Haiku Travels
Matsuyama (Dogo Onsen)
red light district -
ten steps away
autumn wind
iro sato ya | juppo hanarete | aki no kaze
Shiki
[Hogonji Temple]
Dogo Onsen, in the outskirts of Matsuyama, is one of Japan's oldest spa baths, and is characterized by a heavy wooden, late 19th c. public bath house, which is almost like a castle. Inside, the baths come in several classes, the highest consisting of private rooms. The baths themselves, filled with colorless and odorless water, are rather small - even the economy class bath -, so it can get crowded. Natsume Soseki, in his popular novel Botchan, has the hero swim around in it, but that seems quite a feat.
Famous spas in Japan usually also have their red light districts. On a fine day in October 1895 Shiki and Soseki visited Dogo Spa. After enjoying a bath, they walked through the street of Dogo's small red light district and ended up in a temple, Hogonji. Shiki knew that Hogonji was famous for its association with Ippen, the founder of the Ji sect of Buddhism, who had been born here in 1239. In the haiku he remarks on the incongruity of finding the red light district of the spa town so close to a sacred place. The haiku stone stands in the grounds of Hogonji and the characters on the monument are a copy of Shiki's handwriting. All that is left of the red light district today are a few small bars that don't look particularly flourishing, so there need be no hesitation in visiting this area. The street with the bars leads right up to the temple, as if it were a monzenmachi, "street before the gate."
Famous spas in Japan usually also have their red light districts. On a fine day in October 1895 Shiki and Soseki visited Dogo Spa. After enjoying a bath, they walked through the street of Dogo's small red light district and ended up in a temple, Hogonji. Shiki knew that Hogonji was famous for its association with Ippen, the founder of the Ji sect of Buddhism, who had been born here in 1239. In the haiku he remarks on the incongruity of finding the red light district of the spa town so close to a sacred place. The haiku stone stands in the grounds of Hogonji and the characters on the monument are a copy of Shiki's handwriting. All that is left of the red light district today are a few small bars that don't look particularly flourishing, so there need be no hesitation in visiting this area. The street with the bars leads right up to the temple, as if it were a monzenmachi, "street before the gate."
[Bars near Hogonji]
Anyway, as the bath is invariably overrun by noisy tourists, it is better to head out for the Matsuoka Shiki Memorial Museum in Dogo Park for a cultural experience...
winter dryness -
reflected in the mirror
the shadow of a cloud
fuyu kare ya | kagami ni utsuru | kumo no kage
just as high
as the firebell
the winter trees!
hangane to | narande takaki | fuyugi kana
With its white tile walls and aquamarine copper roof, the Shiki Memorial Museum is quite an elegant presence. It is dedicated to the life and work of Masaoka Shiki, the "Father of Modern Haiku." There are documents, photos, manuscripts, haiku slips and letters on view, by Shiki and his circle, to document the poet's life and work. There is also a life-sized model of the Gudabutsuan, where Shiki and Soseki shared a house for 50 days. The museum stands in Dogo Park, just five minutes on foot from the baths, where we also find several haiku stones. The first one we review, fittingly has poems by both Matsuoka Shiki and Natsume Soseki.
[Shiki Memorial Museum]
The first one is by Shiki and was written in 1895 when he stayed in Gudabutsuan in Matsuyama. The second one, by Soseki, dates from a year later and was written when he paid a visit to Shiki, who had by then moved to Tokyo. They do not originally form a set, but were probably combined on the stele because of their shared wintry images. Both poems are quite straightforward and seem in no need of further commentary.
New Year's Day -
one line of Emperors
and Mt. Fuji
gantan ya | ikkei no tenshi | fuji no yama
This haiku is by Naito Meisetsu (1847-1926), another Matsuyama haiku master. It is a celebration of the New Year, in a rather nationalistic vein, mentioning the unbroken tradition of the imperial house and Mt. Fuji as the two most characteristic symbols of Japan. Although by no means the best haiku of Meisetsu, it became the first kuhi (haiku monument) that was set up in Matsuyama. That was already in 1918 - the first kuhi for Shiki would only be set up in 1933.
[Dogo Onsen]
lying down
I have a butterfly land on me
the open air bath!
nekoronde | tefu tomaraseru | soto-yu kana
After the solemnity of the above haiku by Meisetsu, we turn to Issa for something in a lighter vein. Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827) was one of Japan's foremost haiku masters from the Edo period and his work is known for compassion with small animals. In a true Buddhist sense, Issa felt that all creation was one. Issa visited Matsuyama twice, in 1795 and 1796, and seems to have enjoyed the baths. During his second visit, he even stayed for half a year, lodging with Kurita Chodo, a local sake brewer and also haiku poet. At that time, there apparently was an open-air bath attached to Dogo Spa (it is also visible on old maps). While Issa lies down comfortably in the hot water, a butterfly comes by and (by keeping still?) Issa has it perch down on him. Could there be a more beautiful image?
Index Haiku TravelsFirst Haiku Stone:
The haiku stone stands in the grounds of Hogonji Temple. Grounds free. 5 min on foot from Dogo Onsen streetcar stop.
Other Haiku Stones:
All other haiku stones mentioned above stand in the grounds of the Shiki-Kinen Museum in Dogo Park, Matsuyama. The museum is 5 min on foot from the Dogo Onsen streetcar stop.
Links to Matsuyama and Ehime
Homepage of Matsuyama; Guide to Ehime Prefecture.
Notes:
For Shiki, read Masaoka Shiki, Selected Poems translated by Burton Watson (Columbia Univ. Press) and Masaoka Shiki, by Janine Beichman (Kodansha, reprint 1986). The Matsuyama Municipal Shiki-Kinen Museum has published the attractive If Someone Asks... Matsuoka Shiki's Life and Haiku.
Natsume Soseki's Botchan has been translated by Alan Turney and is available from Kodansha.