14/11/2012

Oku Station 41 - Tsuruga

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .

On the way to Tsuruga, Basho had to cross the pass

. Kinome tooge 木目峠 / 木ノ芽峠 Kinome Toge .
Here he remembered Saigyo and the full moon of Sayo no Nakayama.

中山や越路も月はまた命
Nakayama ya Koshi ji mo tsuki wa mata inochi

Written on the 14th day of the 8th lunar month 1689, when he reached Tsuruga.
(Now September 27)

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- - - - - - - - - - Basho wrote five hokku during his stay in Tsuruga:

It Tsuruga, on the night before the full moon,
Basho visited the Kehi shrine 気比神宮.

tsuki izuku kane wa shizumeru umi no soko
- - - The mystery background story
of the bell at the bottom of the sea

kuniguni no hakkei sara ni Kehi no tsuki

Kanegasaki 敦賀金ヶ崎

Read his hokku here:
. WKD : Basho in Tsuruga .


On his last day in Tsuruga, Basho visited the
"Colorful Beach", Ironohama and Suma 須磨 と 色の浜.

. - - - Oku no Hosomichi - Station 42 - Ironohama 色の浜 - - - .

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月見せよ玉江の蘆を刈らぬ先
tsukimi seyo Tamae no ashi o karanu saki

behold the moon!
while the reeds at Jewel Bay
are still uncut

Tr. Barnhill


the moon beams falling
on the reeds of Jewel Bay
before they are cut

Tr. Chilcott


.- - - - - . seyo せよ Let us do this! Basho giving direct orders . - - - - - .


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- - - Station 41 - Tsuruga 敦賀 - - -


The white peak of Mount Shirane went out of sight at long last and the imposing figure of Mount Hina came in its stead. I crossed the bridge of Asamuzu and saw the famous reeds of Tamae, already coming into flower.*
Through the barrier-gate of Uguisu and the pass of Yuno, I came to the castle of Hiuchi, and hearing the cries of the early geese at the hill named Homecoming, I entered the port of Tsuruga on the night of the fourteenth. The sky was clear and the moon was unusually bright. I said to the host of my inn, 'I hope it will be like this again tomorrow when the full moon rises.'
He answered, however, 'The weather of these northern districts is so changeable that, even with my experience, it is impossible to foretell the sky of tomorrow.'
After a pleasant conversation with him over a bottle of wine, we went to the Myojin Shrine of Kei, built to honor the soul of the Emperor Chuai.* The air of the shrine was hushed in the silence of the night, and the moon through the dark needles of the pine shone brilliantly upon the white sand in front of the altar, so the ground seemed to have been covered with early frost. The host told me it was the Bishop of Yugyo II who had first cut the grass, brought the sand and stones, and then dried the marshes around the shrine, the ritual being known as the sand-carrying ceremony of Yugyo.

The moon was bright
And divinely pure
Upon the sand brought in
By the Bishop Yugyo.


It rained on the night of the fifteenth, just as the host of my inn had predicted.

The changeable sky
Of the northern districts
Prevented me from seeing
The full moon of autumn.


Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa


Asamuzu
"Asamuzu no hashi" is a Makura Kotoba. A reference to this bridge is found in Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book where she includes it in a list of bridges.

Tamae
The reeds of Tamae have often been celebrated in poetry. Minamoto Shigeyuki in the Goshuishu has this:
Natsu kari no/ tamae no ashi wo/ fumishidaki/ mure nuru tori no/ tatsu sora zo naki.
Also, Fujiwara Toshinari in Shin Kokinshu #932 has:
Natsu kari no/ ashi no karinu mo/ awarenari/ tamae no tsuki no/ myoho no sora.
(H.H. Honda's translation: Enjoyable is sleep/ lying on reaped reeds/ beneath the summer moon/ at daybreak in Tamae.

Uguisu
The barrier at Uguisu no seki is used as a Makura Kotoba. Already by Basho's time the barrier gate was gone.

Homecoming
Kaeruyama is a common Makura Kotoba usually associated with wild geese and autumn.

Myojin Shrine
This Myojin Shrine is the most famous shrine in Echizen. The Emperor Chuai is said to have ruled from 192-200. His wife was the Empress Jingu.

Yugyo II
Yugyo II was the chief disciple of Yugyo I who was more commonly known as Ippen Shonin. The man Basho refers to died in 1319 at the age of 83.

predicted
In typical fashion Basho fails to see what he is looking forward to. He seems content to write a poem about what he did not see.

source : terebess.hu/english


敦賀
漸白根が嶽かくれて、比那が嵩あらはる。あさむづの橋をわたりて、玉江の蘆は穂に出にけり。鴬の関を過て湯尾峠を越れば、燧が城、かへるやまに初鴈を聞て、十四日の夕ぐれつるがの津に宿をもとむ。その夜、月殊晴たり。あすの夜もかくあるべきにやといへば、越路の習ひ、猶明夜の陰晴はかりがたしと、あるじに酒すゝめられて、けいの明神に夜参す。仲哀天皇の御廟也。社頭神さびて、松の木の間に月のもり入たる。おまへの白砂霜を敷るがごとし。往昔遊行二世の上人、大願発起の事ありて、みづから草を刈、土石を荷ひ泥渟をかはかせて、参詣往来の煩なし。古例今にたえず。神前に真砂を荷ひ給ふ。これを遊行の砂持と申侍ると、 亭主かたりける。

月清し遊行のもてる砂の上 - tsuki kiyoshi

十五日、亭主の詞にたがはず雨降。

名月や北国日和定なき - meigetsu ya Hokkoku biyori sadame naki


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On the way, passing Yuno
Yu no O Tooge 湯尾峠 Yunoo Toge pass

月に名を包みかねてや痘瘡の神
. tsuki ni na o tsutsumi kanete ya imo no kami .
The God of Smallpox has a shrine at this pass.


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The famous bridge at Asamutsu 朝六  (Asamuzu)

あさむつや月見の旅の明け離れ
. asamutsu ya tsukimi no tabi no ake-banare .


quote
I crossed the bridge at Asamutsu.
The popular pronunciation is Asamuzu, but in the “Bridge” section of Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book, it is writen “Asamutsu.”

Asamutsu—
on a moon-viewing journey
a dawn departure

Tr. Barnhill


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名月や北国日和定なき
meigetsu ya Hokkoku biyori sadame naki

harvest moon—
the north country weather
so uncertain

Tr. Barnhill


night of the full moon ...
the weather in the north land
so often changes

Tr. Chilcott


Hokkoku 北国, Hokuriku 北陸地方, Hokuriku chihō, Lit. "Northlands region")
is located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lies along the Sea of Japan within the central Chūbu region. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern Japan.
The Hokuriku region includes the four prefectures of Ishikawa, Fukui, Niigata and Toyama.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !



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

波の間や小貝にまじる萩の塵
nami no ma ya kogai ni majiru hagi no chiri

the special small pink shells of Ironohama 色の浜
in memory of priest Saigyo 西行


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古き名の角鹿や恋し秋の月
furuki na no Tsunuga ya koishi aki no tsuki

this old name
of Tsunuga - so full of memories
full moon in autumn

Tr. Gabi Greve


Written on the full moon day of the 8th lunar month in 1689.
元禄2年8月15日

This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.
Lines 2 and 3 are not connected.
koishi, now natsukashii 懐かしい.
Basho is reminded of the Korean background of the name of this ancient city.


the ancient name
"Deer Antler" so lovely:
the autumn moon

Tr. Barnhill



this old name
of Tsunuga so full of memories -
full moon in autumn

- Tr. Hideo Suzuki -



Tsunuga is the old name of the city of Tsuruga.
角鹿国 つぬがのくに Tsuruga province.
The first Korean who arrived there was
Tsunugaarashito 都怒我阿羅斯等 (つぬがあらしと)


According to the text of Nihonshoki, 日本書紀
Tsunugaarashito, a prince of Kaya (an ancient Korean kingdom) came to Japan before Amenohiboko. sunugaarashito went to the country with his cow carrying his luggage, but the cow suddenly disappeared. In compensation for the cow, Tsunugaarashito was given a white stone which was enshrined in the village as god.


quote
Some of Kogyuryo origin can be found on Noto peninsula, but most of them found here are of Silla-Kaya origin. This is mostly due to topographical reasons such that the peninsula is situated southeast of Korean peninsula. There is a shrine named Shiragi near the nuclear plant area of Wakasa. Of course, Shiragi is Silla. We can easily assume that many had arrived here from Silla.

Important among them in relations with "Shuten-douji" is the Kehi Shrine. Situated on route to Wakasa from Kyoto, the God worshipped here is named "Tsunugaarashito". According to Nihon Shoki, he was the prince of Oogara who arrived here during the reign of the eleventh emperor Suinin. Oogara is Kaya and its prince was "Tsunuga-arashito". By the way, "Tsunuga" was corrupted into "Tsunuga" as the city in Wakasa is now called.

Now, lets pay attention to this prince's name. "Tsunuga-arashito" sounds like Japanese that means "one with horns". It is said that the prince had two horns on his forehead. I imagine, he must have an appearance of none other than Ogre.

Then, could "Tsunuga-arashito" be the model figure of "Shuten-douji" in Tanba? If he were the Ogre model in Japan, this would take an interesting turn because "Tsunuga-arashito" is also known as "Ameno-hiboko".
source : kitombo.com/e/mikami


The statue of Tsunuga Arashito is now in front of Tsuruga station.



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明日の月雨占なはん比那が嶽
asu no tsuki ame uranawan Hinagatake - (Hinagadake, Hinaga-Dake)

tomorrow’s moon:
does it augur rain?
Hina-ga-dake

Tr. Barnhill


the moon for tomorrow -
is there rain in the forecast
of Mount Hinagatake

Tr. Gabi Greve


Hinagatake, Hinaga-Take is a mountain of about 1200 meters (other sources quote 800 meters).
Also written hinaga 日永岳 "Mountain of the Long Day 日永". Yuasa translated "Mount Hina".
Basho uses the word uranai 占い, usually used for "fortune-telling".

Written on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month 元禄2年8月15日

Basho wanted to see the full moon of Tsuruga and hoped to get a hint from the weather of Mount Hinagatake. In the Hokuriku region, the weather can change very fast and even his host could not give him a definite answer.


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At the beach

月のみか雨に相撲もなかりけり
tsuki nomi ka ame ni sumoo mo nakarikeri

not just the moon:
because of rain, even sumoo
has been called off

Tr. Barnhill

Written on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month 元禄2年8月15日

On the full moon night, there was a kanjin sumoo 勧進相撲 wrestling competition to solicit contributions, planned on the beach but could not be performed.

Basho was quite fond of Sumo wrestling and has a few more poems about it:
. Basho about Sumo wrestling 相撲 .


source : www.pref.shimane.lg.jp

Sumo wrestling of the deities in Izumo, Tottori - said to be the origin of Sumo wrestling.



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Written on the 14th day of the 8th lunar month 1689 元禄2年8月14日.
Written at the castle Hiuchi ga joo 燧が城 - 火打城 Hiuchi Castle (Hyoochi Castle, Hyōchi Castle) on the night of the autumn moon.
This castle belonged to Kiso Yoshinaka. So here Basho remembers the famous warlord .


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

is this the mountain
where Yoshinaka awoke?
a moon of sorrow

Tr. Barnhill


so this is the mountain
where Yoshinaka woke up -
sad moon
- - - - - (I feel) sad (watching the) moon
Tr. Gabi Greve

. 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.


. Basho and Temple Gichu-Ji . 義仲寺


tsuki kanashi - rather than a personification of the moon the meaning is this:
"I feel sad thinking about Yoshinaka while watching the autumn moon."


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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
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Oku Station 42 - Ironohama

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .


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- - - Station 42 - Ironohama 色の浜 - - -


It was fine again on the sixteenth. I went to the Colored Beach to pick up some pink shells. I sailed the distance of seven miles in a boat and arrived at the beach in no time, aided by a favorable wind. A man by the name of Tenya accompanied me, with servants, food, drinks and everything else he could think of that we might need for our excursion. The beach was dotted with a number of fisherman's cottages and a tiny temple. As I sat in the temple drinking warm tea and sake, I was overwhelmed by the lonliness of the evending scene.

Lonlier I thought
Than the Suma beach -
The closing of autumn
On the sea before me.


Mingled with tiny shells
I saw scattered petals
Of bush-clovers
Rolling with the waves.

I asked Tosai to make a summary of the day's happenings and leave it at the temple as a souvenir.


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


?種の浜
十六日、空霽たればますほの小貝ひろはんと種の濱に舟を走す。海上七里あり。天屋何某と云もの、 破篭小竹筒などこまやかにしたゝめさせ、僕あまた舟にとりのせて、追風時のまに吹着ぬ。濱はわづかなる海士の小家にて侘しき法花寺あり。爰に茶を飲酒をあたゝめて、 夕ぐれのわびしさ感に堪たり。

寂しさや須磨にかちたる濱の秋 - sabishisa ya

波の間や小貝にまじる萩の塵 - nami no ma ya

其日のあらまし、等栽に筆をとらせて寺に残す。


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須磨のあま矢先に鳴くか郭公
. Suma no ama yasaki ni naku ka hototogisu .


寂しさや須磨にかちたる濱の秋
. sabishisa ya Suma ni kachitaru hama no aki .
lonelier even than Suma


波の間や小貝にまじる萩の塵
. nami no ma ya kogai ni majiru hagi no chiri .
small shells and petals of the bush clover



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and in Suma Ura Park 須磨浦公園 - near Kobe town


Memorial Stone in Suma Ura Park 須磨浦公園

蝸牛 角ふりわけよ 須磨明石
かたつぶり角ふりわけよ須磨明石
. katatsuburi tsuno furiwake yo Suma Akashi .
明石 Akashi beach in Hyogo


須磨寺やふかぬ笛きく木下やみ
. Sumadera ya fukanu fue kiku koshita yami .
temple Sumadera 須磨寺


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


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Oku Station 43 - Ogaki

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .

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source : www.yumekougei.com

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- - - Station 43 - O0gaki 大垣 Ogaki - - -


As I returned to Tsuruga, Rotsu met me and accompanied me to the province of Mino. When we entered the city of Ogaki on horseback, Sora joined us again, having arrived from the province of Ise; Etsujin, too, came hurrying on horseback, and we all went to the house of Joko, where I enjoyed reunion with Zensen, Keiko, and his sons and many other old friends of mine who came to see me by day or by night. Everybody was overjoyed to see me as if I had returned unexpectedly from the dead. On September the sixth, however, I left for the Ise Shrine, though the fatigue of the long journey was still with me, for I wanted to see a dedication of a new shrine there. As I stepped into the boat, I wrote:

As firmly cemented clam shells
Fall apart in autumn,
So I must take to the road again,
Farewell, my friends.


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


路通も此みなとまで出むかひて、みのゝ国へと伴ふ。駒にたすけられて、大垣の庄に入ば、曾良も伊勢より来り合、越人も馬をとばせて、如行が家に入集る。前川子荊口父子、其外したしき人々日夜とぶらひて、蘇生のものにあふがごとく、且悦び且いたはる。旅の物うさもいまだやまざるに、長月六日になれば、伊勢の遷宮おがまんと、又舟にのりて

蛤のふたみにわかれ行秋ぞ

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source : www.maff.go.jp/tokai/seibi
Painting by Yosa Buson 奥の細道絵巻


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

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

Tr. Gabi Greve

Discussion of this hokku
. WKD : clamshell, hard clam, hamaguri 蛤 (はまぐり) .


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. - Yasomura Rotsuu 八十村路通 Rotsu - .

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At the Ogaki Town Museum for the End of the Trip

It is a small Memorial Museum, with one hall and free entry.
Basho visited Ogaki four times, this is the third time.
At his time, it was a rich merchant town with access to the river.
The daimyo Toda 戸田 was a great patron of haikai and of Basho.


Basho with his friend Tani Bokuin 谷木因
(1646 - 1725).
Bokuin was a ship merchant from Ogaki and knew Kitamura Kingin and the Danrin school of haikai very well.

大垣市奥の細道むすびの地記念館
〒503-0922 岐阜県大垣市馬場町124 Gifu

Look at a short viedo here:
source : www.city.ogaki.lg.jp

source : 芭蕉館の見どころ
source : 常設展示室


Photos about Basho in Okagi
source : yuucyanlove.blog91


Basho wrote this in response to a poem by Bokuin
. miyamori yo waga na o chirase ochibagawa .
. . . . . scatter my name into the river

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kakureya - memorial stone in Ogaki

Basho wrote two hokku for Boku-In:
隠れ家や月と菊とに田三反
. kakurega ya tsuki to kiku to ni ta san tan .
this hermitage
- - - - - and
来てみれば獅子に牡丹のすまひかな
kite mireba shishi no botan no sumai kana

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source : magpie03

Ogaki Taraibune おおがきたらい舟
The Town Mascot Basho sitting in the barrel-boat (taraibune)
大垣市マスコットキャラクター





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藤の実は俳諧にせん花の跡
fuji no mi wa haikai ni sen hana no ato

fuji seed pods
as theme for our haikai -
after the flowers



For Hirose Izen 広瀬維然.
1689 Oku no Hosomichi, at Ogaki, 元禄2年9月, ninth lunar month

The town of Seki 関 in Gifu was quite famous for its wisteria flowers, but when Basho arrived at Ogaki, it was autumn. So he composed this poem for his host, Hirose Izen 広瀬維然 from Seki.
(Maybe Izen was insecure about the various possibilities of haikai and this was an instruction for him.)

For Basho, anything at hand was worth a subject for a greeting poem and a haikai session.
This shows his true haikai spirit.

The priest Soogi 宗祇 Sogi (1421 - 1502) is famous for his waka about wisteria blossoms.

. Hirose Izen 広瀬維然 .


. Basho, Hokku and Haikai 発句と俳諧 .



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胡蝶にもならで秋経る菜虫哉
kochoo ni mo narade aki furu namushi kana

Never becoming a butterfly
Into autumn lives
A caterpillar.

Tr. Nelson/Saito

Written on day 21 of the 8th lunar month, 1689 元禄2年8月21日頃.

Basho stayed at the home of
. Kondoo Jokoo 近藤如行 Kondo Joko. .

. Matsuo Basho and his Butterfly Hokku .


. namushi 菜虫 (なむし) "leaf worm" .
with more translations by Barnhill, Reichhold, Ueda and Hass.
Barnhill translates namushi literally as 'rape-worm'; Ueda translates it as 'vegetable-worm'. Reichhold translates it as 'caterpillar'





早く咲け九日も近し菊の花 
. hayaku sake Kunichi mo chikashi kiku no hana .
at the home of Asai Saryuu 浅井左柳 Asai Saryu on the 6th day of the 9th lunar month.


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source : www.basyo.com/ogaki/musubi

Stone markers of 20 poems in a walk around Ogaki town.



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. - wakare 別れ Basho parting with friends  - .



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Oku Station 44 - Postscript

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .


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- - - Station 44 - Postscript 跋 - - -


In this little book of travel is included everything under the sky - not only that which is hoary and dry but also that which is young and colorful, not only that which is strong and imposing but also that which is feeble and ephemeral.

As we turn every corner of the Narrow Road to the Deep North, we sometimes stand up unawares to applaud and we sometimes fall flat to resist the agonizing pains we feel in the depths of our hearts.*

There are also times when we feel like taking to the road ourselves, seizing the raincoat lying nearby, or times when we feel like sitting down till our legs take root, enjoying the scene we picture before our eyes. Such is the beauty of this little book that it can be compared to the pearls which are said to be made by the weeping mermaids in the far off sea. What a travel it is indeed that is recorded in this book, and what a man he is who experienced it. The only thing to be regretted is that the author of this book, great man as he is, has in recent years grown old and infirm with hoary frost upon his eyebrows.

Early summer of the seventh year of Genroku (1694), Soryu.


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

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からびたるも艶なるも、たくみましきも、はかなげなるも、おくの細みちみもて行に、おぼえずたちて手たたき、伏して村肝を刻む。一般(ひとたび)は蓑をきるきるかゝる旅せまほしと思立、一たびは座してまのあたり奇景をあまんず。かくて百般の情に、鮫人が玉を翰(ふで)にしめしたり。旅なる哉、器なるかな。只なげかしきは、かうやうの人のいとかよはげにて、眉の霜のをきそふぞ。
元禄七年初夏 素竜書 written by Soryu


Kashiwagi Soryoo, Soryuu 柏木素龍 Soryo, Soryu
(? - 1716) 正徳6年3月5日

Born in Awa Tokushima (Shikoku). He was a samurai-servant to Yanagizawa Yoshiyasu 柳沢吉保, close to the 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi.
He wrote the postscript to Oku no Hosomichi, probably together with Sora.

His own hokku are mostly recorded in Sumidawara 炭俵.




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13/11/2012

Sarumino Monkey's Raincoat

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- Sarumino 猿蓑 Monkey's Raincoat -

a 1691 anthology, considered the magnum opus of Bashō-school poetry.
It contains four kasen renku as well as some 400 hokku, collected by Nozawa Bonchō and Mukai Kyorai under the supervision of Matsuo Bashō. Sarumino is one of the Seven Major Anthologies of Bashō (Bashō Shichibu Shū), and, together with the 1690 anthology, Hisago (The Gourd), it is considered to display Bashō's mature style (Shōfū) at its peak.
Bashō's influence on all four of the kasen in Sarumino was profound and when he sat with Bonchō, Okada Yasui and Kyorai at Yoshinaka Temple to write "Kirigirisu", he extolled them,
"Let's squeeze the juice from our bones."

Preface by Takarai Kikaku
Hokku
Book 1: Winter (94 hokku)
Book 2: Summer (94 hokku)
Book 3: Autumn (76 hokku)
Book 4: Spring (118 hokku)
Book 5: Kasen
Hatsushigure (Winter Rain), by Kyorai, Bonchō, Bashō, Fumikuni
Natsu no Tsuki (Summer Moon), by Bonchō, Bashō, Kyorai
Kirigirisu (Autumn Cricket), by Bonchō, Bashō, Yasui, Kyorai
Ume Wakana (Grass and Plum), by Bashō, Otokuni, Chinseki, Sonan, Hanzan, Tohō, Enpū, Bonchō and others
Book 6: Notes to "Record of an Unreal Dwelling"

Natsu no Tsuki (Summer Moon) - (Tr. Donald Keene)

In the city
What a heavy smell of things!
The summer moon.
(Bonchō)


How hot it is! How hot it is!
Voices call at gate after gate.
(Kyorai)


The second weeding
Has not even been finished,
But the rice is in ear.
(Bashō)


Brushing away the ashes,
A single smoked sardine.
(Bonchō)


In this neighborhood
They don't even recognize money—
How inconvenient!
(Bashō)


He just stands there stupidly
Wearing a great big dagger.
(Kyorai)

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !



此筋は銀も見しらず不自由さよ
kono suji wa gin mo mishirazu fujiyuusa yo

In this place
people don’t even know silver coins —
how awkward!

Tr. Peipei Qiu

. WKD : Monkey 猿 saru .


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Monkey's Straw Raincoat

Le Manteau de pluie du Singe

(Tr. René Sieffert 1986)


quote
MONKEY'S RAINCOAT (SARUMINO):
Linked Poetry of the Basho School
translated from the Japanese by Lenore Mayhew Rutland,
Vermont: 1985 895.61 SAR

Monkey's Raincoat came about in 1690 when the poet Basho and a friend, Otokuni, made a trip to the capital city of Edo (now Tokyo). The two invited other poets to help them celebrate the occasion by composing a renga. As the haikai master, Basho wrote the lead verses.
"Let's squeeze the juice from our bones", Basho enthused.

Winter's first rain
Monkey needs
A raincoat too.

The renga has been compared to the verse debates conducted by medieval troubadours. Called partumens, these debates provided entertainment for aristocratic gatherings. At about the same time in Japan, Lady Murasaki in her masterpiece The Tale of Genji described the members of court passing the time by making a renga. It would be the great poet Basho (1644-1694) who transformed the renga from a game to a profound art.
source : fearlessreader.blogspot.com


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Haiku by Basho from the SARUMINO collection



Sarumino zuka 猿蓑塚 stone memorial


初しぐれ猿も小蓑をほしげ也
hatsushigure saru mo komino o hoshige nari

first winter shower -
even the monkeys would want
a straw raincoat

(Tr. Gabi Greve)


the first cold shower
even the monkey seems to want
a little coat of straw

Tr. Etsuko Yanagibori


First rain of winter -
the monkey too seems to want
a little straw raincoat

Tr. wikipedia


The first rain in late autumn,
even a monkey seems to want
komino

Tr. weblio


First winter rain
The monkey also seems to wish
For a little straw cloak

Tr. ecoling. Suzuki


. WKD : hatsu shigure 初時雨 first winter shower .
first cold rain after the 8th of November
first winter drizzle


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CLICK for more photos !



人に家をかはせて我は年忘 

こがらしや頬腫痛む人の顔

住みつかぬ旅のこゝろや置火燵 

雪ちるや穂屋の薄の刈残し 

から鮭も空也の痩も寒の内

人に家をかはせて我は年忘


うき我をさびしがらせよかんこ鳥 

たけのこや稚き時の繪のすさび 

蛸壺やはかなき夢を夏の月

粽結ふかた手にはさむ額髪

夏草や兵共がゆめの跡 

笠嶋やいづこ五月のぬかり道 

日の道や葵傾くさ月あめ 

風流のはじめや奥の田植うた 

眉掃を面影にして紅粉の花 

ほたる見や船頭酔ておぼつかな

頓て死ぬけしきは見えず蝉の聲 

無き人の小袖も今や土用干 




文月や六日も常の夜には似ず 

桐の木にうづら鳴なる塀の内  

病鴈の夜寒に落て旅ね哉 

むざんやな甲の下のきりぎりす

月清し遊行のもてる砂の上 



麥めしにやつるゝ恋か猫の妻 

かげりふや柴胡の糸の薄曇 

不性さやかき起されし春の雨 

闇の夜や巣をまどはしてなく鵆 

ひばりなく中の拍子や雉子の聲

山吹や宇治の焙炉の匂ふ時
yamabuki ya Uji no

うぐひすの笠おとしたる椿哉

猶見たし花に明行神の顔

一里はみな花守の子孫かや

草臥て宿かる比や藤の花  

行春を近江の人とおしみける



一ふき風の木の葉しづまる

あつしあつしと門々の聲

あぶらかすりて宵寝する秋

梅若菜まりこの宿のとゝろ汁



元禄辛未歳五月
source : itoyo/basho


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Haiku about the MINO straw raincoat





降らずとも 竹植る日は 蓑と笠
furazu tomo take uu hi wa mino to kasa

even if it does not rain
they plant on bamboo planting day -
a mino-raincoat and a rain-hat


Basho age 41 or later. from Oi Nikki 笈日記

MORE
. WKD : Bamboo and Haiku  
take uu 竹植う (たけうう) planting bamboo - kigo for summer


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春雨や蓑吹きかへす川柳
harusame ya mino fukikaesu kawa yanagi

this spring rain -
like straw coats back and forth
river willows sway

Tr. Gabi Greve

Written between 1684 and 94  貞亨元年 - 元禄7年.

It must have been quite a bit of wind to move the river willows.


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蓑虫の音を聞きに来よ草の庵
minomushi no ne o kiki ni koyo kusa no io

. WKD : minomushi 蓑虫 bagworm .
case moth, bagworm, basketworm
蓑虫 larva of Psychidae

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

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


Written in December 1690 元禄3年
He might have written this when seeing the ragged image of Ono no Komachi, Sotoba Komachi 卒都婆小町 the Beauty Komachi on a grave marker.
It might have reminded him of his own appearance, almost like a ragged beggar.


One of the "seven Komachi"
Read the story and her poem here :
. 7 Sotouba Komachi 卒塔婆小町. .



Haiku about tootosa by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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Das Affenmäntelchen
tr. Geza D. Dombrady

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- - - - - External LINKS


猿蓑(さるみの)は、向井去来と野沢凡兆が編集した、蕉門の発句・連句集。松尾芭蕉は元禄4年(1691年)の 5、6月に京都に滞在し『猿蓑』撰の監修をしている。
source : ja.wikipedia.org/wiki


Monkey's Raincoat:
Sarumino Linked Poetry of the Basho School With Haiku Selections
by Lenore Mayhew, Yakushiji Soseki
source : www.goodreads.com/book


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. WKD : Monkey 猿 saru .


MONKEY DEITIES IN JAPAN
The three wise monkeys
. Amulets with Monkeys .


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- Hosomichi 2007 - BACKUP

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BACKUP only
December 2012

Original

. WKD : Oku no Hosomichi 2007 .



The main entry is now HERE

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





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walking
a long, long path -
haiku


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Oku no Hosomichi 奥の細道 ... 2007

Click for more information !

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

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

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




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

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

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


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

. Barnhill : the concept of MUJŌ .
impermanence


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

QUOTE:

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

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

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

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

Susumu Takiguchi, WHR 2005

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

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

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

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The walk starts in Edo.


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

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


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

. Yuku haru - spring is ending .


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江東区芭蕉記念館
KOTO CITY BASHO MUSEUM


Basho-An Homepage
臨川寺 Temple Rinsen-Ji


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


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



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

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


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

Temple Ungan-Ji 雲巌寺


CLICK for more photos of this volcanic landscape !
"Murder Stone" 殺生石 Sesshoseki, a volcanic landscape


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Willow Tree in memory of priest Yugyo (Ippen Shonin)

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


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

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

CLICK for more photos
含満ガ淵


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

CLICK for more photos !
Shirakawa no Seki 白河の関 Border Station of Shirakawa

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



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



CLICK for more photos of Sakai no Myojin !
Sakai no Myojin Shrine 境の明神(福島)

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

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


CLICK for more photos !

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



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

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

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




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


The waka
安積香山影さへ見ゆる山の井の浅き心をわが思はなくに

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On his way

Waterfall Otsuji-ga-taki


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


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


Dresses made of paper, kamiko 紙子,紙衣

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

GOOGLE : 白石 和紙 

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

Kabuki and Haiku

GOOGLE : kamiko paper japan kimono

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Matsushima

CLICK for more photos !CLICK for more photos !


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

Matsushima!
Aaah! Matsushima!
Matsushima!


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


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





. SENDAI
Iris Haiku


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



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Hiraizumi 平泉

CLICK for more about Hiraizumi !CLICK for more about Yoshitsune Hall !


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

summer grass!
only a trace of dreams
of ancient warriors


 Warriours, Samurai and Haiku

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

鎮魂の念


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


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

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

unchanged by the rain
of many rainy seasons -
the Golden Hall


More photos from Hiraizumi.

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

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

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

Kusa no Hana Haiku Group

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Natagiri Pass and Obanazawa 山刀伐峠  

Entering into Dewa, Dewagoe 出羽超え.

CLICK for more photos ! The walk over the steep pass takes more than 3 hours. Basho hired a young guide to make sure he would not loose his way. From the top of the pass you can see Mount Gassan in the background.
After the dangerous crossing, Basho stayed with the rich merchant Seifu (Suzuki Michiyu), who had made his fortune with
Safflower, saffron flower (benibana, beni no hana) .


(C) Bashoan
芭蕉 山刀伐峠越の図 高嶋祥光

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


Ginzan Hot Spring, Ginzan Onsen 銀山温泉

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

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



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


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River Mogamigawa, Mount Gassan

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

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"As I sat reflecting thus upon a rock, I saw in front of me a cherry tree hardly three feet tall just beginning to blossom - far behind the season of course, but victorious against the heavy weight of snow which it had resisted for more than half a year.
I immediatley thought of the famous Chinese poem about 'the plum tree fragrant in the blazing heat of summer' and of an equally pathetic poem by the priest Gyoson, and felt even more attached to the cherry tree in front of me. "
Station 30 - Gassan

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


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


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Some thoughts from Etsuko Yanagibori

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

arigataya yuki o kaorasu kaze no oto

thanks
for the wind
with the smell of snow


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

arigataya yuki o kaorasu minamidani

Thanks
for Minamidani
smell of snow

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

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

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

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


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

the hidden haiku reading ...

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


. . . . .


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



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



kumo no mine ikutsu kuzurete tsuki no yama

The peaks of clouds
Have crumbled into fragments
The moonlit mountain



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

Tr. Donald Keene

source : Haguro Brochure

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

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Tsuruoka and Kisakata 鶴岡 と 象潟
(Kisagata)

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Yamagata, Tsuruoka Basho Memorial



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Akita, Kisagata


SAKATA

Minden Nasu / Eggplants

mezurashi ya yama o Dewa no hatsu nasubi


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



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

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


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

Sora 曾良

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


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



Yamagata, Yamadera 山寺立石寺

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

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





. YAMAGATA - On the path of poets .

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Izumosaki, Oyashirazu, Ichiburi .. Kanazawa

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


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

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


Tr. Dorothy Britton


Sado Province, Sado Island, Japan

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


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


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The grand old tree at Ichiburi

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Kurikara Pass 倶利伽羅峠

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

CLICK for some photos here !


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


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


多太神社
Shrine Tada Jinja in Komatsu


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Tsuruga 敦賀 , Ogaki 大垣

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Basho Memorial at Tsuruga




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

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



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



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



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The last haiku, written at Ogaki

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

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


. discussing : futami 二身 - 蓋身 two bodies .


. . . . .


At the end of the journey

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



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



Reference : Oku no Hosomichi. Nobuyuki Yuasa



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

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


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Translation by Tim Chilcott
a PDF file.



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




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


Walking with Basho in Japanese

「ゆるぱそ」ブログ 

Bashomichi
http://bashomichi.com/

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


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

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


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Stamps about "Oku no Hosomichi"

Click the image for more !


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Related words


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



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

***** Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 (1644 - 1694)


***** NHK and Haiku


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. Michinoku, Mutsu 陸奥 region in Tohoku .


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