WKD - Matsuo Basho Archives

15/11/2012

Oku Station 23 - Hiraizumi

Kamisaka Sekka 神坂雪佳 (1866-1942)

- - - Station 23 - Hiraizumi 平泉　 - - -

It was here that the glory of three generations of the Fujiwara family passed away like a snatch of empty dream. The ruins of the main gate greeted my eyes a mile before I came upon Lord Hidehira's mansion, which had been utterly reduced to rice-paddies. Mount Kinkei alone retained its original shape. As I climbed one of the foothills called Takadate, where Lord Yoshitsune met his death, I saw the River Kitakami running through the plains of Nambu in its full force, and its tributary, Koromogawa, winding along the site of the Izumigashiro castle and pouring into the big river directly below my eyes.

The ruined house of Lord Yasuhira was located to the north of the barrier-gate of Koromogaseki, thus blocking the entrance from the Nambu area and forming a protection against barbarous intruders from the north. Indeed, many a feat of chivalrous valor was repeated here during the short span of the three generations, but both the actors and the deeds have long been dead and passed into oblivion. When a country is defeated, there remain only mountains and rivers, and on a ruined castle in spring only grasses thrive. I sat down on my hat and wept bitterly till I almost forgot time.

A thicket of summer grass
Is all that remains
Of the dreams and ambitions
Of ancient warriors.

I caught a glimpse
Of the frosty hair of Kanefusa
Wavering among
The white blossoms of unohana
- written by Sora

The interiors of the two sacred buildings of whose wonders I had often heard with astonishment were at last revealed to me. In the library of sutras were placed the statues of the three nobles who governed this area, and enshrined in the so called Gold Chapel were the coffins containing their bodies, and under the all-devouring grass, their treasures scattered, their jewelled doors broken and their gold pillars crushed, but thanks to the outer frame and a covering of tiles added for protection, they had survived to be a monument of at least a thousand years.

Even the long rain of May
Has left it untouched -
This Gold Chapel
Aglow in the sombre shade.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english

三代の栄耀一睡の中にして、大門の跡は一里こなたに有。秀衡が跡は田野に成て、金鶏山のみ形を残す。先高館にのぼれば、北上川南部より流るゝ大河也。衣川は和泉が城をめぐりて高館の下にて、大河に落入。康衡等が旧跡は衣が関を隔て南部口をさし堅め、夷をふせぐとみえたり。偖も義臣すぐつて此城にこもり、功名一時の叢となる。国破れて山河あり。城春にして草青みたりと笠打敷て、時のうつるまで泪を落し侍りぬ。

夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 - natsukusa ya

卯の花に兼房みゆる白毛かな曾良 - u no hana ni - Sora

兼て耳驚したる二堂開帳す。経堂は三将の像をのこし、光堂は三代の棺を納め、三尊の仏を安置す。七宝散うせて、珠の扉風にやぶれ、金の柱霜雪に朽て、既頽廃空虚の叢と成べきを、四面新に囲て、甍を覆て風雨を凌。暫時千歳の記念とはなれり。

五月雨の降のこしてや光堂 - samidare no furi nokoshite Hikari Doo

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夏草や兵どもが夢の跡
natsukusa ya tsuwamonodomo ga yume no ato

summer grass -
that's all that remains
of brave warriors' dreams
Tr. Gabi Greve

The "tsuwamono", Yoshitsune, his companion monk Benkei and the Fujiwara clan samurai
義経、弁慶、藤原

MORE - extensive discussion of this hokku
including many translated versions :
. WKD : Brave Warrior (tsuwamono) .

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

natsukusa, in my part of Japan, would be the all-encroaching
"summer weeds".

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Summer grasses —
all that remains of soldiers
ancient dreams

Basho stood at Takadashi Castle, recollecting the tragic death of the old soldier Yoshitsune.
Combining this with lines from Tu Fu’s poem A Spring View, which he incorporated into the text of his journal:

The nation broken and defeated
But mountains and rivers remain
Springtime at the old castle, grass deep.

- Tr. and Comment : Bill Wyatt

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五月雨の降りのこしてや光堂
samidare no furi nokoshite Hikari Doo

unchanged by the rain
of many rainy seasons -
the Golden Hall
Tr. Gabi Greve

Hikari doo 光堂 "the Shining Hall"

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quote
Hiraizumi (平泉町, Hiraizumi-chō) is a town located in Nishiiwai District, Iwate, Japan.
It was the home of the Hiraizumi Fujiwaras for about 100 years in the late Heian era and most of the following Kamakura period. At the same time it served as the de facto capital of Oshu, an area containing nearly a third of the Japanese land area. At its height the population of Hiraizumi reached 50,000 or more than 100,000, rivaling Kyoto in size and splendor.

In about 1100, Fujiwara no Kiyohira moved his home from Fort Toyoda in present day Esashi Ward, Oshu City to Mount Kanzan in Hiraizumi.
Kiyohira built the large temple complex on Kanzan known as Chūson-ji 中尊寺 Chuson-Ji.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- - - - - from the diary of Sora, written by Basho

蛍火の昼は消えつつ柱かな
hotarubi no hiru wa kie-tsutsu hashira kana

these pillars
getting paler like fireflies
during the daytime
Tr. Hideo Suzuki

like firefly light at noon
so too fades the luster
of these pillars!
Tr. Dennis Chibi

Written in the fourth lunar month, 元禄2年4月 at the Golden Hall in Hiraizumi.

Basho refers to the chippings of the gold foil at the pillars of the hall.
After enjoying the view in the samidare rain, he went inside and looked closely at the interior decoration in the mid-day gloom.

MORE - - hotaru 蛍 (ほたる) firefly, fireflies -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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source :　www.bashouan.com

Painting by Buson 蕪村筆「奥の細道画巻」

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source :　www.iwanichi.co.jp
from a local newspaper in July 2013 - 緑のキャンバスに俳聖くっきり平泉
Basho and Sora as "field art" 田んぼアート , rice art 「ライス・アート」

. WKD : Rice Field Art 田んぼアート　 tanbo aato .

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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .

. WKD : Hiraizumi Fujiwara Festival 平泉藤原祭 .

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Oku Station 24 - Dewagoe

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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 24 - Dewagoe 出羽越え - - -

Turning away from the high road leading to the provinces of Nambu, I came to the village of Iwate, where I stopped overnight. The next day I looked at the Cape of Oguro and the tiny island of Mizu, both in a river, and arrived by way of Naruko hot spring at the barrier-gate of Shitomae 尿前の関 which blocked the entrance to the province of Dewa. The gate-keepers were extremely suspicious, for very few travellers dared to pass this difficult road under normal circumstances. I was admitted after long waiting, so that darkness overtook me while I was climbing a huge mountain. I put up at a gate-keeper's house which I was very lucky to find in such a lonely place. A storm came upon us and I was held up for three days.

Bitten by fleas and lice,
I slept in a bed,
A horse urinating all the time
Close to my pillow.

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.

What the gate-keeper had told me turned out to be true. The mountains were so thickly covered with foliage and the air underneath was so hushed that I felt as if I were groping my way in the dead of night. There was not even the cry of a single bird to be heard, and the wind seemed to breathe out black soot through every rift in the hanging clouds. I pushed my way through thick undergrowth of bamboo, crossing many streams and stumbling over many rocks, till at last I arrived at the village of Mogami after much shedding of cold sweat. My guide congratulated me by saying that I was indeed fortunate to have crossed the mountains in safety, for accidents of some sort had always happened on his past trips. I thanked him sincerely and parted from him. However, fear lingered in my mind some time after that.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english

尿前の関 Shitomae no Seki
南部道遥にみやりて、岩手の里に泊る。小黒崎みづの小嶋を過て、なるこの湯より、尿前の関にかゝりて、出羽の国に越んとす。此路旅人稀なる所なれば、関守にあやしめられて、漸として関をこす。大山をのぼつて日既暮ければ、封人の家 (hoojin no ie) を見かけて舎を求む。三日風雨あれて、よしなき山中に逗留す。

蚤虱馬の尿する枕もと - nomi shirami

あるじの云、是より出羽の国に大山を隔て、道さだかならざれば、道しるべの人を頼て越べきよしを申。さらばと云て人を頼侍れば、究境の若者反脇指をよこたえ、樫の杖を携て、我／＼が先に立て行。けふこそ必あやうきめにもあふべき日なれと、辛き思ひをなして後について行。あるじの云にたがはず、高山森〃として一鳥声きかず、木の下闇茂りあひて夜る行がごとし。雲端につちふる心地して、篠の中踏分／＼、水をわたり岩に蹶て、肌につめたき汗を流して、最上の庄に出づ。かの案内せしおのこの云やう、此みち必不用の事有。恙なうをくりまいらせて、仕合したりと、よろこびてわかれぬ。跡に聞てさへ胸とゞろくのみ也。

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the house of the hoojin, keeper of the gate 関を守る- 封人の家

尿前の関（宮城県玉造郡鳴子町） Shitomae no Seki
source : vakira/newpage13

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蚤虱 ( のみしらみ ) 馬の尿 ( ばり ) する枕もと
nomi shirami uma no bari suru makuramoto

fleas and lice
and a horse pissing
next to my pillow
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written on the 17th day of the 5th lunar month, 1689- 元禄2年5月17日
at the border station Shitomae no seki 尿前の関, Naruko, Miagi
Shitomae, lit "before pissing".

Snow in Shitomae, by Shiro Kasamatsu (1898-1991)

quote
Here Basho was on his best-known pilgrimage .. recorded in 'The Narrow Way Within' .. at the northern turn of his travels. In a mountainous region, about to pass the barrier between two provinces, he was obliged by bad weather to spend three days at the home of a barrier guard. He counted himself lucky to have any accommodation at all in such a remote place, but the comforts were meager.

Most translators of this haiku interpolate some feeling of disgust. Donald Keene, who usually can be trusted to translate dispassionately, renders the verse:

Plagued by fleas and lice
I hear a horse stalling
what a place to sleep!

That is not what Basho said or meant at all, for he was using that suffering; he was not used by it. Not a single syllable in his original words reflects self-pity. It was just Nip! Ouch! Pshhh!

How does one understand suffering?
Our practice in the Diamond Sutra is not easy. But if there are the tears of sincere pain, they carry precious virtue. Self-pity sullies this virtue, and when self-pity is projected, we have needless dissension in the sangha, the community. The virtue itself shines forth with incisive spirit that drives through the darkness. The pain itself is just that pain.

© Henro Tracks, a Basho Bash
Henro Tracks discusses pain in the haiku of Basho.

fleas lice
horse pishing
by the pillow
Tr. Corman and Kamaike

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quote
Basho loved to play with place names in his haiku. This haiku was　written at Shitomae　Barrier. "Shitomae" literally means, according to David Barnhill, "before the urine."

Basho had to stay there for two nights because of heavy rain (a　horse pissing?). According to Ueda, " 'Shitosuru' is a verb referring to a child's urination." Ueda quotes a commentator, Imoto, as saying this gives humor to the poem.

Although in "The Narrow Road to the Deep North," Basho says he stayed at a "barrier-keeper's house," he actually stayed at the house of a village headman, according to Ueda.
Shirane points out that the haiku is split into three parts even　though it doesn't have a cutting word.

Larry Bole

. WKD : Fleas (nomi) / Lice (shirami) / Tick (dani).

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quote

Donald Richie about the translation of Jane Reichhold:

"nomi shirami / uma no shitosuru / makura moto."

This is romanized by Reichhold as,
"fleas lice horse's pissing pillow close by" and is translated as,

"fleas and lice
now a horse pisses
by my pillow."

This lyric seems to communicate all that a haiku ought - a salient shift of observation, a seasonal sensibility, an open-ended experience. The translator is to communicate this as economically as did the poet. Here are some attempts.

Nobuyuki Yuasa translates it as:
"Bitten by fleas and lice,
I slept in a bed,
A horse urinating all the time
Close by my pillow."

Dorothy Britten gives it as:
"Fleas and lice did bite;
and I'd hear the horse pass water
Near my bed at night."

Donald Keene has versified it as:
"Plagued by fleas and lice I hear the horses staling -
What a place to sleep!"

Toshiharu Oseki gives it as :
"Plagued by fleas and lice,
Still worse, hearing the horse urinating
Close by my pillow!"

David Bamhill recently translates the haiku as:

"Fleas, lice,
a horse peeing
by my pillow."

Japan Times, May 4, 2008

. WKD : Pissing (shooben, shoben 小便) .

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Crossing the pass Natagiri Tooge 山刀伐峠

The walk over the steep pass takes more than 3 hours. Basho hired a young guide to make sure he would not loose his way. From the top of the pass you can see Mount Gassan in the background.

Look at more photos
source : akkamui21.blog39

Look at a painting of the strong young man :
. tsue 杖　Basho and the walking stick .

Further down the pass, there is the hot spring Akakura Onsen 赤倉温泉.
But Basho did not stop there.

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Hoojin no ie 封人の家」訪問の図高嶋祥光
Painting of the house of the border warden.
source : www.bashouan.com

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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .

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Oku Station 25 - Obanazawa

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.

BACK TO
. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .

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Oku Station 26 - Ryushakuji

source :　www.ayomi.co.jp

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Ryushakuji, Risshakuji 立石寺 Risshaku-Ji, Yamadera　山寺

- - - Station 26 - Ryushakuji - - -

There was a temple called Ryushakuji in the province of Yamagata.
Founded by the great priest Jikaku, this temple was known for the absolute tranquility of its holy compound. Since everybody advised me to see it, I changed my course at Obanazawa and went there, though it meant walking an extra seven miles or so. When I reached it, the late afternoon sun was still lingering over the scene. After arranging to stay with the priests at the foot of the mountain, I climbed to the temple situated near the summit. The whole mountain was made of massive rocks thrown together and covered with age-old pines and oaks. The stony ground itself bore the color of eternity, paved with velvety moss. The doors of the shrines built on the rocks were firmly barred and there was no sound to be heard. As I moved on all fours from rock to rock, bowing reverently at each shrine, I felt the purifying power of this holy environment pervading my whole being.

In the utter silence
Of a temple,
A cicada's voice alone
Penetrates the rocks.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa

This temple is said to have been founded by Jikaku Daishi in 860 on orders from the Emperor Seiwa after Jikaku had completed his studies in China and returned to Japan.

source : terebess.hu/english

山形領に立石寺と云山寺あり。慈覚大師の開基にて、殊清閑の地也。一見すべきよし、人々のすゝむるに依て、尾花沢よりとつて返し、其間七里ばかり也。日いまだ暮ず。梺の坊に宿かり置て、山上の堂にのぼる。岩に巖を重て山とし、松柏年旧土石老て苔滑に、岩上の院々扉を閉て物の音きこえず。岸をめぐり、岩を這て仏閣を拝し、佳景寂寞として心すみ行のみおぼゆ。

閑さや岩にしみ入蝉の声 - shizukasa ya iwa ni shimi-iru semi no koe

. shizukesa ya iwa ni shimi-iru semi no koe .
Discussion of this hokku.

. Jikaku Daishi Ennin 慈覚大師仁円 .

shizukasa ya iwa ni shimi-iru semi no koe 閑さや岩にしみ入蝉の声

Basho makes skillful use of the III sounds, iwa ni shimi-iru semi, imitating the semi calls. This shows his great skill with the choice of words, sounds and the language.

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The Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum (山寺芭蕉記念館, Yamadera Bashō Kinenkan)
was established in 1989 as part of the cultural building boom in Yamagata celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the founding of the city. Located about 20 minutes by train (Senzan Line between Yamagata and Sendai) from Yamagata Station, it sits on the south side of the steep river valley facing Yamadera to the north, the historic temple founded in 860 which is one of the area's most beloved sacred sites and top sightseeing destinations.

The Museum focuses on the life of Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) who perfected the art of haiku, the concise 5-7-5 syllable verse form now appreciated and written around the world. Many treasures from Basho's own hand and writing brush are regularly displayed, along with works of literati and artists from his time, and of those who followed later. Special exhibitions on related themes are also regularly mounted in the gallery.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

ema 絵馬 votive tablet from the temple

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quote

How tranquil it is!
Penetrating into the rocks
the sound of cicadas.

This poem appears to be strictly about nature: no trace of man is found in the tableau to disturb the profound tranquility of the universe. Yet there is obviously a beholder, through whose senses the eternal tranquility is observed, internalized, and expressed. The opening phrase, in particular, conveys the beholder’s admiration of the landscape with an emphatic cutting word (kireji) “ya.”
“Shizukasa ya” is derived from shizuka, an adjective that means quiet, still, or tranquil. The word is commonly written with a kanji character whose Chinese-origin reading is “sei,” but in this verse Bashô uses a different kanji whose Chinese-origin reading is “kan,” meaning “leisure” or “idle.” The implications of the latter kanji, as we have seen earlier, are highly valued by Daoist thinkers, and Bashô’s choice is not a coincidence. Textual studies show that this poem has gone through careful revisions.

A mountain temple—
seeping into the stones,
the sound of cicadas.

yamadera ya/ishi ni shimitsuku/semi no koe

This version seems to be more “impersonal.” Comparing this verse with the earlier one, it is clear that the revision was more intended to convey the poet’s perception of the stillness of the landscape, as Bashô describes in the prose preceding the poem:
“Wandering along the coast, climbing the rocky mountains, and visiting Buddhist temples—the profound tranquility of the beautiful landscape penetrated deeply into my heart.”

By carefully choosing a kanji whose connotations are celebrated in the Daoist texts to transliterate the word “shizukasa,” Bashô expresses simultaneously the tranquility of the external world and the carefree serenity of the speaker’s mind, presenting not only a picture of the landscape but also an aesthetic evaluation of it, one informed by Daoist discourse. This aesthetic landscape embodies the beholder’s attitude toward the world, and it is in this landscape that the poetic self merges into zôka. It is worth noting that, besides the two drafts cited above, the cicada poem has another version that opens with a different word, “sabishisa” rather than “shizukasa.”

How solitary it is!
Permeating into the rocks—
the sound of cicadas.

sabishisa ya/iwa ni shimikomu/semi no koe

“Sabishisa,” a word derived from the adjective “sabishi,” conventionally implies loneliness in Japanese literature. Bashô, however, often uses the word in close relationship with “shizuka.”

MORE :
source : Basho-and-the-Dao - Peipei-Qiu

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. Japanese Legends - 伝説　民話　昔話 – ABC-List .

....................................................................... Miyagi 宮城県　
仙台市 Sendai city 太白区 Taihaku ward

. Akiu Otaki 秋保大滝 Akiu Great Falls .
Priest Jigaku Daishi 慈覚大師 prayed to Fudo Myo-O at the temple 山寺立石寺 Yamadera Risshaku-Ji.

....................................................................... Nagano 長野県
飯田市 Iida city

立石の七不思議 Seven wonders of Risshaku
立石という石は竜宮の頭に届くほど深い
立石寺の香煙は衆生を救う
御手洗いに祈ると小蛇が出て大雨を降らす
立石寺の池の田螺は巻き目がない
迦楼塔の鰐口は無くなってもすぐ戻ってくる
松が抱き合う姿の縁結びの松がある
meoto sugi 夫婦杉がある

....................................................................... Shiga 滋賀県　
甲賀郡 Koka district

三郎諏方 Saburo Sugawara (former 甲賀三郎 Koga Saburo) became the regent of Yamato.
There he married 春日姫 Kasuga Hime.
Once when he was away his wife was kidnaped by a Tengu.
So he gave up his position and went to search her.
. Tengu 天狗と伝説 Tengu legends "Long-nosed Goblin" .
立石寺観音堂の縁起

- quote -
Kōga Saburō (甲賀三郎)
is a character in Japanese folklore associated with the Suwa region.
Many variants on the basic story exist; the following summary is based on the earliest literary version of the tale found in the Shintōshū.
The third son of a local landlord of Kōka District in Ōmi Province, a distinguished warrior named Kōga Saburō Yorikata (甲賀三郎諏方) was searching for his lost wife, Princess Kasuga (春日姫 Kasuga-hime) in a cave in Mount Tateshina in Shinano, with his two elder brothers.
The second brother, who was jealous of Saburō's prowess and fame and who coveted Kasuga, traps the latter inside the cave after they had rescued the princess.
With no way out, Saburō has no other choice but to go deeper into the cave, which was actually an entrance to various underground realms filled with many wonders. After travelling through these subterranean lands for a long period of time, he finally finds his way back to the surface, only to find himself transformed into a giant snake or dragon.
With the help of Buddhist monks (who turn out to be gods in disguise), Saburō regains his human form and is finally reunited with his wife. Saburō eventually becomes Suwa Myōjin, the god of the Upper Shrine of Suwa, while his wife becomes the goddess of the Lower Shrine.
This version of the legend explains the origin of the name 'Suwa' (諏訪 or 諏方) via folk etymology as being derived from Saburō's personal name, Yorikata (諏方).
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. Suwa Jinja 諏訪神社 Suwa Shrines and their Legends .

..............................................................................................................................................

- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -

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Oku Station 27 - Oishida

- - - Station 27 - Ooishida 大石田 Oishida - - -

I wanted to sail down the River Mogami, but while I was waiting for fair weather at Oishida, I was told that the old seed of linked verse once strewn here by the scattering wind had taken root, still bearing its own flowers each year and thus softening the minds of rough villagers like the clear note of a reed pipe, but that these rural poets were now merely struggling to find their way in a forest of error, unable to distinguish between the new and the old style, for there was no one to guide them.
At their request, therefore, I sat with them to compose a book of linked verse, and left it behind me as a gift. It was indeed a great pleasure for me to be of such help during my wandering journey.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa

River Mogami
The Mogami River is one of Japan's three fast flowing rivers. It has its source in Azumayama on the border of Fukushima Prefecture. It flows north through Yamagata, then turns west entering the Japan Sea near Sakata.
According to Sora's diary they left the Ryushakuji on the 28th Day of the Fifth Month and went to Oishida where they stayed the 29th and 30th and held a poetry meeting. On the First Day f the Sixth Month they left Oishida and went to Shono and on the 3rd they left there heading for Motoaikai where they boarded a boat and started down the Mogami River.

source : terebess.hu/english

最上川のらんと、大石田と云所に日和を待。爰に古き俳諧の種こぼれて、忘れぬ花のむかしをしたひ、芦角一声の心をやはらげ*、此道にさぐりあしゝて、新古ふた道にふみまよふといへども*、みちしるべする人しなければと*、わりなき一巻残しぬ。このたびの風流、爰に至れり。
最上川は、みちのくより出て、山形を水上とす。ごてん・はやぶさ*など云おそろしき難所有。板敷山の北を流て、果は酒田の海に入。左右山覆ひ、茂みの中に船を下す。是に稲つみたるをや、いな船といふならし。白糸の滝は青葉の隙々に落て、仙人堂、岸に臨て立。水みなぎつて舟あやうし。

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The following is not covered in Oku no Hosomichi.

source :　itoyo/basho
Memorial Stone at the Hachiman Shrine 新庄市鳥越鳥越八幡神社

水の奥氷室尋ねる柳哉
水の奥氷室尋る柳哉
mizu no oku himuro tazunuru yanagi kana

at this water’s source
I would seek for an ice house:
willow tree
Tr. Barnhill

Written on the first day of the 6th lunar month 1689 元禄2年6月1日.

Basho stayed at the home of Fuuryuu 風流 Furyu on his way from 大石田 - 新庄　Oishida to Shinjo.
Fuuryuu, a very rich merchant, his name was 澁谷甚兵衛 Shibuya Shinbei. Basho hat met Furyu first at Obanazawa a few days ago.
There was a small river with willow trees, providing the feeling of coolness as if it had come right our of an ice storage. The place was called "Yanagi no kiyomizu" 柳の清水 "Clear water from the willow tree".

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

On the following day Basho visited the brother of Shinbei, Shibuya Seishin 澁谷盛信

. WKD : himuro 氷室 (ひむろ) icehouse, ice house, ice cellar, Eiskeller .
kigo for summer

新庄資料写真と解説(1) - 新庄資料写真と解説(2)
Photos from 鳥越 and 柳の清水. also 渋谷風流宅跡 - 芭蕉広場 - Motoaikai 本合海
source : www.bashouan.com

大石田・最上川の章段
source : www.bashouan.com

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Oku Station 28 - Mogamigawa

- - - Station 28 - Mogamigawa 最上川 - - -

The River Mogami rises in the high mountains of the far north, and its upper course runs through the province of Yamagata. There are many dangerous spots along this river, such as Speckled Stones and Eagle Rapids, but it finally empties itself into the sea at Sakata, after washing the north edge of Mount Itajiki. As I descended this river in a boat, I felt as if the mountains on both sides were ready to fall down upon me, for the boat was tiny one - the kind that farmers used for carrying sheaves of rice in old times - and the trees were heavily laden with foliage. I saw the Cascade of Silver Threads sparkling through the green leaves and the Temple called Sennindo standing close to the shore. The river was swollen to the brim, and the boat was in constant peril.

Gathering all the rains
Of May,
The River Mogami rushes down
In one violent stream.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english

最上川のらんと、大石田と云所に日和を待。爰に古き誹諧の種こぼれて、忘れぬ花のむかしをしたひ、芦角一声の心をやはらげ、此道にさぐりあしゝて、新古ふた道にふみまよふといへども、みちしるべする人しなければとわりなき一巻残しぬ。このたびの風流爰に至れり。

最上川はみちのくより出て、山形を水上とす。こてんはやぶさなど云おそろしき難所有。板敷山の北を流て、果は酒田の海に入。左右山覆ひ、茂みの中に船を下す。是に稲つみたるをやいな船といふならし。白糸の瀧は青葉の隙／＼に落て仙人堂岸に臨て立。水みなぎつて舟あやうし。

五月雨をあつめて早し最上川

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五月雨を集めてはやし最上川
samidare o atsumete hayashi Mogamigawa

collecting the June-rain
running so fast -
the river Mogamigawa
Tr. Gabi Greve

Read the discussion of the hokku here
. WKD : Rain in various kigo .

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Sennindoo　仙人堂 Sennin Do (外川神社 Togawa Jinja）
This Hall is upstream from Shiraito Waterfall. It is a shrine in honor of Yoshitsune's retainer Hitachibo Kaison.

. Hitachibo Kaison Sennin 常陸坊海尊仙人 .

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

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奥の細道図屏風　- Yamagata - Byobu images

山形美術館所蔵－長谷川コレクション Hasegawa Collection
source : www.bashouan.com

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Oku no Hosomichi
. - - - Station 31 - Sakata 酒田 - Tsurugaoka 鶴が岡 - - - .

暑き日を海にいれたり最上川
atsuku hi o umi ni iretari Mogamigawa

- - - - - The original version of the MOGAMIGAWA poem, praising the view from the house of his host, the rich merchant Terajima Hikosuke 寺島彦助:

涼しさや海にいれたる最上川
suzushisa ya umi ni iretaru Mogamigawa

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最上川河童舟下り A Kappa going down the river Mogamigawa

source :　kappauv.com/sub3/hakubutu/ - Kappa Museum

. Mahoroba Kappa Matsuri　まほろば河童まつり Festival .

this old river -
the sound of water
as the Kappa jumps

Gabi Greve, 2015

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Oku Station 29 - Hagurosan

- - - Station 29 - Hagurosan 羽黒山 - - -

I climbed Mount Haguro on the third of June. Through the effort of my friend, Zushi Sakichi, I was granted an audience with the high priest Egaku, then presiding over this whole mountain temple acting as bishop. He received me kindly and gave me a comfortable lodging in one of the annexes in the South Valley.

On the following day, I sat with the priest in the main hall to compose some linked verse. I wrote:

Blessed indeed
Is this South Valley,
Where the gentle wind breathes
The faint aroma of snow.

I visited the Gongen shrine on the fifth. The founder of this shrine is the priest called Nojo, but no one knows exactly when he lived. Court Ceremonies and rites during the Years of Engi, however, mentions that there is a sacred shrine on Mount Sato in the province of Dewa. The scribe must have written Sato where he should have written Kuro in the province of Dewa. According to a local history book, the name of the province itself is derived from the fact that quantities of feathers were sent to the Emperor each year as a tribute from this province. Be that as it may, this shrine on Mount Haguro is counted among the three most sacred shrines of the north, together with the shrines on Mount Gassan and Mount Yudono, and is a sister shrine of the temple on Mount Toei in Edo.

Here the doctrine of Absolute Meditation preached in the Tendai sect shines forth like the clear beams of the moon, and the Laws of Spiritual Freedom and Enlightenment illuminate as lamps in utter darkness. There are hundreds of houses where the priests practice religious rites with absolute severity. Indeed the whole mountain is filled with miraculous inspiration and sacred awe. Its glory will never perish as long as man continues to live on the earth.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english

出羽三山
六月三日、羽黒山に登る。図司左吉と云者を尋て、別当代会覚阿闍利に謁す。南谷の別院に舎して憐愍の情こまやかにあるじせらる。

四日、本坊にをゐて誹諧興行。

有難や雪をかほらす南谷 - arigataya yuki o kaorasu Minamidani

五日、権現に詣。当山開闢能除大師はいづれの代の人と云事をしらず。延喜式に羽州里山の神社と有。書写、黒の字を里山となせるにや。羽州黒山を中略して羽黒山と云にや。出羽といへるも鳥の毛羽を此国の貢に献ると風土記に侍とやらん。月山湯殿を合て三山とす。当寺武江東叡に属して天台止観の月明らかに、円頓融通の法の灯かゝげそひて、僧坊棟をならべ、修験行法を励し、霊山霊地の験効、人貴且恐る。繁栄長にしてめで度御山と謂つべし。

涼しさやほの三か月の羽黒山 - suzushisa ya hono mikazuki no Haguroyama

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arigataya yuki o kaorasu Minamidani

Thanks
for Minamidani
smell of snow
Tr. Etsuko Yanagibori

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suzushisa ya hono mikazuki no Haguroyama

coolness —
the crescent moon faint
over Black Feather Mountain
Tr. Barnhill

quote
coolness -
faintly a crescent moon over
Feather Black Mountain

In this hokku the prefix hono ("faintly" or "barely") and mikazuki (third-day moon" create an implicit visual contrast between the thin light of the crescent moon and the blackness of the night, implied in the name, Haguroyama, Feather Black Mountain. The silver look of the moon, which casts a thin ray of light through the darkness, brings, amid the summer heat, a sense of "coolness" (suzushisa), suggesting both the hospitality and the spiritual purity of the sacred mountain.
- Shirane, Traces of Dreams, page 179
source : http://books.google.co.jp

the coolness -
faintly the crescent moon
above Mount Haguro
Tr. Makoto Ueda

. WKD : Haguro San 羽黒山 - Yamagata .

. Gabi Greve - photo album from Haguro / Yudono .

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その玉や羽黒にかへす法の月
. sono tama ya Haguro ni kaesu nori no tsuki .

his soul (like a jewel)
has returned to Mount Haguro -
moon of the Buddhist Law

for priest Betto Tenyuu Hoo-in 別当　天佑法院 Tenyu Ho-In, the forefather of Mt. Haguro’s revival.

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14/11/2012

Oku Station 30 - Gassan

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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 30 - Gassan and Yudonosan 月山　湯殿 - - -

I climbed Mount Gassan on the eighth. I tied around my neck a sacred rope made of white paper and covered my head with a hood made of bleached cotton, and set off with my guide on a long march of eight miles to the top of the mountain. I walked through mists and clouds, breathing the thin air of high altitudes and stepping on slippery ice and snow, till at last through a gateway of clouds, as it seemed, to the very paths of the sun and moon, I reached the summit, completely out of breath and nearly frozen to death. Presently the sun went down and the moon rose glistening in the sky. I spread some leaves on the ground and went to sleep, resting my head on pliant bamboo branches. When, on the following morning, the sun rose again and dispersed the clouds, I went down towards Mount Yudono.

As I was still descending, I saw an old smithy built right on a trickling stream. According to my guide, this was where Gassan, a local swordsmith, used to make his swords, tempering them in the crystal-clear water of the stream. He made his swords with such skill and devotion that they became famous throughout the world. He must have chosen this particular spot for his smithy probably because he knew of a certain mysterious power latent in the water, just as indeed a similar power is known to have existed in the water of Ryosen Spring in China. Nor is the story of Kansho and Bakuya out of place here,* for it also teaches us that no matter where your interest lies, you will not be able to accomplish anything unless you bring your deepest devotion to it.

As I sat reflecting thus upon a rock, I saw in front of me a cherry tree hardly three feet tall just beginning to blossom - far behind the season of course, but victorious against the heavy weight of snow which it had resisted for more than half a year. I immediatley thought of the famous Chinese poem about 'the plum tree fragrant in the blazing heat of summer' and of an equally pathetic poem by the priest Gyoson, and felt even more attached to the cherry tree in front of me. I saw many other things of interest in this mountain, the details of which, however, I refrain from betraying in accordance with the rules I must obey as a pilgrim. When I returned to my lodging, my host, Egaku, asked me to put down in verse some impressions of my pilgrimage to the three mountains, so I wrote as follows on the narrow strips of writing paper he had given me.

How cool it is,
A pale crescent shining
Above the dark hollow
Of Mount Haguro.

How many columns of clouds
Had risen and crumbled, I wonder
Before the silent moon rose
Over Mount Gassan.

Forbidden to betray
The holy secrets of Mount Yudono,
I drenched my sleeves
In a flood of reticent tears.

Tears rushed to my eyes
As I stepped knowingly
Upon the coins of the sacred road
Of Mount Yudono.
-- Written by Sora

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english

八日、月山にのぼる。木綿しめ身に引かけ、宝冠に頭を包、強力と云ものに道ひかれて、雲霧山気の中に氷雪を踏てのぼる事八里、更に日月行道の雲関に入かとあやしまれ、息絶身こゞえて頂上にいたれば、日没て月顕る。笹を鋪篠を枕として、臥て明るを待。日出て雲消れば湯殿に下る。

谷の傍に鍛治小屋と云有。此国の鍛治、霊水を撰て爰に潔斉して劔を打、終月山と銘を切て世に賞せらる。彼龍泉に剣を淬とかや。干将莫耶のむかしをしたふ。道に堪能の執あさからぬ事しられたり。岩に腰かけてしばしやすらふほど、三尺ばかりなる桜のつぼみ半ばひらけるあり。ふり積雪の下に埋て、春を忘れぬ遅ざくらの花の心わりなし。炎天の梅花爰にかほるがごとし。行尊僧正の哥の哀も爰に思ひ出て、猶まさりて覚ゆ。惣而此山中の微細、行者の法式として他言する事を禁ず。仍て筆をとゞめて記さず。坊に帰れば、阿闍利の需に依て、三山順礼の句〃短冊に書。

語られぬ湯殿にぬらす袂かな

湯殿山銭ふむ道の泪かな曾良 Sora

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雲の峰幾つ崩れて月の山
kumo no mine / ikutsu kuzurete / tsuki no yama

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語られぬ湯殿にぬらす袂かな
katararenu Yudono ni nurasu tamoto kana

- - - - - Peipei Qiu wrote:

Unable to speak
of Yudono’s wonders, my sleeves
are drenched with tears.

(this poem) has not received as much critical attention. This might have to do with the lack of depiction of scenic beauty in the third verse. Traditionally, in Japanese literary travel journals a poet offers a poem to praise the famous scenic site, making allusions or references to the classical poems composed at the same place. Bashô seems to have felt it necessary to make an excuse for his not devoting a verse to the famous scenery.
He writes:
“it was forbidden by the rules for mountain pilgrims to reveal what one saw on Mount Yudono, so I put my brush aside.”
source : Basho-and-the-Dao- Peipei-Qiu

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entrance to the Yudono complex

語られぬ湯殿にぬらす袂かな
katararenu Yudono ni nurasu tamoto kana

I cannot speak of
Yudono, but see how wet
My sleeve is with tears.
Tr. Donald Keene

no speaking
in the place of Yudono-den
I wet my cuff
Tr. Etsuko Yanagibori

. WKD : Basho at Mount Gassan .

Oku Station 31 - Sakata

- - - Station 31 - Sakata 酒田 - Tsurugaoka 鶴が岡 - - -

Leaving Mount Haguro on the following day, I came to the castle town called Tsuru-ga-oka, where I was received warmly by Nagayama Shigeyuki, a warrior, and composed a book of linked verse with him and Zushi Sakichi who had accompanied me all the way from Mount Haguro. Bidding them farewell, I again descended the River Mogami in a boat and arrived at the port of Sakata, where I was entertained by the physician named En'an Fugyoku.

I enjoyed the evening cool
Along the windy beach of Fukuura,
Behind me, Mount Atsumi
Still in the hot sun.

The River Mogami has drowned
Far and deep
Beneath its surging waves
The flaming sun of summer.

Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english

羽黒を立て、鶴が岡の城下、長山氏重行と云物のふの家にむかへられて、誹諧一巻有。左吉も共に送りぬ。川舟に乗て酒田の湊に下る。淵庵不玉と云医師の許を宿とす。

あつみ山や吹浦かけて夕すゞみ - Atsumiyama 温海山

暑き日を海にいれたり最上川 - atsuku hi o umi ni iretari Mogamigawa

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source :　itoyo/basho

温海山や吹浦かけて夕涼み
あつみ山や吹浦かけて夕すゞみ
Atsumiyama ya Fukuura kakete yuusuzumi
Atsumi-yama ya Fuku-Ura kakete yuu-suzumi

Mount Atsumi -
all the way to Fuku Bay,
the evening cool
Tr. Barnhill

From Hot Springs Mountain
to the Bay of Breezes,
the Evening cool!
Tr. Shirane

Atsumi Onsen 温海温泉 - あつみ温泉 Atsumi Hot Spring
quote
With its history of more than 1000 years, this old hot spring is located along Atsumi river.
Hotels are staning along the river at the foot of Mount Atsumi which is about 2km ascended from the mouth of Atsumi river. The origin of discovery has several theories. Some says a child appeared in Kobo Daishi's dream and gave him a wise remark.
The others say a woodman found a wounded crane bathing its leg into the spring water.
source : en.yamagata-info.com

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source :　guzurabo/basyo

暑き日を海にいれたり最上川
atsuku hi o umi ni iretari Mogamigawa

thrusting the hot sun
into the sea:
Mogami River
Tr. Barnhill

Pouring the hot day
into the sea -
Mogami River
Tr. Shirane
source : books.google.co.jp

- - - - - The original version of the MOGAMIGAWA poem, praising the view from the house of his host, the rich merchant Terajima Hikosuke 寺島彦助:

涼しさや海にいれたる最上川
suzushisa ya umi ni iretaru Mogamigawa

Coolness–
pouring into the sea–
Mogami River
Tr. Shirane

"Instead of the river pouring into the sea, the Mogami River pours the atsuki hi, which dan be read either as "hot sun" or "hot day", suggesting both a setting sun washed by the waves at sea and a hot summer's day coming to a dramatic close in the sea.
Basho drops the word "coolness" (suzushisa) and the constraints of the poetic greeting to a more dramatic image, one that suggests coolness without using the word."
source : http://books.google.co.jp

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めずらしや山を出羽の初なすび
mezurashi ya yama o Dewa no hatsu nasubi

how wonderful and extraordinary !
coming out of the sacred Dewa mountains
to these first eggplants

. WKD : Eggplant なすび nasu, nasubi .

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初真桑四つにや断たん輪に切らん
. hatsu makuwa yotsu no ya kiran wa ni kiran .
hatsu makuwa yotsu ni ya tatan wa ni kiran

His joy of slicing the first Makuwa melon of the season.

Written in 元禄2年6月23日, in Sakata, Oku no Hosomichi.
He stayed at the home of 近江屋三郎兵衛 / Abumiya Gyokushi 近江屋玉志, where they enjoyed the fruit in the cool evening.

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- - - - - LINKS with many photos of Sakata town

酒田　その１　　　山形県酒田市
source : basyo.okunohosomichi.net/06yamagata 1

酒田　その２（酒田港界隈）
source : basyo.okunohosomichi.net/06yamagata 2

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. Yamagata Folk Art - 山形県　 .

温海温泉 kiji gangu 木地玩具 Atsumi Hot Spring wooden toys

dadakko 駄々っ子 Dadako, a brat, an unmanageable child
Here is a baby doll (about 17 cm) with head, arms and legs moving, making a noise (batabata バタバタ)
doing its dada o koneru 駄々をこねる throwing a tantrum

A kind of kurumamono 車もの doll on wheels
other items on the car are Daruma san, famous persons and animals.

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wa nage 輪投げ doll throwing rings

To make these kinds of small rings is a special skill of the local woodworkers. Now there are very few makers of them.
The human doll is ready to throw a ring on the stand before it. He is figured after a well-loved manga figure before the war, called nonki na toosan のんきな父さん a carefree father. The figure is about 37 cm high.

- source : asahi-net.or.jp -

. Tsurugaoka 鶴が岡 Tsuruoka mingei 鶴岡民芸 folk art from Tsuruoka .

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