30/11/2012

Oku no Hosomichi

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


Narrow road to the interior
Back Roads To Far Towns



source with haiku : basho/footmark

In 1689 - 元禄2年3月27日 - 9月6日

He leaves for "Oku no Hosomichi"奥の細道
on the 27th day of the 3rd lunar month and reaches Ogaki
on the 6th day of the 9th lunar month.

The dates for the Gregorian calendar are given with varying dates,
starting from May 6 to May 24.


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Road measurements are given in ri 理.
1 ri - 36 choo 町 - about 3,9 km.
Most official roads of the Edo period had a stone marker and tree on a mound at each ri.



ichirizuka 一里塚 mound at each RI
(equivalent of a milestone)

These mounds were a mark for a restplace, travelers could rest in the shade of the tree.
Usually they were pine (sugi 杉 or matsu 松), or
. enoki 榎 nettletree, Chinese hackberry tree . .

Basho's trip took 600 Ri in 150 days,
about 2400 kilometers of walking.



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. Oku no Hosomichi - NHK 2007 .


. Was Basho a ninja or onmitsu spy? .
Onmitsu : Oku no Hosomichi 隠密 - 奥の細道
Sora, Kawai Sora 河合曾良


OKU - what does this stand for?
. Michinoku, Mutsu 陸奥 region in Tohoku .


Basho traveled to the Tohoku region, where he had less friends than in Kansai, but could visit places in memory of
. Priest Saigyo Hoshi 西行法師 .
and
. Priest Noin Hoshi 能因法師 (Nooin Hooshi)  .
(988-1051)



. - His outfit as a traveler in the Edo time - .   





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Days and months are the travelers of eternity.
The years that pass are also but travelers in time.



. Stage 1: Prologue (Edo) 序章  .

. Stage 2: Senju, Departure 千住 江戸、旅立ち .
3月37日 (now May 16)

. Stage 3: Sooka 草加 Soka  .

. Stage 4: Muronoyashima (Muro no Yashima) 室の八島 "Eight Islands of Muro"  .

. Stage 5: Nikko 日光 .
4月1日 (now May 19) / 仏五左衛門 Hotoke Gozaemon

. Stage 6: Nasu 那須 .

. Stage 7: Nasu (Kurobane) 黒羽 .
4月3日 (now May 21)

. Stage 8: Nasu (Temple Unganji) 雲巌寺 / 雲岸寺 .

. Stage 9: Nasu (Sesshoseki) 殺生石 "murder stone", "killer stone" .

. Stage 10: Shirakawa  白河の関 .
4月20日 (now June 7)

. Stage 11: Sukagawa 須賀川  .
4月22日 (now June 9)

. Stage 12: Asaka (Fukushima) Asaka yama 安積山  .

. Stage 13: Shinobu no sato しのぶの里 / 忍ぶの里 / 信夫 .
4月29日

. Stage 14: Sato Shoji 佐藤庄司が旧跡  .
5月2日

. Stage 15: Iizuka 飯塚 .

. Stage 16: Kasajima 笠島 (Kasashima) .

. Stage 17: Takekuma no matsu 武隈 .

. Stage 18: Sendai 仙台 .
5月4日 (now June 20)

. Stage 19: Tsubo no Ishibumi 壺の碑 (Ichikawa) .

. Stage 20: Shiogama 塩釜 .

. Stage 21: Matsushima 松島 (Oshima 雄島) .
5月9日 (now June 25)

. Stage 22: Ishinomaki 石巻 . 石の巻  .
5月12日 (now June 29)

. Stage 23: Hiraizumi 平泉 .
5月13日 (now June 29)

. Stage 24: Dewagoe (Naruko) 出羽越え .

. Stage 25: Obanazawa 尾花沢 .
5月17日 (now July 03)

. Stage 26: Ryushakuji (Yamadera)  立石寺 .
5月27日 (now July 13)

. Stage 27: Ooishida 大石田 Oishida .

. Stage 28: Mogamigawa 最上川 River Mogami (Yamagata) .
6月03日 (now July 19)

. Stage 29: Hagurosan (Dewa Sanzan) 羽黒山 - 出羽三山 .

. Stage 30: Gassan (Dewa Sanzan) 月山 - 出羽三山 and Yudono San 湯殿山 .
6月6日 (now July 22)
- Tsuruoka 鶴岡 6月10日 (now July 26)

. Stage 31: Sakata  酒田 - Tsurugaoka 鶴が岡 .
6月 13日 (now July 29)

. Stage 32: Kisakata - Kisagata 象潟 .
6月 16日 (now August 01)
- Back to Sakata - 6月 18日 (now August 03) for one week

. Stage 33: Echigo 越後 (Niigata) - Izumosaki, Izumozaki 出雲崎 .
7月 4日 (now August 18)

. Stage 34: Ichiburi 市振の関 .

. Stage 35: Kanazawa  金沢 .
7月15日 (now August 29)

. Stage 36: Komatsu 小松 .

. Stage 37: Komatsu 小松 - Natadera 那谷寺 .
- and Yamanaka Onsen Hot Spring 山中温泉 7月27日 (now September 10) - for 8 days

. Stage 38: Daishoji - 全昌寺 .
Shiogoshi - Shiokoshi 塩越 - 汐越

. Stage 39: Matsuoka 松岡 - Maruoka 丸岡 .

. Stage 40: Fukui 福井 .

. Stage 41: Tsuruga 敦賀 .
8月14日 (now September 27)

. Stage 42: Ironohama  色の浜 .

. Stage 43: Ogaki 大垣 (Oogaki) .
9月6日 (now October 18)


. Stage 44: Postscript 跋.
by Kashiwagi Soryoo, Soryuu 柏木素龍 Soryo, Soryu / 素竜書


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. Stamps from Oku no Hosomichi .


- - - - -


Kai-awase 貝合わせ おくの細道 sea shell game



with 23 pairs
source : www.yumekougei.com


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蕪村筆「奥の細道画巻」
Paintings by Yosa Buson
- Reference with paintings -


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The first poem of the trip begins with

yuku haru 行く春 spring is ending

The last poem ends with

yuku aki 行秋 autumn is ending

This shows Basho's keen appreciation of the seasons.



quote
In the actual journey that Basho took in the spring of 1689, he had extremely limited success in finding new disciples in Michinoku.
- snip -
Basho, in short, made no significant new contacts in the northeast, the original destination of the journey, and his style and school did not take root in this area (Yamagata).
By contrast, Dewa and the area facing the Japanese Sea, particularly the Shonai region (northwest Yamagata. . .) and the Hokuriku area - Echigo, Etchu, Kaga and Echizen (Fukui) - proved to be a haikai goldmine.
Although Basho had almost no connections in the Shonai region, he encountered a number of young and talented poets:
- snip -
- Shirane, Traces of Dreams, page 250
source : books.google.co.jp


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Kuniharu Shimizu
source : tfship.net/bookstore






西本鶏介





天野吉則 Amano paintings on the way






芦原 伸
taking the train, Basho on my weekends
CLICK for more samples of Japanese books !

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Oku no Hosomichi - Karuta 奥の細道かるた




Basho karuta -
study your culture
while you play


. WKD : HAIKU KARUTA .

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Basho speaks paradoxically about how the gods have motivated his decision to travel.
He refers to two types of gods.

The first is Sozorogami, the other are the Dosojin 道祖神.

Vom Kofferpacken und dem Gott des Fernwehs.

sozorogami そぞろ神 / そヾろ神 / 漫ろ神
suzurugami すずろがみ / 漫神
sowasowa no kami そわそわの神
. WKD : Aruki-gami 歩行神 God of Wandering .

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"Unfortunately, Japanese haiku loses a lot in translation ... "



おくのほそ道: Oku No Hosomichi - Professor Donald Keene
- source : http://books.google.co.jp




Narrow Road to the Interior:
And Other Writings
Bashō Matsuo, Sam Hamill



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Oku no Hosomichi - Haiku and Senryu
おくのほそ道・俳句・川柳
田中貴子


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External LINKS - ENGLISH





Notes to the transalations
source : terebess.hu/english

Barnhill, David Landis Barnhill
Basho's Journey: The Literary Prose of Matsuo Basho - 2005
- source : books.google.co.jp




Britton, Dorothy Britton (1941 - September 16, 2014)
- source : http://books.google.co.jp


Cid Corman and Kamaike Susumu
Back Roads To Far Towns:
Basho's Travel Journal (Companions for the Journey)
- Full Text - PDF file -



Sato, Hiroaki Sato - Bashō's Narrow Road: Spring & Autumn Passages : Two Works
- source : http://books.google.co.jp


Yuasa, Nobuyuki Yuasa
Matsuo Basho's "Narrow Road to the Deep North"
with extensive literature links
source : terebess.hu/english

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Chilcott, Translation - bilingual by Dr Tim Chilcott
source : Simply Haiku



Utamakura: Storied Places
Bashō’s Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Roads of Oku)
with google map and all !
source : Dennis Kawaharada



Oku no hosomichi - Wikipedia
With a long list of all the publications, books etc.
source : en.wikipedia.org


Oku no Hosomichi - Wiki Travel
Narrow Road to the Deep North
source : http://wikitravel.org/en/Narrow_Road


- Further Reference -


Basho in Akita Prefecture 秋田県
source : Akita International Haiku Network

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JAPANESE

The Text of Basho's Oku no hosomichi
source : etext.virginia.edu


Detailed Itinerary with all the dates and distances
source : itoyo/basho/okunohosomichi


Translation into modern Japanese - Rodoku
with sound track to listen to roodoku おくのほそ道」の朗読
source : hosomichi.roudokus.com




source : www.e-hon.ne.jp




神社仏閣一覧 shrines and temples visited during Oku no Hosomichi
source : komichan/tanbou


みちのくの足跡
source : www.bashouan.com

おくのほそ道 芭蕉・曽良句集 - with beautiful images
source : www.bashouan.com kushuu



私の芭蕉紀行 - 私の「おくのほそ道」
source : intweb.co.jp/miura




walking along, drawing paintings . . .
source : hide-tabi.blog


- Further Reference - おくのほそ道


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External LINKS - DEUTSCH - GERMAN

Auf schmalen Pfaden durchs Hinterland
Geza S. Dombrady and Ekkehard May - Dieterich’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Mainz 1985
(Vollstaendiger Text)
http://www.k5.dion.ne.jp



Bashô (1644 - 1694) und sein Tagebuch "Oku no Hosomichi"
Hans Ueberschaar
source : books.google.co.jp




Landschaft und Erinnerung: Zu Bashōs Oku no Hosomichi
Robert F. Wittkamp
- - - - - mit Holzschnittbildern aus dem Bashō-ō Ekotoba-den
source : deutsche-ostasienstudien.de


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source : www.yasudaya-kagu.com

Paper Umbrella with Basho and Sora
wagasa from Gifu 和傘 - 岐阜


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. Enpitsu de Oku no Hosomichi - えんぴつで奥の細道 .
Tracing the Narrow Road to the Deep North with a Pencil


. Oku no Hosomichi - NHK 2007 .


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Izakaya Oku no Hosomichi 居酒屋おくのほそ道 - 太田和彦, 村松 誠 -


. Sake no Hosomichi のほそ道 "The Narrow Roads of Ricewine".
Manga by Razuweru Hosoki ラズウェル細木 Rozwell Hosoki


Mochi no Hosomichi もちの細道 in Memory of Basho
. Mochi Rice Cakes 餅  .

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Novel by Richard Flanagan

The Narrow Road to the Deep North
by Roger Pulvers
The time line of Richard Flanagan’s new novel, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” slips back and forth from prewar Tasmania, Melbourne and Adelaide to postwar Sydney, among other locations. Yet there is only one stark, unrelenting and everlasting present — “the Line,” the 415-km-long Burma-Thailand railway that was built between June 1942 and October 1943 by more than 300,000 prisoners of war under the command of the Japanese. One in three prisoners’ lives was lost on that arch-brutal forced march. Of those who perished, 90 percent were Asian, primarily Burmese and Malayans, but also Chinese, Tamils, Thais and Javanese. Nearly 3,000 Australians were among those killed. Richard Flanagan’s father was one of the lucky POWs who survived.
snip
This being a newspaper published in Japan, it seems appropriate to mention that some of the haiku appearing in the novel are badly mistranslated. (The novel’s title comes from Basho’s classic and, as such, haiku play a key role in the narrative.)

The translation of Issa’s haiku about “the world of dew” that forms a chapter heading in the novel renders kenka as “struggle,” when what the poet means here is “quarrel.” Issa was commenting on a dispute of inheritance he had with his family. “Struggle” might be more meaningful in the context of wartime suffering, but it’s not what the original expresses and it sends the wrong signals.

The first chapter of the novel is preceded by Basho’s haiku about a bee emerging from the depths of a peony. The translation used has the bee “staggering out” of the peony, while in the original, from “Nozarashi Kikō,” tells us that the bee is coming out of the flower not staggering but with reluctant regret. Basho (the bee) is expressing gratitude to his hosts who took such good care of him on the road, telling them how sad he is to leave them.
- source : /www.japantimes.co.jp - November 2013



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kojiki no yo 乞食の世  "A Beggar's world"
. Travels by Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .


. WKD : Calendar Systems .

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28/11/2012

Hosomichi - his outfit

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


Narrow road to the interior


source with haiku : basho/footmark

Form 元禄2年3月27日 - 9月6日

He leaves for "Oku no Hosomichi"奥の細道
on the 27th day of the 3rd lunar month and reaches Ogaki
on the 6th day of the 9th lunar month.

The dates for the Gregorian calendar are given with varying dates,
starting from May 6 to May 24.

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Main Entry
. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道 - .



年暮れぬ笠着て草鞋はきながら
toshi kurenu kasa kite waraji hakinagara 

end of this year -
a traveler's hat on my head
and straw sandals on my feet 


. Basho, the Eternal Traveler .   


under construction
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Days and months are the travelers of eternity.
The years that pass are also but travelers in time.




Sora and Basho
Painting by Kyoroku 森川許六 when they left Edo.
. - Morikawa Kyoroku / Kyoriku 森川許六 - .



What did a traveler in the Edo time carry with him?

Basho had to remember all his poems, Chinese poems, kigo collections and other things,
no handy or cellphone for him !

But for his frogs!
. . . and so the word spread into the rest of the world . . .


source : jp.fujitsu.com
keitai denwa 携帯電話 in the frog pond


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Items of his travel equipment, in ABC order
CLICK on the images for more samples.




dooboo 道帽 "hat for the road"
chajin boo 茶人帽 hat for a tea master






hayamichi 早道 (saifu 財布) purse, wallet






inro 印籠 - いんろ pillbox, small medicine container
. Inro and Netsuke 根付 .







jikitetsu 直綴 ー じきてつ -  
robe of a zen monk during training

doofuku 道服 "robe for the way"




. kamiko 紙子 paper robe .
a kind of raincoat.



. - kasa 笠 hat - .   
hinokigasa 檜笠 "cypress hat" cypress-bark hat
ajirogasa 網代笠
pilgrim's hat, traveller's hat, made from pine bark







kyahan 脚絆 - きゃはん leggins
- - - and


waraji 草鞋 straw sandals
. waraji 草鞋 わらじ  straw sandals .   




. Odawara choochin 小田原提灯  folding paper lantern .
with a candle


. oi 笈 backpack of the Edo period .


shitagi 下着 underwear, mostly an extra loincloth
It was kept in an oiled paper bag so as not to get wet when he had to cross a river.
. fundoshi 褌 - ふんどし loincloth .



.
kusamakura, kusa makura 草枕 pillows stuffed with grass .





tekkoo 手甲 covering
for the back of the hand and wrist

and leggins for the road





. tenugui 手ぬぐい small hand towel .
To wash the head and body, to use for a cover of a wound, to fix the straw sandals and to use for other little things that happen on the road.




. tsue  杖 walking stick .



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yatate 矢立 portable writing utensils
with a brush and ink stone.
And some paper to write his notes on.

Basho took out his yatate for the first time on the trip in Senju at the great bridge, when he wrote the famous hokku about the tears in the eyes of his friend called FISH.

是を矢立の初めとして、行く道なをすすまず。
人々は途中に立ちならびて、後かげのみゆる迄はと見送るなるべし.

There is not a memorial stone of this event at the modern bridge of Senju.


yatate hajime no hi 矢立初めの碑



And a statue of Basho at the beginning of the Road to Nikko, with his pen in hand



source : takeb777



Oku no Hosomichi - - - - Station 2 - Departure 旅立 - - -
Senjuu 千住 Senju
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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yukata 浴衣 light cotton robe (for the night)
. yukata 浴衣 .






zudabukuro 頭陀袋 - ずだぶくろ cloth sack
used by monks and pilgrims,
nowadays especially for the Henro Pilgrims in Shikoku.




source : 石川県立美術館

松尾芭蕉の頭陀袋 The zudabukuro of Basho !
Ishikawa Kenritsu Bijutsukan - Museum in Ishikawa


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. Basho traveling by horse .
- uma 馬 - koma 駒  horse, horses -


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source : www.yasudaya-kagu.com

Paper Umbrella with Basho and Sora
wagasa from Gifu 和傘 - 岐阜


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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道 - .


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18/11/2012

Oku Station 1 - Prologue

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .


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- - - Station 1 - Prologue 出発まで - - -


Days and months are the travellers of eternity. So are the years that pass by. Those who steer a boat across the sea, or drive a horse over the earth till they succumb to the weight of years, spend every minute of their lives travelling. There are a great number of the ancients, too, who died on the road. I myself have been tempted for a long time by the cloud-moving wind- filled with a strong desire to wander.

It was only toward the end of last autumn that I returned from rambling along the coast. I barely had time to sweep the cobwebs from my broken house on the River Sumida before the New Year, but no sooner had the spring mist begun to rise over the field than I wanted to be on the road again to cross the barrier-gate of Shirakawa in due time. The gods seem to have possessed my soul and turned it inside out, and the roadside images seemed to invite me from every corner, so that it was impossible for me to stay idle at home.

Even while I was getting ready, mending my torn trousers, tying a new strap to my hat, and applying moxa to my legs to strengthen them, I was already dreaming of the full moon rising over the islands of Matsushima. Finally, I sold my house, moving to the cottage of Sampu, for a temporary stay. Upon the threshold of my old home, however, I wrote a linked verse of eight pieces and hung it on a wooden pillar.

The starting piece was:

Behind this door
Now buried in deep grass
A different generation will celebrate
The Festival of Dolls.


Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa


- - - - - Notes
Eternity, in time, generations, voyagers
This is an allusion to a work by the Chinese poet Li Po.

Road, travelling, journey, journeyed
Basho's respected models all died on the road; Saigyo at Kawachi, Sogi at Hakone Yumoto, Li Po at Kiukiang, and Tu Fu who died at Lake Dotei. Where did Noin die?

Corner, road gods, Dosojin, spirits of the road
The Dosojin are pairs of male and female deities that protect travellers. These statues are located beside the roads.

Pillar, hut, cottage
A renga would be written on multiple sheets of paper with the first eight verses coming on the first page, so that is what Basho posted up. This renga no longer exists.

Dolls, well, house
By using the line "hina no ie" Basho suggests that whoever moves into this place has either a wife or a daughter. Since Basho has neither, the poem expreses how different his situation is from that of the new occupant.
source : terebess.hu/english


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月日は百代の過客にして、行かふ年も又旅人也。
舟の上に生涯をうかべ馬の口とらえて老をむかふる物は、日々旅にして、旅を栖とす。古人も多く旅に死せるあり。予もいづれの年よりか、片雲の風にさそはれて、漂泊の思ひやまず、海浜にさすらへ、去年の秋江上の破屋に蜘の古巣をはらひて、やゝ年も暮、春立る霞の空に、白河の関こえんと、そヾろ神の物につきて心をくるはせ、道祖神のまねきにあひて取もの手につかず、もゝ引の破をつヾり、笠の緒付かえて、三里に灸すゆるより、松島の月先心にかゝりて、住る方は人に譲り、杉風が別墅に移るに、

草の戸も住替る代ぞひなの家 - kusa no to mo zumikawaru yo zo hina no ie
面八句を庵の柱に懸置

....................................................................................................................................................


- - - - - Translation by Donald Keene

The months and days are the travellers of eternity.
The years that come and go are also voyagers.

Those who float away their lives on ships or who grow old leading horses are forever journeying, and their homes are wherever their travels take them. Many of the men of old died on the road, and I too for years past have been stirred by the sight of a solitary cloud drifting with the wind to ceaseless thoughts of roaming.

Last year I spent wandering along the seacoast. In autumn I returned to my cottage on the river and swept away the cobwebs. Gradually the year drew to its close. When spring came and there was mist in the air, I thought of crossing the Barrier of Shirakawa into Oku. I seemed to be possessed by the spirits of wanderlust, and they all but deprived me of my senses. The guardian spirits of the road beckoned, and I could not settle down to work.

I patched my torn trousers and changed the cord on my bamboo hat. To strengthen my legs for the journey I had moxa burned on my shins. By then I could think of nothing but the moon at Matsushima. When I sold my cottage and moved to Sampū’s villa, to stay until I started on my journey, I hung this poem on a post in my hut:

kusa no to mo sumikawaru yo zo hina no ie

Even a thatched hut
May change with a new owner
Into a doll’s house.


This became the first of an eight-verse sequence.
source : en.wikipedia.org



- - - - - Translation by Barnhill :

Months and days are the wayfarers of a hundred generations,
the years too, going and coming, are wanderers.
For those who drift life away on a boat, for those who meet age leading a horse by the mouth, each day is a journey, the journey itself home. Among Ancients, too, many died on a journey. And so I to—for how many years—drawn by a cloud wisp wind, have been unable to stop thoughts of rambling. I roamed the coast, then last fall brushed cobwebs off my winter hut. The year too gradually passed, and with a sky of spring’s rising mist came thoughts of crossing the Shirakawa Barrier.
Possessed by the spirits of roving which wrenched the heart, beckoned by Dōsojin, unable to settle hand on anything, I mended a tear in my pants, replaced a cord in my hat, burned my shins with moxa, and then with the moon of Matsushima rising in my mind, I handed on my hut to another and moved to Sanpū’s cottage.

a grass hut
has a season of moving:
a doll’s house  



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- - - - - - - - - - MORE translations of the "months and days"

Moon & sun are passing figures of countless generations,
and years coming or going wanderers too.
Drifting life away on a boat or meeting age leading a horse by the mouth, each day is a journey and the journey itself home. Amongst those of old were many that perished upon the journey.
(translated by Cid Corman and Kamaike Susumu, Back Roads to Far Towns)


The sun and the moon are eternal voyagers; the years that come and go are travelers too. For those whose lives float away on boats, for those who greet old age with hands clasping the lead ropes of horses, travel is life, travel is home. And many are the men of old who have perished as they journeyed.
(translated by Helen Craig McCullough, The Narrow Road to the Interior)


The passing days and months are eternal travellers in time.
The years that come and go are travellers too.
Life itself is a journey; and as for those who spend their days upon the waters in ships and those who grow old leading horses, their very home is the open road. And some poets of old there were who died while travelling.
(translated by Dorothy Britton, Narrow Road to a Far Province)

source : ngm.nationalgeographic.com


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kusa no to mo sumikawaru yo zo hina no ie


the grass door too
turning into
a doll’s house

Tr. Corman and Kamaike



My old grasshut
Lived in now by another generation
Is decked out with dolls.

Tr. Earl Miner



This rude hermit cell
Will be different now, knowing Dolls’
Festival as well.

Tr. Dorothy Britton


Even my grass-thatched hut
will have new occupants now:
a display of dolls.

Tr. Helen Craig McCullough


Even a thatched hut
May change with a new owner
Into a doll’s house.

Tr. Donald Keene


In my grass hut the residents change:
now a doll’s house

Tr. Hiroaki Sato


Even this grass hut
may be transformed
into a doll’s house.

Tr. Sam Hamill


even this grass hut
could for the new owner be
a festive house of dolls!

Tr. Tim Chilcott


The full translations are all here
source : www.bopsecrets.org



this old thatched hut
will change inhabitants now -
a home with hina dolls

Tr. Gabi Greve


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The months and days are wayfarers of a hundred generations,
and the years that come and go are also travellers.

Tr. Hiroaki Sato


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The moon and sun are eternal travelers.
Even the years wander on.
A lifetime adrift in a boat, or in old age leading a tired horse into the years,
every day is a journey,
and the journey itself is home.

Following Basho's Footsteps
source : Will Aitken

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Months and days are the wayfarers of a hundred generations, the years too, going and coming, are wanderers. For those who drift life away on a boat, for those who meet age leading a horse by the mouth, each day is a journey, the journey itself home. Among ancients, too, many died on the journey. And so I too--for how many years--drawn by a cloud wisp wind, have been unable to stop thoughts of rambling.


Here death is always followed by life, as life is followed by death. This is neither the cyclical change in which spring goes and then returns nor the karmic cycle of rebirth. The images of days, months, and years suggests that what passes will not return: a year once gone is gone forever. The ancients, too, have come and gone, dying on their life's journey, to be followed by other poets and religious practitioners. Now Bashō journeys, and the implication is that he too will die--and that others will follow him. The balance between the acute sense of death with strong sense of historical continuity gives this passage a pronounced tone of solemn celebration.

For Bashō, mujô is the central aspect of his religious worldview. Worldview has been defined as what a "religion affirms about the ultimate nature of reality" and it functions as a frame of perception, a symbolic screen through which experience is interpreted.3 For Bashō, mujô shaped his vision of how life ultimately is and it lead to his view of how it ought to be, which he embodied in his wayfaring lifestyle.

THE JOURNALS OF MATSUO BASHŌ
source : Barnhill


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kusa no to mo sumi—kawaru yo zo hina no ie

Even my grass hut
has changed into a home
for colourful dolls


This is from the opening haiku to Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North, which forms the first section of a renga sequence, consisting of 8 links, which Basho left on the outside post. The haiku is preceded by an adaptation to the preface of a poem by Li Po entitled On a Spring Night, Holding a Banquet at the Peach and Plum Gardens,

“Heaven and earth are like an inn, for all things are contained within the universe,
light and shadow are the travellers of a thousand generations,
Making this life nothing more than a floating dream.".


Legend and poetic myth record how Li Po, after a night of wine and poetry, boating on a lake, saw the reflection of the moon on water. In attempting to grasp it, he fell overboard and drowned.

- Tr. and Comment : Bill Wyatt


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The sponsor of Basho
. Sugiyama Sanpu, the crying Fishmonger .

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source : kiraku88.blogspot.jp

sanri ni kyuu 三里に灸 moxabustion on the point "sanri"

ashi no sanri 足の三里 the point SANRI on the leg, ST36
there is another one on the arm.

. WKD : day for the moxabustion, kyuu suebi 灸据え日 .
kigo for mid-spring

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. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .



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Oku Station 2 - Departure

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. Edo - Senju 千住 Senju district .
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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .

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source : www.yumekougei.com


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- - - Station 2 - Departure 旅立 at Senju 千住  - - -


It was early on the morning of March the twenty-seventh that I took to the road. There was darkness lingering in the sky, and the moon was still visible, though gradually thinning away. The faint shadow of Mount Fuji and the cherry blossoms of Ueno and Yanaka were bidding me a last farewell. My friends had got together the night before, and they all came with me on the boat to keep me company for the first few miles. When we got off the boat at Senju, however, the thought of three thousand miles before me suddenly filled my heart, and neither the houses of the town nor the faces of my friends could be seen by my tearful eyes except as a vision.


The passing spring
Birds mourn,
Fishes weep
With tearful eyes.

With this poem to commemorate my departure, I walked forth on my journey, but lingering thoughts made my steps heavy. My friends stood in a line and waved good-bye as long as they could see my back.


Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english


弥生も末の七日、明ぼのゝ空朧々として、月は在明にて光おさまれる物から不二の峯幽にみえて、上野谷中の花の梢又いつかはと心ぼそし。 むつまじきかぎりは宵よりつどひて舟に乗て送る。千じゆと云所にて船をあがれば、前途三千里のおもひ胸にふさがりて幻のちまたに離別の泪をそゝく。

行春や鳥啼魚の目は泪 - yuku haru ya

是を矢立の初として、行道なをすゝまず。人々は途中に立ならびて、後かげのみゆる迄はと見送なるべし。

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tears in the eyes of fish, maybe the most misunderstood line . . .


Sugiyama Sanpu was an official fish merchant of the Bakufu government in Edo. He was also an ardent haikai poet and supported Matsuo Basho in many ways, helping him to establish his Basho school of haikai.
He was one of the Basho jittetsu 芭蕉十哲 10 most important followers.

When starting out to the long and dangerous trip of "Oku no Hosomichi", Basho wrote this famous haiku in his honor :

行く春や鳥啼き魚の目は泪
yuku haru ya tori naki uo no me wa namida

spring is leaving ..
birds sing
tears in the eyes of (my friend called) Fish

Tr. Gabi Greve


yuku haru - Basho himself is leaving in spring.

tori ga naku is a normal expression for the birds singing. It is written with the beautiful Chinese character 啼 , and not with the normal character for "to cry" , naku 泣く weeping when humans are sad.
This bird of spring is the hototogisu with his gentle warbling.

uo no me : the eye of fish - And what kind of fish is this?
Maybe the sawara 鰆, Spanish mackerel, which has the character for SPRING 春 in its name?
Or shirauo, 白魚 the white fish, which is a delicacy of this region and was a favorite dish of Basho himself.
uo no me 魚の目, the "eye of a fish" is also an expression for a corn on the sole of the foot. Basho is maybe thinking about the long journey ahead and the many corns he has to tend to on the way.
In fact, fish is haiku shorthand、a kind of kakekotoba, for his friend, the fish dealer.

The sponsor of Basho in Edo
. Sugiyama Sanpu, the crying Fishmonger .




This famous hokku even made it to a stamp.

departing spring—
birds cry, in the fishes’
eyes are tears

Tr. Barnhill


the spring is passing -
the birds all mourn and fishes'
eyes are wet with tears

Tr. Chalicott


departing spring
the birds at their cries fishes'
eyes Amida tears

Tr. Corman/Kamaike


departing spring -
birds weep, and fishes' eyes
are tearful

Tr. Ueda


A primavera acabou
os pássaros cantam e os olhos dos peixes
estão cheios de lágrimas

- Tr. Jose Queiroga, fb -



Painting by Buson : Basho and Sora



Basho is also alluding to Chinese poems:

Tu Fu "Spring View"

In grief for the times, I shed tears at the sight of flowers.
Resentful of parting, I brood over the cries of birds.



Tao Chien "Returning to Live in the Country"

A migrant bird longs for its native woods.
A fish in the pond recalls the mountain pond it came from.


Bashō and his interpreters, Makoto Ueda, Bashō Matsuo


Discussion with Chen-ou Liu about the "Chinese background"
and further translations :
. Translating Haiku Forum .

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YATATE

是を矢立の初として、行道なをすゝまず。

This was the first time I used my travel writing implements,
and I was still reluctant to venture farther.

Tr. Hiroaki Sato


Basho uses his YATATE writing utensils for the first time
in Senjuu 千住 Senju.
There is now a memorial stone of this event at the modern bridge of Senju.

. yatate 矢立 portable writing utensils .
Basho and his traveler's outfit.
With a statue of Basho using his YATATE.


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source : itoyo/basho


鮎の子の白魚送る別れ哉 
ayu no ko no shirauo okuru wakare kana

young ayu sweetfish
are seeing off the whitefish
and say good bye . . .

Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in 1689 元禄2年3月.
The whitefish are the first to go upstream to spawn, the ayu follow them one month later.
Basho and Sora (whitefish) are ready to depart for "Oku no Hosomichi"
and he has to leave his young disciples (ayu no ko) behind at Senju.

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.


. WKD - trout (ayu and masu 鮎 - 鱒) .

. WKD - whitebait, icefish (shirauo 白魚) .   


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LINKS

Oku no hosomichi (opening) - - -with Notes by Royall Tyler
source : www.meijigakuin.ac.jp


More online translations
- - - birds are weeping
of fish there are tears


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. - wakare 別れ Basho parting with friends  - .


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- #okunohosomichi #senju -
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Oku Station 3 - Soka

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- Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - おくのほそ道
The Narrow Road to the Deep North -


. Oku no Hosomichi - 奥の細道 - Introduction .


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- - - Station 3 - Sooka 草加 Soka - - -


I walked all through that day, ever wishing to return after seeing the strange sights of the far north, but not really believing in the possibility, for I knew that departing like this on a long journey in the second year of Genroku I should only accumulate more frosty hairs on my head as I approached the colder regions. When I reached the village of Soka in the evening, my bony shoulders were sore because of the load I had carried, which consisted of a paper coat to keep me warm at night, a light cotton gown to wear after the bath, scanty protection against the rain, writing equipment, and gifts from certain friends of mine. I wanted to travel light, of course, but there were always certain things I could not throw away either for practical or sentimental reasons.


Tr. by Nobuyuki Yuasa
source : terebess.hu/english


ことし元禄二とせにや、奥羽長途の行脚、只かりそめに思ひたちて呉天に白髪の恨を重ぬといへ共耳にふれていまだめに見ぬさかひ若生て帰らばと定なき頼の末をかけ、其日漸早加と云宿にたどり着にけり。痩骨の肩にかゝれる物先くるしむ。只身すがらにと出立侍を、帋子一衣は夜の防ぎ、ゆかた雨具墨筆のたぐひ、あるはさりがたき餞などしたるはさすがに打捨がたくて、路次の煩となれるこそわりなけれ。


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During the times of Basho this was a small postal town with about 120 homes and maybe 5 or 6 lodgings. There was a tofu shop, dealers for salt, oil, dumplings, mochi rice cakes and a public bath and hairdresser. The other houses were farmers.



草加宿と芭蕉
- source : www.imayo-sokasyuku.com/history





Map with memorial stones and statue of Basho
- source : www.bashouan.com/YA_Map

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Soka Matsubara,
an avenue with a row of more than 600 pipe trees, is a well-known sightseeing spot in Soka.This place, also called Sembon Matsubara (lit. 1,000-tree Matsubara), has been a notable site along the highway since olden days, and is known as well for its deep relationship with haiku (a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterized by having just three lines).
You can also enjoy stone tablets inscribed with haiku written by famous Japanese haiku poets, such as Matsuo Basho and Masaoka Shiki.
Soka Matsubara, where the green of the pine trees and the blue of the river show a beautiful combination, quietly speaks of the history of the Japanese road. .

- source : www.sainokuni-kanko.jp

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