Cluster Eight:
The Fields of Nasu (1)

When Basho traveled to the Deep North on his Oku no Hosomichi in 1689, he passed through the castle town of Kurobane in northern Tochigi. The steward of the castle had been Basho's student in Edo and invited the haiku master to stay over in his house. Basho ended up sojourning here for a full two weeks, his longest stay on the journey to the north. Besides the warm hospitality of Joboji Tosetsu, the castle steward, and his younger brother Tosui, the opportunity to hold renga sessions together as well as the rainy weather may have been elements behind the decision to delay his further travels for such a considerable time. Basho was also guided by his eager hosts to all the sites in the town and its vicinity.

Kurobane is encircled by paddies and when I visit in May the new rice stands tall. The fresh green of the stalks is almost dazzling. The small town sits on the bank of the river Naka and nature is never far away. I start by touring the haiku monuments of Kurobane, first walking through the fields on the west side of the town, later strolling in the park on the north side, where I also find a Basho Museum, built entirely from still fragrant wood. Here at the edge of town stands Daioji, an old Zen temple with impressive thatched roofs and a courtyard enclosed by a wooden gallery. Inside the yard plants and trees are rioting. Azaleas and lilies are still in bloom. Finally, I make may way to the clean and solemn Unganji Temple, a 20 min taxi ride out of town, one of the highlights of Basho's visit as it was the site of the meditation hut of his Zen teacher Bucho. Kurobane is a great small town, a glimpse of the good old Japan still relatively untainted by the excesses of our consumer society and a day spent here is unforgettable.

From Nikko, where they have visited the Toshogu Shrine, Basho and Sora set out for Kurobane, the castle town of a small domain in northern Tochigi, where two disciples of Basho lived (Kakobata Suito and his elder brother, the steward of Kurobane, Joboji Tosetsu). They took a road through the wild fields and somehow ended up getting lost; as a result they had to spend the night in a farmer's cottage on the moor.

The next morning, they borrowed a horse, so that Basho could ride. They probably also hoped that the horse would instinctively know the right way. Two small children ran behind them as they set out. One of them was a small girl, and when the travelers asked her same, she said she was called "Kasane." According to Oku no Hosomichi , this name inspired Sora to the above haiku (in reality the haiku was probably written by Basho - there are many fictional elements in the travel dairy).

Nadeshiko is a small plant known as 'pink,' usually associated with girls. As 'Kasane' means ''layers' or 'double,' Basho made a wordplay by adding the prefix 'yae-' (literally 'eightfold') to 'nadeshiko.' A flower called 'Double Pink' does not exist. The haiku means something like: "This child has the name Kasane (Layers); compared with a flower, she would certainly be a Yae-nadeshiko (Double Pink)." This kind of wordplay is the desperation of translators.

In Kurobane, Basho stayed from April 4 till April 11 with his pupil Joboji Takakatsu (haiku pen name: Tosetsu) who - although only 28 at the time - acted as the steward for the daimyo Ozeki Masatsune, meaning he was in charge of the administration of the fief. Basho writes that Joboji was delighted with the unexpected visit and that they kept on talking day and night.

Of course, a haiku master and his student do not stop at talking. Poetry was constantly written, and a renga (linked verse) session was also convened. The above haiku (not included in Oku no Hosomichi, but recorded by Sora) was written by Basho as homage to his host: he praises the location of Joboji's house - sitting in the warm summer room, the garden in front of it and the hills in the distance are so close they seem to be with you in the room.

Joboji lived on a small hill to the south of Kurobane Castle. Nowadays, nearby stands the Nasu-Kurobane Pension, that apparently is still run by descendants of Joboji. Below the hill flows the River Matsuba, and a cool wind blows through the tree tops. Even today, it is a peaceful bower where summer comes to visit.

Among the Kurobane sights was one place Basho himself very much wanted to see: Unganji Temple, 12 kilometers outside the town in the mountains. In this Zen establishment, Basho's Zen teacher, the priest Butcho, had lived and trained. As soon as possible, already on the second day of his stay, Basho set out for Unganji. The road, which I followed by taxi, winds steeply into the mountains, crosses a pass, and then descends into the secluded valley where the temple stands. Basho walked all the way, leaning on a stick. Sora, his companion on the long journey, was of course with him, as were a number of people from Joboji's house. It was apparently a merry company and they reached Unganji before realizing they had already covered such a large distance. Basho describes the mountain behind the temple as covered with dark cedars and pines, and writes that the banks along the narrow road were covered with dripping moss. Nowadays, there are still many trees, but the overall impression is rather bright.

The temple stands on the slope of a hill covered with tall trees. In front of the hill is a small stream, the river Mumo, that is crossed by a vermilion bridge. I am not sure that bridge already existed in Basho's time, although it now dominates the scenery: the red bridge, behind that the steep stone staircase leading up to the formidable Sanmon gate (see the picture at the top of this page). It is a scene like a postcard. On the other hand, the venerable Sanmon itself was certainly seen by Basho, as this is the oldest surviving part of Unganji. Behind the gate is an old, simple Zen hall, and another precipitous, stone staircase leads up the hill, to where the main hall stands. The mountain setting is a steep as the practice of Zen.

Unganji was founded in 1283 by the Zen master Bukkoku Kokushi at the behest of the Kamakura regent, Hojo Tokimune. Bukkoku (Koho Kennichi, 1241-1316) was a son of emperor Gosaga. His background was Tendai Buddhism, and his teaching apparently contained a liberal admixture of the esoteric. By his founding of Unganji in Nasu (as the area is called) he made a large contribution to Zen in the eastern provinces. His most famous disciple was Muso Soseki (known as the founder of Tenryuji in Kyoto and a famous garden designer). Bukkoku selected this spot for his temple as it lies at the foot of Mt. Yamizo, an area where yamabushi, ascetic mountain priests were active.

The temple flourished in the Muromachi period, when among its many buildings even a nine-storied pagoda was counted. This good fortune ended in 1590 when the local Nasu lord fled to the temple when he was under attack by the army of Hideyoshi. Except the Sanmon gate, the whole temple was destroyed in the ensuing fighting and looting. Now most buildings are from the mid-nineteenth century, and all blend perfectly into the woodland. The main hall, the Sanbutsudo, is dedicated to the founder Bukkoku, his teacher Bukko and one of his disciples, Butsuo. All three had the element 'Butsu,' Buddha, in their name, originating in the name 'Hall of the Three Buddhas.' They must indeed have been holy men. Bukkoku's tomb also lies in the grounds but is not accessible.

Unganji's silence is profound. The atmosphere of severe asceticism and meditation initiated by the 'three Buddhas' still lingers on. Basho came in search of the hermitage of his Zen master Butcho, a fourth Buddha. Butcho was Basho's Zen master and used to live in a temple close to Basho's hut in Fukagawa. Basho found the hut, where his teacher Butcho had trained, still intact at the back of the temple. It stood on top of a boulder and was nothing but a small shelter built in front of a cave. Butcho did not live there anymore at the time and the rough cottage was deserted. In an obvious tribute to his teacher Basho composed the above haiku.

Woodpeckers were irreverently hammering away on the trees around him, but they avoided Butcho's shelter, as if out of respect for the Zen master. It is not possible to check whether that hut still exists today, as the path to the site has been closed off because it is now considered too steep and dangerous.

Unganji does not cater to visitors. It tolerates them in its courtyard, it allows them to peep into the Zen hall and worship building, but nothing more. Stern signs have been put up to warn that this is a living Zen temple. One is admonished to be quiet, but in fact such an exhortation is superfluous. Unganji is the perfect location for meditation, for feeling one with nature. Buildings and grounds are perfectly kept, there is a natural feeling of discipline. The atmosphere of Unganji makes one feel just as reverend as the woodpeckers.

After Basho's timely visit to Unganji, the rains kept falling for several days. From the 6th to the 8th, he was not able to leave Choboji's house. On the 9th, however, he decided to go out in the rain and was taken to Komyoji, a shugendo temple in the fields on the east side of the town. This temple was famous for its Gyoja Hall, a hall dedicated to En no Gyoja, the legendary founder of the ascetic mountain Buddhism.

The 'ashida' mentioned in the poem (here translated as clogs) are a special kind of high geta, worn by those monks when practicing austerities. To make walking difficult, these geta had only one support instead of the normal two. The temple probably housed a statue of En no Gyoja wearing such high clogs.

Basho prays in front of them, wishing for strong feet and legs himself at the start of his long journey. Unfortunately, Komyoji was destroyed at the beginning of the Meiji period. The haiku stone stands forlorn in the high grass.