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According to Sora's travel diary, Matsuo Basho and Kawai Sora left Matsushima on May 10, 1689 (June 26th in the Gregorian calendar), and stayed overnight in Ishinomaki
However, for some reason, the text states that on the 12th, they left Matsushima and planned to visit famous poetic landmarks in northern Miyagi Prefecture"Odaebashi Bridge"and"Aneha Pine Tree,"but got lost and ended up in Ishinomaki.
It is not clear what this means, but Basho and Sora left Ishinomaki on the 11th, stayed in Tome, Tome City, Miyagi Prefecture, and arrived in Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture on the 12th
What is Oku no Hosomichi?
Statue of Matsuo Basho
"Oku no Hosomichi" is a travelogue written by the haiku poet Matsuo Basho and his disciple Kawai Sora, who traveled from Edo to Mutsu, and from Hokuriku to Ogaki in Gifu, visiting famous places and historical sites while composing haiku in each area
Utamakura refers to famous places and historical sites that poets of the ancient capital wove into their waka poems, imagining their images and emotions, and were the object of admiration for poets and haiku poets
The preface, "The moon and the days are travelers of eternity, and the years that come and go are also travelers,"is translated in textbooks as "The moon and the days are travelers on an eternal journey, and the years that go and the years that come are also travelers."
The book introduces the local culture and haiku poems composed in the Michinoku region, andMarch 27, 1689 (May 16, 1689 in the Gregorian calendar)records a journey of approximately 2,400 km over 156 days, starting from
[Ishinomaki/Tome] Was getting lost a creation of Basho?
Aerial view of Mount Kinka from Miyagi Digital Photo Library
The text states that the author got lost and arrived in Ishinomaki by chance, butKinkasan, a place namesince it mentions seeing
Mount Kinka cannot be seen from the high ground around Ishinomaki, hidden by the Oshika Peninsula, so if what Basho saw was true, he would have had to go to the eastern coast or tip of the peninsula
It is also said that the two utamakura are located directly north of Matsushima, and there is no way they could appear in Ishinomaki to the east
Furthermore, it is written that in Ishinomaki, "I couldn't find a place to stay and had to stay in a small, poor house," but Sora's travel diary states that he was introduced to a place to stay by someone he met along the way, so it seems he had no trouble finding a place to stay
Therefore, theis a dramatic device to portray the journey to Hiraizumi as a "hard one."prevailing theory is that
In Sora's travel diary, he"Sode no Watari,"a place associated with Minamoto no Yoshitsune, which he only "looked at from a distance" in the main text, and staying at the inn "Shihei," which was located where the current Ishinomaki Grand Hotel stands.
The next day, I traveled north along the Kitakami River andstayedthe night in Tome, which was written as "Toima".
[Hiraizumi] The prosperity and fall of three generations of the Oshu Fujiwara clan, and the sorrow of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, brought to tears
Hiraizumi Kinkeiyama (From the Iwate Prefecture Tourism Portal Site)
On May 12th (June 29th in the Gregorian calendar), Basho and Sora arrived in Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture, in the rain and stayed the night. The following day, May 13th (June 30th in the Gregorian calendar), they headedHiraizumi.
, HiraizumiDuring the height of the Oshu Fujiwara clan's powerwas the second largest city after Heian-kyo, and a vibrant Buddhist culture flourished there.
Hiraizumi Motsuji Temple Gyokusui no Utage (The Banquet of the Waters) from the Iwate Prefecture Tourism Portal Site
However, in 1189, Minamoto no Yoritomo attacked Hiraizumi on the pretext of hiding Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and the Oshu Fujiwara clan was destroyed, causing Hiraizumi to fall into decline
, "The country is ruined, but the mountains and rivers remain; it is spring in the city, and the grass is green,"is a quote from the beginning of the poem "Spring View" by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu:"The country is ruined, but the mountains and rivers remain; it is spring in the city, and the grass and trees are lush.
This"even if a country is destroyed by war, the mountains and rivers remain as they once were,"expressing the futility of humanity repeating wars, and Basho connects this to his feelings about the rise and fall of Hiraizumi.
The chapter on Hiraizumi has been highly praised for its literary perfection, and the two haiku by the famous Basho and one by Sora are also highly praised for their beautiful expression of the view of impermanence
Statue of Minamoto no Yoshitsune at Yoshitsune Hall, Takadate, Hiraizumi. From the Iwate Prefecture Tourism Portal Site
In particular, the scene where Yoshitsune sheds tears of grief at Takadachi, where he committed suicide, is considered the climax of Oku no Hosomichi, and it is said that the depiction of the famous places related to Yoshitsune up to this point was a setup for that
BashoTakadateIn addition toKinkeizan, Chūsonji Temple (Konjikidō), the site of Fujiwara Hidehira's residence, Izumi Castle, Koromo-no-seki, and Koromogawaalso visited
This verse, which means "The fame and glory of the Oshu Fujiwara clan and Yoshitsune and his followers have now vanished like a fleeting dream, and all that remains in their final resting place is summer grass," is one of the most well-known verses from Oku no Hosomichi
Hiraizumi Takadate Yoshitsune Hall (from the Iwate Prefecture Tourism Portal Site)
The work is filled with the transience of life that Basho felt when he visited Hiraizumi, which remains the "vestige of a dream" that spanned approximately 100 years of three generations of the Fujiwara clan, and witnessed the final resting place of Yoshitsune and his followers
SoraA poem composed by
Among the deutzia blossoms, I see Kanefusa's white hair
The meaning behind this is that "looking at the white swaying unobservant flowers, they remind me of the white hair of Kanefusa, the retainer who met his end alongside Yoshitsune," and the pale unobservant flowers are a reflection of Yoshitsune's feelings for his master and servant, who met their end in this place
However, Jurogon no Kamikanefusa, a retainer who is said to have met a heroic end while protecting Yoshitsune, is considered to be a fictitious character who did not exist in reality, and there seems to be no definitive proof that this poem itself was written by Sora
Takadate Yoshitsune Hall <Information>
Facility name: Takadate Yoshitsune Hall
Address: 14 Hiraizumi Yanagigosho, Hiraizumi-cho, Nishiiwai-gun, Iwate Prefecture (within the outlying grounds of Motsuji Temple)
Phone number: 0191-46-3300
Visiting hours: 8:30-16:30 (November 5th-November 20th until 16:00)
Closed: November 21st to March 14th (winter period)
[Chusonji Golden Hall] The light hall remains unchanged from the past
Chusonji Golden Hall (from the official Chusonji website)
Basho writes in the text that he visited the Sutra Hall (Daichoujuin) and the Light Hall (Golden Hall) at Chusonji Temple, but Sora's travel diary states that he was actually only able to see the Golden Hall
Golden Hall, Sumeru altar, from the official Chusonji Temple website
The peacock-adorned dais in the shining, gold-leafed Konjikido Hall houses the remains of the three Fujiwara clans (Kiyohira, Motohira, and Hidehira) and the head of Yasuhira, the last head of the family. It was designated a National Treasure in 1951
It is currently housed inside a sturdy reinforced concrete building, and is further enclosed in a glass case to block it from the outside air
BashoA haiku composed by
The lingering traces of the May rains remain on the Golden Hall
It means that "Even the May rain that washes away everything seems to leave only Mitsudo untouched, out of respect for its nobility."
During the Kamakura period, a covering hall was built around the outside of the Golden Hall to protect it, and Basho wrote a haiku expressing his feelings, saying that this covering hall would "preserve its appearance for about a thousand years."
Kawai Sora's real nameIwanami Shoemon (commonly known as Kawai Sogoro), and he was born in 1649 in what is now Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture. However, he lost both his parents and adoptive parents at a young age and was taken in and raised at a temple in Ise Nagashima.
Having studied Yoshikawa Shinto in Edo, he possessed deep knowledge as a Shinto scholar. He had a gentle personality and, after becoming a disciple of Basho, devoted himself to him,one of Basho's ten mostprominent disciples.
During Basho's travels, she was apparently a capable secretary who took care of everything from calculating travel expenses to arranging accommodation
There are about 130 haiku poems known to have been written by him, including those published in Oku no Hosomichi. In his later years, he died of illness on Iki Island while serving as an inspector for the shogunate
summary
In Oku no Hosomichi, the chapter on Hiraizumi is highly praised as it expresses Basho's mental landscape of "things that change and things that remain the same."
It is said that Basho's greatest goal was to see Hiraizumi with his own eyes, a place his beloved monk Saigyo loved so much that he visited twice, and it may be said that he portrayed this mental landscape as the "end point of his journey."
After visiting Hiraizumi, Basho headed for Kisakata in Akita Prefecture, a scenic spot that rivals Matsushima, one of Japan's three most scenic spots, and then headed to Yamagata Prefecture, again via Miyagi Prefecture
【Articles in the series "Traveling the Narrow Road to the Deep North"
I'm a former Edoite (Tokyoite) who loves Morioka and the six prefectures of Tohoku, and I'm a big fan of history, gourmet food, travel, sports, alcohol, and choral singing.
I'll introduce you to interesting things, delicious food, and great places in Tohoku!
