Basho’s haiku in Miidera: Moon knocking at the gate
Aug 17th, 2006 by Ad Blankestijn
tempted to knock the gate
of the Temple of the Three August Wells
today’s moonMiidera no | mon tatakabaya | kyo no tsuki
Basho
Miidera, the “Temple of the Three August Wells,” officially called Onjoji, is a major Tendai temple at the shore of Lake Biwa. Basho loved this area and often stayed here for a longer time - and he was eventually buried in Gichuji Temple not far from the Lake. At the time he wrote this haiku he was recuperating in the Genjuan hut from his long trip to the far North. The appearance of the moon means that the season is autumn.
[Basho haiku stone in Onjoji Temple]
The haiku stone, on the picture above, stands in the grounds of Onjoji, a 10 min walk from Miidera St on the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto line. The Kannon Hall of Miidera, on a hill above the lake, is part of the Kannon Pilgrimage tour of the Kansai.
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