{Inter} Cultural Japan

leaving the Temple Gate
there is Japan!
songs of teapickers

sanmon wo dereba | Nippon zo! | chatsumi uta

By Kikushani (1753-1826)

Manpukuji Temple in Uji, Kyoto, belongs to a Chinese Zen school that was brought to Japan by Ingen, who fled China for the Manchu invaders in the mid-17th c. The Obaku-sect temple was a true Chinese cultural enclave in Kyoto: the layout of the temple was Chinese (with small temples for typical Chinese deities as Mazu), there were Chinese statues, the sutras were read in Chinese, the meals were Chinese fucha vegetarian meals). All first 13 abbots were also emigres from China, they wrote a particular kind of Chinese-style calligraphy and entertained guests with a sencha tea ceremony. But it was a center of culture and often visited by Japanese literati.

[Hotei image of Manpukiji. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]

When the haiku poetess Kikushani has visted Manpukuji and steps out of the Sanmon, the temple gate, she has the feeling that she has made a trip abroad and only now returned to Japan. What makes her so sure she is back in Japan? The songs of the teapickers she hears - Uji was the oldest and most famous tea producing area in Japan.

The haiku stone stands in the grounds of Obakusan Manpukuji Temple in Uji, Kyoto, 5 min walk from Obaku St. and 20 min walk from Uji St. Kikushani (1753-1826) became a poetess and a nun after losing her husband when she was only in her mid-twenties. The haiku dates from 1788.

Bookmark with Del.icio.us - Digg it