Cluster Eleven:
The Hut of Fallen Persimmons

To the west of Kyoto lie the scenic areas Arashiyama and Sagano. They were already popular with aristocrats of the Heian-period, who came here for outings or built their summer villas among the bamboo groves. Since the 17th century, the Hozugawa River at Arashiyama (Storm Mountain) is spanned by the Togetsukyo bridge, making traffic easier. Not far from the bridge is Tenryuji Temple with its landscape famous garden. In Sagano one finds such temples as Daikakuji (a former imperial villa), Nisonin (where Fujiwara Teika compiled the tanka anthology A Hundred Poems by a Hundred Poets, and Seiryoji with its exotic Shaka statue. Sagano and Arashiyama have been blighted by commercial tourism in our days, but in Basho's time it was a quiet, rural region.

Basho's disciple Kyorai owned a cottage here, which bore the poetic name of the Hut of Fallen Persimmons (Rakushisha). Basho visited Rakushisha three times: in 1689, 1691 and again in 1694, a few months before his death. During his second visit, which took place during the months April and May, he wrote the Saga Nikki or 'Saga Diary.' In contrast to Basho's usual travel accounts, this is a real diary, with exact dates, about his fifteen day sojourn in the Rakushisha. Apparently, it was a pleasant and relaxed stay, interspersed with boating on the nearby river, as well as temple visits. Almost every day, local disciples and others came to visit Basho. In between, the poet did a lot of reading - he mentions the books he brought with him, such as the works of the Tang-poet Bai Juyi and the Tale of Genji.

The cottage is still there, not far from the foot of Mr. Ogura where the Niosonin Temple stands, and right next to the Hinoyashiro, the tomb site of an imperial princess, daughter of Emperor Saga (8th c.). Or, I should rather say that the cottage is there again, because the original dwelling fell into ruin after Kyorai's death. In the late eighteenth century, Basho followers bought the present site and erected a structure that is thought to resemble Kyorai's original dwelling. It indeed serves eminently to recall the past atmosphere of haiku-gatherings in the beautiful surroundings of Sagano. The bamboo hat and raincoat hanging in the wall of the cottage used to indicate that the occupant was at home. In the small garden visitors can find several haiku stones, of which I translate the following three. Today, Rakushisha is a tasteful monument to Kyorai and Basho. Besides tourists, Basho fans and haiku enthousiasts come here, with a reverent look in their faces, some silently mumbling poems. I am among them, to check out the haiku stones in Rakushisha's garden.

We start with the end, but that is how things are: the final haiku of the Saga Diary, written by Basho when he was taking leave again, has become the most famous and can therefore be found on a haiku stone in Rakushisha. Basho has enjoyed the serene life in the beautiful countryside of Sagano. He is sorry to leave and wanders around the rooms, as he remarks in the preface to the haiku.

The rains mentioned in the haiku are the rains of the rainy season, when the monsoon from the south brings weeks of damp and wet weather. The 'poem cards' are shikishi, square pieces of cardboard on which one could write a haiku, but could also paint a picture. They were glued on the walls and are a reminder of haiku sessions Basho has held with his visitors in the Hut of Fallen Persimmons.

The fact that they are peeling, in some cases only leaving traces (perhaps caused by the damp weather) is a fitting symbol for the fact that Basho's 'session' in Rakushisha is over: he has to "peel" himself loose, too.

Mukai Kyorai (1651 - 1704) was one of Basho's major disciples. He was the son of a wealthy physician from Nagasaki, and well-to-do himself, was able to play the host to Basho and other haiku poets when they visited Kyoto. His poetry faithfully observes the principles of Basho and the Master even said he was "in charge of haiku in Western Japan" (Basho himself lived in Edo, in the East). Kyorai owned the cottage in the western outskirts of Kyoto, "at the foot of Mt. Ogura and behind Hinoyashiro," where Basho came to stay several times. The present haiku explains how that cottage got its curious name 'Rakushisha,' or 'Cottage of Fallen Persimmons.'

Kyorai had about 40 persimmon trees in the garden of his Saga cottage. In autumn, their fruit had ripened to a shiny orange. As it was too much to eat alone, Kyorai sold this harvest. However, the night before the fruit was picked, a terrible gale blew over the Arashiyama area - a name that means 'Stormy Mountain' and presumably was given for good reasons. All the fruit was destroyed and Kyorai had to pay back the advance money he had received from the merchant.

The loss of the persimmons was seen by Kyorai as a humorous lesson not to strive after worldly gain. On top of that, it led to a satori experience: through the branches of the trees, now bare of fruit, Kyorai had an excellent view of Mt. Arashiyama. He saw the mountain in a way he had never seen it before. The storm and Stormy Mountain proved not to be unconnected.

Mukai Kyorai, the master of the Rakushisha, died in 1704 and was buried close to his cottage. His tomb is in a graveyard at the back of the cottage, just to the right of the path that leads to Nisonin temple. It is a natural stone only 40 centimeters in height and only carries the characters for 'Kyorai.' The smallness of the stone harmonizes with the smallness of the poetic genre exercised by Kyorai and gives a hint about the poet's modest character.

The above haiku was written by the twentieth century master Takahama Kyoshi (1874 - 1959). Kyoshi was one of the main disciples of Shiki, the poet who had started the tradition of modern haiku and revitalized the genre that in the late Edo-period had become almost moribund. Kyoshi's haiku are romantic and rather traditional, and often have an immediate appeal - qualities that may have made him the foremost poet of the 20th century. Kyoshi visited Kyorai's grave in 1908.