is quite a pleasure



. nanshoku、danshoku 男色 homosexuality in the Edo period . 　　


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Basho also longed for his friend:

By the middle of the second month, I longed to depart for Yoshino, where cherries already blossomed in my memory. A friend, Tokoku, promised to join me in my journey, and we met at Ise.

"No home in the world - we are two wanderers"

吉野にて桜見せうぞ檜木笠
. Yoshino nite sakura mishoo zo hinoki-gasa .


It won't be long till
you'll see Yoshino cherries,
my bark-woven hat!


Mangiku-maru wrote:

It won't be long till
I show my bark-woven hat
to Yoshino cherries!


Narrow Road to the Interior and other writings
By Matsuo Basho / Tr. Sam Hamill
source : books.google.co.jp



. Basho in Yoshino 吉野 .


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Oi no Kobumi 笈の小文. Written on December 14, 1677
When visiting Tokoku 杜国 in Mikawa, Toyohashi. 三河豊橋。

Basho at the home of Tokoku wrote

. go o taite tenugui aburu samusa kana .


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In 1685, Basho age 42, Tokoku age 30 :

白芥子に羽もぐ蝶の形見哉
白げしにはねもぐ蝶の形見哉
shirageshi ni hane mogu choo no katami kana

for this white poppy
the butterfly tears off its wings
as a keepsake . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

Here Basho sees Tokoku as a white poppy and himself as a parting butterfly. This is a strong expression of his feelings toward Tokoku.
This combination of flower and animal is quite unusual.

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.

On the 19th day of the 8th lunar month in this year, Tokoku had to go into exile.


Read more comments about this hokku by Ueda:
source : http://books.google.co.jp


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His grave is at the temple Rinkoozan Choo-onji 潮音寺 Cho-on Ji.

愛知県渥美郡田原市福江の 隣江山潮音寺


His most important hokku

朝月夜紙干板に明そめて

つゝみかねて月とり落す霽かな　（『冬の日』）
曙の人顔牡丹霞にひらきけり　（『春の日』）

足跡に櫻を曲る庵二つ　（『春の日』）

馬はぬれ牛ハ夕日の村しぐれ　（『春の日』）

この比の氷ふみわる名残かな　（『春の日』）

吉野いでて布子売りたしころもがへ　（『笈の小文』）

麥畑の人見るはるの塘かな　（『あら野』）

霜の朝せんだんの實のこぼれけり　（『あら野』）

八重がすみ奥迄見たる竜田哉　（『あら野』）

芳野出て布子賣おし更衣　（『あら野』）

散花にたぶさ恥けり奥の院　（『あら野』）

こがらしの落葉にやぶる小ゆび哉　（『あら野』）

木履はく僧も有けり雨の花　（『あら野』）

似合しきけしの一重や須广の里（『猿蓑』）
source : itoyo/basho


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- - - - - Matsuo Basho wrote for Tokoku:

まづ祝へ梅を心の冬籠り
mazu iwae ume o kokoro no fuyu-gomori

Anyway celebrate I will
This winter hibernation
With apricot blossoms in my heart.
Tr. Takafumi Saito

Written in 貞亨4年, Basho age 44

Tokoku had been put in exile for a crime he did not even commit. So if he would stay in hiding maybe next spring things will turn out better.


. WKD : fuyugomori 冬篭り winter confinement, winter isolation, wintering .



さればこそ荒れたきままの霜の宿
sareba koso aretaki mama no shimo no yado

well indeed
just a wild, rough home
in the frost

The living conditions of Tokoku were even worse than Basho had expected.

Emotions expressed by Basho :
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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Basho was visiting Iragozaki, a place famous for its hawks.

His disciple Tsuboi Tokoku 坪井杜国 (? - 1690) lived there.
This hokku shows his pleasure of meeting his friend, who had been in exile since about 1 year and a half earlier.

Barnhill describes Tokoku as having
"moved to Irago after suffering financial difficulties."

夢よりも現の鷹ぞ頼もしき　
. yume yori mo utsutsu no taka zo tanomoshiki .


At Iragozaki, Tokoku also wrote

うれしさは葉がくれ梅の一つかな


行く秋も伊良古をさらぬ鴎かな


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Homepage of temple Cho-on Ji
source : plala.or.jp/rikan



俳人杜国　供養祭　　平成24年４月25日（水）

Every year on the 25th of April there is a memorial service for Tokoku with a haiku meeting.


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. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

. - Persons introduced by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .


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tootoi holy, respectful

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- tootoi とうとい尊い / 貴い holy, noble respectful -
tōtoi, with awe
tootosa, tattosa 貴さよ how noble, how inspiring

This is an expression difficult to translate.

sonkei そんけい【尊敬】respect, esteem

gijin きじん【貴人】 a nobleman


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あらたふと青葉若葉の日の光
. ara tooto aoba wakaba no hi no hikari .

It was with awe
That I beheld
Fresh leaves, green leaves,
Bright in the sun.
Tr. Nobuyuki Yuasa


Nikko was the 5th station on Basho's travel to the deep North of Japan.

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source :　itoyo/basho


尊がる涙や染めて散る紅葉
tootogaru namida ya somete chiru momiji

my respectful
tears - coloring
the falling red leaves


Written on the 30 day of September or first of October in 1691 元禄4年, Basho age 48.

This is a greeting hokku for the head priest Ryu of temple Menshooji 明照寺 Mensho-Ji in Hikone at Hirata 彦根の平田.

Koono Ryu 河野李由 Kono Ryu Kono Michitaka
(1662 - 1705, 22th day of the sixth lunar month)
He was the head priest in the 14th generation of this famous temple. He had visited Basho during his stay at Rakushisha 落柿舎, the hermitage of Kyorai in Kyoto, to become his disciple.
He died at age 44.
Priest Ryu had built two memorial stones with the hokku of Basho, on a hill of the temple compond called "Kasazuka" 笠塚 (straw hat mound), where he later buried the straw hat of Basho given to him as a memento of the master.






Myoohoozan Menshooji 妙法山明照寺 Mensho-Ji (also Meisho-Ji)
Temple of the Jodo Shinshu, built in 1393 by the priest Yuukai 祐海 Yukai.


This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.

Another hokku by Basho written during this visit,
when observing an old woman threashing rice:

. ine koki no uba mo medetashi kiku no hana .

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Another hokku from temple Mensho-Ji - 元禄4年10月

It has the foreword:
This temple has been moved here from 平田 Hirata village about 100 years ago. The old temple records quote:
竹樹密に、土石老いたり
bamboo and trees grow thickly, earth and rocks have become old.
This is indeed an old forest and I a deeply moved by its appearance.


source :　itoyo/basho

百歳の気色を庭の落葉かな
momo tose no keshiki o niwa no ochiba kana / momotose

A hundred-year-old landscape -
In the garden
Fallen leaves.
Tr. Takafumi Saito


The old aspect of
A hundred years, discernible by
Heaped fallen leaves
Tr. Ooseko


A hundred years'
landscape in the garden's
fallen leaves kana
Tr. Helen Shigeko Isaacson


hundreds of years / one hundred years
of the view of this garden
with fallen leaves . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve


This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.

momotose can indicate 100 years of age or symbolize the passing of time and seasons in general.


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source :　www.erizen.co.jp
by Sadahide 玉蘭斎貞秀 (Utagawa Sadahide) (1807 - 1879)



尊さに皆おしあひぬ御遷宮
tootosa ni mina oshi-ainu gosenguu

For holiness,
Everyone has pushed others in the crowd.
The Shrine Removal !
Tr. Oseko


Written on the 13th day of the 9th lunar month in 1689
元禄2年9月13日

After finishing his travels in Oku, he went to see this ceremony at the Grand Shrine at Ise.
One ceremony of the Inner Shrine had already ended on the 10th day of the 9th lunar month, but he was able to see the one of the Outer Shrine on the 13th day.



Ise gosenguu 伊勢御遷宮 transposition of the shrine's sanctuary
. . . . . gosenguu 御遷宮（ごせんぐう）Gosengu Ceremony
observance kigo for mid-autumn

This takes plase every 20 years, started more than 1300 years ago.
The shrine buildings at the Naiku and Geku, as well as the Uji Bridge, are rebuilt every 20 years. This is part of the Shinto belief of the death and renewal of nature and the impermanence of all things (wabi-sabi). It is also an opportunity to pass on building techniques from one generation to the next.
The next rebuilding of Ise Shrine is due in 2013.

. WKD : Ise Grand Shrine 伊勢神宮 Ise Jingu .


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たふとさや雪降らぬ日も蓑と笠
. tootosa ya yuki furanu hi mo mino to kasa .

so respectful !
even on the day when it does not snow
a mino-raincoat and a rain-hat

. . . . .when seeing the ragged image of
Ono no Komachi, Sotoba Komachi 卒都婆小町 the Beauty Komachi on a grave marker.


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tootoi, tattoi 尊─・貴─

稲妻にさとらぬ人の貴さよ
. inazuma ni satoranu hito no tattosa yo .
(autumn) lightning. no enlightenment. how admirable


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tsue walking stick

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- tsue　杖 stick, walking stick - Wanderstab -
cane, staff, Stock

. Travelling with Matsuo Basho .


As a traveller, mostly walking, he depended on his stick quite a lot.
A strong stick in the hand of a samurai was also a weapon against wild animals.
The sticks were made of various material, bamboo was a favorite. But light kinds of strong wood were also used.


Robin Gill tells us:
In the Edo period,
it was a custom with certain people to give a new walking staff to a man above the age of 50.






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- - - - - Mourning for the death of Matsukura Ranran 松倉嵐蘭 - - - - -

秋風に折れて悲しき桑の杖
akikaze ni orete kanashiki kuwa no tsue

in the autumn wind
it lies, sadly broken -
a mulberry stick
Tr. Ueda

Ranran (1647 - 93) was one of Basho's oldest students in Edo . . .
He died suddenly on September 26.

Basho had depended on him, more than upon any other disciple, as his supporting "stick".

"A mulberry bow" is part of an old Chinese phrase wishing future success for a boy. It has its origin in an ancient Chinese ritual, in which the father of a newborn boy would shoot an arrow with a mulberry bow as a token of his good wishes.
source : books.google.co.jp




Written in 1693, on the 27th of the 8th lunar month.
元禄6年8月27
On the death of Ranran 嵐蘭.
(? - 1693 - 元禄6年8月27日)
Ranran lived in Asakusa, Edo.
The mulberry stick has a hole in the middle and now, when broken, is as empty as the heart of Master Basho.

Basho wrote another poem about this great loss
in a message to the younger brother, Ranchiku 嵐竹宛書簡

見しやその七日は墓の三日の月
mishi ya sono / nanuka wa haka no / mika no tsuki


And a hokku by Ranran himself

. tsuki mo naki yoi kara uma o tsurete kite .
From a three-link sequence Basho wrote with Kyoriku and Ranran in 1692

. - Morikawa Kyoroku / Kyoriku 森川許六 - .


quote
Bashô’s admiration for the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove and Tao Qian is clearly evident in his writings.
One essay dedicated to his deceased disciple, Matsukura Ranran (1647–1693), for example, mentions that the Master had named Ranran’s young son after Wang Rong, one of the Seven Worthies. Wang Rong is one of the less famous of the Seven Worthies; Bashô’s choice therefore demonstrates his familiarity with the tradition as a whole.

Bashô, in the same essay, also praises Ranran in light of the Daoist spirit:
“He had the spirit of Lao and Zhuang and dedicated his whole heart to poetry.”
Though a very brief statement, the connection he draws between the Daoist spirit and the dedication to poetry here demonstrates a deep understanding of the Wei-Jin fengliu (風流) tradition.
source : Basho-and-the-Dao - Peipei-Qiu


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家はみな杖に白髪の墓参り
. ie wa mina tsue ni shiragami no hakamairi .
his family members with canes and white hair

and one more about his own "white hair"
. shiraga nuku makura no shita ya kirigirisu .
(autumn) crickets. white hair under my pillow

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The slope Tsuetsukizaka 杖突坂 "Walking-stick Hill"
Tsuetsuki Pass



鶯やつえつき坂に老を啼

source :　www.humi.keio.ac.jp
Hiroshige


歩行ならば杖突坂を落馬哉
歩行ならば杖つき坂を落馬哉
kachi naraba Tsuetsuki-zaka o rakuba kana


"I rented a horse at the village of Hinaga ... so I could ride up Walking-stick Hill. But my pack-saddle overturned and I was thrown from the horse.

if only I had walked
Walking-stick Hill:
falling from my horse
Tr. Barnhill

Written in 1693 元禄6年, Basho age 50
On his way to Iga Ueno
Other sources quote
Written in 1687 (貞享4年).
. Oi no Kobumi 笈の小文 .

This hokku has no season word. The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
It is difficult to translate, keeping the meaning of the place name understandable without a long footnote.

if I had walked -
I fell from my horse
at (this steep slope) Tsuetsuki-zaka


if only I had walked
the steep slope Tsuetsuki-zaka
(but even though,) I fell from my horse
Tr. Gabi Greve



if only I'd walked --
I fell from my horse
on walking stick slope [Tsuetsuki-zaka*]

* the name of the slope means 'walking stick slope'
Paraphrase Elaine Andre, FB



source :　sekisen_tsurezure


The slope Tsuetsukizaka, "slope to climb with a walking stick"
is in Mie prefecture, Yokkaichi, between the villages Uneme and Ishiyakushi, on the way to the great shrine at Ise　伊勢神宮.
采女町と鈴鹿市石薬師町.

After the legendary hero Yamato Takeru no Kami 日本武尊 had fougt with the wild deities of Mount Ibukisan , he was so tired that he had to use a stick to walk this slope.

. Yamato Takeru 日本武尊, first Deity of Renku .
Shrine Sakaori no Miya 酒折宮 　



Basho at Mount Ibuki
. Mount Ibuki 伊吹山 Ibuki-yama .


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その形見ばや枯木の杖の長
sono katachi miba ya kareki no tsue no take

from its form
I imagine - from withered wood
your long staff
Tr. Gabi Greve

Before the onset of winter in 1688, Basho had promised to meet the Buddhist layman Doo-En 道円居士 Do-En of Daitsu-An Hermitage 大通庵 (Daitsuu-an) .

Written in the 10th lunar month1688, 元禄元年10月
On the 30th day of the 9th lunar month,道円 Do-En had passed away
"like the frost of an early winter night."
The staff must have been extremely long and remarkable, since Basho mentions its form in line 1 and its length in the last line.

This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.


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宿りせん藜の杖になる日まで
yadorisen akaza no tsue ni naru hi made
yadorisemu, yadori sen

I will stay here
until the day this pigweed
has become a walking cane
Tr. Gabi Greve


Summer of 1688, 貞亨5年5月, Oi Nikki 笈日記
Written in Kajikawa, Gifu at temple Myooshooji 妙照寺 Myosho-Ji.
At the home of Kihaku 己百, where Basho stayed for a short while.
This is a greeting hokku for his host. He must have felt very comfortable there.
Kihaku later visited Basho in Kyoto and in Mino.
Kihaku / Shuuboo 己百 / 秋芳 Shubo, priest at Myosho-Ji
Two of his hokku are known.


I would lodge here
until the days the goosefoot
has grown a staff
Tr. Barnhill


Here I'll stay until the day
This goosefoot plant
Into a walking stick is made.
Tr. Saito / Nelson



akaza 藜 / アカザ pigweed
It is used in Asia to make canes, and refers to the Gods of Long Life.
Canes of the thorny shrub. Sometimes seen as a phallic symbol.



source and more photos :　ibikitaro.no-blog.jp

Basho is making a reference to the Chinese poet
. WKD : Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770) .

藜を杖いて 世を嘆ずる者は誰子ぞ

holding an akaza cane
he grieves over this world -
who might he be ?




. akaza 藜 (あかざ) pigweed .
Chenopodium album var. centrorubrum
fat-hen, goosefoot, nickel greens, smearwort
lambsquarters, Lamb's-quarters
- kigo for all summer
. . . . . but
akaza no mi 藜の実 (あかざのみ) fruit of the pigweed
- kigo for early autumn


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His walking stick, mentioned in Oku no Hosomichi　奥の細道　


I wanted to see what remained of the hut, and so,
walking-staff in hand, I set out.

. Station 8 - Unganji 雲岸寺 .


- - - - -


The chestnut is a holy tree, for the Chinese ideograph for chestnut is Tree placed directly below West, the direction of the holy land. The Priest Gyoki is said to have used it for his walking stick and the chief support of his house.

. Station 11 - Sukagawa 須賀川 .

- - - - -



source :　www.intweb.co.jp/basyou

According to the gate-keeper there was a huge body of mountains obstructing my way to the province of Dewa, and the road was terribly uncertain. So I decided to hire a guide. The gate-keeper was kind enough to find me a young man of tremendous physique, who walked in front of me with a curved sword strapped to his waist and a stick of oak gripped firmly in his hand.
I myself followed him, afraid of what might happen on the way.

. Station 24 - Dewagoe　出羽越え .


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Basho Tsue no Ato 芭蕉杖跡 Remains of his walking staff





Basho left his walking stick at tempel 本隆寺 near Irogahama, Tsuruga.
source :　nipponn-daisuki.seesaa.net

小萩散れますほの小貝小盃　
. ko hagi chire Masuho no ko-gai ko sakazuki .


- - - - -



芭蕉の杖跡―おくのほそ道新紀行
森村 誠一　Morimura Seiichi

元禄２（１６８９）年、全行程２４００ｋｍに及ぶ「おくのほそ道」の旅に出た松尾芭蕉。そして３００年余りを経た現在、ミステリー小説の巨匠であり、“写真俳句”で俳句の新たな可能性を追求する森村誠一が「蕉跡」を追う。
芭蕉の時代、東日本大震災以降と何が変わり、何が変わらなかったのか。
How did the Tohoku region change after the great earthquake of March 2011?
What is left from the region which Basho has seen?
Morimura on a quest in Tohoku.
source :　www.yodobashi.com


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henrotsue, henro tsue 遍路杖 Pilgrm's Staff, the alter-ego of Kobo Daishi
kongootsue, kongoo tsue　金剛杖　"diamond staff"
. WKD : Henro 遍路 Shikoku Pilgrimage .



. WKD : Usaka no tsue 鵜坂の杖 Holy Sakaki stick of Usaka .
and a festival hitting the unfaithful ladies . . .

. WKD : kayuzue 粥杖 "rice gruel stick" .


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Exhibition - Daruma to Tsue 達磨と杖

-- Reference --


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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


息杖に石の火を見る枯野哉
ikizue ni ishi no hi o miru kareno kana

from the walking stick
sparks on the stone are seen
in the withered field  . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in 1778, Buson age 63.
The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.


ikizue , lit. "breathing stick", is the walking stick of porters of palanquins or luggage.
Maybe the lower end of the stick was enforced with iron, which made sparks when placed on a stone. This poem shows the love for details observed by Buson.



source :　isenakachans


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. kasezue 鹿杖 "walking stick of deer horn" - shika no tsue 鹿の杖 .
Legend about 小野一万大菩薩 Ono Ichiman Daibosatsu


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. Traveling with Matsuo Basho .

. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


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tabi travelling tabine

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- tabi 旅 travel, travelling -

tabi no kokoro 旅の心 lit. "travell heart"
my travelling mind, my wandering mind,
my vagabond spirit, my urge to roam,
my mind set to travelling

This is one of the difficult expressions used by Basho, who spent most of his life "on the road".

tabine 旅寝 sleeping while on the road
tabine sen 旅寝せん "let us travel together and share a lodging for sleeping at night"



tabigarasu 旅烏 "traveling crow", wandering crow,
is a common metaphor for people who travel a lot, like a vagabond, wanderer. People also use it to talk about themselves.


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. WKD : Travel, Traveler's Sky　旅　tabi .


Places visited :
. - Basho travelling in Japan - .


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- - - tabine 旅寝 Basho sleeping on the road - - -

病雁の夜寒に落ちて旅寝哉
. byoogan no yosamu ni ochite tabine kana .
I fall ill on a cold night like a sick goose


花の陰謡に似たる旅寝哉
. hana no kage utai ni nitaru tabine kana .
I feel myself to be in a Noh play.
The Cherry Blossoms at Mount Yoshino 吉野山


名月の見所問はん旅寝せん
. meigetsu no midokoro towan tabine sen .
let us travel together to see the autumn moon
- for Kobe Toosai 神戸洞哉/ 神戸等哉 / 等栽 Kobe Tosai in Fukui


都出でて神も旅寝の日数哉
. miyako idete kami mo tabine no hikazu kana.
sharing many nights with the gods on the road


死にもせぬ旅寝の果てよ秋の暮
. shi ni mo senu tabine no hate yo aki no kure .
(autumn) autumn dusk. end of my journey. I did not die yet
(shini mo senu)

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. tabine shite mishi ya ukiyo no susu harai (susuharai) .
(winter) end of year housecleaning. sleeping on the road. floating world
This haiku contains yo no tsune 世常

On one side there is the poet in his own world.
On the other side is the everyday world, doing everyday jobs.

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旅寝して我が句を知れや秋の風
. tabine shite waga ku o shire ya aki no kaze .
(autumn) autumn wind. sleeping on the road. to know my hokku


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旅寝よし宿は師走の夕月夜
tabine yoshi yado wa shiwasu no yuuzukiyo

great to sleep on the road -
this lodging in december
with a sickle moon

Written on day 9 of the 12th lunar month in 1687. 貞亨4年12月9日
This is a greeting hokku to his host Ichi-I 一井 in Nagoya.
The next day Basho took off to visit his disciples in Atsuta.

Owari no Ichi-I 尾張の一井
His residence was Ichi-I An 一井庵.

Oi no Kobumi 笈の小文
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

. WKD : yuuzukiyo 夕月夜 "moon in the evening" .
In autumn, from day 2 until day 7 or 8, when the moon looks like a drawn bow in the late autumn evening. It was a well loved theme for poetry since olden times.


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高水に星も旅寝や岩の上
. takamizu ni hoshi mo tabine ya iwa no ue .
the stars too sleep on their journey — Tanabata 七夕 Star Festival



夜着ひとつ祈り出して旅寝かな
. yogi hitotsu inori-idashite tabine kana .
a padded kimono on a cold night


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よるべをいつ一葉に虫の旅寝して
yorube o itsu hitoha ni mushi no tabine kana

Basho age 37, 延宝8年

The yellow leaf floats –
o cycada, where will you
suddenly wake up?
Tr. (© DS)


One small insect on a large paulownia leaf has fallen into the Fukagawa river and is floating around. When will it find a safe place at the shore?
This image is classic in Japanese poetry.


floating around
on a paulownia leaf, this insect
sleeps on its trip . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

The cut marker kana is at the end of line 3.

. kiri hitoha 桐一葉 (きりひとは) one paulownia leaf .
kigo for early autumn


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Basho Shuuku 芭蕉秀句 The best hokku of Basho
by Katoo Shuuson 加藤楸邨 Kato Shuson (1905 - 1993)

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あさむつや月見の旅の明け離れ
. asamutsu ya tsukimi no tabi no ake-banare .
(autumn) moon viewing. six in the morning. travelling. dawn



杜若語るも旅のひとつ哉
. kakitsubata kataru mo tabi no hitotsu kana .
(summer) Iris laevigata. to talk about. travelling

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source : Nishio Shiho 西尾志保


おもしろや今年の春も旅の空
omoshiro ya kotoshi no haru mo tabi no sora

how amusing
this year in spring
the skies of a journey

According to Kyorai's book, Basho sent this hokku to him to indirectly inform him of the planned journey. The verse was published in 1791, with Ranku's postscript, in a collection of letters and haikai from Kyorai.
Tr.and note by Jane Reichhold


so exciting -
in the spring of this year too
the sky of wayfaring
Tr. Barnhill

Written in 1689

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住みつかぬ旅の心や置火燵
. sumitsukanu tabi no kokoro ya okigotatsu .
(winter) kotatsu heater, brazier. no place to live. traveller's mind.



旅に病んで夢は枯野をかけ廻る
. tabi ni yande yume wa kareno o kakemeguru .
the death haiku of Matsuo Basho
. . . I am ill on the road . . .


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旅人の心にも似よ椎の花
tabibito no kokoro ni mo niyo shii no hana


my mind of a traveller
should be like this -
pasania blossoms
Tr. Gabi Greve


the traveling heart
should be like
hidden blossoms
Tr. basho revisited



and another about the pasania blossoms

Sent to Kyoriku (Kyoroku)
shii no hana no kokoro ni mo niyo Kiso no tabi

emulate the heart
of pasania blossoms:
a Kiso journey”
Tr. Barnhill



. - Morikawa Kyoroku / Kyoriku 森川許六 - .


まづ頼む椎の木もあり夏木立
mazu tanomu shii no ki mo ari natsu kodachi

. WKD : shii 椎 the Shii-oak, Pasania .
Castanopsis cuspidata. Shii-Castanopsis


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. tabibito to waga na yobaren hatsu shigure .
more haiku from Basho, the Eternal Traveller


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旅烏古巣は梅になりにけり
tabi-garasu furu su wa ume ni narini keri
tabigarasu furusu wa ume ni nari ni keri

a wayfaring crow:
its old nest has become
a plum tree
Tr. Barnhill


The wandering crow
finds only plum blossoms
where its nest has been

Tr. Sam Hamill
source : books.google.co.jp


Written in 貞亨2年, Basho age 43
This is a text to a scroll painting.

The "wandering crow" or "traveling bird" Basho had finally spent a leisurely New Year at his homeland, Iga Ueno.
He could enjoy the first fragrance of the plum blossoms.

tabigarasu is a common metaphor for people who travel a lot, like a vagabond, wanderer. People also use it to talk about themselves.


. 野ざらし紀行 Nozarashi Kiko .


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旅に飽きてけふ幾日やら秋の風　
tabi ni akite kyoo ikuka yara aki no kaze

weary of the journey,
how many days like today?
autumn’s wind
Tr. Barnhill


tired of the journey,
what day is it now today?
the wind of autumn
Tr. Chilcott

Written on the 10th day of the 7th lunar month 貞亨5年7月10日.
Basho spent the night at Narumi, Nagoya.
Basho was tired of travelling and after resting some days, he suddenly head the wind of autumn. It was the beginning of autumn 立秋 in the lunar calendar.

With reference to a waka by 藤原敏行 Fujiwara no Toshiyuki (? - ?907)

秋来ぬと目にはさやかに見えねども
風の音にぞ驚かれぬる

Autumn has arrived
I cannot clearly see it,
And yet I am taken aback
By that familiar sound
Of the autumn wind.
- Tr. :　Philippe - USA



Oi no Kobumi 笈の小文
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

. kaze no oto 風の音 the sound of wind - .


another waka about Sumi no E 住の江 - Osaka, by
. 藤原敏行 Fujiwara no Toshiyuki .

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

wearing my travelers hat
and my straw sandals
the year comes to an end
Tr. Gabi Greve


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月ぞしるべこなたへ入らせ旅の宿
. tsuki zo shirube konata e irase tabi no yado .
come to my house, a wayside inn



憂き人の旅にも習へ木曾の蠅
. ukihito no tabi ni mo narae Kiso no hae .
learn from the journey of a sorrowing wayfarer - Basho talks to the flies of Kiso
This was a poem written for his disciple Kyoroku (Kyoriku) 許六, who left for a trip, see above
tabibito no kokoro ni mo niyo shii no hana


. - Morikawa Kyoroku / Kyoriku 森川許六 - .


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世を旅に代かく小田の行戻り
yo o tabi ni shiro kaku oda no yuki modori

traveling the world
instead of tilling a small field
round and round
Tr. Addiss


on a journey through the world,
tilling a small field,
back and forth
Tr. Barnhill


travelling the world
tilling a small field of rice
back and forth and back . . .
Tr. Chilcott


Written in 元禄7年 - 1694 in a letter to 杉山杉風 Sugiyama Sanpu.
Basho seems to sum up his own lifestyle.
Basho stayed in Owari, Nagoya.

shiro kaki 代かき letting water into the wet rice paddies
kigo for summer


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Carrying luggge in the Edo period
yanagi goori 柳行李 wicker boxes from willow tree

. yanagigoori katani wa suzushi hatsu makuwa .
his wicker boxes


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. WKD : Travel, Traveler's Sky　旅　tabi .


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