TTT

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- T T T -

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. tachi 太刀 large sword . *

. - TEA, drinking tea, 茶　cha - Tee - .

. tears 涙 namida - to cry 泣くnaku .

. Temples, Buddhist Temples visited .

- tootoi とうとい尊い / 貴い holy, noble respectful -

. Travelling, sleeping on the road 旅 tabi, tabine . ###

. tsue　杖 his walking stick, Wanderstock ### .


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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

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

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. - tabi 旅 travel, travelling - .

. tabibito to waga na yobaren hatsu shigure .
(winter) first winter dirzzle. traveller. my name

. tabigarasu furusu wa ume ni nari ni keri .
(spring) plum blossoms. travelling crow (Basho about himself). old nest

. tabine shite mishi ya ukiyo no susu harai (susuharai) .
(winter) end of year housecleaning. sleeping on the road. floating world

. tabine shite waga ku o shire ya aki no kaze .
(autumn) autumn wind. sleeping on the road. to know my hokku

. tabine yoshi yado wa shiwasu no yuuzukiyo .
(winter) december. sickle moon. great to sleep on the road

. tabi ni akite kyoo ikuka yara aki no kaze .
(autumn) autumn wind. I am tired of traveling. how many days like today?



- - - - -


. tachibana ya itsu no no naka no hototogisu .
(autumn) Tachibana citrus fruit ###. when, where. hototogisu


. taga muko zo shida ni mochi ou ushi no toshi .
(New Year) fern. bridegroom. rice cakes. year of the ox


. ta ichimai uete tachisaru yanagi kana .
(spring) one field planted, in memory of the willow tree of saint Yugyo 遊行



. taka hitotsu mitsukete ureshi Iragosaki .
- Iragozaki niru mono mo nashi taka no koe
(winter) voice of a hawk. at Cape Irogazaki 伊良湖崎


. takamizu ni hoshi mo tabine ya iwa no ue .
(summer) flooding. stars sleep in their journey (Tanabata Festival) on a rock



. takauna ya / shizuku mo yoyo no / sasa no tsuyu .
(autumn) dew on the bamboo.



- - - - - . take 茸 mushroom, mushrooms / matsutake 松茸 . * - - - - -

. takegari ya abunaki koto ni yuu shigure .
(autumn) collecting mushrooms. danger of getting drenched. cold evening shower


. take no ko ya osanaki toki no te no susami .
(spring) bamboo shoots. childhood sketches


- - - - - . - taki 滝 waterfall - .


- - - - - . takimono 薫物、たきもの burning incense . * - - - - -



. takotsubo ya hakanaki yume o natsu no tsuki . 蛸壺 *
(summer) moon in summer. octopus pot, dream
- in memory of the Heike clan, who perished at Suma beach


- - - - - . tamamatsuri, tama matsuri 玉まつり / 魂祭, 玉祭 festival for the souls, O-Bon . * - - - - -



. tametsuke te yuki mi ni makaru kamiko kana .
(winter) watching snow. to fold a paper robe. make do. paper robe


. tamuke keri imo wa hachisu ni nitaru tote .
(summer) flowers of yam. lotus. my offering. for Sugiyama Senpu 杉山仙風


- - - - - . tan 反, 段（たん）unit of measurement . * - - - - -


- - - - - . Tanabata 七夕 Star Festival - 天の川 Amanogawa . * - - - - -

. Tanabata no awanu kokoro ya uchuuten .
(autumn) Tanabata star festival. the hearts can't meet. rain in heaven.

. Tanabata ya aki o sadamuru yo no hajime .
(autumn) Tanabata star festival. now autumn has really come
at the home of Yadoo 野童 Yado in Kyoto

- - - - -



. tanda sume sumeba miyako zo kyoo no tsuki .
(autumn) moon. just living. Kyoto the capital


. tanoshisa ya aota ni suzumu mizu no oto .
(summer) green rice fields. how very pleasant. cool sound of water

- - - - - . taru 樽 barrel - taue daru 田植樽 . * - - - - -


- - - - - . taue uta 田植えうた song of the rice planters . * - - - - -



. ta ya mugi ya naka ni mo natsu no hototogisu .
(summer) hototogisu in summer. fields. barley.



. tebana kamu oto sae ume no sakari kana .
(spring) plum blossoms. even the sound of someone blowing his nose


. teikin no oorai taga bunko yori kesa no haru .
(spring) New Year's morning. letter sample in a box



- - - - - . tenbin 天秤　 pair of scales . * - - - - -

. tenbin ya Kyoo Edo kakete chiyo no haru .
(spring) spring in the capital. Kyoto, Edo. pair of scales





. te ni toraba kien namida zo atsuki aki no shimo .
(autumn) frost, tears in my hands


- - - - - . - tenmon 天文 - category of heaven - Basho SAIJIKI - . - - - - -


- - - - - . tenugui 手ぬぐい　small hand towel . * - - - - -


. te o uteba kodama ni akuru natsu no tsuki .
(summer) moon. hands, echo.


. tera ni nete makoto gao naru tsukimi kana .
(autumn) moon viewing, temple, sleeping


. TIMELINE - His Life and Work .



. tobi ni notte haru o okuru ni shirakumo ya .
(spring) seeing off spring. black kite bird. white clouds


. togi-naosu kagami mo kiyoshi yuki no hana .
(winter) snow like blossoms. to polish again. mirror. clear

. toko ni kite ibiki ni iru ya kirigirisu .
(autumn) grashopper, cricket. snoring near my bed
(for his disciple Shadoo, Shadō 洒堂 Shado)

. tomokakumo narade ya yuki no kareobana .
tomokaku mo narade ya yuki no kare obana
(winter) withered pampas grass. snow. somehow.


- - - - - . tonboo, tonbō, tombo 蜻蜒 dragonfly. - - - - -
(autumn) tonboo ya tori tsuki kaneshi kusa no ue


. to no kuchi ni yadofuda nanore hototogisu .
(summer) hototogisu. at the front entrance, hand out your visitor sign (yado fuda 宿札)


- - - - - . toofu　豆腐　tofu bean curd . ### - - - - -


. toogan ya tagai ni kawaru kao no nari .
(winter) white gourd-melon. faces changing

. toogarashi hane o tsuketara akatonbo .
(autumn) red dragonfly. red pepper. wings



唐黍や軒端の荻の取りちがへ
tookibi ya / nokiba no ogi no / torichigae
(autumn) ogi reed.



. tooki yori aware wa tsuka no sumiregusa / sumire-gusa .
(spring) violet. pitiful. Angelica-type parsley. his grave mound
On the death of his disciple Kondoo Romaru 近藤呂丸 / 露丸.



- - - - - . tootoi 尊い / 貴い respectful, with awe . - - - - -

. tootogaru namida ya somete chiru momiji .
(autumn) falling red leaves. my respectful tears

. tootosa ni mina oshi-ainu gosenguu .
(autumn) Gosengu removal ceremony at Ise shrine. holiness. pushing and shoving

. tootosa ya yuki furanu hi mo mino to kasa .
(winter) snow. how respectful. no snow. mino-raincoat and a rain-hat
in memory of Ono no Komachi, Sotoba Komachi 卒都婆小町




- - - - - TOSHI　年 year - - - - -

. toshidoshi ya saru ni kisetaru saru no men .
(winter) end of the year. the monkey wears the same monkey mask

. toshi hete shinobu wa nani o shinobu-gusa .
(autumn) weeping fern. imperial mausoleum. to remember

. toshi kurenu kasa kite waraji hakinagara .
(winter) end of the year. straw hat, straw sandals

. toshi no ichi senkoo kai ni idebayana .
(winter) Year-End Market. I go out to buy some incence

. - toshi no kure 年の暮 end of the year - SAIJIKI humanity .

. toshi wa hito ni torasete itsumo waka Ebisu .
(New Year) Ebisu festival. people have to get older

. - toshi wasure 年忘れ "forget the year" -　 .

- - - - -



. - tsubaki 椿 camellia .



- - - - - . tsue　杖 his walking stick, Wanderstock ### . - - - - -


. tsuka mo ugoke waga naku koe wa aki no kaze .
(autumn) autumn wind. grave mound. move. I am crying



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- - - - - - tsuki - the moon - - - - -

. tsuki aredo rusu no yoo nari Suma no natsu .
(summer) moon in summer. at Suma beach. something is missing

. tsuki hana mo nakute sake nomu hitori kana .
(spring) cherry blossoms. no moon, no blossoms. he drinks sake alone

. tsuki hana no gu ni hari taten kan no iri .
(winter) start of the cold season. acupuncture. my foolishness

. tsuki hana no kore ya makoto no arujitachi .
(autumn) moon. cherry blossom. the real masters of truth

. tsuki haruru sumoo ni hakama fuminugite .
(autumn) moon. sumo wrestling. hakama trousers

. tsuki hayashi kozue wa ame o mochi nagara .
(autumn) moon. rain clings to the twigs.
at temple 根本寺 Konpon-Ji, Kashima

. tsuki izuku kane wa shizumeru umi no soko .
- tsuki izuko kane wa shizumite umi no soko
- the mystery story of the bell at the bottom of the sea
(autumn) moon. in memory of Nitta Yoshisada and Ashikaga Takauji

. tsuki juuyokka koyoi sanjuu ku no warabe .
(autumn) moon on day 14. tonight I am a child of 39

. tsuki kage ya shimon shishuu mo tada hitotsu .
(autumn) moon. four Buddhist sects. One. at temple Zenko-Ji 善光寺, Nagano

. tsuki kiyoshi Yugyoo no moteru suna no ue .
(autumn) bright moon. Yugyo pilgrims carry sand. (at Kehi Shrine 気比神宮, Tsuruga)

. tsukimachi ya ume katageyuku koyamabushi .
(autumn) moon waiting. mountain ascetic

. - - - tsukimi 月見 viewing the full moon of autumn - Basho SAIJIKI - - - .

. tsukimi seyo Tamae no ashi o karanu saki .
(autumn) moon viewing. the reeds of Tamae (near Tsuruga). still uncut

. tsukimi suru za ni utsukushiki kao mo nashi .
(autumn) moon viewing. not one beautiful face
. . . . meigetsu ya umi ni mukaeba nana Komachi


. tsuki mite mo mono tarawazu ya Suma no natsu .
(summer) moon in summer. at Suma beach. far from home

. tsuki ni na o tsutsumi kanete ya imo no kami .
(autumn) moon. wrapped in a double meaning. God of Smallpox

月の鏡小春に見るや目正月
tsuki no kagami / koharu ni miru ya / me shōgatsu
- translation -

. tsuki nomi ka ame ni sumoo mo nakarikeri .
(autumn) moon. no Sumo wrestling because of rain - at Tsuruga

. tsuki sabiyo Akechi ga tsuma no hanashi sen .
(autumn) moon. be somber. wife of Akechi (Mitsuhide). tell a story

. tsuki shiroki shiwasu wa Shiro ga nezame kana .
(winter) Shiwasu (December). white moon. Shiro wakes up

. tsuki shiro ya hiza ni te o oku yoi no yado .
(autumn) moon. my knees. the inn tonight
- and more MOON haiku

. tsuki sumu ya kitsune kowagaru chigo no tomo .
(autumn) moon. fox. temple acolyte (homosexual love). to be afraid

. tsuki yuki to nosabari kerashi toshi no kure .
(winter) end of the year. "moon and snow" I indulged

. tsuki zo shirube konata e irase tabi no yado .
(autumn) moon. come to my house, guided by the moon. wayside inn


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- - - - - . tsukigane つき鐘 temple bell . * - - - - -

. tsukigane mo hibiku yo nari semi no koe .
(summer) voice of the cicadas. temple bell. tsuku kane




. tsukurigi no niwa o isameru shigure kana .
(winter) drizzle. trees in the garden


. tsumiken ya cha o kogarashi no aki to mo shirade .

(spring) picking tea leaves. winter storm. autumn. they do not know



. tsuru naku ya sono koe ni bashoo yarenu beshi .
(autumn) banana plant. the voice of a crane. to tear apart the leaves


- - - - - . tsuta 蔦 (つた) Japanese ivy . - - - - -

. tsuta uete take shi go hon no arashi kana .
(autumn) Tsuta ivy. planted. four or five bamboo poles. storm


- - - - -



. tsutsuji ikete sono kage ni hidara saku onna .
(spring) dried cod fish. azaleas. in the shadow a woman




- - - - - . tsuyu 露 dew, dewdrops . - - - - -

. tsuyu itete fude ni kumihosu shimizu kana / hitsu ni .
(autumn) dew. cold. my brush. pure water

. tsuyu toku toku kokoromi ni ukiyo susugabaya .
(autumn) dew. floating world


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Article - Philosopher

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- The Great Eastern Philosophers: Matsuo Basho -


Bibliotherapy, Mind & Body, Soul

- quote
In the West, we have a vague sense that poetry is good for our ‘souls’, making us sensitive and wiser. Yet we don’t always know how this should work. Poetry has a hard time finding its way into our lives in any practical sense. In the East, however, some poets—like the 17th-century Buddhist monk and poet Matsuo Bashō—knew precisely what effect their poetry was meant to produce: it was a medium designed to guide us to wisdom and calm, as these terms are defined in Zen Buddhist philosophy.

Matsuo Bashō was born in 1644 in Uego, in the Iga province of Japan. As a child he became a servant of the nobleman Tōdō Yoshitada, who taught him to compose poems in the ‘haiku’ style. Traditionally, haikus contain three parts, two images and a concluding line which helps to juxtapose them. The best known haiku in Japanese literature is called ‘Old Pond’, by Bashō himself:

Old pond . . .
A frog leaps in
Water’s sound

It is all (deceptively) simple – and, when one is in the right, generous frame of mind, very beautiful.

After Yoshitada died in 1666, Bashō left home and wandered for many years before moving to the city of Edo, where he became famous and widely published. However, Bashō grew melancholy and often shunned company, and so until his death in 1694 he alternated between travelling widely on foot and living in a small hut on the outskirts of the city.

Bashō was an exceptional poet, but he did not believe in the modern idea of “art for art’s sake.” Instead, he hoped that his poetry would bring his readers into special mental states valued by Zen. His poetry reflects two of the most important Zen ideals: wabi and sabi. Wabi, for Bashō, meant satisfaction with simplicity and austerity, while sabi refers to a contented solitude. (These are the same mindsets sought in the well-known Zen tea ceremony defined by Rikyu). It was nature, more than anything else, that was thought to foster wabi and sabi, and it is therefore unsurprisingly one of Bashō’s most frequent topics. Take this spring scene, which appears to ask so little of the world, and is attuned to an appreciation of the everyday:

First cherry
budding
by peach blossoms

Bashō’s poetry is of an almost shocking simplicity at the level of theme. There are no analyses of politics or love triangles or family dramas. The point is to remind readers that what really matters is to be able to be content with our own company, to appreciate the moment we are in and to be attuned to the very simplest things life has to offer: the changing of the seasons, the sound of our neighbours laughing across the street, the little surprises we encounter when we travel. Take this gem:

Violets—
how precious on
a mountain path

Bashō also used natural scenes to remind his readers that flowers, weather, and other natural elements are—like our own lives—ever-changing and fleeting. Time and the changing of weathers and scenes need to be attended to, as harbingers of our own deaths:

Yellow rose petals
thunder—
a waterfall

This transience of life may sometimes be heartbreaking, but it is also what makes every moment valuable.

Bashō liked to paint as well as write, and many of his works still exist, usually with the related haikus written alongside them. This one depicts the above haiku. (“Yellow rose petals…”)

In literature, Bashō valued “karumi,” or “lightness”. He wanted it to seem as if children had written it. He abhorred pretension and elaboration. As he told his disciples, “in my view a good poem is one in which the form of the verse, and the joining of its two parts, seem light as a shallow river flowing over its sandy bed.”

The ultimate goal of this “lightness” was to allow readers to escape the burdens of the self —one’s petty peculiarities and circumstances—in order to experience unity with the world beyond. Bashō believed that poetry could, at its best, allow one to feel a brief sensation of merging with the natural world. One may become – through language – the rock, the water, the stars, leading one to an enlightened frame of mind known as muga, or a loss-of-awareness-of-oneself.

We can see Bashō’s concept of muga or self-forgetting at work in the way he invites us almost to inhabit his subjects, even if they are some rather un-poetic dead fish:

Fish shop
how cold the lips
of salted bream

In a world full of social media profiles and crafted resumes, it might seem odd to want to escape our individuality—after all, we carefully groom ourselves to stand out from the rest of the world. Bashō reminds us that muga or self-forgetting is valuable because it allows us to break free from the incessant thrum of desire and incompleteness which otherwise haunts all human lives.

Bashō suffered for long periods from deep melancholy; he travelled the dangerous back roads of the Japanese countryside with little more than writing supplies, and he spent some truly unglamorous nights:

Fleas and lice biting;
awake all night
a horse pissing close to my ear

Yet muga freed Bashō—and it can also free us—from the tyranny of glum moments of individual circumstance. His poetry constantly invites us to appreciate what we have, and to see how infinitesimal and unimportant our personal difficulties are in the vast scheme of the universe.

Bashō’s poetry was a clever tool for enlightenment and revelation – through the artfully simple arrangement of words. The poems are valuable not because they are beautiful (though they are this too) but because they can serve as a catalyst for some of the most important states of the soul. They remind both the writer and the reader that contentment relies on knowing how to derive pleasure from simplicity, and how to escape (even if only for a while) the tyranny of being ourselves.


Posted by The Philosophers' Mail on 26 September 2014
no author quoted
- source : www.theschooloflife.com


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. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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


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Oku Station 5 - Nikko

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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 5 - Nikko 日光 - - -

I lodged in an inn at the foot of Mount Nikko on the night of March the thirtieth. The host of my inn introduced himself as Honest Gozaemon, and told me to sleep in perfect peace on his grass pillow, for his sole ambition was to be worthy of his name. I watched him rather carefully but found him almost stubbornly honest, utterly devoid of worldly cleverness. It was as if the merciful Buddha himself had taken the shape of a man to help me in my wandering pilgrimage. Indeed, such saintly honesty and purity as his must not be scorned, for it verges closely on the perfection preached by Confucius.

On the first day of April l3, I climbed Mt. Nikko to do homage to the holiest of the shrines upon it. This mountain used to be called Niko. When the high priest Kukai built a temple upon it, however, he changed the name to Nikko, which means the bright beams of the sun. Kukai must have had the power to see a thousand years into the future, for the mountain is now the seat of the most sacred of all shrines, and its benevolent power prevails throughout the land, embracing the entire people, like the bright beams of the sun. To say more about the shrine would be to violate its holiness.

It is with awe
That I beheld
Fresh leaves, green leaves,
Bright in the sun.

Mount Kurokami was visible through the mist in the distance. It was brilliantly white with snow in spite of its name, which means black hair.

Rid of my hair,
I came to Mount Kurokami
On the day we put on
Clean summer clothes.

--written by Sora

My companion's real name is Kawai Sogoro, Sora being his pen name. He used to live in my neighborhood and help me with such chores as bringing water and firewood. He wanted to enjoy the views of Matsushima and Kisagata with me, and also to share with me the hardships of the wandering journey. So he took to the road after taking the tonsure on the very morning of our departure, putting on the black robe of an itinerant priest, and even changing his name to Sogo, which means Religiously Enlightened. His poem, therefore, is not intended as a mere description of Mount Kurokami. The last determination to persist in his purpose.

After climbing two hundred yards or so from the shrine, I came to a waterfall, which came pouring out of a hollow in the ridge and tumbled down into a dark green pool below in a huge leap of several hundred feet. The rocks of the waterfall were so carved out that we could see it from behind, though hidden ourselves in a craggy cave. Hence its nickname, See-from-behind.

Silent a while in a cave,
I watched a waterfall
For the first of
The summer observances

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

仏五左衛門
卅日、日光山の梺に泊る。あるじの云けるやう、「我名を佛五左衛門と云。萬正直を旨とする故に人かくは申侍まゝ、一夜の草の枕も打解て休み給へ」と云。いかなる仏の濁世塵土に示現して、かゝる桑門の乞食順礼ごときの人をたすけ給ふにやとあるじのなす事に心をとゞめてみるに、唯無智無分別にして正直偏固の者也。剛毅木訥の仁に近きたぐひ気禀の清質尤尊ぶべし。

卯月朔日、御山に詣拝す。往昔、此御山を「二荒山」と書しを空海大師開基の時「日光」と改給ふ。千歳未来をさとり給ふにや。 今此御光一天にかゞやきて恩沢八荒にあふれ、四民安堵の栖穏なり。猶憚多くて筆をさし置ぬ。

あらたうと青葉若葉の日の光

黒髪山は霞かゝりて、雪いまだ白し。

剃捨て黒髪山に衣更 曾良 - Sora

曾良は河合氏にして、 惣五郎と云へり芭蕉の下葉に軒をならべて予が薪水の労をたすく。このたび松しま象潟の眺共にせん事を悦び、且は羈旅の難をいたはらんと旅立暁髪を剃て墨染にさまをかえ惣五を改て宗悟とす。仍て黒髪山の句有。「衣更」の二字力ありてきこゆ。

廿餘丁山を登つて瀧有。岩洞の頂より飛流して百尺千岩の碧潭に落たり。 岩窟に身をひそめて入て]滝の裏よりみれば、うらみの瀧と申傳え侍る也。

暫時は瀧に篭るや夏の初

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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

so holy:
green leaves, young leaves,
in sun's light
Tr. David Landis Barnhill

Comment by Barnhill:
Basho is at Mt. Nikkoo, which literally means "sun's light." It is the site of an ancient Buddhist temple established by Kuukai as well as a Shinto shrine [Tosho Shrine] and mausoleum of the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, Ieyasu (1542-1616). The original version reads:
"so holy: / down even to the darkness beneath the trees, / the sun's light"
('ara tooto / ko no shitayami mo / hi no hikari').

hi no hikari 日の光 / Nikkoo 日光

. WKD : Basho in Nikko - Introduction .
with more translations of this famous poem in various languages.

The Basho Haiku Stone Monument in Nikko / 日光の句碑

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しばらくは瀧にこもるや夏の初め
shibaraku wa taki ni komoru ya ge no hajime

for a while
I will sit behind the waterfall -
summer retreat begins
Tr. Gabi Greve


Read another hokku about
Urami no taki 裏見の滝 - 裏見の瀧 "Back- view waterfall"
near Nikko, with a cave behind the waterfall for mountain ascetic practises.

. ango 安吾 (あんご) intensive retreat .

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Hotoke Gozaemon 仏五左衛門 Honest Gozaemon
- source : www.bashouan.com

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. Nikko Toshogu Shrine 日光の東照宮 Nikkō Tōshō-gū .
with the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 . (1543 - 1616)
.
During the time of Basho, this Shrine was off limits for normal people. So Basho must have had a special permit from a high-ranking official in the government.
Speculation says
Basho (and his companion Sora) in 1689 had the secret order to check about the repair work of the buildings, carried out by the 伊達藩　Date clan of Sendai, after an earthquake in 1683 had damaged the Shrine.
The Bakufu government had ordered the Date clan, to have it spent a lot of money on the repair and thus not be able to spent money on preparing another war . . .
Date Masamune even donated a pair of special metal lanterns 南蛮鉄燈籠, which he had gotten from Portugal, placed in front of the stone steps to the Yommei-Mon gate.
By the way, two more lanterns were made from bronze 唐銅灯, dedicated by the lord of Shimazu. 島津家久 .

After visiting Nikko, Basho was on his way to Sendai to check out more about the Date clan.
He must have had a lot on his mind, since he did not write many haiku until he had left Sendai. He even passed Matsushima . . .

... おそらく、芭蕉は、日光の修復の状況及び伊達藩のその後の動きを偵察する目的を持っていた ...
- reference : shibayan1954.blog10 -


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

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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .


. Shirakawa Daruma 白川だるま .



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Oku Station 28 - Mogamigawa

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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 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 no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .


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- Hosomichi 2007 - BACKUP

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BACKUP only
December 2012

Original

. WKD : Oku no Hosomichi 2007 .



The main entry is now HERE

Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉　Archives of the WKD .





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walking
a long, long path -
haiku


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Oku no Hosomichi 奥の細道　... 2007



月日は百代の過客にして、行かふ年も又旅人也。
つきひははくたいのかかくにして
つきひはひゃくだいのかきゃくにして

tsukihi wa hakutai no kakaku ni shite
(tsukihi wa hyakudai no kakyaku ni shite)
yukikau toshi mo mata tabibito nari.

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



松尾芭蕉　
Basho was 46 when he started his tour on the 27 of March, 1689. (May 16 in the modern solar calendar.)
His tour took him over 2400 kilometers on foot! It took him five years to complete his report of this walk. It includes 51 hokku and is not a simple diary, but a work of literature, including fiction and philosophy.

He visited many "poetic pillows", uta makura 歌枕, famous places where poets before him had been visiting and writing poetry about.
While he was thus travelling the road of former famous poets like Saigyo, he was also travelling along his own life, even toward the future. He lived in a time when the age of 50 was considered a good time to die!
Jinsei, gojuu nen! 人生五十年！

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................................... Some general information


"All Things Must Pass" , nothing is eternal
sarvasamskara anityah in orignal Sanskrit
Shogyoo Mujoo 諸行無常 (しょぎょうむじょう) Mujo

. Barnhill : the concept of MUJŌ .
impermanence


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"permanence and change",
synthesis between tradition and innovation
Fueki Ryuukoo 不易流行（ふえきりゅうこう）

QUOTE:

fuga no makoto is a result or product of the dynamism of two colliding forces: fueki ryuko, which is another important teaching of Basho.
Fueki simply means "no change" and refers to values of a permanent and enduring nature.

Ryuko, on the other hand, means "changing fashions of the time" and refers to newness, innovation, originality or unconventional values that would break with old ways in a revolutionary manner.

For instance, Beethoven created new and innovative music, ushering in a new age and setting a new trend. However, he did not do so without first having been steeped in classical music of an old tradition. Thus he had fueki ryuko and left legacy of permanent value.
None of us is Beethoven, but all of us can become a little Beethoven! Fueki ryuko is an abbreviation of senzai-fueki ichiji-ryuko (eternal no-change and temporary fashion).

When fueki and ryuko collide and interact in a dynamic explosion of creative haiku writing, the result could be like a newly born baby taking after both parents but different from both. And there is a single ultimate value that lies beyond fueki ryuko, and that is nothing but fuga no makoto.

Susumu Takiguchi, WHR 2005

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Basho edited the haiku presented in "Oku no Hosomichi" according to the rules of RENKU, including moon, cherry blossoms and two about love.
　©　Etsuko Yanagibori

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A first ku (hokku) that can stand alone, usually with a mention of a special area, an independent hokku, is called
jihokku 地発句（じほっく）

The last ku of a linked verse is "ageku　挙句", and there is a popular Japanese proverb, ageku no hate 挙句の果て, at the last ku, meaning "at last".

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The walk starts in Edo.


行く春や鳥啼き魚の目は泪
yuku haru ya tori naki uo no me wa namida

spring is leaving ..
birds sing and the eyes of fish
are full of tears

Basho at Senju 千住
in 1689, taking final leave from his friends.

. Yuku haru - spring is ending .


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江東区芭蕉記念館
KOTO CITY BASHO MUSEUM


Basho-An Homepage
臨川寺 Temple Rinsen-Ji


Nikko Kaido 日光街道
– Ancient Highway from Edo to Nikko

. Urami no Taki 裏見の滝 - 裏見の瀧 Waterfall .
and the summer retreat - ge 夏（げ）



Kurobane, Temple Joho-Ji, Friend Joboji
浄法寺桃雪邸跡


Basho Road at Kurobane, Basho no Michi, 芭蕉の道



Temple Daio-Ji, Kurobane, 黒羽町の大雄寺 Daioo-Ji

Temple Ungan-Ji 雲巌寺



"Murder Stone" 殺生石 Sesshoseki, a volcanic landscape



Willow Tree in memory of priest Yugyo (Ippen Shonin)

. WKD : 遊行柳 (ゆぎょうやなぎ ) Yugyoyanagi .
One of the famous "utamakura" places of Basho's travel. The tree has been re-planted many times over the years, but the atmosphere is still very much that of the Edo period.


Near Nikko is Mt. Dantai and a group of Jizo stones, called

O-Bake Jizoo 化け地蔵 the monstrous Jizo statues
Every time you count them, you get a different number.
Quite possibly Basho has tried to count them too !


含満ガ淵


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Shirakawa, "White River",
from here the Road to the North finally starts.


Shirakawa no Seki 白河の関 Border Station of Shirakawa

sangatsu ni seki no ashigaru oki-kaete
haiku by Kido (Kidoo 木導)



Oshu Kaido (Oushu Kaido) 奥州街道（おうしゅうかいどう）
– Ancient Highway from Nikko via Shirakawa to Sendai



Sakai no Myojin Shrine 境の明神(福島)

Two shrines at the border to the Northern Territories. One on each side of the frontier line. On the inner side a shrine for the female deity (Tamatsushima Myojin 玉津島) to protect the interior. On the outer side a shrine for a male deity (Sumiyoshi Myojin 住吉) to protect from enemies of the outside.　Travellers in the Edo period used to pray here for a safe trip and gave thanks after a trip was finished.

The local daimyo Matsudaira Sadanobu had a stone memorial built in memory of this frontier gate about 100 years after Basho passed the area.




白河小峰城, Shirakawa Komine Castle
Matsudaira Sadanobu was Lord of this castle. Lord Matsudaira (1759 - 1829) was well liked and did a lot for his people. He built the first park for commoners in Japan, the famous South Lake Park, Nanko Koen (Nankoo Kooen) 南湖公園 .



Sogi modoshi 宗祇戻しThe place where Sogi returned his steps

The famous poet Io Sogi (Soogi, Sougi 飯尾宗祇　いいおそうぎ) on his way to a poetry meeting for linked verse in Northern Japan met a poor girl here selling cotton. When he started talking to her, she answered him with a perfect waka verse. He felt quite ashamed at this and went back to Kyoto without attending the poetry meeting.

The waka
「阿武隈の川瀬にすめる鮎にこそ　うるかといえる　わたはありけれ」
Abuka no Kawa




Station 12 : Sukagawa and Asakayama : 安積山 In Memory of a Waka


The waka
安積香山影さへ見ゆる山の井の浅き心をわが思はなくに

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On his way

Waterfall Otsuji-ga-taki



Temple, Ioji (a temple visited by Basho) 医王寺 (Ioo-Ji)


at Station 11, Sukagawa
Memorial Stone, Mojizuri Ishi 文知摺石
English Explanation


Dresses made of paper, kamiko 紙子,紙衣

Paper clothing was used by poor peasants to keep warm in winter. Basho might have used one of these warm robes from Shiroishi.

GOOGLE : 白石　和紙　

In Osaka Kabuki, the main actor wears a robe made of paper, kamiko 紙衣. This does not flow naturally around the body and the actor has to make extra efforts to show a natural pose.

Kabuki and Haiku

GOOGLE : kamiko paper japan kimono

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Matsushima




松島やああ松島や松島や
Matsushima ya aa Matsushima ya Matushima ya

Matsushima!
Aaah! Matsushima!
Matsushima!

The real author of this haiku was ?????


Matsushima is one of the three most beautiful secnic areas of Japan.





. SENDAI
Iris Haiku

あやめ草足に結ん草鞋の緒
ayamegusa ashi ni musuban waraji no o



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Hiraizumi 平泉




夏草や兵どもが夢の跡
natsu-kusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato

summer grass!
only a trace of dreams
of ancient warriors

　Warriours, Samurai and Haiku

Basho followed in the footsteps of the tragic fate of the warrious Yoshitsune and Benkei (chinkon no nen 鎮魂の念) with this visit. He might also have used the travel to explore and find the depth and tragedy of his own being.

鎮魂の念


Takadachi 「高館(たかだち) at Hiraizumi was a castle that Fujiwara Hidehira had built for Minamoto Yoshitune.
Discussion of Takadachi and Tsuwamono
Haiku Translation Group


The "Shining Hall" is the golden mausoleum of three generations of the Fujiwara Clan. The rain of the rainy season has fallen on it for more than 500 years when Basho visited.

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

More photos from Hiraizumi.

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kenkon no hen 乾坤の変
(the changing of heaven and earth)

The changing of heaven and earth is the heart of the nature spirit in haiku. Catch the changing of nature and you have what you need to write true haiku.

also discussed:
Haikai no makoto 俳諧の誠 (sincerity of haiku)
Koogo kizoku 高悟帰俗 (spiritual sense)
Kusa no Hana Haiku Group

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Natagiri Pass and Obanazawa 山刀伐峠 　

Entering into Dewa, Dewagoe 出羽超え.

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.
After the dangerous crossing, Basho stayed with the rich merchant Seifu (Suzuki Michiyu), who had made his fortune with
Safflower, saffron flower (benibana, beni no hana) .



芭蕉 山刀伐峠越の図 高嶋祥光

Farmers wear a specially shaped straw hat, called "natagiri なたぎり(photo) , in the shape of this pass.


Ginzan Hot Spring, Ginzan Onsen 銀山温泉


This is one of the few hot springs near a silver mine. The workers used to go there and heal their wounds or just rest and relax after the hard work in the mines.

Basho might have stayed there to rest after crossing the pass, before walking on to Obanazawa.



Tendo (Tendoo) 天童
now famous for its Shogi 天童将棋.


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River Mogamigawa, Mount Gassan

The Three Mountains of Dewa used to be part of a famous pilgrimage, representing LIFE (Haguro), DEATH (Gassan) and NEW BIRTH (at Yudono).



"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. "
Station 30 - Gassan

At Mt. Gassan, Basho saw the Mountaintop Cherry blossoms, minezakura 嶺桜.
They flower much later than the ones down in the valley. That is why on Mt. Gassan you can experience the three ingredients of Japanese ascetics, Snow, Moon and Cherry blossoms, (Setsugetsuka, Setsugekka 雪月花) at the same time.
SETSUGEKKA, Japanese Art and the Japanese View of Nature
by Isamu Kurita, MOA

Basho went on to Mt. Yudono, where it is forbidden to talk about your experiences there. I visited there many years ago.
Dewa Sanzan; 'Three sacred mountains of Dewa'
Gabi Greve

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Some thoughts from Etsuko Yanagibori

Basho made a greeting ku for the ascetic Egaku at Haguro San

arigataya yuki o kaorasu kaze no oto

thanks
for the wind
with the smell of snow

He changed this later and this is the official haiku now.

arigataya yuki o kaorasu minamidani

Thanks
for Minamidani
smell of snow

The original haiku has a kigo for summer, kaze kaoru. Basho visited the temple in early summer, June 4th.

Yudono is a very sacred plate for the Godess of Dewa.
We can read a romantic interpretation from this haiku

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

no speaking
in the place of Yudono-den
wet my cuff

When people enter the place of the goddess to pray the god, they put off their
shoes and walk around the rock of the gods without talking.

the hidden haiku reading ...

no talking
in the bathroom with you
only my cuff a little wet

. . . . .


So holy a place
The snow itself is scented
At southern Valley.


How cool it is here.
A crescent moon faintly hovers
Over Mount Haguro.


kumo no mine ikutsu kuzurete tsuki no yama

The peaks of clouds
Have crumbled into fragments
The moonlit mountain


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

source : Haguro Brochure

"tsuki no yama" this is also the name of the mountain itself
Gassan　月山.

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Tsuruoka and Kisakata 鶴岡　と　象潟
(Kisagata)


Yamagata, Tsuruoka Basho Memorial




Akita, Kisagata


SAKATA

Minden Nasu / Eggplants

mezurashi ya yama o Dewa no hatsu nasubi

Welche Überraschung!
aus den Heiligen Bergen von Dewa kommend
hier die ersten Augerginen



象潟や料理何くふ神祭
Kisakata ya ryoori nani kuu kami matsuri

Oh now Kisakata !
What special food do they eat
at the shrine festival?

Kisakata an einem Festtag!
Was es hier wohl für
Spezialitäten gibt?

Sora 曾良

. Sora, Kawai Sora 河合曾良 . (1649 - 1710)
Basho's companion on the way.


Kisakata is a superb place to take a leisurely countryside walk.
Kanmanji is surrounded by a sacred grove of old-growth laurel trees (tabunoki たぶのき【椨】 Persea thunbergii or Machilus thunbergii).
MORE : Basho in Kisakata



Yamagata, Yamadera 山寺立石寺

閑かさや岩にしみ入る蝉の声
shizukasa ya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe

oh in this quietude
seeping into the rock
the voices of cicadas




. YAMAGATA - On the path of poets .

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Izumosaki, Oyashirazu, Ichiburi .. Kanazawa

Izumo saki, Izumozaki 出雲崎　is the birthtown of priest Ryokan.
Ryokan memorial day and Haiku


荒海や 佐渡によこたふ 天河
araumi ya Sado ni yokotau ama no kawa

O'er wild ocean spray,
All the way to Sado Isle
Spreads the Milky Way

Tr. Dorothy Britton


Sado Province, Sado Island, Japan

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Ariso Umi 有磯海 Arisoumi
. . . wase no ka ya wakeiru migi wa Arisoumi


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


The difficult part of this journey, Oyashirazu 親不知　 (not minding your parents) and Koshirazu (not minding your children) , refers to an area along the coast between Niigata and Ichiburi where the mountains are right to the sea shore with their sheer cliffs. The waves drone against the base of the cliffs and the only way to get past this is to wait for the moment when the waves receede and then run for your life !



The grand old tree at Ichiburi

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Kurikara Pass 倶利伽羅峠

Kurikara means 'black dragon' in Sanskrit.
The temple Kurikara Fudo-son is located near Kurikara Pass, a place famous for the battle between the Heike Clan and Saso Yoshinaka during the 2nd year of the Eiju period (1183). The statue of Fudo Myo-O is said to be carved by Kobo Daishi.

CLICK for some photos here !


My Details are here
Kurikara, the Sword of Fudo Myo-o


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Komatsu ...... Natadera ..... Daishoji ..... Maruoka ..... Fukui


多太神社
Shrine Tada Jinja in Komatsu


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Tsuruga 敦賀 , Ogaki 大垣


Basho Memorial at Tsuruga




月いづく鐘は沈める海の底
tsuki izuku kane wa shizumeru umi no soko

. The mystery background story
of the bell at the bottom of the sea 　
(This haiku is not included in the Travelogue by Basho.)
Visit to the Shrine Kehi Jingu　気比神宮 with a haiku about the moon.



Oogaki
CLICK for some photos

Basho's travel with the wind (kaze no tabi) ends here in 1689.



Sora, who had left Basho earlier on the trip, had hurried to Ogaki to gather many haiku friends to celebrate the goal of the travels of Master Basho and make this a memorable ending of the long tour.



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The last haiku, written at Ogaki

蛤のふたみにわかれ行く秋ぞ
hamaguri no futami ni wakarete yuku aki zo

(like) a clamshell
divided in two we depart now
into this autumn . . .

. discussing : futami　二身 - 蓋身 two bodies .


. . . . .


At the end of the journey

Ukimido, 浮御堂 the Floating Hall and
Basho's Grave at Temple Gichu-Ji 義仲寺


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"The Narrow Road to the Deep North"
PDF-File
Translations by Haider A. Kahn and Tadashi Kondo



Reference : Oku no Hosomichi. Nobuyuki Yuasa



Beckoned by the cloud-scattering winds and Dōsojin, the male-female guardian god of the road, longing to see the moon rising over Matsushima, Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694) left Edo for Oku at the end of spring in the second year of Genroku (1689).

Roads of Oku: Travels in Japan
Reference : Utamakura: Storied Places
Dennis Kawaharada, 2011
(very extensive resource)


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Translation by Tim Chilcott
a PDF file.



Travels along the path of Matsuo Basho, Japan’s 17th-century haiku master, help bring his words to life.
On the Trail of a Ghost
©　National Geographic, Howard Norman, January 2008




Haiku by Matsuo, Basho, from "Narrow Road to Oku".
Dr. Donald Keene has generously given to me his permission to use his translation of the Basho's haiku.
I will be showing my haiga of all the haiku in "Narrow Road to Oku"
KUNI from Nara
source : seehaikuhere.blogspot.com


Walking with Basho in Japanese

「ゆるぱそ」ブログ　

Bashomichi
http://bashomichi.com/

Meishochi 名蕉地 100 famous spots walking with Basho
http://bashomichi.com/meisyouchi100/tokyo/


Morimura Seiichi sensei 森村 誠一
芭蕉道への旅
http://bashomichi.com/tabi/morimuraseiichi/

http://www.bs-j.co.jp/okunohosomichi/


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Stamps about "Oku no Hosomichi"

Click the image for more !


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Related words


Chen-ou Liu about
. The Narrow Road to the Interior .



***** Basho Memorial Day (Basho-Ki)

***** Matsuo Basho　松尾芭蕉 (1644 - 1694)


***** NHK and Haiku


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. Michinoku, Mutsu 陸奥 region in Tohoku .


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