19/06/2012

Food haiku

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- Haiku about Food - Essen -


more haiku about food are featured
in the ABC index of these archives.


This list is still growing. Please come back sometime.

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source : www.pej-lady.org



青ざしや草餅の穂に出でつらん
aozashi ya kusa mochi no ho ni ide tsuran

green grain crackers
the wheat ears come out of
veggie cookies

Tr. Reichhold

Written in 1683 天和3年, Basho was 40.



A sweet made of parched green wheat flour and twisted like a thread.
. Aozashi 青挿 (あおざし, 青ざし)
"fresh wheat sweets" .



aozashi 青ざし五巻文 - 青緡〔あおざし〕五貫文 referres to the new coins of Edo, bound with a rope through a hole in the middle of each coin.





誰が聟ぞ歯朶に餅おふ しの年
. taga muko zo shida ni mochi ou ushi no toshi .

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時鳥鰹を染めにけりけらし
hototogisu katsuo o some ni keri kerashi

the cuckoo
has stained the fish
I suppose

Tr. Reichhold



Maybe the bush warbler
sang too much
this skipjack


Basho is having dinner at the home of a wealthy retainer of the Akimono clan and is served skipjack, a thuna that we call AKU in Hawai'i.
It is something exotic for him, and he fancies that the bush warbler must have sung too much. The bush warbler is said to gush blood when it was that enthusiastic.
Tr. and comment : Robert Aitken


Written in 1681 天和元年 Basho was 38.

The sashimi raw meat of skipjack is quite dark red.





blood-red sunrise -
today's dinner is
katsuo sashimi


Gabi Greve
October 6, 2012
Just after writing the above text about Basho and his katsuo sashimi, we had the most impressive sunrise, with rain clouds already in the West and stark red above the pines in the East.



. Kamakura o ikite ideken hatsugatsuo .
(summer) first katsuo bonito. town of Kamakura. to be alive




MORE bonito hokku by Basho
. WKD : katsuo 鰹 bonito .
skipjack tuna - Katsuwonus pelamis

. katsuo uri ikanaru hito o yowasuran .
(summer) first skipjack katsuo. vendor, fish monger. charming people
. . . . . and
又越む佐夜の中山はつ松魚
mata koemu Sayo no Nakayama hatsugatsuo
summer) first skipjack katsuo bonito. Sayo no Nakayama pass. to cross again



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春立つや新年ふるき米五升
haru tatsu ya shinnen furuki kome goshoo

spring arises
ten quarts of old rice
in the new year

Tr. Reichhold

spring begins--
new year, old rice
ten quarts

Tr. Ueda

spring begins--
in a new year,
ten quarts of old rice

Tr. Barnhill


Written in 1684 貞亨元年. Basho age 41.
Basho used a dry hollow gourd as a box to keep his rice grains 米櫃の瓢, which could only hold five sho of rice. It was a kind of symbol for a poor man.
It was famous and called 四山の瓢, a name given by Yamaguchi Sodoo 素堂 Sodo.

1 shoo しょう【升】ca. 1.8 litres


Rice grains are called "kome, mai 米".
On the table and cooked, it is called "Gohan" ご飯 or "meshi" 飯 めし.
. Rice in various kigo .





. Masu 升 measuring cup .
and another haiku by Basho !

masu katte funbetsu kawaru tsukimi kana




芭蕉『四山瓢』

source : edosodou

ものひとつ瓢はかろき我よかな 
mono hitotsu hisago wa karuki waga yo kana


. mono hitotsu waga yo wa karoki hisago kana .

just one possession,
my world light
as a gourd

Tr. Barnhill

With a further discussion of the gourd haiku.


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煩へば餅をも喰はず桃の花
wazuraeba mochi o mo kuwazu momo no hana

overcome with illness,
I can't even eat a rice cake:
peach blossoms

Tr. Barnhill


since I'm sick
not eating a rice bar
peach flowers

Tr. Reichhold

Written in 1686 貞亨3年
It seems Basho was suffering from some stomach illness. So even on this special day he could not eat the festive mochi rice cakes.
But at least he could write a haiku about it.

because I am sick
I can not even eat a festive rice cake -
peach blossom time

Tr. Gabi Greve

. Momo no sekku 桃の節句 Peach Blossom Festival .
The Hina Doll Festival, March 3.



The festive rice cakes are called
. hishi mochi 菱餅 (ひしもち) Hishimochi rice cakes .
red, white, and green lozenge-shaped rice cakes



. Rice cakes (mochi 餅) .


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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
sitting with tea and cake
a fireplace

Tr. Reichhold

five or six of us
lined up before the tea cakes:
the sunken hearth

Tr. Barnhill

Written in Winter 1688/89.

Further discussion
of this haiku:
. Snacks with Tea (cha no ko お茶の子) .


. open Japanese hearth, irori 囲炉裏 .


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秋涼し手毎にむけや瓜茄子
aki suzushi te goto ni muke ya uri nasubi

[headnote]
'Invited to a Certain Grass Hut'

autumn coolness
each peeling with our hands
melons and eggplants

Tr. Reichhold



'I was invited to a certain grass hut'

autumn is cool
let each hand set to peeling
melons and eggplants

Tr. Barnhill
Barnhill notes that an earlier version goes like this:

残暑しばし手毎に料れ瓜茄子
zansho shibashi tegoto ni ryoore uri nasubi

summer heat lingers,
let's set our hands to cooking
melon and eggplants


Oku no Hosomichi, Kanazawa 7月15日 - 23日
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


. Eggplant kigo 茄子 なすび .

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霰せば網代の氷魚煮て出さん
arare seba ajiro no hio o nite dasan

[headnote]
'People from Zeze have visited me at my cottage.'

if it hails
ice fish from the trap
I'll served cooked

Tr. Reichhold



'With many people visiting my grass hut in Zeze,'

if it hails
I'll cook and serve
wicker-caught whitebait

Tr. Barnhill


Written in December of 1689 元禄2年12月


source :itoyo/basho
Memorial stone at Otsu town, Shiga 滋賀県大津市田上南郷


"Well, my friends, thanks for coming to share my humble meal of fish.
If it would now start to hail, that would enhance our elegant fuuryuu 風流 enjoyment even more!"


Ajiro fish traps are prepared in late autumn and used in winter till spring.
The fish are then cooked in sweet soy sauce for a delicious meal.


. WKD : ajiro 網代 (あじろ) wickerwork fishtraps .


. hiuo, hio 氷魚 (ひうお) small ayu trout .

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compiled by Larry Bole - source : Happy Haiku Group

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秋の色糠味噌壷もなかりけり
aki no iro nukamiso tsubo mo nakari keri

Kukuu 句空 Kuku had asked Basho for a hokku that he could add to a scroll painting of priest Kenkoo 兼好法師 Kenko called "Nukamiso tsubo".

Written in 1691 元禄4年, Basho age 48

Kenko did not have much possesions, some say only one pot to wash his hands and take his meal. He kept this possession on his daily walks praying for food.

nukamiso salted rice-bran paste for pickling, barley miso
. WASHOKU - Miso (みそ or 味噌) Miso paste .
This is kept in special pots with a lid, even now in the "color of autumn".


This hokku is one sentence and has the cut marker KERI at the end of line 3.
It is best to start the translation from the end.

he does not even have
a pot in the colors of autumn
for fermented miso paste . . .

Tr. Gabi Greve



. Yoshida Kenkoo 吉田兼好 Yoshida Kenko .
(1283? – 1350?)
Tsurezuregusa - "Essays in Idleness"


Matsuo Basho visiting his diciple Kukuu 句空 Kuku.
. - Gichuuji 義仲寺 Temple Gichu-Ji - .

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. ALL haiku about mochi 餅 rice cakes .



mezurashi ya yama o Dewa no hatsu nasubi
First Minden-Eggplants from Dewa


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haiku about cooked rice 飯 meshi

. asagao ni ware wa meshi kuu otoko kana .
(autumn) morning glories. I am a man eating rice


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


飯あふぐ嚊が馳走や夕涼み
. meshi augu kaka ga chisoo ya yuu suzumi .
(summer) evening cool. boiled rice as a treat. old lady or wife
kaka 嚊 is an old word, derived from "okaasan お母さん", mother, used fondly for one's own wife. Here Basho shows a gentle evening scene, when the husband is back home from field work and his wife prepares the meal.


麦飯にやつるる恋か猫の妻
. mugi meshi ni yatsururu koi ka neko no tsuma .



水向けて跡訪ひたまえ道明寺
. mizu mukete ato toi tamae doomyooji .
cold rice from temple Domyo-Ji 道明寺



忘れ草菜飯に摘まん年の暮 
. wasuregusa nameshi ni tsuman toshi no kure .
(winter) end of the year. licorice. rice gruel with rapeseen leaves

. . . . .


. WKD : "Gohan" ご飯 or "meshi" 飯 めし..

- including

似合はしや豆の粉飯に桜狩り
niawashi ya mame no ko meshi ni sakura-gari
bean-flour rice balls

我がためか鶴食み残す芹の飯
waga tame ka tsuru hami-nokosu seri no meshi
rice with dropwort


- - - - -


zoozu, zoosui, zosui 雑水 (ざふすい) dirty water
after washing rice or rinsing dishes

Basho uses the old spelling, but now it is an old version for

zoosui 雑炊 rice porridge
In the Edo period, this watery rice with some leaves of radish was the daily fare of the very poor. Now it is a favorite dish for dieting and also given to ill and recuperating people.


雑水に琵琶聴く軒の霰かな 
zoosui ni biwa kiku noki no arare kana

while I eat my rice porridge
hail falling on the eaves sounds
like a biwa lute . . .

Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in 貞亨元年, Basho age 41 or later
at Arisoumi 有磯海. Basho is most probably home in Fukagawa and has a lonely meal.


All kinds of zoosui
. WKD : Zoosui 雑炊 (ぞうすい) rice porridge.
kigo for winter

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haiku about SOUP 汁

. norijiru 海苔汁 laver seaweed soup .

- including

牡蠣よりは海苔をば老の売りもせで 
kaki yori wa nori o ba oi no uri mo sede

海苔汁の手際見せけり浅黄椀
nori jiru no tegiwa mise keri asagi wan

衰ひや歯に喰ひ当てし海苔の砂
otoroi ya ha ni kuiateshi nori no suna

. . . . .


. ara nani tomo ya kinoo wa sugite fukutojiru .
(winter) fugu blowfish soup

. chisa wa mada aoba nagara ni nasubi-jiru .
(summer) eggplant soup. salad. green

. kakusanu zo yado wa najiru ni toogarashi .
(autumn) red pepper. do not hide. home. leafy vegetable soup

. ki no moto ni shiru mo namasu mo sakura kana .
(spring) cherry blossoms. under trees. soup. fish salad

. suimono wa mazu dekasareshi Suizenji .
(summer) seaweed from temple Suizen-Ji水前寺. soup

. ume wakana Mariko no yado no tororo jiru .
(autumn) yam soup. plum and young greens. postal station of Mariko

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Continued

. MORE Haiku about Food by Matsuo Basho .

inochi koso imo dane yo mata kyoo no tsuki
- taro potatoes
wasuregusa nameshi ni tsuman toshi no kure
- licorice leaves and rapeseed rice gruel
shio ni shi te mo iza kotozute n miyako-dori
- hooded gull pickles with salt
kanashiman ya Bokushi seriyaki o mite mo nao
- dropwrot with cooked duck
yuki no ashita hitori karazake o kami etari
- chewing on dried salmon

asu wa chimaki Naniwa no kareha yume nare ya
- Chimaki ritual rice cakes

. chimaki yuu katate ni hasamu hitai gami .


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. Haiku Sweets 俳菓 haika .

The hokku by Basho featured here are not about food, though.
Only the sweets are all formed and named after his poems.

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. - cha 茶 tea - Tee - .
drinking tea with Basho


. daiko, daikon 大根 white radish .

. ebi niru 海老煮る cooking shrimp .

. Hidara 干鱈 ひだら dried codfish, haddock .

. konnyaku 蒟蒻 Devil's-tongue .
used for well-liked dishes by Basho

. namasu 膾 pickled food .

. nattoo 納豆 Natto. fermented beans.

. nyuumen 煮麺 hot wheat noodles .

. sato-imo, sato imo, imo 里芋 taro .
Colocasia antiquorum

. toofu 豆腐 Tofu, bean curd .

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清滝の水汲ませてやところてん
. Kiyotaki no mizu kumasete ya tokoroten .
(summer) Tokoroten jelly. draw water from river Kiyotaki
for Sakai Yamei 坂井野明 in Sagano, Kyoto.


水無月や鯛はあれども塩鯨
. minazuki ya tai wa aredomo shiokujira . .
sea bream and salted whale meat


夏の夜や崩れて明けし冷し物
. natsu no yo ya kuzurete akeshi hiyashi mono .
hiyashimono - chilled food after a banquet


躑躅生けてその陰に干鱈割く女
. tsutsuji ikete sono kage ni hidara saku onna .
(spring) dried cod fish. azaleas. in the shadow a woman

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. - sake 酒 ricewine -
- sakazuki 杯 ricewine cup - .



more haiku about food are featured
in the ABC index of these archives.

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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 wrote .

Today I was feeling sorry for myself for being poor simply because I wasn't able to eat a third meal, but when Basho went wandering long ago, he ate only two meals every single day.

三度くふ旅もったいな時雨雲
sando kuu tabi mottaina shigure-gumo

it's outrageous to travel
wanting three meals a day --
winter rain clouds


This hokku is from lunar 10/12 (November 25) in 1803, the lunar-calendar date on which Basho died and on which memorial services for him were held annually at Gichuji Temple near Kyoto, where he is buried, and at many other places by haikai poets. One of the names for Basho's memorial day is shigure-ki, or Cold Rain Memorial, since cold rain showers often fall in late autumn and early winter. The tenth month is the first month of lunar winter, so this is a winter hokku. On this date in 1803 Issa sees dark clouds in the sky. A fast-moving shower is either approaching or passing by a few miles away, and this gives a double meaning to the last line.

The word mottaina, 'wrong, outrageous,' in the second line had a stronger meaning in Issa's time than it does in modern Japanese, and Issa seems genuinely ashamed of his petty desire for more food as he walks along. The last two days he has been staying with his haikai poet friend and wealthy patron Furuta Gessen, with whom he has been discussing both haikai and the ancient Chinese Classic of Poetry (Shijing, in Japanese Shikyou). During Issa's stay, his host Gessen surely treated him well and served him three very nice meals a day, and while he stays in Edo Issa no doubt often eats three meals a day, since he meets many friends, students, and patrons there, although during his years of traveling in western Japan it is likely he usually ate twice a day, a style of eating common among people who aren't wealthy, so this isn't the first time Issa has traveled on only two meals a day.

On the day Issa writes this hokku he is traveling from the town of Fukawa, where Gessen lives, to Tagawa, further east. Both towns are on the northern bank of the Tone River northeast of the city of Edo. His desire for food and his dislike of being poor, both of which seem to have increased after staying with the wealthy Gessen, seem to make Issa feel ashamed of himself when he thinks of Basho on this day, since he reveres Basho and is trying hard to learn from him. He is surely conscious that his own personality, lifestyle, and haikai style are all fairly different from Basho's, yet he feels Basho's emphasis on positively embracing poverty, on enduring hardship, and on minimalistic wabi are worthy goals he also needs to embrace to a certain extent. The dark rain clouds in the hokku may therefore have a third meaning. They may suggest Issa's acute sense of his own of imperfection in the eyes of Basho, who, Issa seems to believe, would stare rather severely at Issa if he were still alive and could read Issa's mind and his haikai. Issa has many hokku about his own imperfection, but the thought of the superego-like Basho seems to make Issa feel his shortcomings even more strongly than usual.

Chris Drake

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. WASHOKU - Japanese Food Saijiki .


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18/06/2012

Gichu-Ji Temple

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
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- Gichuuji 義仲寺 Gichu-Ji -
Gichuuan 義仲庵 Gichu-An // Mumyooan 無名庵 Mumyo-An // 巴寺, 木曽塚, 木曽寺

. Kiso Yoshinaka 木曾義仲 .
Minamoto no Yoshinaka 源義仲 and his grave at this temple Gichu-Ji.
The Chinese characters 義仲 (Yoshinaka) can be read Gichuu too.


義仲の寝覚めの山か月悲し
. Yoshinaka no nezame no yama ka tsuki kanashi .

Written on the 14th day of the 8th lunar month 1689 元禄2年8月14日.
Basho in Tsuruga, during his trip "Oku no Hosomichi".


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October, 1690 - Genroku 3

Basho had been at the temple Gichu-Ji 義仲寺 to view the autumn moon on the 15th. Next day, on the 16th, they went to the Floating Hall, Ukimi-Do.


名月や児立ち並ぶ堂の縁
. meigetsu ya chigo tachinarabu doo no en .
the temple acolytes are lined up at the veranda

月見する座にうつくしき顔もなし
. tsukimi suru za ni utsukushiki kao mo nashi .
moon viewing but not one beautiful face


. Matsuo Basho at Lake Biwako 琵琶湖  .
Karasaki Town 唐崎/辛崎
Ukimi Doo 浮御堂 Ukimi-Do, The Floating Hall for Moon Viewing,


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Basho stayed at the Gichu-An 膳所の義仲庵
earlier on this ravels in the 9th lunar month of 1691, Basho age 48
at the home of his diciple Kukuu 句空 Kuku.

Kukuu 句空 Kuku had asked Basho for a hokku that he could add to a scroll painting of priest Kenkoo 兼好法師 Kenko called "Nukamiso tsubo" - pot for Nukamiso paste.


秋の色糠味噌壷もなかりけり
aki no iro nukamiso tsubo mo nakari keri

not even a pot
in the colors of autumn
for fermented miso


Kenko did not have much possesions, some say only one pot to wash his hands and take his meal. He kept this possession on his daily walks praying for food.

nukamiso is salted rice-bran paste for pickling, barley miso
This is kept in special pots with a lid, even now in the "color of autumn".
. Food Hokku by Matsuo Basho .


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淋しさや釘に掛けたるきりぎりす
sabishisa ya kugi ni kaketaru kirigirisu


quote
“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.” The following poem, which contains the word “shizukasa,” also has a different draft that uses the kanji normally used to transliterate “sabishisa.”

How quiet it is!
On the wall where the painting hangs —
a cricket.


shizukasa ya/e kakaru kabe no/kirigirisu


How solitary it is!
Hanging on a nail —
a cricket.


sabishisa ya/kugi ni kaketaru/kirigirisu

“Cricket” (kirigirisu) is a seasonal word of autumn. It typically is associated with loneliness and autumn melancholy in classical Japanese poetry. The hon’i or poetic essence of kirigirisu, according to classical tradition, lies in the faint sound of its singing.

Bashô’s verses, however, focus on neither the song of the cricket nor the melancholy atmosphere evoked by it. According to Kukû, one of Bashô’s disciples for whom these poems were written, he was with Bashô at a small cottage when the first poem was composed. The master woke him up one night to listen to the feeble chirps of a cricket. Later, when Kukû asked for a poem on his painting of Kenkô, Bashô wrote the poems.

If this story is true, the cricket did sing that night. The silence of the cricket in Bashô’s poem, therefore, is not a depiction of the real occurrence but an intentional fabrication. Instead of following the conventional hon’i, Bashô cast the little creature against a background of eternal, profound silence, creating a suggestive scene of the seclusion included in tranquility.

In discussing the two pairs of Bashô’s poems that use “shizukasa” and “sabishisa,” Makoto Ueda observes: “Certainly it is more than a coincidence that the word ‘quietness’ is used in place of ‘loneliness’ in both poems.

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


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CLICK for more photos
Basho's Grave and Temple Gichu-Ji 義仲寺


Takarai Kikaku wrote
Translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa

An Account of Our Master Basho's Last Days

A sick goose fallen,
I slumber at Katada
In my wandering.


However, his friends at Otsu and Zeze looked after him very well till our master regained his health and enjoyed short stays at Genjuan Cottage and Gichuji Temple. He spent some years visiting famous sights in the vicinity, infusing his mind with their beauty.

. . . . . Our master had no permanent abode and travelled in all directions, invited by his friends, if he had died at Matsushima in the deep north or at Mt. Hakusan in the province of Echizen, we would not have been able to do anything for him except to express our sorrow at the sad news, but here, we could guard him from the wind, sitting close to his remains. I was thinking about his disciples who were not so lucky as we were, when birds began to awaken me, and soon, while counting the strokes of the temple bell that began to toll, we reached Fushimi.

We moved our master’s remains from Fushimi to the Gichuji Temple, where his funeral was performed with solemnity and sincerity. His disciples, people of different ranks high and low, came from Kyoto, Osaka, Otsu, and Zeze, for they earnestly desired to pay their respects to their loving master. More than three hundred people attended the funeral, uninvited. His white robe and other necessary things were sewn by two ladies, Chigetsu and Otokuni's wife.

After the funeral, Priest Chokugu of the Gichuji Temple, led us to a small mound and buried him, as our master desired it himself, next to the mound of Lord Kiso, a little behind the temple gate, near the place where an old willow tree was standing. We thought there was a mysterious connection between Lord Kiso and our master, so we made our master’s grave similar in shape to the grave of Lord Kiso, and built a simple fence round it. We also planted for his name’s sake a stock of basho tree which had withered in cold weather.
source : simplyhaiku 2006





. Bashoo Ki 芭蕉忌 Basho's Death Anniversary .


Temple Gichu-Ji, more LINKS


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Basho walked
this road, I realize
and slow at the thought

At the grave of Basho
bees buzz in the flowers -
what can I say?

tms visits the area: Read his report.
© tms


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田螺取義仲寺遠く暮れにけり
tanishi tori Gichuuji tooku kure ni keri

collecting mudsnails -
the temple Gichu-Ji afar
in the evening light


Iida Dakotsu 飯田蛇笏 (1885 - 1962)

WKD : mud snails (tanishi)




Temple Gichuuji 義仲寺
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Basho Okina Ekotoba Den 芭蕉翁絵詞伝 The Life of the Venerable Basho in Pictures and Words
picture scrolls of the biography of Basho the Elder
at temple Gichu-Ji in Otsu 滋賀県大津市・義仲寺所
. www.bashouan.com... .


Okinadoo, Okina Doo 翁堂 Okina Hall for Matsuo Basho






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. Matsuo Basho at Lake Biwako 琵琶湖  .


. Inoue Juukoo 井上重厚 Inoue Juko (1738 - 1804) .
In 1792 he became the 7th master of the Mumyo-An 無名庵 / Gichuuji 義仲寺 Temple Gichu-Ji .
He compiled hokku attributed to Matsuo Basho
- Moto no Mizu もとの水 - 句集 - A Hokku Collection -

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Mizuta Masahide 水田正秀(孫右衛門) (? - 1723)

Basho's letter to Masahide



(Basho usually hates crows)

A wonderful poem embedded in a compilation of polite standard phrases, which even a poetic genius like Matsuo Basho was using. Basho seems slightly embarrassed when he writes that he was sorry to have nothing special to pass on.

"Thank you for sending me a letter. – I should have written earlier. I am sorry. I am happy to hear that you are fine. I am fine too.
The other day, it was snowy and very cold. I was in my hut and did not go anywhere. Then, I composed this Haiku:

ひごろにくき烏も雪の朝哉
higoro nikuki karasu mo yuki no ashita kana

A crow
Which I'd usually hate.
So beautiful in morning snow.


I wrote this! - When you have time, please visit me and stay for the night. Let's talk together. I will be waiting for you with Yusui*. Although it is not as good if there were only you and me. Sorry to have nothing special to pass on this time. That's all.
– The 12th day of the 9th (lunar) month –
PS I am greatly looking forward to your visit."

The poem was composed in 1691, at Gichu-ji, a Tendai temple in Otsu where Basho often stayed in a cottage called Mumyo-an, "Nameless Hut". Basho was later buried in Gichu-ji temple.

*Yusui, mentioned in the letter, is Mizuta Masahide (1657-1723), a medical doctor and Samurai. As a poet he was a follower of Basho. Masahide was the head of a group of poets who built (paid for) the Mumyo-an.

- source : BachmannEckenstein | JapaneseArt -


. . . 今朝東雲のころ、木曽寺の鐘 の音枕に響き、起きいでて見 れば、白妙の花の木に咲きて    おもしろく
source : itoyo/basho/haikusyu


Masahide's Death Poem

while I walk on
the moon keeps pace beside me:
friend in the water

(wikipedia)


- - - - - Matsuo Basho's haiku about
. - - - nikumu 憎む to hate, to despise - - - .

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A Resting Place for His Spirit: Basho in Zeze
from the Basho4Now Trilogy
Translations and Commentary by Jeff Robbins
Assisted by Sakata Shoko

Of all the places Basho visited in his travels, one in particular, Zeze, a section of Otsu, (now around the eastern end of the Omi Ohashi Bridge) just across the mountains to the west of Kyoto, drew in his heart. Basho spent days and months at various locations in Zeze, somehow connecting with the place – so just before he died, he requested that he be buried at Gichuji Temple, a short walk from the shore of Lake Biwa.

One attraction of Zeze to Basho’s heart was the presence of Lake Biwa and the mountains surrounding the shore of the vast lake.
- snip -
We begin just after Basho finished his journey to the Deep North in the autumn of 1689; still traveling, he went to Ise and his hometown Iga (in Mie-ken). From Iga, Zeze in Otsu is just across a range of low mountains to the north. Here, 400 years before, lived the poetess and nun Shosho. In the coldest time of the year, Basho visits Chigetsu for the first time.
- snip -
- source : Jeff Robbins -


Take Back the Sun
By Jeff Robbins
- source : books.google.co.jp -

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. Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶) .

芭蕉塚先拝む也はつ紙子
bashoo-zuka mazu ogamu nari hatsu kamiko

at Basho's grave
beginning with a prayer...
first paper robe


Paper robe (kamiko) is a winter season word: a thin, wind-resistant outer kimono.
"First paper robe" (hatsu kamiko) refers to the first one worn in the season.
The great haiku poet Matsuo Bashô was associated with winter rain, and he wrote well-known poems about paper robes. His death anniversary, which falls on the 12th day of Tenth Month, is also called "Winter Rain Anniversary" (shigure ki). His grave is at Gichu Temple in Otsu, near Kyoto.

David Lanoue

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. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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


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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
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17/06/2012

Heikan no Setsu

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- heikan no setsu 閉関の説
"on seclusion", "statement of closure" -



. Basho - His Works - Archives . .


under construction
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Written in the seventh lunar month of 1693
元禄6年7月. after O-Bon, Basho age 50
(some sources quote 1692).

and then he closed his haikai groups and meetings and stopped teaching.
The two poems show his feeling of deep loneliness.


朝顔や昼は鎖おろす門の垣
asagao ya hiru wa joo orosu mon no kaki

morning glories—
locked during daytime,
my fence gate

Tr. Barnhill


the morning glory -
all day long, a bolt
fastened to my gate

Tr. Ueda


- - - - -


蕣や是も又我が友ならず
asagao ya kore mo mata waga tomo narazu

morning glories—
even they, too, are not
my friend

Tr. Barnhill


Ah! The Morning-glory!
'Tis not my friend, either.

Tr. Miyamori Asataro


the morning glory -
that, too, now turns out to be
no friend of mine

Tr. Ueda



More haiku about asagao and yugao by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


shunka 蕣花 mukuge blossoms
also used to indicate a beautiful lady

. WKD : mukuge 木槿 Rose of Sharon.

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閉関の説 Heikan to Setsu

元禄6年7月盆後

 色は君子のにくむところ*にして、仏も五戒*の初めに置けりといへども、さすがに捨てがたき情のあやにくに*、あはれなるかたがた*も多かるべし。人知れぬくらぶ山の梅の下臥しに*、思ひのほかのにほひにしみて*、忍ぶの岡の人目の関も守る人なくては*、いかなるあやまちをかしいでむ。海人の子の波の枕に袖しをれて*、家を売り身を失ふためしも多かれど、老いの身の行く末をむさぼり*、米銭の中に魂を苦しめて*、ものの情をわきまへざるには*、はるかに増して罪ゆるしぬべく、人生七十を稀なりとして、身の盛りなることは、わづかに二十余年なり。

初めの老いの来たれること*、一夜の夢のごとし。五十年・六十年のよはひ傾ぶくより、あさましうくづほれて*、宵寝がちに朝起きしたる寝ざめの分別*、何事をかむさぼる。おろかなる者は思ふこと多し。煩悩増長して一芸すぐるる者は*、是非のすぐるる者なり。これをもて世の営みに当てて、貪欲の魔界に心を怒らし、溝洫*におぼれて生かすことあたはずと、南華老仙*のただ利害を破却し、老若を忘れて閑にならむこそ、老いの楽しみとは言ふべけれ。

人来れば無用の弁あり。出でては他の家業をさまたぐるもうし。孫敬*が戸を閉ぢて、杜五郎*が門をとざさむには。友なきを友とし、貧しきを富めりとして、五十年の頑夫*、みづから書し、みづから禁戒となす。

source : itoyo/basho


with the following explanations

色は君子のにくむところ:論語では、「君子に三戒あり。少き時は血気未だ定まらず、これを戒むること色に在り。其の壮なるに及んでは血気方に剛なり、これを戒むること闘に在り。其の老いたるに及んでは血気既に衰う、これを戒むること得に在り。」(若いとき血の気が多いから「色」に、壮年期には血気まさに旺盛だから「闘(あらそい)」に気をつけよ。年老いたら「得(よく))」を戒めよ」と言っている。
五戒:仏教における在家の信者の守るべき戒め。殺生・盗み・姦通・虚言・飲酒の禁止をいう
あやにく:ままならないこと。
あはれなるかたがた:恋の上手な(多情な)人々。
人知れぬくらぶ山の梅の下臥しに:くらぶ山は京都の鞍馬山のこと。梅は、紀貫之の歌「梅の花にほい春べはくらぶ山やみに越ゆれどしるくぞありける」(『古今集』)をかけた。「人知れぬ下伏し」は、人目を避けた逢瀬の意。
思ひのほかのにほひにしみて:恋の虜となりあhてて。
忍ぶの岡の人目の関も守る人なくては:人目を忍ぶ恋路の邪魔をする人目が無かったら、の意。邪魔が無ければ何処まで身を焦がして破滅してしまうか分からない、というのである。
海人の子の波の枕に袖しをれて:古歌「白波の寄する汀に世を過す海士の子なれば宿も定めず」(『和漢朗詠集』)からとった。遊女との恋に身をやつしてしまう、の意。
老いの身の行く末をむさぼり:長生きすることに恋々として強欲になること。
米銭の中に魂を苦しめて:物欲や金銭欲に悩み苦しんで、の意。
ものの情をわきまへざるには:情趣の分からないようなこと、または人。
初めの老いの来たれること:初めの老いとは初老の意で40歳の男子をいう。その年齢までにはあっという間の時間だというのである。
あさましうくづほれて:見る影も無いほどに衰弱して、の意
宵寝がちに朝起きしたる寝ざめの分別:寝ても覚めても考えることは、の意。
煩悩増長して一芸すぐるる者は:『徒然草』参照。
溝洫:<こうきょく>と読む。田んぼの溝のこと。
南華老仙:<なんかろうせん>と読む。荘子のこと。
孫敬:孫敬は、門を閉じて常に読書三昧であったという。
杜五郎:杜五郎という人は、何年も戸を閉じて外出しなかったという。
頑夫:<がんぷ>と読む。頑固者。芭蕉自身のこと。


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. Basho - His Works - Archives . .



. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


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His Last Trip

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Saigo no tabi 芭蕉最後の旅 His Last Trip



source : basho/footmark

1694 元禄7年

Starting May 1694 in Otsu, arriving in Osaka 9th of September, succumbing to illenss in Osaka, 12th of October.


- - - - - in ABC order of the Japanese
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家はみな杖に白髪の墓参り
. ie wa mina tsue ni shiragami no hakamairi K .
at the local shrine of his village at Iga Ueno


いなづまや闇の方行五位の声
. inazuma ya yami no kata-yuku goi no koe .
at the home of Kubota Izen 窪田意専.


顔に似ぬ発句も出でよ初桜
. kao ni ninu hokku mo ideyo hatsu zakura .


風色やしどろに植し庭の秋
. kazairo ya shidoro ni ueshi niwa no aki .


数ならぬ身となおもひそ玉祭り
. kazu naranu mi to na omoi so tama matsuri .
on the first Bon Festival for his dead wife, Jutei-Ni 寿貞尼 Juteini


鶏頭や雁の来る時なほ赤し
. keitoo ya kari no kuru toki nao akashi .


今宵誰よし野の月も十六里
. koyoi tare Yoshino no tsuki mo juuroku ri .
at Mumei-An 無名庵 in Iga Ueno.


まつ茸や しらぬ木の葉 へばりつく
. matsutake ya shiranu ko-no-ha no nebaritsuku .


名月に麓の霧や田のくもり
. meigetsu ni fumoto no kiri ya ta no kumori .


名月の花かと見へて棉畠
. meigetsu no hana ka to miete wata-batake .


新藁の出初てはやき 時雨哉
. shinwara no desomete hayaki shigure kana .
- at the home of Kubota Izen 窪田意専 .


涼しさや 直に野松の 枝の形
. suzushisa ya sugu ni nomatsu no eda no nari .
- at the home of Hirooka Sesshi 広岡雪芝 in Iga Ueno.
(- - - - - The first hokku of this trip.)


冬瓜やたがひにかはる顔の形
. toogan ya tagai ni kawaru kao no nari .


行く秋や手をひろげたる栗の毬
. yuku aki ya te o hirogetaru kuri no mari (iga) .
(- - - - - The last hokku of this trip.)


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- Further Reference -

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. Poetic Travelling with Matsuo Basho.


. Kaido 日本の街道 The Ancient Roads of Japan .


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. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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


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Horai-San temple

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- Hoorai san 蓬莱山 Mount Horai-San -

One of the three great sacred mountains of Japan. It is 1,174 meters high.

Located in Shiga prefecture, Otsu town. 滋賀県大津市



It is the second-highest mountain of the Hira sanchi 比良山地 Hira Mountain range.
source : wikipedia


hoorai 蓬莱 Buddhist mountain Horai in China, where people would live forever.
Horaisan 蓬莱山, Horaijima 蓬莱島, a mythical mountain or island of eternal youth.
'Treasure Mountain' or 'Treasure Island'



蓬莱に聞かばや伊勢の初便り 
hoorai ni kikaba ya Ise no hatsudayori
. hoorai kazari 蓬莢飾 Horai-decoration for the New Year .



冬しらぬ宿やもミする音あられ
. fuyu shiranu yado ya momi suru oto arare .
A place with has the atmosphere of the "Holy Horai Mountain" of ancient China.


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Basho at temple Horai-Ji 雲厳山蓬莱寺 in Aichi, Mikawa no Kuni, 新城 Shinshiro town
三河の国蓬莱寺
This temple was under the protection of the Tokugawa Bakufu government.
Basho visited on his trip from Otsu to Edo (Azuma kudari 東下).



source : itoyo/basho
Hooraiji 鳳来寺 Horai-Ji


夜着ひとつ祈り出して旅寝かな
yogi hitotsu inoridashite tabine kana

on Mt. Horai
Due to the blasts of the north wind, it was a cold day. Basho was troubled by his usual illness, stomach ache, and was not able to climb all the way to the top. He may already have turned back after composing his haiku at the Niomon Gate. On top of that, it happened to be the day of the temple’s festival and Basho found that all inns at the foot of the mountain were occupied.

With difficulty, he managed to secure a small room in a dingy place. There was no proper bedding, and Basho felt cold and miserable. Hakusetsu 白雪 ran up the mountain again to one of the sub-temples to borrow a padded kimono for the haiku master to keep warm during the night.
This inspired Basho to the second haiku of that day:

a padded kimono
received by prayer
sleeping on my journey

Tr. and Comment Ad Blankestijn

Written in 1691, 元禄4年10月末

. yogi 夜着 bedtime quilt .



quote
Temple Horai-ji located in Horai-cho, Aichi Prefecture.
The temple was built in 703 by the hermit Rishu. It is sacred to Yakushi-Nyorai and is venerated as a place for curing diseases by many powerful men including Takeda Shingen, a daimyo of the 16th century, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, ruler of Japan early in the 17th century.

The influence of the temple has declined since the mid-19th century, however, when the samurai rule of Japan came to an end, with the result that only the sanctuary, Nio-mon ("Deva King Gate"), bell tower, Okuno-in (inner shrine), Ko-do (small hall), and two small annexes remain today. The approach to the temple features 1,452 stone steps lined with gigantic cedar trees. The remains of the buildings and other structures here remind visitors of the prosperity of bygone days.
source : www.jnto.go.jp/eng



Mount Hooraiji san 鳳来寺山 - 684 m high



LOOK at more photos here :

芭蕉は元禄4年(1691年)閏10月23日新城在住の太田白雪に案内され、鳳来寺山に登山した。
天野桃隣・各務支考、白雪の子桃先・桃後らがこれに従った。
木枯らしの句は芭蕉がセバイシという所を通った時、即座に詠ぜられたという。
仁王門にさしかかった頃、芭蕉の持病が激しく痛み出した。一行は止むなく下山、麓の家根屋という宿屋に無理に頼んで泊めてもらった。この日は鳳来寺の秋祭りで、どの家も満員だった。あたえられたその部屋は風が吹き抜け布団もお粗末だった。弟子供は夜道を奔走し、やっと山中の一□から、夜着(掛け布団の一種)を1枚借りることが出来た。その時に作られたのが。夜着塚の句であつ□

source : hitotudakenoyama

When Basho visited with his disciples, it was just the time of the Autumn festival and every lodging and home was full with visitors. So they had a hard time to find a lodging for the ill master Basho and getting him some warm bedding for the cold night.

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sugima 杉間 through the pine trees


Basho also wrote the following hokku at this temple

木枯に岩吹きとがる杉間かな
kogarashi ni iwa fukitogaru sugima kana

by this cold gale
the rocks are sharpened
among the cedar trees . . .


元禄4年10月
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.


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Oota Hakusetsu 太田白雪 Ota Hakusetsu from Mikawa.
太田金左衛門 Ota Kinzaemon was his real name.
(1661 - 1735) - 享保20年(1735)年6月7日
He was born the fourth son of a merchant family, dealing in rice, miso, salt, tea and other things in Shinshiro town 新城. His grandfather and father had already been haikai poets and so he was well instructed already as a boy. He left more than 200 hokku.
He lost all of his family members later in life and died alone at age 75.


source : www.city.shinshiro.lg.jp

Basho visited the Hakusetsu family in the 10th lunar month of 1691, giving his two boys a special haikai name

the elder brother 重英, age 14, was named Toosen 桃先 Tosen, "Peach the elder"
the younger brother 孝知, age 11, was named Toogoo 桃後 Togo "Peach the younger"


その匂ひ桃より白し水仙花
sono nioi momo yori shiroshi suisenka

this fragrance -
whiter than my peach
are the daffodils

Tr. Gabi Greve

In this poem, momo refers to Basho's own name, Toosei 桃青 Tosei (Green peach), and suisen refers to the two boys, 桃先、桃後 "Peach the elder, Peach the younger".
This poem is a celebration of the naming of the boys and his joy about it, which was shared with the parents of the boys.
peach (singular) for Basho
daffodils (plural) for the two boys



. momoiro suisen 桃色水仙 "peach-colored daffodil" .
kigo for spring

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source : facebook

Fudo Myo-O near the Mountain Gate of the temple

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. hoorai kazari 蓬莢飾 Horai-decoration .


. - Places visited by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .

. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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


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


............................................................................... Hiroshima 広島県
廿日市市 Hatsukaichi city

蓬莱山 Mount Horaisan
Around 1730, off the island 厳島 Itsukushima, there appeared 蓬莱山 Mound Horaisan in the sea.
It looked like many golden folding screens and shimmered in five colors.
Even a government official came to have a look.




................................................................................. Kyoto 京都府

. Urashima Taro 浦島太郎 .
During the time of the 21st emperor of Japan, Yūryaku 雄略天皇 Yuryaku Tenno (418 - 479) . Urashima Taro went fishing and came to 蓬莱 Horai Island, where he stayed with a princess. More than 347 years had passed before he came back.




................................................................................. Nagano 長野県

. Kyogen performance for 節分 Setsubun rituals .




................................................................................. Niigata 新潟県
佐渡市 Sado city

Sado Island has a strange form and was often called Hyotanjima 瓢箪島 "Island like a gourd".
The local people call it 蓬莱 Horai Island.

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- reference : Nichibun Yokai Database -


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- #horai #legends -
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Hasedera, Hase-dera

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- Hasedera 長谷寺 Hase-Dera in Nara -



The temple Hasedera in Sakurai Town was built in 686 and is known for its huge statue of Kannon Bosatsu 観音菩薩.


うかりける 人をはつせの山おろしよ
はげしかれとは祈らぬものを


Ukari keru Hito o Hatsuse no Yamaoroshi yo
Hageshikare to wa Inoranu mono o

It was not for this
I prayed at the holy shrine:
That she would become
As pitiless and as cold
As the storms on Hase's hills.


74 - Minamoto no Toshiyori Ason 源俊頼朝臣
Hatsuse はつせ = Hase
Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Poems 小倉百人一首



. WKD : Temple Hasedera 長谷寺 .

. Matsuo Basho visiting Buddhist Temples .



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source : Yamada Naokimi

春の夜や籠り人ゆかし堂の隅
haru no yo ya komorido yukashi doo no sumi

this spring night -
a person mysteriously in retreat
in the temple corner

Tr. Gabi Greve


spring night—
someone in retreat, so mysterious
in a corner of the temple

Tr. Barnhill


one evening in spring
in a corner of the Hall
a mysterious suppliant

Tr. Blyth

- - - - - Comment by Blyth
This haiku was composed at Hase, in Yamato, what is now Nara Prefecture, at the temple known as Hasedera, or Kwannon Do, or Chokokuji. In the Genji Monogatari and the Tsure-zuregusa we find frequent references to pilgrimages to this temple, especially by women to the Kwannon enshrined there.
One night Basho went to the temple to worship, and looking round saw in one corner of the great hall a man or woman kneeling there in supplication before the image of Kwannon. A few candles burning here and there, the hall is full of shadows. Outside, the cherry blossoms are falling through the darkness; here in the dusk, the silent, motionless form of the suppliant...




a night in springtime:
someone hides mysteriously
in a temple corner

Tr. Chilcott


Spring 1688, at Hase 初瀬 (Hatsuse)
The temple in Hase is known from the Tales of Genji (Genji Monogatari), where ladies of the court came to pray to Kannon to find a suitable lover.

. komorido 籠人 / 籠り人 person in a retreat .


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うかれける人や初瀬の山桜
ukare-keru hito ya Hatsuse no yama-zakura
ukarekeru hito ya Hatsuse no yamazakura

people wander around
among the mountain cherry blossoms
of Hase temple


Written in 寛文7年, Basho age 24
(The word order of Basho is different, according to the Japanese language.)




This hokku refers to the waka by Minamoto no Toshiyori, introduced above.
Basho replaced the yamaoroshi wind with the mountain cherry blossoms.


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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:
flowering spring

Tr. Barnhill

Spring 1688


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Hoso Pass 細峠, on the road from Tafu Peak to Ryumon 竜門

雲雀より空にやすらふ峠哉
hibari yori sora ni yasurau tooge kana

higher than the lark
nesting there far in the sky,
Hoso mountain pass

Tr. Chilcott


higher than the lark
I rest in the sky
at this pass . . .

Tr. Gabi Greve

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
Basho has climbed quite high and was now resting, enjoying the chirping of the lark below him.
Written in 元禄一年 1688

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ほろほろと山吹散るか滝の音
. horo horo to yamabuki chiru ka taki no oto .
the sound of the waterfall

At the waterfall of Nijikoo no Taki 西河の滝 Nijiko no Taki.

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on the way to Yoshino

春雨の木下につたふ清水かな
harusame no koshita ni tsutau shimizu kana

spring rain
flowing down the tree:
the pure water spring

Tr. Barnhill



凍て解けて筆に汲み干す清水哉
ite tokete hitsu ni kumihosu shimizu kana

beginning to melt,
I soak it dry with my brush:
the pure water spring

Tr. Barnhill

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


another version, written in winter of 1687 貞亨4年

露凍てて筆に汲み干す清水かな
. tsuyu itete hitsu ni kumihosu shimizu kana .


dew is freezing
and with my brush I soak up
this pure water . . .

Tr. Gabi Greve

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

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



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. WKD : Temple Hasedera 長谷寺 .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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


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Hayashi Toyo

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

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

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

Basho also wrote 3 letters to Toyo.

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


- Reference -


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


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

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

Tr. Oseko


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


Matsuo Basho and his
. - kasa 笠 hat - .




source : kikyou0123
haiku sweet of his hat in the sleet


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

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

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

Tr. Shirane

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

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

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



source : kikyou0123


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Atsuta Jingu 熱田神宮 Atsuta Shrine

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

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

. WKD : Atsuta Shrine Festivals .


. Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀行 .

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. Names of Persons used by Basho .



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Hitomi Izumo no Kami

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- Hitomi Izumo no Kami 人見出雲守 (ひとみいづものかみ) -


Maybe a fictional character, maybe a real person.

He is supposed to have been a polisher of mirrors in Kyoto, with such a special reputation for clearness, that he could call himself

tenka ichi 天下一 one in Japan, the best in all of Japan.

hitomi 人見 "to be seen by all people"

izumo 出雲 - kumo ga deru 雲が出る "clouds come out"

He has become famous through the poem of Matsuo Basho.

Basho wanted to enjoy the full moon on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month in 1677 延宝5年 (Basho age 34).

So he called on the master polisher to clear the sky from clouds.
A typical hokku of the Danrin flavor 談林風俳句.


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今宵の月磨ぎ出せ人見出雲守
こよいのつき とぎだせひとみ いずのかみ
koyoi no tsuki togidase hitomi izu no kami
or
こよひのつきとぎだせひとみいづものかみ

the moon of tonight
please polish it to come out, Hitomi
Izunokami


The segments are 6 7 5.


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. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

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


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Hansha Teki

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- Hansha Teki -

Hansha, a haiku poet from New Zealand



I have chosen four of Basho's hokku to speak about briefly in the spirit of "Basho and his Interpreters" by Makoto Ueda
and for that reason I will display Ueda's translations.

The first two I shall group together as, not only do they appear to have been written within a short time of each other, but they also seem to me to be tightly linked in spirit.

the rough sea —
flowing toward Sado Isle
the River of Heaven

araumi | ya | Sado | ni | yokatau | amanogawa
rough-sea : Sado on lie Heaven's-River


under the same roof
courtesans, too, are asleep —
bush clover and the moon

hitotsuya | ni | yujo | mo | netari | hagi | to | tsuki
one-house in courtesan also is-asleep bush-clover and moon

In both poems there is a flow of thought from the particular observed in the first or the accidental conjunction in the second to the awareness of transcendence. Many have commented on the first hokku and there is little that I can add but, for me, the second hokku borders on the sublime.

The story of the poet's chance meeting with the travelling prostitutes is well-known as are the interpretations of the poem but here there is far more than simple contrast. The transcendent sense of unity of all things that the poet has evoked here is way beyond the words used - it is in the flow of his spirit as he allows us also to experience that movement. What Basho has achieved in this poem is most clearly equalled in James Joyce's equally wonderful short story, "The Dead".



I shall also group together the remaining two hokku that I have chosen, written as they were in an autumn three years after the previous two hokku referred to.

on this road
where nobody else travels
autumn nightfall

kono | michi | ya | yuku | hito | nashi | ni | aki | no | kure
this road : go person nonexistent with autumn's evening


this autumn
why am I aging so?
to the clouds, a bird

kono | aki | wa | nande | toshiyoru | kumo | ni | tori
this autumn as-for why grow-old cloud to bird

The feeling of transcendence has grown so much more intense as has the existential loneliness. The poet feels keenly his mortality and the end of his identity within created things. Again the second hokku becomes sublime where such simple words and the sigh that rises from his solar plexus gives voice to a profound awareness of the nature of one's mortality. Both hokku that I have chosen to call 'sublime' approximate as much as any poem can the state of the wordless poem.

The limits of translating hokku become blindingly clear to me - to understand these poems in their full glory we must become one with the poet as we do the pine or the bamboo.


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. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


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