summer rains -
torn poem cards
sticking to the wall
samidare ya | shikishi hegitaru | kabe no ato
五月雨や色帋へぎたる壁の跡
Basho
[Rakushisha]
To the west of Kyoto lie the scenic areas Arashiyama and Sagano. They were already popular with aristocrats of the Heian-period, who came here for outings or built their summer villas among the bamboo groves. Since the 17th century, the Hozugawa River at Arashiyama has been spanned by the Togetsukyo bridge, making traffic easier. Not far from the bridge stands Tenryuji Temple with its famous landscape garden. In Sagano one also finds such temples as Daikakuji, a former imperial villa, Nisonin, where Fujiwara Teika compiled the tanka anthology
A Hundred Poems by a Hundred Poets, and Seiryoji with its exotic Shaka statue.
Basho's student Kyorai owned a cottage here, which bore the poetic name of “Hut of Fallen Persimmons” (Rakushisha) - see below for the meaning of this name. Kyorai often played host to Basho and other haiku poets when they visited Kyoto.
[Straw raincoat and bamboo hat]
Basho visited Rakushisha three times: in 1689, 1691 and again in 1694, a few months before his death. During his second visit, which took place during the months April and May, he wrote the
Saga Nikki or “Saga Diary.” In contrast to Basho's usual travel accounts, this is a real diary, with exact dates, about his fifteen day sojourn in the Rakushisha. Apparently, it was a pleasant and relaxed stay, interspersed with boating on the nearby river, as well as temple visits. Almost every day, local disciples and others came to visit Basho. In between, the poet did a lot of reading - he mentions the books he brought with him, such as the works of the Tang-poet Bai Juyi and the
Tale of Genji.
The cottage is still there, not far from the foot of Mr. Ogura where the Niosonin Temple stands, and right next to the Hinoyashiro, the tomb site of an imperial princess, daughter of Emperor Saga (8th c.). Or, I should rather say that the cottage is there again, because the original dwelling fell into ruin after Kyorai’s death. In the late eighteenth century, Basho followers bought the present site and erected a structure that is thought to resemble Kyorai's original dwelling. It indeed serves eminently to recall the past atmosphere of haiku-gatherings in the beautiful surroundings of Sagano. The bamboo hat and straw raincoat hanging on the wall of the cottage used to indicate that the occupant was at home.
[Togetsukyo, Arashiyama]
Today, Rakushisha is a tasteful monument to Kyorai and Basho. Besides tourists, Basho fans and haiku enthusiasts come here, with a reverent look on their faces, some silently mumbling haiku. The most famous haiku Basho himself wrote here is quoted above. Basho wrote this poem when he was about to leave Rakushisha. Having enjoyed the serene life in the countryside of Sagano and feeling sorry to leave, the poet wanders around the rooms. The rains mentioned in the haiku are the rains of the rainy season, when the monsoon from the south brings weeks of damp and wet weather. The “poem cards” are shikishi, square pieces of cardboard on which one could write a haiku, but could also paint a picture (haiga). They were glued to the walls and are a reminder of haiku sessions Basho has held with his visitors in the “Hut of Fallen Persimmons.” The fact that they are peeling, in some cases only leaving traces (perhaps caused by the damp weather) is a fitting symbol for the fact that Basho's “session” in Rakushisha is over: he has to “peel” himself loose, too!
[Entrance to Rakushisha]
Master of Persimmons -
right behind the branches
Stormy Mountain
kakinushi ya | kozue wa chikaki | Arashiyama
柿ぬしや梢はちかきあらし山
Mukai Kyorai (1651 - 1704) was one of Basho's major disciples. He was the son of a wealthy physician from Nagasaki, and well-to-do himself, was able to play the host to Basho and other haiku poets when they visited Kyoto. His poetry faithfully observes the principles of Basho and the Master even said he was "in charge of haiku in Western Japan" (Basho himself lived in Edo, in the East). Kyorai owned the cottage in the western outskirts of Kyoto, "at the foot of Mt. Ogura and behind Hinoyashiro," where Basho came to stay several times. The present haiku explains how that cottage got its curious name 'Rakushisha,' or 'Cottage of Fallen Persimmons.'
Kyorai had about 40
persimmon trees in the garden of his Saga cottage. In autumn, their fruit had ripened to a shiny orange. As it was too much to eat alone, Kyorai sold this harvest. However, the night before the fruit was picked, a terrible gale blew over the Arashiyama area - a name that means 'Stormy Mountain' and presumably was given for good reasons. All the fruit was destroyed and Kyorai had to pay back the advance money he had received from the merchant.
The loss of the persimmons was seen by Kyorai as a humorous lesson not to strive after worldly gain. On top of that, it led to a satori experience: through the branches of the trees, now bare of fruit, Kyorai had an excellent view of Mt. Arashiyama. He saw the mountain in a way he had never seen it before. The storm and Stormy Mountain proved not to be unconnected.
P.S. The modern haiku poet Shiki was a great lover of persimmons. Read one of his
haiku about persimmons at this blog.
[Kyorai's grave]
I have visited
the world's smallest grave
that of Kyorai
oyoso tenka ni | Kyorai hodo no chiisaki haka ni | mairikeri
凡そ天下に去来程の小さき墓に参りけりMukai Kyorai, the master of the Rakushisha, died in 1704 and was buried close to his cottage. His tomb is in a graveyard at the back of the cottage, just to the right of the path that leads to Nisonin temple. It is a natural stone only 40 centimeters in height and only carries the characters for 'Kyorai.' The smallness of the stone harmonizes with the smallness of the poetic genre exercised by Kyorai and gives a hint about the poet's modest character.
The above haiku was written by the twentieth century master Takahama Kyoshi (1874 - 1959). Kyoshi was one of the main disciples of Shiki, the poet who had started the tradition of modern haiku and revitalized the genre that in the late Edo-period had become almost moribund. Kyoshi's haiku are romantic and rather traditional, and often have an immediate appeal - qualities that may have made him the foremost poet of the 20th century. Kyoshi visited Kyorai's grave in 1908.
Rakushisha
Access: a 10-min walk from Arashiyama Station on the Keifuku Raiway, or a
15-min walk from Saga-Arashiyama Station on the JR Sanin Line.
http://www.rakushisha.jp/
Translations and Studies of Basho
Basho's Haiku, 2 vols, by Toshiharu Oseko (1990 & 1996, Maruzen): Basho and his Interpreters, Selected Hokku with Commentary, by Makoto Ueda (1992, Stanford U.P.); Traces of Dreams, Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Basho, by Haruo Shirane (1998, Stanford U.P.); Basho's Narrow Road, by Hiroaki Sato (1996, Stone Bridge Press); Basho's Journey, The Literary Prose of Matsuo Basho, by David Landis Bamhill (2005, State University of New York); Basho Yamatoji by Daiyasu Takashi considers Basho's travels in the Nara area and the haiku he wrote there (Izumi Shobo, 1994)
A translation of Basho's "Saga Diary" can be found in the above mentioned Basho's Journey.
All photos in this post are by Ad Blankestijn.