Basho statue at Hiraizumi
SCENE
ELEVEN FROM NARROW ROADS TO INNER LANDS
In
this scene Bashō
mentions a visit to a famous temple and later, speaking of a renowned
warrior, once more reflects on the transitory nature of fame,
leading him to write a well-known haiku.
On
Zuiganji temple from Wikipedia- Seiryuzan Zuigan-ji is a Rinzai
Zen Buddhist temple in located in the town of Matsushima, Miyagi
Prefecture, Japan. Belonging to the Myōshin-ji-branch of Rinzai Zen,
it was founded in 828 during the Heian period by Jikaku Daishi.
Also
from Wikipedia information on Lord Yoshitsune-
Minamoto
no Yoshitsune (1159 – June 15, 1189) was a military commander of
the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura
periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which
toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his
half-brother Yoritomo consolidate power. He is considered one of the
greatest and the most popular warriors of his era, and one of the
most famous samurai fighters in the history of Japan.
Yoshitsune
perished after being betrayed by the son of a trusted ally.
Zuiganji Temple
SCENE
ELEVEN FROM NARROW ROADS TO INNER LANDS
Day.
On the foothills of Hiraizumi, called Takadate. Enter Bashō
and Sora.
BASHŌ
So
many miles we've walked since we first left!
Across
wide plains where long grass waves with wind,
By
sides of sparkling streams and slow, brown rivers,
Through
valleys, moorlands - up steep, stony mountains,
You've
trod with me as firmest friend and now
Once
more I'm leading you up rising ground
To
clamber over scattered stones and boulders,
On
narrow tracks, in Hiraizumi's foothills.
SORA
But
in this region know as Takadate,
My
legs are younger for such tasks; but truly
We've
seen some weary walking on our ways,
And
in these last few days more than our share.
(They
sit upon some boulders.)
BASHŌ
Hard
ground and twenty miles a day. Indeed,
Our
path's been strange since we left Matsushima.
Do
you recall right details of our journey?
I
must make all our travel clear in thought
For
wish to write about our wanderings,
And
meld my many notes and all our verses,
Which
are as stones picked, scattered, from our path,
To
make a modest monument to life.
SORA
Let
me recall- to Zuiganji temple
We
went and saw its seven stately halls,
Embellished
so with pure, gleam of gold.
BASHŌ
Quite
true. I met the priest, the thirty-second,
Descended
from the temple's first, great founder.
(Sora
rises.)
SORA
We
left for Hiraizumi on the twelfth,
And
trailed a narrow, isolated way
Through
mountain regions - paths trod only by
The
single hunter or the lonely axeman.
BASHŌ
Not
really knowing where we were, our way
Was
lost and only by good luck at last
We
finished up at port Ishinomaki.
Boats
by the hundreds moored in harbour waters
And
countless streaks of smoke continually
Arose
from houses thronging by the shore.
So
after lonely, winding tracks, I took
Brief
pleasure viewing such a busy place.
Yet
none would offer hospitality.
So
after asking all and everywhere,
We
found a hovel and we passed the night
Uneasy
in our souls.
SORA
And
so, next morning,
We
took the river road for two hard days.
We
went by wide, grass moors and dismal marshes,
Stayed
in a village overnight, and now
Have
reached this place, quite famed in history.
BASHŌ
Yes,
famed in history, yet half-forgotten.
For
here that warrior, great-valiant
Lord
Yoshitsune, was met by forced, self-death.
Three
generations of the Fujiwara,
Famed
family, passed by, drift of a dream.
The
mountain stays the only thing unchanged.
The
castle's vanished- only shrines are standing,
Their
gilded pillars etched by frost and snow,
Their
jewelled doors rent by the wind, because
Still-pious
villagers have kept them here.
The
great lives and the brave deeds of the dead
Slip
swiftly into time's oblivion.
And
only all-devouring grass still thrives.
(Bashō
produces ink and writing slab. He writes.)
Summer
grass: is this
What's
left at last of deeds and
Dreams
of warriors?
(Basho
and Sora pause reflectively)
BASHŌ
Ah,
hardest ways still wait for us: the passes
Across
rough mountain range to Dewa province.
Yet
if we cross and safely come back down,
With
friends we'll know Obanazawa town.
(Bashō
and Sora exit.)
Yoshitsune
Basho's Haiku
