WKD - Matsuo Basho Archives

23/06/2012

Basho about himself

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- Basho about Basho and his life -

quote
by Jack Galmitz, THF, Periplum 9 :
The tradition of eliminating the “I” from haiku
coincided with the idea (fostered by Blyth, a student of D.T. Suzuki) that haiku was an offshoot of Zen Buddhism and that haiku aimed at enlightenment. While it is true that there were haiku written that purposely were meant as such expressions, haiku generally were not viewed as a medium of such expression.
Basho was not a Buddhist, had minimal understanding of the religion,
and was a poet first and foremost.

- Read more here:
. WKD : I .. the first person .

Basho in Edo - - - Five Portraits
source : hakusyunetto

Basho often writes directly about his own life and situation.
Although the word "I" is not often used in the Japanese language, it is implied in the structure and use of the verb our noun to be understood as the author writing about himself.

There may be too many haiku in this way by Basho, here I will list just a few that come to mind.

Poet centric hokku - - - Thanks to Don Baird for the inspiration of this phrase.
- Matsuo Basho Archives, Facebook -

- - - - -

Basho also writes a lot about the people he meets during his lifetime.
He describes their activities during the seasons, including festivals, food, clothing . . . thus he paints a vivid picture of the Edo period he lived in.
The haiku categories "humanity" and "observances" tell us much about it.
Check the "Cultural Keywords" tab on the right side.

people-centered hokku, people-centric hokku

. - Names of Persons used by Basho .

Some persons he mentions by name,
others he implies by using the name of an animal or a flower for a lady.

There are just too many to even try to list them all.

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発句なり松尾桃青宿の春
hokku nari Matsuo Toosei yado no haru

this is a hokku -
Matsuo Tosei's
home on New Year

Basho using his own name, Basho Toosei 松尾桃青 "Green Peach"
and his thoughts about hokku and haikai
. WKD - Hokku and Haikai 　発句と俳諧 .

死にもせぬ旅寝の果てよ秋の暮
. shini mo senu tabine no hate yo aki no kure .
I am not dead yet - - - shi ni mo senu - shinimosenu -

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Basho uses the expressions WARE - われ /我　 I, myself, me
WAGA　わが /　我が　 - my　
YO 予 me, myself

蕣や是も叉我が友ならず
. asagao ya kore mo mata waga tomo narazu .
(autumn) morning glories. not my friend

花にうき世我が酒白く飯黒し
. hana ni ukiyo waga sake shiroku meshi kuroshi .
(spring) cherry blossoms. floating world. white ricewine. black rice

初時雨初の字を我が時雨哉
. hatsu shigure hatsu no ji o waga shigure kana .
(winter) first winter drizzle. the character "first". my name "Shigure"

人に家を買はせて我は年忘れ
. hito ni ie o kawasete ware wa toshi wasure .
(winter) "forget the year". I make him buy a house.
for . Kawai Otokuni 川井乙州 .

いでや我よき布着たり蝉衣
. ide ya ware yoki nuno kitari semi-goromo .
Thank-you hokku to Sugiyama Sanpu for a new light summer robe.

いざよひもまだ更科の郡哉
. izayoi mo mada Sarashina no koori kana .
I am still in Sarashina

かげろふの我が肩に立つ紙子かな
. kageroo no waga kata ni tatsu kamiko kana .
(spring) heat shimmers. my shoulder. paper robe

香を探る梅に蔵見る軒端哉
. ka o saguru ume ni kura miru nokiba kana .
I gaze at the eaves of the warehouse

君や蝶我や荘子が夢心
. kimi ya cho ware ya Sooji ga yumegokoro .
(spring) butterfly. You are. I am Chuang-tzu.

碪打ちて我に聞かせよ坊が妻
. kinuta uchite ware ni kikase yo ya boo ga tsuma .
Let me hear it too !

こちら向け我もさびしき秋の暮
. kochira muke ware mo sabishiki aki no kure .
I am lonely too. For Kitamuki Unchiku 北向雲竹

見るに我も折れるばかりぞ女郎花
. miru ni ga mo oreru bakari zo ominaeshi .
I will break my vows too. For priest Soojoo Henjoo 僧正遍照 Sojo Henjo

ものひとつ我が世は軽き瓢哉
. mono hitotsu waga yo wa karoki hisago kana .
(summer) gourd flowers, just one possession

夏草や我先達ちて蛇狩らん
. natsukusa ya ware sakidachite hebi karan .
I go first to catch a snake. At Genju-An 幻住庵

猫の恋やむとき閨の朧月
. neko no koi yamu toki neya no oborozuki .
after the cat's love, hazy moonlight in my bedroom

能なしの眠たし我を行々子
nōnashi no nemutashi ware o gyōgyōshi
. noonashi no nemutashi ware o gyoogyooshi .
I have not talent and am tired. Saga Nikki 嵯峨日記

起きよ起きよ我が友にせん寝る胡蝶
. okiyo okiyo waga tomo ni sen neru kochoo .
please become my friend, dear butterfly

酒飲めばいとど寝られぬ夜の雪
. sake nomeba itodo nerarenu yoru no yuki .
when I drink sake I can not sleep

早苗にも我が色黒き日数哉
. sanae ni mo waga iro kuroki hikazu kana .
I am suntanned from many days traveling

涼しさを我が宿にしてねまるなり
. suzushisa o waga yado ni shite nemaru nari .
coolness ad my lodgings

旅人と我が名呼ばれん初時雨
. tabibito to waga na yobaren hatsu shigure .
more haiku from Basho, the Eternal Traveller

旅寝して我が句を知れや秋の風
. tabine shite waga ku o shire ya aki no kaze .
...then you'll know my poems ...

塚も動け我が泣く声は秋の風
. tsuka mo ugoke waga naku koe wa aki no kaze .
... my wailing, my tears ... at the news of the early death of his disciple
Kosugi Isshoo 小杉一笑（こすぎ　いっしょう） Kosugi Issho

うき我をさびしがらせよ閑古鳥
. uki ware o sabishigarase yo kankoodori .
... this sorrowful me . . .

わが衣に伏見の桃の雫せよ
. waga kinu ni Fushimi no momo no shizuku seyo .
(spring) peach blossoms. my robes. peaches of Fushimi, Kyoto.
at Temple Saigan-Ji 西岸寺. for 任口上人 Saint Ninko

我がためか鶴食み残す芹の飯
. waga tame ka tsuru hami-nokosu seri no meshi .
(spring) dropwort. cooked rice. just for me. crane left it over

わが宿は蚊の小さきを馳走かな
. waga yado wa ka no chiisaki o chisoo kana .
(summer) mosquito. my humble home

我も神のひさうや仰ぐ梅の花
. ware mo kami no hisoo ya aogu ume no hana .
(spring) plum blossoms. me too. I look up to god in the blue sky
for Sugawara Michizane 菅原道真

我に似るなふたつに割れし真桑瓜
. ware ni niru na futatsu ni wareshi makuwa uri .
Do not be like me. two halves of a melon
- for his disciple Enomoto Shido Toko 槐本之道 - 東湖

煩へば餅をも喰はず桃の花
. wazuraeba mochi o mo kuwazu momo no hana .
I am so ill, I can't even eat rice cakes

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予が風雅は夏炉冬扇のごとし
yo ga fuuga wa karo toosen no gotoshi

my elegance
is like a fireplace in summer
like a fan in winter
Tr. Gabi Greve

He was referring to himself, his poetical activities were useless compared with the wishes of other people.

MORE discussion of this hokku :
. WKD : fuyu oogi 冬扇 (ふゆおうぎ) "handfan in winter" .

木枯の身は竹斎に似たる哉
. kogarashi no mi wa Chikusai ni nitaru kana .
(winter) winter drizzle. I resemble the shabby doctor Chikusai
a kyooku 狂句 Kyoku, comic verse

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Five Portraits
source : hakusyunetto

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Basho about his thatched hut, Basho-An　芭蕉庵
. iori, an 庵, yado 宿 my humble abode .

Basho about his traveller's hat
. - kasa 笠　hat - .

Basho about his walking stick, cane, staff
. - tsue　杖 walking stick .

Basho about his facial expression : yoogan, yōgan 容顔
. WKD : face - 顔　kao, 面　tsura .

. Basho shedding tears .
- tears 涙 namida - to cry 泣くnaku -

. Basho and his dreams .
- yume 夢　dream -

. Basho drinking green tea 茶 . 　

. Basho about his illness, chronic stomach illness 腹病 fukubyoo .

. - Emotions expressed directly by Basho - .

. MORE Topics used by Basho .
food and regional dishes he enjoyed - - - - - and more on this growing list !

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あの中に蒔絵書きたし宿の月
. ano naka ni maki-e kakitashi yado no tsuki .
I want to draw a maki-e laquer painting

霰聞くやこの身はもとの古柏
. arare kiku ya kono mi wa moto no furugashiwa .
I am the same as before, like an old oak tree

足洗うてつひ明けやすき丸寝かな
. ashi aroote tsui akeyasuki marune kana .
I washed my feet (at the end of a long trip in Akashi)

父母のしきりに恋し雉の声
. chichi haha no shikiri ni koishi kiji no koe .
I long for my dead parents

地に倒れ根に寄り花の別れかな
. chi ni taore ne ni yori hana no wakare kana .
I fall to the ground to bid farewell - for Zen priest 坦堂和尚 Tando

二日にもぬかりはせじな花の春
. futsuka ni mo nukari haseji na hana no haru .
on the second day I won't fail (at temple Hasedera 長谷寺)

冬籠りまた寄りそはんこの柱
. fuyugomori mata yorisowan kono hashira .
I will lean against this pillar

冬の日や馬上に氷る影法師
. fuyu no hi ya bajoo ni kooru kagebooshi .
my shadow is frozen on the horse's back

ごを焚いて手拭あぶる寒さ哉
. go o taite tenugui aburu samusa kana .
I dry my hand towel

愚案ずるに冥土もかくや秋の暮
. guanzuru ni meido mo kaku ya aki no kure / guan zuru .
(autumn) end of autumn. in my humble view . the netherworld

愚に暗く茨を掴む蛍かな
. gu ni kuraku ibara o tsukamu hotaru kana .
foolishly in the darkness I grab a thorn

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. at Yoshino

半日は神を友にや年忘れ
. hanjitsu wa kami o tomo ni ya toshi wasure .
I spent half a day in the company of the deities

針立や肩に槌打つから衣　
. haritate ya kata ni tsuchi utsu karakoromo .
acupuncture on my shoulder
and this about acupuncture - 月花の愚に針たてん寒の入 -tsuki hana no gu ni hari taten kan no iri

初秋や畳みながらの蚊屋の夜着
. hatsu aki ya tataminagara no kaya no yogi .
my folded mosquito net as my blanket

初花に命七十五年ほど
. hatsu hana ni inochi nanajuu gonen hodo .
I will gain at least 75 years

市人よこの笠売らう雪の傘
. ichibito yo kono kasa uroo yuki no kasa .
(winter) snow. I sell you this hat full of snow.

幾霜に心ばせをの松飾り
. iku shimo ni kokoro baseo no matsukazari .
(New Year) pine decoration. frost. home of Baseo (Basho)

命二つの中に生きたる桜かな
. inochi futatsu no naka ni ikitaru sakura kana .
between our two lives - for Hattori Dohoo 服部土芳 Doho from Iga

歩行ならば杖突坂を落馬哉
. kachi naraba Tsuetsuki-zaka o rakuba kana .
If I had walked, I would not have fallen from the horse

瓶割るる夜の氷の寝覚め哉
. kame waruru yoru no koori no mezame kana .
(winter) ice. water jar. breaking. I wake up

雁聞きに京の秋に赴かん
. kari kiki ni miyako no aki ni omomukan .
I will set out to listen to the geese in the autumn in Kyoto.

暮れ暮れて餅を木魂の侘寝哉
. kure kurete mochi o kodama no wabine kana / kurekurete .
I sleep alone. My desolate sleep.

. kusuri nomu sarademo shimo no makura kana .
(winter) frost on my pillow. I drink medicine but

草臥れて宿借るころや藤の花　
. kutabirete yado karu koro ya fuji no hana .
(spring) wisteria flowers. I am so tired. looking for a lodging

めでたき人の数にも入らむ老の暮
. medetaki hito no kazu ni mo iran oi no kure .
getting older - beyond 42

身にしみて大根からし秋の風
. mi ni shimite daikon karashi aki no kaze .
(autumn) autumn wind. penetrates my body. pungent radish

餅を夢に折り結ふ歯朶の草枕
. mochi o yume ni ori musubu shida no kusa makura .
my pillow stuffed with grass

物いへば唇寒し秋の風
. mono ieba kuchibiru samushi aki no kaze .
my lips are cold when I talk

麦の穂を力につかむ別れ哉
. mugi no ho o chikara ni tsukamu wakare kana .
I clutch to the barley ears to support myself

夏衣いまだ虱をとりつくさず
. natsugoromo imada shirami o tori tsukusazu .
my summer robes sill full with lice

夏かけて名月暑き涼み哉
. natsu kakete meigetsu atsuki suzumi kana .
I feel summer coolness with the autumn full moon

蚤虱馬の尿する枕もと
. nomi shirami uma no bari suru makuramoto .
fleas and lice and a horse pissing near my pillow

思ひ立つ木曽や四月の桜狩り
. omoitatsu Kiso ya shigatsu no sakuragari .
I am resolved, I am ready for cherry blossom hunting in Kiso

扇にて酒くむ陰や散る桜
. oogi nite sake kumu kage ya chiru sakura .
(spring) cherry blossoms. my hand fan. I pretend to drink sake

近江蚊帳汗やさざ波夜の床
. Oomi-gaya ase ya sazanami yoru no toko .
my sweat, my bed at night, mosquito net from Omi

五月雨や蚕煩ふ桑の畑　
. samidare ya kaiko wazurau kuwa no hata .
Basho compares himself to an ill silkworm

関守の宿を水鶏にとをふもの　
. sekimori no yado o kuina ni toou mono .
I ask for the home of the barrier guard.

せつかれて年忘するきげんかな
. setsukarete toshi wasure suru kigen kana .
I feel great at the year-end party

しばし間も待つやほととぎす千年
. shibashi ma mo matsu ya hototogi su sennen .
I wait only for a short while

白髪抜く枕の下やきりぎりす
. shiraga nuku makura no shita ya kirigirisu .
white hair under my pillow

城跡や古井の清水まづ訪はん
. shiro-ato ya furu-i no shimizu mazu towan .
I will seek pure well water first

須磨寺やふかぬ笛きく木下やみ
. Sumadera ya fukanu fue kiku koshita yami .
I listen to a flute nobody plays at temple Sumadera 須磨寺

旅烏古巣は梅になりにけり
. tabigarasu furusu wa ume ni nari ni keri .
"traveling crow" (Basho about himself). old nest

旅に飽きてけふ幾日やら秋の風　
. tabi ni akite kyoo ikuka yara aki no kaze .
I am tired of traveling . . .

年の市線香買ひに出でばやな
. toshi no ichi senkoo kai ni idebayana .
I go out to buy some incense

月十四日今宵三十九の童部
. tsuki juuyokka koyoi sanjuu ku no warabe .
tonight I am a child of 39

月雪とのさばりけらし年の暮
. tsuki yuki to nosabari kerashi toshi no kure .
I have indulged myself in "moon and snow"

鶴鳴くやその声に芭蕉破れぬべし
. tsuru naku ya sono koe ni bashoo yarenu beshi .
the voice of a crane will tear a banana plant leaf

埋火や壁には客の影法師　
. uzumi-bi ya kabe ni wa kyaku no kagebooshi .
my shadow like a visitor on the wall

宿りせん藜の杖になる日まで
. yadorisen akaza no tsue ni naru hi made .
(summer) pigweed Chenopodium album. I would lodge here. goosefoot grows a staff

山陰や身を養はん瓜畠
. yamakage ya mi o yashinawan uribatake .
I nourish my body in the mountain cove (at Inaba yama), taking a rest

雪の朝独リ干鮭を噛み得タリ　
. yuki no ashita hitori karazake o kami etari .
Here Basho uses the word HITORI, I am alone, eating dry salmon

行く秋や身に引きまとふ三布蒲団
. yuku aki ya mi ni hikimatou mino-buton .
I wrap my body in a narrow bedding matress

湯の名残り今宵は肌の寒からん
. yu no nagori koyoi wa hada no samukaran .
tonight my skin will not feel cold - at Yamanaka Hot Spring 山中温泉
- - - - - and
湯の名残り幾度見るや霧のもと - yu no nagori iku tabi miru ya kiri no moto
I look back many times

夕顔や酔うて顔出す窓の穴
. yuugao ya yoote kao dasu mado no ana .
I am drunk (Basho about himself)

座頭かと人に見られて月見哉　/ zatō
. zatoo ka to hito ni mirarete tsukimi kana . 座頭 zatō
I appear like a blind man to people

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. - shirazu, shiranu 知らず/　知らぬ　- I do not know - .

. - kokoro こころ　－　心　 "heart", mind, soul - .

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散る柳あるじも我も鐘を聞く
chiru yanagi aruji mo ware mo kane o kiku

我が宿の淋しさ思へ桐一葉
waga yado no sabishisa omoe kiri hitoha

- - - - - details of these two hokku are here
. WKD : I .. the first person - ich selbst.

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Basho-An Fukagawa

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Bashō-An, Bashoo-an 芭蕉庵 Basho-An in Fukagawa　深川　

and

Sekiguchi Bashoan 関口芭蕉庵 Sekiguchi Basho-An

. Sugiyama Sanpu 杉山杉風 (Sampu) .
Sunpu was a wealthy fish wholesaler in Edo.
The wholesale carp business, particularly prosperous at that time, made it possible for him to provide such great support to Matsuo Basho. The Koiya store 鯉屋　maintained a carp farm in Fukagawa. Basho later lived in a remodeled cottage that had previously been the caretaker’s lodge at Koiya’s carp farm.
The cottage was named Basho-an after a basho (banana) tree growing near the cottage, and Basho adopted the same for his pen name.

source :　www.bashouan.com
江東区芭蕉記念館

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The Basho Museum 芭蕉記念館

Known as the "town of green, water and serenity,"Koto City figured significantly in the life of Matsuo Basho, who left a great contribution to the literature of Japan.

In 1680 Basho left Nihonbashi, in Edo (as Tokyo was then known), to live in a thatched cottage in Fukagawa, some distance away from Nihonbashi the center of the city.

At that time, Fukagawa was a quiet, swampy area,　and the Basho (banana) tree planted by one of his disciples grew so luxuriantly that his cottage was known as the "Basho-an", and "Basho" became his pen name.

Living in Fukagawa, or using it as the base for his journeys around Japan, Basho established the present form of the haiku, producing many excellent works by which the haiku, until then regarded primarily as an entertaining　pastime, gained acceptance as a major literary genre. It was also in Fukagawa that Basho sat down to write most of his travel journals, including his most famous one, The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

We know that after Basho's death, the Fukagawa "Basho-an" cottage was preserved as a precious historic spot within the site of a samurai residence, but it disappeared at some time in the late 19th century.

After the great tidal wave that swept the area in 1917, a stone frog that Basho is believed to have been fond of during his lifetime was discovered, and in 1921 the Tokyo government designated Tokiwa 1-3 as the historic site of the Basho-an.

However, the designated plot was too small to restore the site to its original condition, and continued efforts were made to procure the surrounding land. Eventually this was accomplished and Koto Ward made the site a historic landmark.

The Basho Museum opened on April 19, 1981. In the garden are a small shrine and pond, and on exhibit are artifacts related to Basho and haiku poetry contributed by such men as Manabe Giju.

The museum also serves as a center for literary research and holds regular haiku meetings, and through such activities contributes to the preservation and advancement of culture.
source : www.kcf.or.jp/basyo

Basho Kinenkan 芭蕉記念館 - Basho Memorial Museum
東京都江東区常盤

MORE - hokku by Basho about
. The Great Bridge of Fukagawa 深川大橋 - 新両国橋. Shin Ryogoku-bashi .

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source :　homepage3.nifty.com/onihei-zue
Basho-An was near the Mannenbashi 万年橋　"Ten Thousand Year Bridge".

Fuji seen through the Mannen bridge at Fukagawa - Hokusai
- LOOK : ja.wikipedia.org/wiki

北斎漫画　芭蕉　－Hokusai Manga, Matsuo Basho

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quote
One landmark that draws only a few visitors, but is nonetheless a place of great importance in Edo, is the so-called "banana villa" (Basho-an). It is the home of Matsuo Basho, one of Japan's greatest poets. Matsuo Basho's real name was Matsuo Munefusa. He was born in western Japan, in the town of Ueno, and spent the early years of his life as a teacher of Chinese classics and poetry. However, in 1666 his main student, the son of a leading daimyo, died. Matsuo retiring from teaching and became a semi-reculse, living on an estate in Fukagawa owned by one of his former students. Matsuo planted a large banana tree (basho) in the garden, and as a result, his retreat came to be known as the basho-an (banana villa), and he came to be called Basho no Matsuo (Matsuo, of the banana villa).

Matsuo Basho was one of the greatest haiku poets of his time. His greatest collection of poetry is the book Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road Through the North Country), which he wrote while making a pilgrimage to northern Japan in the later years of his life. Although he died in 1694, his canal-side retreat at the banana villa continues to attract poetry lovers, who come to pay their respects to this remarkable man.
source : edomatsu/fukagawa

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芭蕉葉を柱に懸けん庵の月　
bashooha o hashira ni kaken io no tsuki

one banana leaf
placed on the pillar -
the moon above my hut　

Matsuo Basho, age 49

After he had come back from three years travellng, his friends had set him up again at Bashoan　芭蕉庵, the Banana Hut at Fukagawa, Edo.
His discipled had take off one leaf and written eight haiku on its backside. This was placed on one of the pillars.
From his hut, Basho enjoyed to watch the autumn moon.

In the accompanying text, Basho compares himself to two Chinese sages, who also enjoyed the banana plant leaves:
Zhang Hengqu (1020-1077) and Huaisu (725-785).

"The monk Huaisu ran his brush along it;
Zhang Hengshu gained strength for his studies just by gazing upon the emerging leaves."

芭蕉野分して盥に雨を聞夜哉
bashoo nowaki shite tarai ni ame o kiku yo kana

MORE - about Basho-An, the Hermitage of
. Matsuo Basho . 　

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発句なり松尾桃青宿の春
. hokku nari Matsuo Toosei yado no haru .

this is a hokku -
Matsuo Tosei's
home on New Year
Tr. Gabi Greve

Matsuo later changed his name from Tosei "Green peach" to Basho (Banana).
1679 延宝7年, Basho age 36
On the first morning of the New Year.
In 1678 延宝６年 he had put up his "shop sign" Tosei and become a professional Haikai Master 俳諧宗匠.
This hokku shows his strong self-confidence in his new profession.

. WKD : "spring in this lodge", yado no haru　宿の春 .
Kigo for the New Year

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ばせを植ゑてまづ憎む荻の二葉哉
bashoo uete mazu nikumu ogi no futaba kana

we planted the banana tree
but now I hate the first sprouts
of the ogi reeds . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

. Planting the first banana tree with his disciple Rika 李下 .

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初雪や幸ひ庵にまかりある　
hatsu yuki ya saiwai an ni makariaru

first snow -
I am lucky to be here
in my own hut
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written on the 18th day of the 12th lunar month 1686
貞亨3年12月18日, Basho age 43

This day was also considered as the 31st day of the 1st month
太陽暦で1687年1月31日
Other sources place it on the ninth day of the 12th lunar month. 12月9日

On that day he wrote about the first narcissus.

初雪や水仙の葉のたわむまで
. hatsu-yuki ya suisen no ha no tawamu made .

Basho was fond of "first snow" and made some trips to friends when he heard the good news. Now finally it has started snowing on his own home and he is happy to be there.

makari aru 罷りある an emphatic verbal prefix
shows his great joy about the snow.

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source :www.komonjyo.net

I got some rice from friends.

世の中は稲刈るころか草の庵
yo no naka wa ine karu koro ka kusa no io

in the world it is now time
to harvest rice -
my thatched hermitage
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written around 貞亨年間, Basho age 41 - 44

The hut refers most probably to his second Basho-An in Fukagawa.
Someone of his disciples had brought him newly harvested rice to support his poor life.
Basho leads the life of an intonsha 隠遁者 a recluse and makes fun of his lifestyle.

. WKD : The Japanese Rice Culture - .

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Basho-An　芭蕉庵 in Sekiguchi, Edo

Basho's Hut on Camellia Hill beside the Aquaduct at Sekiguchi
（せき口上水端はせを庵椿やま）
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) - One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. #40.

MORE in the WKD :
. Basho-An　芭蕉庵 in Fukagawa, Edo .

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深川の芭蕉庵 - Image of the "Frog Stone"

- reference : fusimiin/basyo/fuka10

Sekiguchi Bashoan 関口芭蕉庵 Sekiguchi Basho-An
now in Bunkyo ward 文京区関口２－１１－３。
- reference : basyo/sekiguti10

Basho lived for about three or four years in the Sekuguchi Basho-An, where clear spring water comes out of the back mountains. This clear water is said to be the inspiration for the "sound of water".
This home was lost due to a fire.
The dates vary, it seems he started living in Sekiguchi from 1677 till 1681 (from about age 34 to 38), while he was involved with the work of the water supply system of the Kanda waterway　神田上水.
The place was called Ryuuge-an 龍隠庵 Ryuge-An "Dragon Sanctuary", the dragon being the deity of water.

Later in 1726, the place was re-named after Matsuo Basho, and called Sekiguchi Basho-An. Now there is a traditional Japanese garden to enjoy.

source :　ukiyo-e.org/image
by Ogata Gekko - British Museum

quote
Where ‘Green Peach’ blossomed
Down by the Kanda riverside in the footsteps of Basho
(the print is missing)
The woodcut print shown here depicts a rural idyll northwest of Edo.
A meandering river nourishes an expanse of rice paddies on the left-hand side. Two men are crossing a bridge, and more people are walking by the riverside. On the rising ground behind them, a cluster of thatched houses identified as “Ryuge-an (Dragon’s Retreat)” nestles amid pine trees.

To the left, there is a shrine dedicated to the god of water, while on the upper right there are a few more huts, labeled “Basho-do (Hall of Basho)” and “Samidare-zuka (May-rain Stone).”

The river is the Kanda, an important drinking-water resource for the citizens of Edo, whose source is Inokashira Pond in Mitaka, western Tokyo. In another 1830s’ rendition of the area, the same artist, Hasegawa Settan 長谷川雪旦, depicts a large stone dam, where the river water used to enter a canal that ran about 5 km to the city’s northern border.
Hence the area was named Sekiguchi, meaning “the mouth of the dam.”

Haiku poet Matsuo Basho was employed in the maintenance of this canal for four years, from 1677 to 1680. Born in 1644 in the province of Iga (present-day Mie Prefecture), he began to write the 17-syllable verse, then called, haikai, characterized by humor and allusions to classical literature. His pen name in those days was Tosei, meaning “Green Peach.”

Having moved to Edo in 1672, Basho lived in Nihonbashi and devoted himself to establishing haikai as a true art form. As a newcomer to the bustling new capital of Japan, he was eking out a precarious living, aided by patrons who admired his poetry.

Apparently he liked working in the farming countryside of Sekiguchi, where he enjoyed the views of rice paddies brimming with water from the Kanda. At Ryuge-an, a respected Zen monk called Sei’ei lived in a hermitage, and Tosei often visited him there to engage in long, heart-to-heart conversations.

In 1680 he moved to Fukagawa on the forlorn eastern bank of the Sumida River. He so loved an exotic banana tree, or basho, planted by a disciple outside his riverside abode there that he changed his pen name to Basho.
snip
Still later, in 1744, a hall — the Basho-do in the woodcut print — was dedicated to a wooden statue of Basho. Now, both the memorial stone and the hall are in the Sekiguchi Basho-an. Four statues of his famous disciples — Kikaku, Ransetsu, Kyorai and Joso — are also enshrined there.
source : Japan Times, 2002 - by Sumiko Enbutsu

. Basho working for the waterworks department of the Edo .

. Tamagawa Joosui 多摩川上水 Tamagawa Josui Kanal .

関口芭蕉庵
Extensive Japanese Reference : source : itoyo/basho

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MORE - hokku by Basho about
. an　庵 hermitage, thatched hut / yado 宿 my home .

粟稗にとぼしくもあらず草の庵　
. awa hie ni toboshiku mo arazu kusa no io .
foxtail and barn millet at this thatched hut

啄木鳥も庵は破らず夏木立
kitsutsuki mo io wa yaburazu natsu kodachi

この宿は水鶏も知らぬ扉かな
kono yado wa kuina mo shiranu toboso kana

草臥れて宿借るころや藤の花　
kutabirete yado karu koro ya fuji no hana

なに喰うて小家は秋の柳かな　
nani kuute ko-ie wa aki no yanagi kana

西行の庵もあらん花の庭　
. Saigyō no iori mo aran hana no niwa .
Basho and Saigyo　芭蕉 - 西行

隠れ家や月と菊とに田三反
. kakurega ya tsuki to kiku to ni ta san tan .

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Fukagawa Happin 深川八貧 "Eight Beggars of Fukagawa"

source :　kanpane.blog.so-net

Matsuo Basho himself and seven more

Deikin 泥芹, Isui 依水, . - Yasomura Rotsuu 八十村路通 Rotsu - . , Sora 曾良, Taisui 苔水 / 岱水, Yuugo 友五 Yugo and Yuugiku 夕菊 Yugiku (Sekikiku 石菊) .

Their meetings were those of intimate friends, called
kanboo no majiwari 管鮑の交わり the friendship between the Chinese poets Guan and Bao.
Kanchuu 管仲 and Hoo Shukuka ka 鮑叔牙

For their haikai meeting in 1688, Basho wrote

米買ひに雪の袋や投頭巾
. kome kai ni yuki no fukuro ya nagezukin .

source :　www.bashouan.com

With a reference to the Chinese poet
. Du Fu 杜甫 To Ho .
and his meetings with poor friends 「貧交行」.

- source : hinkookau 貧交行

- - - - -

Taisui 苔水 / 岱水
He lived close to Basho in Fukagawa.

He compiled the collection Kiso no Kei 木曽の谿 "The Ravine of Kiso".
Once in his estate, a kagemachi party (岱水亭影待) was held and Basho wrote

雨折々思ふことなき早苗哉 - ame ori ori omou koto naki sanae kana
影待や菊の香のする豆腐串 - kagemachi ya kiku no ka no suru toofugushi

- - - - -

Honma Yuugo 本間友五 Honma Yugo
Son of doctor Honma Michietsu 本間通悦 from Hitachi Itako 常陸潮来.

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Edo and Water Transport
by His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan
March 17, 2006 in Mexico

In establishing the Shogunate, Ieyasu embarked on a project to protect Edo from water hazards. In those days there were two rivers flowing through Edo, the larger of which was the Tonegawa, and the other the Arakawa, which was notorious for breaking its banks and overflowing. Nearby inhabitants thus were often exposed to the danger of flooding. Ieyasu diverted the Tonegawa in stages towards the east, separating it from the Arakawa to protect Edo from floods (fig-2). As a result of this initiative the Tonegawa now flows directly to the Pacific Ocean rather than into Tokyo Bay as it originally did. This was called “Tosen”, or the Eastward Relocation of the Tonegawa.

. Minuma Water Deity 見沼 and Edo .

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Nearby is the

. Basho Inari Jinja 芭蕉稲荷神社 Basho Fox Shrine .
Tokiwa, Koto Ward 江東区常盤1-3 Tokyo

. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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

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- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -

when I saw the site on which Basho's hut was once located in Fukagawa --

古池や先御先へととぶ蛙
furu ike ya mazu o-saki e to tobu kawazu

old pond,
pardon me for going first
frog says, jumping
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku by Issa appears in the posthumously edited collection Asagi-zora (Light Blue Sky). It is a variant of a hokku written by Issa in the first month (February) of 1816:

yamabuki ya mazu o-saki e to tobu kawazu

wild yellow rose,
pardon me for going first
frog says, jumping

Both versions of this hokku are evocations of a polite frog about to jump into a pond, but they are more than that. On one important level each version refers to a story told by Shiko, one of Basho's followers, although the allusion is more direct in the original hokku. According to Shiko, one day, as Basho and his protege Kikaku were talking at Basho's hut in Fukagawa in Edo, Basho mentioned that he was looking for a good first line for a hokku. He explained that he'd already written the last two lines:

kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto

the sound of a leaping frog
entering water

Hearing that, Kikaku suggested using yamabuki ya or "wild yellow rose --" as the first line, since the image of the newly blooming yellow rose captures the pathos of spring leaving and the imminent arrival of summer. Basho finally rejected the elegant, colorful flower for "old pond --," a simpler image that puts the focus on the actual frog and on the pond. In response to this dialog between Basho and Kikaku more than a century earlier, Issa in the original hokku in 1816 imagines how the frog in Basho's mind is transformed from being a sound juxtaposed with a flower into the main actor in the hokku. Ah -- the frog might be telling the flower if its polite phrase were unpacked -- beautiful yellow rose, you are certainly worthy of going first, but Basho just told me to get moving and jump into that pond, so I'll have to pass you and leave you behind here on the pond's edge. You'll have to pardon me for going ahead of you like this.
In Issa's humorous dramatization of the creation of Basho's hokku, the cutting word ya at the end of the first line also functions, because of the context, as a particle used by the energetic frog to get the attention of the yellow rose, so I believe this cutting word can be translated with either a dash or a comma.

Because of the reference to the conversation between Basho and Kikaku, the second line of the original hokku becomes on one level the frog's apology to the yellow rose for bumping it out of the hokku at the moment Basho decides to use "old pond" instead. It's likely Basho also made a polite apology to Kikaku, thanking him for his helpful suggestion that stimulated Basho's imagination even as he passed by the flower on his way toward a deeper hokku. There are no pronouns in the frog's apology, so who or what is going ahead is not explicitly mentioned. Instead, the reference to the one going ahead is communicated by the speaker's body language -- in this case the frog's jump definitively finishes its verbal statement and indicates that it's impolitely going ahead. If a human were using this polite phrase, s/he would either
1) add an extra phrase ("excuse me" would indicate that the speaker is going first, while "please go ahead" would indicate that the listener should go first) or
2) use a gesture of some sort to identify the person who should go first. In both versions of Issa's hokku, it is the frog's diving stance and act of diving.

In the later variation of this hokku, translated first above, on one level the frog apparently asks the old pond itself to pardon him for the abrupt jump Basho has decided the frog will make into its water. In this hokku the frog's apology to the yellow rose may be implicitly assumed, since "go first" implies the frog has moved in front of something else and thereby entered Basho's hokku, so the frog may also be apologizing for having pushed by the yellow rose. In Basho's hokku the pond itself is a more important and imposing presence than the "water" in Kikaku's version, a presence deserving the politeness shown by the frog in Issa's later version. Nevertheless, like Basho the vigorous frog doesn't hesitate to push forward and dive.

In Issa's time, the area in which Basho's hut was said to have stood was part of the large garden of a warrior lord. A stone memorializing Basho is said to have stood near the pond there that was believed to have been the one where Basho heard the jumping frog.

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

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- quote March 26, 2021 -
Massive picture scroll on poet Basho's life on display for 1st time
芭蕉翁絵詞伝

"Basho-o Ekotoba-den" (The Life of the Venerable Basho in Pictures and Words) is on display as part of a special exhibition titled "Basho-o Ekotoba-den and Gichuji," which celebrates the museum's 30th anniversary.
- source : asahi.com - By JIRO TSUTSUI/

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[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- #bashoan #fukagawa -
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22/06/2012

cha - drinking tea

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
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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

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

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.

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

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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20/06/2012

Edo the Castle Town

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- Edo 江戸 the Castle Town -

From 1603 to 1868, the city of Edo was the seat of power of the Tokugawa shogunate and the political center of Japan. In 1868 the city was renamed Tokyo and made the official capital of the nation.

. - - - Welcome to Edo　江戸 ! - - - the Edo Jidai Guidebook .

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秋十年却って江戸を指す故郷
秋十年却て江戸を指故郷
秋十とせ却て江戸を指古郷
aki totose kaette Edo o sasu kokyoo

ten years ten autumns -
now I think of Edo
as my hometown
Tr. Gabi Greve

Basho has lived in Edo now for ten years and feels it is his home now.
He sets out on a trip to his hometown in Iga, Ueno.

. Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀 .

totose 十歳 - an expression from the Genji Monogatari.

Hashi Hime, Hashihime 橋姫

その人もかしこにてうせ侍にし後ととせあまりにて
sono hito mo kashiko ni te use haberi ni shi nochi,
totose amari nite

quote
A pictorial subject based on "The Lady at the Bridge" Hashihime, Chapter 45 of GENJI MONOGATARI 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji).

The last ten chapters of the Tale are known as UJI JUUJOU 宇治十帖 (The Ten Books of Uji). This chapter, the first of the ten, introduces the Eighth Prince Hachi no miya 八宮, a half-brother of Genji, and his two daughters, Ooigimi 大君 and Naka no kimi 中君, who live with him in his self-imposed retirement at Uji (south of Kyoto). The prince is known for his piety and wisdom. Kaoru 薫, whose serious character is engendered by deep misgivings about his paternity, begins to study under Hachi no miya.
Eventually he learns from Ben no kimi 弁君, the daughter of *Kashiwagi's 柏木 wet nurse, that he is not in fact Genji's son, but rather the illegitimate son of Kashiwagi. The scene most frequently chosen for illustration shows Ooigimi playing a lute biwa 琵琶 and Naka no kimi a harp koto 琴 under the moon and clouds while Kaoru secretly peers in through a break in the villa's bamboo fence.
This scene survives in a section of the earliest illustrated version (12c) in the Tokugawa 徳川 Art Museum.
source : Jaanus

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富士の風や扇にのせて江戸土産
. Fuji no kaze ya oogi ni nosete Edo miyage .
The wind from mount Fuji as a souvenir from Edo . . .

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. Koishikawa 小石川養生所　 Koishikawa Yojosho Hospital in Edo .

Katsushika Hokusai 礫川雪ノ旦/小石川雪ノ旦
snow at the tea house in Koishikawa

一時雨礫や降つて小石川　
hito shigure tsubute ya futte Koishikawa

a winter drizzle
and now - some hailstones falling
at Koishikawa
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in 1677 延宝５年, Basho age 34
The cut marker YA is in the middle of line 2.

The name Koishikawa used to be written with the Chinses characters 礫川.
礫 means small stones, Basho here uses a pun with the hailstones.
. Koishikawa 小石川 in Edo .

With a stone memorial
愚考、延宝元年の吟なり。むかしは礫川と書、後に小石川とあらたむるといふ故に、此作あり。袖日記には貞享二年の部にのせたるは非なり。貞享元の春より正風体を専らに唱ふ。
source : michiko328

Tokugawa Mitsukuni　徳川光圀
. Mito Komon 水戸黄門 .
(1628 - 1701)

In some jidaigeki Samurai movies in Japan, Mito Komon and Matsuo Basho can be seen travelling in Tohoku together.

Matsuo Basho was played by Sakai Masa-aki 堺正章.

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詠むるや江戸には稀な山の月
nagamuru ya Edo ni wa mare na yama no tsuki

Let us write poetry!
the moon above the moutains
is hardly seen in Edo

Written in 延宝4年, Basho age 33

Basho had been back in Iga Ueno for the second time and compares the bright moon of his mountainous region with the usually clouded moon of Edo.
The town of Edo had already more than 1.000.000 inhabitants and its own environmental problems with all the wood and coal fires for cooking and heating.

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quote
During Basho’s youth, Edo city is in the process of rapid economic growth.
In 1672, Basho dared to move to Edo, ambitious to become a haiku master with great popularity. At this time, Basho wrote a haiku praising the prosperity of two Japanese capitals: Edo and Kyoto.

天秤や京江戸かけて千代の春
tenbin ya Kyō Edo kakete chiyo no haru

Kyoto and Edo,
Calmly balanced on a scale,
Forever in spring.
Tr. Yuasa

quote
On the giant scales
Kyô and Edo balance
spring of one thousand years
Tr. Ban’ya Natsuishi

In Edo where Basho was residing, a Kabuki actor Danjuro Ichikawa (1660-1704) made his flashy debut in 1673. In 1677, “Edo Suzume”, a guidebook of Edo sites, illustrated by an ukiyo-e painter Moronobu Hishikawa (1618-1694) was published. Commercial wealth and a growing chônin (bourgeois) population gave birth to a lively and gorgeous culture in big cities: Osaka, Kyoto and Edo.
“Tenbin” (scales) in the above haiku suggests money changer’s prosperous activity. So, the haiku shows us that Basho, free from worry and hesitation, was sympathized with the urban atmosphere of Edo under economic and cultural development. Basho’s rhetoric is bold enough to make up “the giant scales” which weighs Kyoto and Edo.
His bold rhetoric was directly related to the expanding urbanism of Edo.

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

Kyoto the aristocrat capital and
Edo the samurai capital

and now noodles -
Soba of Edo versus Udon of Kyoto

Matsuo Basho visiting
. - Kyooto 京都 Kyoto, Kyo -　Miyako 都 / みやこ- .

. WKD : tenbin 天秤 scales and salesmen in Edo .

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3 Paintings of Basho from the Basho Kinenkan in Tokyo
江東区芭蕉記念館
source : www.bashouan.com

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Matsuo Basho in
. - Kyooto 京都 Kyoto, Kyo -　Miyako 都 / みやこ- .

. - - - Welcome to Edo　江戸 ! .

. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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