Haiku Travels
Hikone (Shiga)
funazushi -
above Hikone Castle
appears a cloud
funazushi ya / hikone no jo ni / kumo kakaru
鮒ずしや 彦根の城に 雲かゝる
Buson
[Hikone Castle]
Hikone is a traditional town on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, shaped like a biwa-lute. It developed as a market town on the Nakasendo route and in 1603 became the castle town of the Ii family, who ruled here until the end of the Edo period. It is one of the few original castles left in Japan and its three storied keep has a very elegant design. The approach to the castle is via a wooden bridge that could be easily destroyed in case of an attack. The keep can be entered, but the stairs inside are rather steep - those that make it to the top floor can enjoy a grand view over the castle grounds, the city and Lake Biwa. Next to the castle stands the Hikone Castle Museum with an exhibition of the many treasures of the Ii lords and at the foot of the castle lies the daimyo garden, Genkyuen.
Funazushi are a local specialty of the area around Lake Biwa and are in fact an ancient form of sushi called "narezushi." Narezushi was a way of preserving fish rather than a dish in itself so it is very different from modern sushi! In Shiga prefecture, narezushi are made with funa, the wild goldfish found in Lake Biwa, a fish which lives 10 to 15 years and reaches a length of 40 cm. To make narezushi, in spring and early summer funa, heavy with roe, are caught, gutted and salted. After 6 months the salt is soaked out and the fish are packed between layers of cooked rice in large barrels. The lids of the barrels are weighed down with pickling stones and the mixture is allowed to ferment for about one year. Before eating, the rice is removed and discarded, and the fermented fish is thinly sliced. It can eaten as a tsumamimono with sake. But it is an acquired taste, as the smell is quite strong and the taste very sour!
[Funazushi - photo from Wikipedia]
Yosa Buson (1716-1784) was both a haiku poet and a painter in the literati style, and in both fields he is counted among the very best. He was born in a village close to Osaka, studied poetry in Edo and then spent many years traveling throughout Japan. At age 42 he settled down in Kyoto, where he lived for the rest of his years. One could say that by practicing both poetry and painting he aspired to the ideals of the literati from China. One of his most famous paintings involved a collaboration with Ike no Taiga on a landscape series based on Chinese poems, Ten Conveniences and Ten Pleasures (1771), now a National Treasure. As a haiku poet Buson played a central role in the revival movement "Back to Basho," but in fact his poetry is very different: it is rich in imagery and boasts wide landscapes, and it also displays sensitivity to human affairs and their stories - one could say Buson's haiku style was influenced by the fact that he was a painter. Buson helped canonize Basho as the "Saint of Haiku" and with his poetry group in 1776 built a Basho Hut for regular gatherings at Konpukuji Temple in Kyoto.
[The drawbridge of Hikone Castle]
The season of the above haiku is summer, when sometimes suddenly white clouds appear in the blue sky. Buson is enjoying funazushi in a teahouse at the shore of Lake Biwa in Hikone - the sour taste was considered to be refreshing in the hot summer weather. When he happens to look up from his dish, in the blue sky one white cloud has appeared, standing right above the keep of Hikone Castle. This haiku is indeed close to a painting, as argued above. (My picture of the castle was taken on a cloudless winter day).
Hikone is about 45 min by JR Special Rapid Service from Kyoto, When coming by Shinkansen from the direction of Tokyo, Maibara is convenient, but note that only a limited number of Shinkansen trains stop there. For practical information, see the Visit Hikone travel guide.Information about funazushi gleaned from A Dictionary of Japanese Food by Richard Hosking, Tuttle Publishing, 1995[The photos of Hikone Castle are my own, the photo of funazushi is from Wikipedia]