{Inter} Cultural Japan

In my previous post I have discussed an article from the magazine Serai about the poetry anthology Hyakunin Isshu and also mentioned that various places in Kyoto are still associated with poems from the popular classic. I have visited several of these spots in the last few years and here are the first three Hyakunin Isshu poems associated with Kyoto.

1. Maple leaves of Mt Ogura (Nisonin Temple)

[Nisonin Temple. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

if the maple leaves
on the peak of Mt Ogura
could have hearts
they would wait
for the Emperor’s outing

Ogurayama | mine no momijiba | kokoro araba | ima hitotabi no | Miyuki matanan

Nisonin on Mt Ogura is famous as the place where Fujiwara Teika had his villa and where he is supposed to have compiled the Hyakunin Isshu. Verdant Sagano was a kind of resort area, with fresh air and clear rapids, a world away from the noisy and dusty city. Many Heian aristocrats had villas here. The exact location in Sagano of Teika’s villa is however not known from independent sources - the idea that it was Nisonin comes from poetry fans in the Edo-period and has no scientific basis.

There are also competitors, such as nearby Jojakkoin or the quiet nunnery Enrian. Both Nisonin and Jojakkoin seem in fact doubtful as they are located on hills and Heian aristocrats usually built their villas on more easily accesible, level ground - probably Teika had his country house somewhere in the vicinity of where now Rakushisha with its memories of another poet, Basho, stands.

The temple itself is supposed to have been founded in 841 by the Emperor Saga (who is also intimately connected with Daikokuji). Belonging to the Tendai faith, it derives its name “Temple of the Two Images” from the fact that it has two main images: Shaka, who enlightens humans in this world, and Amida who takes care of our souls after death.

This poem, by Fujiwara Tadahira (880-949) is the only poem in the collection associated with Mt Ogura, which is in fact a small, round hill rather than a soaring mountain peak. The waka poem starts the association of Sagano with autumn and momiji, maple leaves, turning away from Tatsuta in Nara which until then had been the classical poetic association for autumn colors. As the emperor still has not made his outing to see the maple leaves, the poet playfully asks the leaves to keep their colors for a while.

2. Nakoso Falls (Daikakuji Temple and Ozawa Pond)

[Ozawa Pond near Daikakuji Temple. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

the waterfall’s sound
ages ago
was stilled
but its very name flows on
and can still be heardtaki no oto wa | taete hisashiku | narinuredo | na koso nagarete | nao kikoe kere

The admired poet and critic Fujiwara Kinto (966-1041) wrote this poem about a small waterfall at the side of Ozawa Pond in western Kyoto that apparently had stopped flowing long before his time - if it ever did. Also today only a few stones in the grass indicate where once its supposedly tumultuous waters rushed into the pond. Thanks to the poem, the dry waterfall was named “Nakoso” Falls, “na koso” meaning “its very name”, a phrase from the poem.

The poem is probably a metaphor for the poet himself: long after he has died and become dry dust, thanks to his poems his name will still flow on (into this very post).

Ozawa Pond was laid out by the Emperor Saga and modeled on Lake Dongting in China. The 9th century emperor also built a retirement villa at the lakeside which was later transformed into Daikakuji Temple. Although the buildings are of later date, present-day Daikakuji retains the atmosphere of a shinden-style palace with large halls connected by covered corridors and with small courtyard gardens in between. The precious screens and Buddhist statues in its Treasure House are shown twice a year to visitors.

3. The Ausaka Barrier (Seki-no-Semimaru Shrine, Shimo-sha)

[Semimaru Shrine, Otsu. Photo Ad Blankestijn]

this is that place
of going away and coming back
of parting time and again
both friends and strangers:
the Osaka Barrier

kore ya kono | yuku mo kaeru mo | wakarete wa | shiru mo shiranu mo | Osaka no Seki

The Ausaka (”Meeting Slope”, also pronounced Osaka but not connected with the city of that name) Barrier is the border between Yamashiro and the old capital Heiankyo (now Kyoto) and the province of Omi (now Shiga Prefecture) where the road to eastern Japan starts. It formed the entrance to the capital (the Tokaido also passed through it) and was a crucial traffic artery.

Today it still is, as both Highway No. 1, the Shinkansen, and the JR and Keihan lines struggle for space in the narrow valley. The only difference is that people on foot are seldom now, you only see cars swishing by…

Semimaru is a legendary figure who may have been based on a blind musician who lived in the second half of the 9th c. He was a skilled biwa player and rumor has it that he even was of royal birth… but such is indeed the stuff of legend. The recluse who lived in a hut near the Ausaka Barrier also figures in several Noh plays.

The poem that has been ascribed to him aptly paints the hustle and bustle of the barrier by use of contrast: people setting out on a journey and others who are coming back, the many farewells but also meetings (as indicated by the name Meeting Slope), the passing by of people who know each other and those who are complete stangers. One meets in order to part and says goodbye in order to meet again.. the world is in a constant flux.

Nisonin:
Tel: 075-861-0687
Hrs: 9:00-16:30
Access: 15 min. on foot from Saga Arashiyama Station on the Keifuku Line.

Daikakuji:
Tel. 075-871-0071
Hrs: 9:00-16:30
Access: 15 min walk from Saga Arashiyama St on the Keifuku and Jr lines, 25 min from Hankyu Arashiyama St; there is also a direct bus from Kyoto St or Sanjo St
Ozawa Pond and the Nakoso Waterfall are freely accessible (without paying the entrance fee to the temple)
The poetry stone (kahi) stands near the waterfall.

Seki-no-Semimaru Shrine:
There are three shrines dedicated to Semimaru in the area. The Shimo-sha shrine is the largest and stands closest to Otsu.
Access: 10 min walk from Otsu St.
Grounds freely accessible.
The poetry stone (kahi) stands to the right of the entrance to the shrine.
The Ausaka Barrier was located somewhat closer to Kyoto, near Otani St on the Keihan line, where Highway 1 and the railway lines pass through a narrow valley.