Haiku Travels
Buson (Konpukuji)
when I am dead, too,
I want to lie by the monument
withered pampas grass
ware mo shi shite | hi ni hotori semu | kare obana
我も死して碑にほとりせむ枯尾花
Buson
[Konpukuji]
The irony is, that it is not certain Basho ever really came here. True, in 1670 he wandered around Kyoto and visited Arashiyama, Kiyotaki and Mt. Hiei. Tradition has it, that he also spent some time in a small cottage in the grounds of Konpukuji, and the above-mentioned priest Tesshu gave that humble dwelling therefore the name "Basho-an." With Rakushisha, it is therefore one of the two Basho-related huts in Kyoto.
The cottage had fallen into ruins when Japan's second great haiku master, Buson (1716-1784), paid a visit here in 1760. In 1776 he started to rebuild it, with the aid of the then priest, Shoso, a work that was only finished in 1781. From 1776 on, Buson would regularly come here in spring and autumn with his disciples, such as Gekkyo, Doryo and Hyakuchi, to hold haiku sessions.
[The Basho Hut ]
here the new leaves
of the Basho Hut
ji-moku-hai-cho | koko ni tama maku | Basho An
耳目肺腸ここに玉巻くはせを庵
This haiku is almost impossible to translate and certainly won't make it to any popular Buson anthology. The kuhi stands on the way from Ichijoji-Sagarimatsu (famous as a battle site from the Miyamoto Musashi lore) to Konpukuji, and at the same time serves as a signpost for visitors. "Ji-moku-hai-cho" literally means "ears, nose, lungs and intestines" and stands for "my whole being," or "body and soul." "Maku" is "curling up" and points at young, curled up leaves - so something new about to be born, or something burgeoning. That of course points at the meaning of basho as plantain - after all, Basho has a horticultural name - but the new, burgeoning leaves are also symbolic for the inspiring influence of the poet Basho. The message of the haiku is: from this (restored) Basho Hut, which deeply inspires Buson and his disciples, a new haiku poetry will be born... It was Buson's praise of the newly restored hut in 1776.
Buson also wrote a haibun about the hut, called "A Record on the Restoration of the Basho Hut in Eastern Kyoto." He expresses his longing for this "deeply hidden place," "where green moss has covered all traces of footsteps," but that at the same time is not completely cut off from the world, as one can hear dogs barking across the fence, and even buy tofu nearby. There is an echo here from Basho's Genju-an, a haibun about a hut near Ishiyama at Lake Biwa where Basho lived after his trip along the "Narrow Road."
At that time, Buson was already famous as both a painter and a poet. The cottage (even today still looking very new, so probably many times restored) stands on the hill at the back of Konpukuji. It sports a straw roof and is in fact quite spacious. It is a warm and sunny place, with dense vegetation even in winter. I would not mind spending some time here, studying haiku at ease...
[Buson's grave]
Buson died on the 25th of December of 1784, after having been ill since the autumn. He was surrounded by his family and disciples and one of these, Kito, wrote a moving account of his last days. Even on his sickbed, Buson continued composing haiku and expressed his admiration for Basho, whom - he felt - he had not been able to equal. After dictating his three last haiku to one of his disciples, Buson passed on peacefully. His last haiku, which he entitled "The Beginning of Spring", was:
from now on
every night will dawn
with white plum blossoms
shiraume ni | akuru yo bakari to | narinikeri
しら梅に明る夜ばかりとなりにけり
After saying: "The time has come to leave this world - is the night still deep?" - he breathed his last. The haiku expresses the feeling that spring is coming, and from now on will adorn all early mornings with plum blossoms. Buson himself also sets out for another world that is graced with such plum blossoms, dazzlingly white.
Buson's grave lies in the shaded forest on the slope above the Basho Hut. It is quiet here and almost solemn, like in a cathedral. Nearby are the graves of disciples and other poets, who - just as Buson wanted to be near Basho - wanted to lie next to the great master.
[Stone Lantern in Konpukuji]
now make me feel lonely
cuckoo
uki ware wo | sabishigarase yo | kankodori
憂き我をさびしがらせよ閑古鳥
There is a tradition that Basho wrote this haiku when he visited Konpukuji, so this is a fitting place for this kuhi, all the more so as this spot of Basho veneration could not be without a haiku by the Master himself. The poem alludes to a waka by the priest-poet Saigyo (1118-1190), telling that the poet wanted to live alone in a mountain village and then heard the cuckoo and thought: "Who is it calling? I just wanted to be alone!"
It is a quiet day when I come here, in late summer, and there are no cuckoos to make me feel lonely. On the contrary, Konpukuji and the Basho Hut exude a warm and friendly atmosphere. This is no place for melancholy, even not with the graves on the hill above me. I look out at the small formal garden next to the temple hall, with raked gravel and thick patches of moss. An old lantern sticks up its head from the bushes. Inside the temple, some materials related to Buson are on display. The door curtain flaps in a light breeze. In the hut above me, I imagine Basho listening to the cuckoo and, a century later, I see Buson with his disciples busily engaged in a haiku session...
[Hall of Konpukuji]
bird's eye-view of Kyoto
from the graves
yuku haru ya | kyo wo hitome no | haka-dokoro
ゆく春や京を一目の墓どころ
Takahama Kyoshi (1874-1959) also visited Konpukuji and was inspired by the view of Kyoto from here to write the above haiku. It was perhaps ironical (or fitting?) to have such a good view of the city from the place where the graves of Buson and his disciples are. Through the tall trees the city of Kyoto can be glimpsed. usually lying in a haze, and at the end of the view are the shapes of the Western Mountains. The hill above me is heavily forested, probably turning a blazing red in autumn, and now in summer providing welcome coolness.
[Entrance to Konpukuji]
The Haiku Stones:
The first haiku stone stands at the spot where the road from Ichijo-Sagarimatsu splits: one has to turn right here for Konpukuji. All other haiku can be found in Konpukuji. The Basho haiku stone stands next to the Basho-an, while the Kyoshi kuhi can be found in the area higher up the hill, where the graves are.
Konpukuji:
10 min walk (200 m SE) from Ichijo-Sagarimatsu-cho bus stop (bus 5 from Kyoto St).
9:00-17:00; Closed 1/16-31 and 8/5-20.
See about Buson: The Path of the Flowering Thorn, The Life and Poetry of Yosa Buson, by Makoto ueda (1998, Stanford University Press).
The photos in this post are my own.