Benkei Festival Tanabe

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Benkei Festival (Benkei matsuri )

***** Location: Tanabe, Japan
***** Season: Late Autumn
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Benkei Matsuri 弁慶まつり Benkei Festival
first sunday in october



A parade through the town of Tanabe, with his love Tamamushi Gozen 玉虫御前 following him, and later the dynamic dance of Benkei is one of the highlights of the festival.
Every year another young man from the village is choosen to perform the dance, now in the 24th generation.




at shrine Tokei Jinja
闘けい神社 / 闘鶏神社 (とうけいじんじゃ）
Cockfight Shrine

It used to be called 新熊野鶏合大権現.

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quote
Tokei Jinja History

Tokei-jinja Shrine was established in 419 A.D and derives from Kumano Hongu Taisha.
In the times of abdicated Emperor Shirakawa (1053-1129), the Kumano deities were enshrined in Tokei-jinja Shrine. Many imperial and aristocratic pilgrims paid homage here praying for safe passage into the realm of Kumano. Because the Kumano deities were manifested in Tokei-jinja Shrine, some pilgrims didn’t make the voyage into the heart of Kumano, but prayed here, subsequently worshipping the three shrines of Kumano Sanzan from afar.



In the “Tales of Heike”the Kumano Betto Tanzo 熊野別当湛増 (or steward of the Kumano shrines,
who is said to be the father of Benkei)
turned to the gods to decide which side to join forces with during the historic sea battle of “Dan-no-ura” (1185) between the Heike and Genji clans by holding a divinatory cockfight here with a white and a red cock. The white cock, representing the Genji, won the fight.

By the order of the gods the Kumano Navy (Kumano suigun熊野水軍) supported the Genji, turning the tide of the war, and destroying the Heike. During the shrine consolidations that took place in the Meiji era (1868-1912) this shrine was re-named “Tokei-jinja” or “cockfighting shrine” because of this event.

During the peak of the Kumano pilgrimage, Tanabe was an important junction and prospered as the entrance to the Kumano region. The city was a key location for both land and ocean transportation routes. People gathered in Tanabe before continuing onto the Kumano Sanzan or the Saigoku pilgrimage (33 Kannon pilgrimage of Western Japan).
source : www.tb-kumano.jp


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Nearby is also a shrine in his honor

Benkei Jinja, Benkei Yashiro 弁慶神社
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

and a pine in his honor

Benkei matsu 弁慶松
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


and a stone where he sat down

Benkei Koshikake Iwa 弁慶腰掛岩
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

and a few more things in memory of Benkei in his youth.

The whole town of Tanabe is full of Benkei artifacts.


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紀州鈴屋　「弁慶の釜」 Benkei no kama




A Wafer in the form of a small pot, the one that Benkei has his first bath as a baby.
The wafer comes in two parts, with a lid of a slightly different falvor with yuzu citrons.
The flavor of the pot filling is taken from the famous plums of Kishu.
In a nearby museum in Tanabe you can see the real pot 弁慶産湯の釜.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




A dish made from local chicken, called
弁鶏（べんけい） BenKEI
in a pun with the sound of the name, written with the Chinese character KEI for chicken.
. . . CLICK here for Ben-KEI Photos !




There is also a famous ricewine,　酒
Benkei no Sato 弁慶の里, produced in Tanabe town.




sake barrels offered at the Benkei Shrine


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Tanabe matsuri 田辺祭り　Tanabe Festival

Every year on July 24th and 25th, the annual summer festival of Tokei-jinja Shrine is held. The year 2009 marked the 450th anniversary of the Tanabe Festival. In 1969 this festival, which is filled with much pomp and circumstance, was designated as an intangible folklore cultural asset of Wakayama prefecture.

Yoinomiya: Festival Eve (July 24)

Hon-matsuri: Festival Day (July 25)
At 4:30 the Akatsuki-no-Saiten ritual of dawn begins at Tokei-jinja Shrine.
Kasahoko Floats

In the evening of the 25th, there is
Yabusame, horseback archery demonstration

During the Tanabe Festival you can see eight “Kasahoko" from the eight traditional districts related to the old castle and merchant towns of Tanabe. Locals call the Kasahokos “Okasa”. “Kasahoko” is a sort of “Dashi” which broadly means an attraction of an event. But specifically speaking, Dashi in a Japanese festival performs a sacred role. The Kanji characters for Dashi are 山車, which mean “mountain” and “wheel” or “vehicle”. Literally Dashi are large elegant floats elaborately decorated, and are related to the local history and Kami deities of the area. Dashi are pulled and pushed through the city by many men to pay homage at shrines and sacred sites. There is a great diversity of Dashi, with as many variations of Dashi as there are festivals in Japan.

Look at more photos of the festival HERE :
source : www.tb-kumano.jp



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Things found on the way

. Senteisai festival 先帝祭 and Antoku Tenno 安徳天皇 　
Shimonoseki


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HAIKU

闘鶏や兵ものどもの夢は今
tookei ya tsuwamonodomo no yume wa ima

this cockfight -
the dreams of ancient warriors
still alive

Gabi Greve, Autumn 2010


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One of the most famous tsuwamono (Hercules) is maybe super-strong Musashibo Benkei 武蔵坊弁慶, the monk-soldier who accompanied Yoshitsune during his whole life.

. Brave Warrior (tsuwamono) and Haiku



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From ancient times to the Middle Ages, the faith instilled by the Kumano Sanzan of Hongu, Shingu and Nachi was at a peak and many believers ranging from emperors and nobles to the commoner made their pilgrimages to Kumano.
Now a World Heritage Site.

***** . The ancient Kumano Pilgrims Road 　
Kumano Kodoo, Kumano Kodō (熊野古道) and Haiku


***** . yabusame 流鏑馬（やぶさめ）Yabusame
and its related kigo　


***** . Tori awase 鶏合 (とりあわせ) Ritual Cock Fighting
Hahnenkampf, and its related kigo　



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Temple Kokawa-Dera

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Temple Kokawa-Dera

***** Location: Wakayama, Japan
***** Season: Various Temple Festivals
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Kokawa-Dera 粉河寺 Kokawa Temple

The name is Kokawa, not Kogawa.
〒649-6531　和歌山県紀の川市粉河2787

Mount Kazaragi san 風猛山
"Strong wind mountain"

This temple is Nr. 3 on the Pilgrimage to 33 Kannon temples in the Kansai area.
It was founded in 770 by Otomo no Kujiko, the son of a hunter in Kishu. His descendants are still in charge of the temple to this day.
One day on his usual hunt in the mountains he passed this area, saw a strong shine in the dark valley and decided to become a monk ... right on the spot. He prayed for seven days and seven nights and carved a statue of Kannon with 1000 arms.

Kokawadera, together with the temple Negoro-ji, was almost as powerful as Koyasan in the area.

There is also a stone memorial of a haiku by Matsuo Basho:


© PHOTO :　kannonyama.com With more photos of the temple !

ひとつぬいで うしろにおいぬ ころもがえ
hitotsu nuide ushiro ni oinu koromogae
ひとつぬぎてうしろにおひぬころもがえ
hitotsu nugite ushiro ni oinu koromogae
ひとつぬきて うしろにおひぬ ころもがえ
hitotsu nukite ushiro ni ohinu koromogae

taking off one garment
I sling it over my shoulder
clothes changing day

source : 　haikustones.blogspot.com, Ad Blankestijn


. . . . . Koromogae, kigo



At the temple there are also memorial stones of haiku by
Matsuo Kaitei 松尾塊亭 槐亭
(1732 - 1815)

He was the official haiku master of the Kishu domain, serving the lords from the 8th to the 10th generation. He died in 1815 at the age of 84.



風猛（かざらぎ）の　名に似ぬ里の　小春かな
Kazaragi no na ni ninu sato no koharu kana

Kazaragi san (Kazaraki san) 風猛山 is the name of Kokawa temple.



and a memorial stone by his disciple Yoshida
吉田五橘亭


水も嘸(さぞ)や白き粉河の山桜
mizu mo sazo ya shiroki Kokawa no yamazakura


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observance kigo for late spring

Kokawabina, Kokawa bina 粉河雛（こかわびな）
hina dolls fro Kokawa

They are made from paper and placed on a bamboo basket to float down the river and take away the impurities of people. This is one of the biggest festivals in the Kishu region of Wakayama.


source and more photos : mama115mama

流し雛大行列 - parade to the river
粉河雛流し - the dolls are floated in the river.



. Hina Doll Festival (hina matsuri 雛祭り) .

. Kishuu bina 紀州雛 hina dolls from Kishu .


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observance kigo for late summer

Kokawa Festival, Kokawa Sai 粉河祭 (こかわまつり)
July 26 / 27

This is one of the three big festivals of the Kishu area.
The head priest of the temple is carried around in a palanquin (togyo shiki 渡御式（とぎょしき）. This parade is in memory of the child of Ootomo no Kujiko 大伴孔子古（おおとものくじこ） in the year 770. Funanushi 船主（ふなぬし） went all the way up to Northern Japan to fight the enemy.
Small children on horseback join the parade.




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observance kigo for early autumn

Offering food and drink to the hungry ghosts
Segaki-E 施餓鬼会（せがきえ）
August 9
People who lost a relative in the past year come here to pray during the O-Bon celebrations.


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Showing the Secret Kannon Statue
西国三十三所　結縁御開帳 gokaichoo

one of the famous Owari Kannon 尾張観音

This is a secret statue and it will be shown to the public in 2008 all throughout October.
It has not been shown for 217 years !



source : 　www.kokawadera.org

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The Legendary Origins of Kokawa-dera Temple
(Kokawadera engi 粉河寺縁起絵巻)


source : 　Nara National Museum

The scroll is about 20 meters long and 30 cm wide and shows the story of the hunter turning monk and then carving the Kannon statue. The story continues to tell how this Kannon statue had the power to heal the sick daughter of a rich merchant in Kawachi. After the daughter was healed, the family became strong supporters of the temple to our day.


Resource : Fisher Fine Arts Library Image Collection
Start with Illustration 224.


The sacred song of this temple

父母の恵みも深き粉河寺ほとけの誓い たのもしの身や


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HAIKU




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Related words

***** Segaki 施餓鬼 Offering food and drink to the hungry ghosts also
Hungry Ghosts, gaki　餓鬼

***** Bon Festival (o-bon) (05) Japan.

***** Secret Buddha Statues (hibutsu) Japan


. OBSERVANCES – SUMMER SAIJIKI .


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Ocean Day

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Ocean Day (umi no hi)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

umi no hi 海の日（うみのひ） Ocean Day, Marine Day, Sea Day
umi no kinenbi 海の記念日 (うみのきねんび) Marine Memorial Day (until 1996).

National Holiday, the third monday in July.

(It used to be July 21, but has been re-defined in 2003. Now is one of the "Happy Monday Holidays.)

Since 1996, it is the 14th official National Holiday 国民の祝日.
It is a secular holiday with no special rituals to it.
Many families take the chance to spend a long weekend on a beach.



On this day we should show our greatfulness to the sea and the ocean around Japan. Japan has more than 1000 beaches along its coastline.
It should also remind us of the Marine and remember the Emperor Meiji on his trip to Hokkaido, when he returned to Yokohama on a training vessel on n July 20, 1876.


Thanks to the Happy Monday System !
ハッピーマンデー制度, Happii Mandee Seido




The Chinese characters 海の日 can also signify
the sun over the ocean.

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Tag des Meeres


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

蒲公英のかたさや海の日も一輪
tampopo no katasa ya umi no hi mo ichirin

a dandelion blossom
so hard ! on Marine Day
one blossom

or (more probable)

a dandelion blossom
so hard! the sun over the sea
also one circle

Nakamura Kusatao 中村草田男


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海の日や療養所には金魚池
umi no hi ya ryooyoojo ni wa kingyo ike

Marine Day -
at the rehabilitation center
there is a goldfish pond

Murakoshi Kaseki 村越化石
Tr. Gabi Greve
source : 海の日 69句

source : 日本海 108句

source : 太平洋 　66句


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Ocean bottom
holds all kinds of things
best left there

Barbara Casterline
(Nagoya, Japan)

Barbara Casterline wrote her haiku in celebration of umi no hi (Marine Day).
source : Asahi com. 2004

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Indian ocean--
the smell of salty water hits
our nostrils

Caleb Mutua, Kenya



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The simple use of words like SEA, OCEAN, THE ATLANTIC, THE PACIFIC and so on are not kigo but topics for haiku.


***** . . . . . SEAFOOD SAIJIKI

***** Beach Worldwide. Surfing.


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Enma, King of Hell

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
. Heaven 極楽 gokuraku and Hell 地獄 jigoku .
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Enma, Emma, the King of Hell

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: See below.
***** Category: Observation

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Explanation

Emma (Enma ten, Enma Oo) 閻魔天、閻魔王

Sanskrit : Yama or Yama-raja.
King of the Underworld; chief judge in the afterlife; when a person dies, s/he must appear before Enma (and also before other judges), who decides whether the person is good or bad; the person is then sent to the most appropriate afterworld; among the judges of hell, Enma is the most important.
Read Mark Schumacher


- reference source : Bando Kannon 20 第二十番　獨鈷山西明寺 -

. Laughing Enma at 西明寺 Saimyo-Ji, Mashiko .

Click HERE for more photos !

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Proverbs with Enma !

嘘をつくと閻魔さまに舌を抜かれる
"If you lie, Lord Enma will pull out your tongue."
A superstition often told to scare children into telling the truth.


借りる時の地蔵顔、返す時の閻魔顔
"When borrowing, the face of a Jizo;
when repaying (a loan), the face of Enma.
This alludes to changes in people's behaviour for selfish reasons depending on their circumstances.


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His regular memorial day is the 16th of each month.



In January and July, Emma (Enma, Ema) is out on a holiday (Emma saijitsu 閻魔賽日（えんま さいじつ） and the lid to the chauldron of hell was closed 地獄の釜の蓋が開く日, so these two days are best to visit a temple where Emma is enshrined (Emmadoo　閻魔堂).

During the Edo period, this day was also called yabu-iri 籔入り, a day when the servants and wifes of workers at shops and stores had a day off to visit their families and the local Ema temples.

I used to practise Japanese Archery at the small Enma-Doo Hall in the compounds of Temple Engaku-Ji in Kita Kamakura. We had to greet King Enma before starting the pracsise and were sure he would supervise everything we did. This gave the daily practise an extra bit of severity.

Gabi Greve







More about the Enma Do Hall　閻魔堂 and Temple in Kamakura
Enno-Ji 円応寺
Ennoji temple: The King of Hell


Click HERE for photos of Enma Halls (Enma doo 閻魔堂) !

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Kigo for Early Summer

. Enmadoo dainenbutsu 閻魔堂大念仏 (えんまどうだいねんぶつ)
Amida prayer nenbutsu at the temple hall Enmado
Enmadoo kyoogen 閻魔堂狂言（えんまどうきょうげん）
senbon dainenbutsu 千本大念仏（せんぼんだいねんぶつ）　




Kigo for Late Summer

Visiting an Enma Temple, July 16
..... Enma mairi 閻魔参 えんままいり

..... Enma Moode 閻魔詣（えんまもうで）
Visiting the 10 Kings of Hell, juuoo moode 十王詣（じゅうおうもうで）

Great day off, dai sainichi 大斎日（だいさいにち, だいさいじつ）、
..... Enma no saijitsu 閻魔の斎日（えんまのさいじつ）

King of Hell, En oo 閻王（えんおう）

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Kigo for the New Year

First visit to an Enma Temple, January 16
..... Hatsu Enma 初閻魔 はつえんま



Enma mairi 閻魔詣（えんままいり）
Day off, sainichi 斎日（さいにち）
..... yabu iri

First visit to the 10 kings of hell,
juuoo mairi 十王詣（じゅうおうまいり）



. Juu Oo 十王, Juo, Ju-O - 10 Ten Kings of Hell .


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Things found on the way


A scene of the Japanese Hell
Weeping Fudo . Naki Fudo 泣き不動

. Datsueba 奪衣婆 or 脱衣婆
the Old Hag of Hell 　



External LINK
閻魔参り
with many photos to look at
http://kkubota.cool.ne.jp/enmamairi.html


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HAIKU

Kobayashi Issa wrote some haiku about Hell

斎日もさばの地獄は鳴りにけり
sainichi mo saba no jigoku wa nari ni keri

even a fast day
becomes
a hell of worldliness



閻魔王も目をむき出して桜哉
emma-oo mo me o mukidashite sakura kana

even Emma
hell's king, gawks...
cherry blossoms!



地獄画の垣にかかりて鳴雲雀
jigoku e no kaki ni kakarite naku hibari

in the hell painting
perched on a fence...
a lark sings


Hell Haiku by Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


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閻王の口や牡丹を吐かんとす
En-Oo no kuchi ya botan o hakan to su
Enma-Ô no kuchi ya botan o hakan to su

the mouth of
the king of hell - a peony
ready to be spat out

This haiku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .



yama's mouth!
it's about to spit out
a peony

King Emma, or Yama, is a terrifying Deity in charge of Hades. Unlike "our" Devil, he is not evil. Rather than tempting men to do bad, he judges them for their sins and leads the demon brigades applying the punishment deserved. The inside of his mouth is always painted bright vermilion and his tongue curled up like it is ready to lash-out (or simply to reveal that his demonic muscularity extends even within) in fury. That was my naïve impression, but, actually, pain might be a be a better word for it, as he must himself endure a mouthful of molten copper three times a day because torturing people is bad even though he does it for the best of reasons: to discourage us from sinning and for justice.
(Think about it, Christ only got crucified once.

This Emma endures worse every day for our sake. Now that, Mel Gibson, is passion!) There is debate whether this famous ku is about the statue, found at many Buddhist temples, or the flower. Grammar favors the former, but I would argue that Buson suddenly imagined Emma's mouth while gazing at a red peony.

That is to say, the flower is the subject though the poem does not make it so. Because Buson prefaces it with a phrase about Buddha's writhing tongue like a red lotus being spit out (Japanese religious folk-lore is full of sutra-related tongue-sightings I may relate when this is expanded into a book), I suspect symbolic significance, too, but none of the Japanese annotations I have seen ever mention any!
source : Robin D. Gill



The King of Hell’s mouth:
peony petals ready
to be spat out.
Tr. Dave Bonta



Emma O's mouth! See!
From which he is about to spit
a peony!
Tr. H. G. Henderson


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閻王の目にづかづかと入りこむ
En oo no me ni zukazuka to hairikomu

carefully, carefully
walking within sight of
the eyes of Emma
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Matsuzawa Akira 松澤昭
http://www.haiku-data.jp/kigo_work_list.php?kigo_cd=2588


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practising archery -
the watchfull eyes of
King Enma again

Gabi Greve, 1980, Kamakura

***** Target (mato) Including Bow, Arrow, Japanese Archery.


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© Saitama City Kyoiku Iin Kai

Enma at Temple Chooden-Ji. Made in 1698.
長伝寺「木造閻魔王坐像」
http://www.city.saitama.jp/

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***** . YOMI　黄泉　"the yellow springs"
die Gelben Quellen der Totenwelt
meido 冥途 the Netherworld



***** First Ceremonies of the Year

***** Servant's holiday (yabu iri) fasting day (sainichi)


*********** NEW YEAR FOOD SAIJIKI




Great King Enma 閻魔大王
Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳

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- quote
Genkaku-ji 源覚寺
Genkaku-ji was built in 1624. Soon afterwards a wooden statue of the god of hell, Enma-ō (閻魔王), was found in a nearby pond. It was placed in the temple and largely ignored, but then people started noticing an old woman who visited every day with an offering of konnyaku.

"Why are you giving konnyaku to Enma?" was the perfectly reasonable question everybody asked.

She told them that her eyes had become weak and all medicines had failed, so she asked Enma for help. One day, as she was praying before the statue, he said to her, "I will gouge out one eye and give it to you." She looked up and saw that one of his eyes was gone, and blood was running from the empty socket. When she glanced around her, she realized that she could see everything clearly.

She wanted to thank Enma, but she was so poor that she had nothing to give him. She decided to stop eating her favourite food, konnyaku, and offer that to him instead. To this day you can buy konnyaku at the temple and ask the god of hell for protection against eye disease.



Enma's statue was probably carved in the Kamakura period (1185–1333).
- snip -
The temple is also known as Konnyaku Enma　蒟蒻閻魔,
and the street crossing in front of the temple is Konnyaku Enma Mae ("mae" means in front of).
- source : rurousha.blogspot.jpx

- Homepage of the temple - Tokyo 東京都文京区
- source : www.genkakuji.or.jp

. WKD : Devil's-tongue (konnyaku 蒟蒻) .
Amorphophallus rivieri


. me　眼 /　目　- Amulets for Eye Disease .

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Emmaten (Yama-deva)
Enmaten

Aus der indoiranischen Gottheit eines Höllenkönigs (Dharmaraaja, Emmaoo) wird er über die chinesische Variante einer taoistischen Gottheit zur esoterischen Gottheit eines Höllenfürsten bzw. Schützers der Religion (Dharmapaala, Emmaten).
Auch König der Gleichheit (Byoodoooo Byodo-O) genannt.
Höllenfürst Emmaten (Enma, Enra). Nummer 5 der 10 Höllenkönige.

Einziger der 10 Höllenkönige, der eigenständig verehrt wird. Bei 10 Figuren ist seine die größte.
Richtet am 35. Todestag über die Menschen, siehe 13 Buddhas der Totenrituale. Er ist eine Gottheit voller Mitleid und vergibt oft den bereuenden Sündern, aber am 35. Tag nach dem Tode ist meist kein intakter Körper mehr vorhanden, in den die erlöste Seele eingehen könnte.

Häufig in einer eigenen Halle (Emmadoo　閻魔堂) untergebracht. Im 4. Höllenbezirk gibt es eine große Waage zum Wiegen der Sünden des Verstorbenen (goo no hakari). Eine Darstellung davon findet sich oft in der Emmadoo-Halle. Im Mandala der beiden Welten sitzt er im Süden der äußeren Abteilung.
Er ist eine Inkarnation des Fudo Myo-O bzw. des Jizoo Bosatsu.

Wenn man zu Lebzeiten den Jizoo Bosatsu regelmäßig verehrt hat, wird die Seele in der Hölle von Emmaten sicher wiedererkannt und man ist einer schnelleren Beförderung ins Paradies sicher.

Im Tempel Taisooji　太宗寺 in Shinjuku in Tookyoo steht vor der Emmadoo-Halle die Figur eines kinderfressenden Emma, der ein ungehorsames Kind einfach auffraß und der Gürtel seines Kimonos hängt noch aus dem Mund des Emma. Auch "Emma mit dem Gürtel aus dem Mund" (Tsukehimo Emma　つけひも閻魔)　genannt. Bis zum Beginn der Edo-Zeit wurden böse Kinder gewarnt: "Wenn Du noch einmal lügst, wird Emma Deine Zunge herausreißen!".


This Enma would eat childred who did not listen to their parents and have a string of their kimono belt hang out of his mouth. His name was "Enma with a belt hanging out of his mouth".


Ikonografie:
Menschliche Gestalt mit zwei Armen und furchterregendem Gesichtsausdruck. Auf der Brust einen Mond und eine Sonne bzw. das Rad der Lehre. Kleidung eines chinesischen Richters. In der rechten Hand ein Holzszepter (Zeremonialszepter) (shaku), oft mit einem oder zwei Menschenschädeln. Dabei handelt es sich um die Köpfe der Gottheiten Taizan Fukunoo und Kokuan Tennyo.

Reitet manchmal auf einem Wasserbüffel.

Ihm zur Seite steht oft die Schreiber-Gottheit "Gushooshin", der alle Taten der Menschen aufschreibt und registriert sowie "Datsueba" , eine furchterregende Alte, die am Grenzfluss Sanzu (sanzu no kawa) die Kleidung der Verstorbenen in Empfang nimmt.

BACK TO
Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who
Buddhistische Kultgegenstände Japans

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
- #enma #emma #kingofhell -
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Kitamura Kigin Day

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Kitamura Kigin Day

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation



Kitamura Kigin 北村季吟
1625-1705. June 15, ６月１５日　
1625年1月19日（寛永元年12月11日） - 1705年8月4日（宝永2年6月15日）
Dates vary according to the Asian Lunar Calendar.


Day of Kigin, Kigin Ki 季吟忌 (きぎんき)
Day of Shuusui Ken,
Shuusui Ken Ki 拾穂軒忌（しゅうすいけんき）


He was the haiku teacher of Matsuo Basho, Yamaoka Genrin 山岡元隣 and Yamaguchi Sodoo 山口素堂.

He was a famous writer and compiler of the early Edo period. He also used these pen names:
静厚、通称は久助、別号は慮庵・呂庵・七松子・拾穂軒, Kogestu Tei 湖月亭
He belonged to the Teimon Group of haiku, Teimon Ha 貞門派 of Matsunaga Teitoku.

He was born in present-day Shiga prefecture, former Omi province.

He was the haiku student of Yasuhara Teishitsu 安原貞室 and Matsunaga Teitoku 松永貞徳.
He edited some old pieces of literature, for example the Tale of Genji, the Tosa Nikki (Tosa Diary) and the Tales of Ise.



He compiled an important collection of seasonal words and topics:

北村季吟『山之井』 Yama no I
by Kitamura Kigin ［1624 -1705］comp. 1647-8
It contained 1300 kigo.
............... later republished as
Zoo yama no i "Expanded Mountain Well "Yama no I" 1667

. WKD : History of Japanese Saijiki .


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He rewrote more than 180 classic novels into easier language, some of which are the The Tales of the Genji, Makurano Soushi, The Tales of Yamato, The Diary of Tosa, and The Tales of Ise. The Yedo government presented him with a title Houin and invited him to Yedo.
In his later life he devoted himself to educating his students, many of whom became influential, among them the famous Matsuo Basho.
Kitamura Kigin died at 82.
　©　Photo and Text : kinki/yasu



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The Invention of a Literary Tradition of Male Love

Kitamura Kigin's "Iwatsutsuji 岩つつじ"
Paul Gordon Schalow

Ominaeshi monogatari, (1661; Tales of Lady Flowers)
a collection of anecdotes and legends about female poets.



湖月抄　Kogetsushoo

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Reference : 北村季吟





地主神社 Jishu Shrine Visit, Kyoto



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HAIKU



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Related words

***** Memorial Days of Famous People / SAIJIKI


History of Japanese Saijiki

Matsunaga Teitoku 松永貞徳 (1571-1653)


Introducing Japanese Haiku Poets


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Temple Ishiyamadera

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Temple Ishiyamadera - "Stone Mountain Temple"

***** Location: Shiga, Japan
***** Season: See below.
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation


Autumn at Ishiyama -
by Hasegawa Sadanobu 長谷川貞信 (1809-1879)


The fireflies of Ishiyamadera , Ishiyama botaru
石山蛍（いしやまぼたる）are a
kigo for mid-summer


Ao-oni hotaru matsuri 青鬼蛍祭
Green Demon and Fireflies Festival
Ao-oni matsuri 青鬼祭り festival of the green demon
observance kigo for mid-summer

Second weekend in July.
This festival originated after WWII, in the "Hotarudani" 蛍谷 of the temple compound, in memory of the famous priest of the Heian period, Roochoo ritsushi 朗澄律師.

A demon figure, five meter tall and made of green cedar branches, is displayed at the main gate of temple Ishiyamadera.
This represents the figure of Roochoo, who had promised to protect the Buddhist law from the disturbances of the Green Demon.



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Ishiyama-dera 石山寺
Ishiyamatera, Ishiyama-Tera

Literally "Temple at Rocky Mountain"


©　Quoted from : /vallance22.tripod.com


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quote
"Stony Mountain Temple" is a Shingon temple in Ōtsu in Japan's Shiga Prefecture. This temple is the thirteenth of the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage.
It was constructed around 762 CE, and is said to have been founded by Rōben.
The temple contains a number of cultural assets. According to literature available at the temple complex, the guardian carvings at Sanmon/Todaimon are by Tankei and Unkei. Allegedly, Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji at Ishiyama-dera during a full moon night in August 1004. In commemoration, the temple maintains a Genji room featuring a life-size figure of Lady Murasaki and displays a statue in her honor.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Quote
Set on the side of a mountain overlooking Lake Biwa, Ishiyama-dera temple was a popular pilgrimage in Murasaki's day. It was founded in 749 and is headquarters of one of the Shingon Buddhist sects.

The temple is mentioned in the Ukifune chapter of The Tale of Genji and is the 13th temple of the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage.

Murasaki is said to have begun writing The Tale of Genji at Ishiyamadera Temple on the night of the full moon, August 1004. To commemorate this event, the temple maintains a Genji Room with a life-size figure of the author at work.



The temple's tahoto (treasure tower) was built by Minamoto Yoritomo in the Kamakura period, and is the oldest of its type in Japan.

Ishiyama-dera is particularly beautiful during the cherry-blossom season. The temple's buildings and gardens are spread out over the mountain side.

Look at most beautiful photos here :
©　www.taleofgenji.org





"Fire Lamp Window" and Ishiyamadera
火灯窓 Katomado

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The famous rocks, which give the name to this "Stone Mountain Temple", are made from Wollastonite, keikaiseki 硅灰石.

ISHI might be translated as stone, rock.






More LINKS about this temple.


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Fudo Myo-O and Ishiyamadera


不動明王坐像


不動明王二童子像

source : takashikun.blogspot.jp


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Things found on the way

haribukku, haribuku, haributsuku 貼仏供（はりぶっく））
Buddhist offerings pasted on a frame


source :　www.ishiyamadera.or.jp

These specially prepared dry sugar sweets (higashi 干菓子) in the form of chrysanthemums, peonies, plum blossoms and other seasonal flowers and auspicious animals like cranes, , which change each spring and autumn.
The special shop which prepares them since the Edo period uses wooden molds more than 200 years old.
The colors are mostly pink, white, yellow, green and blue.


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HAIKU

Matsuo Basho wrote this famous haiku when he visited the temple in the winter of 1690 and got caught in a hailstorm

石山の石に　たばしる　あられかな
Ishiyama no ishi ni tabashiru arare kana
霰 arare

scattering on the stones
of Mount Ishiyama -
these hailstones
Tr. Gabi Greve

Here is a memorial stone of this haiku and the real view of these stones:




©　歌碑・句碑 / kahitokuhi

...

A local sweet was later created with some types of sweet beans, using the name "Tabashiru" :



©　石山寺[和菓子と甘味処] 茶丈藤村 sajo-towson

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Two translation versions by Norman Darlington

hail showers down
on the rocks
of Rocky Mountain


showering down —
hailstones on the stones
of Ishiyama

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Other translations, compiled by Larry Bole:


The hailstones
Glance off the rocks
Of the Stony Mountain
Tr. Blyth



Hailstones
glancing off the rocks
at Stony Pass.
Tr. Robert Hass

Hass comments:
"Hailstones: Hard things hitting hard things in a hard place.
Mountain passes were mysterious places in old Japanese culture, inhabited by boundary gods and placatory shrines, sometimes with the carved figure of a man and a woman coupling."



flying down
on the stones of Stone Mountain:
hail storm
Tr. David Barnhill

Barnhill's literal translation of "tabashiru" is: "shower-down."



Visiting temples with
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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Ishiyama, literally, means "Stone Mountain".
MORE ABOUT
Translating Place names

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Here is another poem of Basho using "stone mountain",
this time from another area of Japan.


石山の石より白し秋の風
ishiyama no ishi yori shiroshi aki no kaze

autumn wind
whiter than the white cliffs
of this stony mountain
Tr. Gabi Greve


Matsuo Basho at Temple Natadera 那谷寺, Northern Japan
Read a discussion of this haiku !


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Related words

***** The Tale of Genji, Genji Monogatari ... and haiku

***** Sweets from Japan (wagashi)


***** Saijiki of Japanese Ceremonies and Festivals

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Climbing Mt. Nantai Ceremony

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Climbing Mt. Nantai Ceremony(tohaisai 登拝祭 )

***** Location: Japan, Nikko
***** Season: Late Summer
***** Category: Observances

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Explanation
toohaisai
This is a ceremony in many parts, starting in July and can go on until August. It is important in the rituals of the mountain ascetics of this area.
Starting on August 1 is most common. Starting at midnight with drums and conches blown, the pilgrims reach for the summit to watch the sunset from there. The dark climb is lit by a few spots with torches or lanterns.

Mount Nantai 男体山 at the side of Lake Chuzenji in Nikko is a sacred mountain and this ceremony goes back more than 1200 years.


Praying at the innermost sanctum
gonaijin sanpai 御内陣参拝


男体山登拝 / Climbing Mt. Nantai

©　www.nikko-jp.org/tohaisai

Other names
『男体禅定(頂)』
『七夕禅定(頂)』


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU




七月や白装束の登拝祭　
shichigatsu ya shiro shoosoku no tohaisai

july is here !
mountain climbing ceremony
in white robes

大類　匡光　Masateru Ohrui
俳句の試み　　

Tr. Gabi Greve

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Mount Nantai, Nantai san 男体山 in Nikko

Mt. Nantai is also called Mt. Futara, and the name of Futara is derived from Potalaka in Sanskrit. Also, Futara can be divided into two Japanese words. One is futa, which means two in Japanese, and another word is ara, which means storm. The meaning of combination of those two words is two storms. According to a legend, god of wind and god of thunder appear at Byoubuiwa rocky screen and bring the two storms a year. Moreover, Futara can be pronounced Nikoh in another way of reading. You can imagine that the Nikoh became Nikko later.

Landscape of Oku-Nikko has been created dramatically by natural environment like an eruption. Lake, waterfall, grassy plain and marshland are gathered like a miniature garden.


　©　www.nikko-jp.org

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WKD: Basho in Nikko

Matsuo Basho wrote:

Kurokami-yama, which means "Mount Raven Locks," though wreathed in spring mists, was still white with snow. Sora composed a verse:

With my hair clean shorn,
I came to Mount Raven Locks
On Garb Changing Morn.

Comment:
Mount Kurokami is another name for Nantaisan which rises above Nikko. The slopes are covered with ancient trees which makes it appear black when seen from a distance, hence the name. The snow on its peak is one of the eight famous views of Nikko, but the image as Basho uses it also sets up a contrast between the black mountain and the white snow. But the contrast is both maintained and resolved in the sense that both Sora and the mountain have changed their garb and yet they are different in the sense that one has hair.

Sora / Oku no Hosomichi


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男体山の雨となりたる躑躅かな
Nantai san no ame ni naritaru tsutsuji kana

Mount Nantai
now in the rain ...
azaleas

Minagawa Bansui 皆川盤水

Tr. Gabi Greve



　©　PHOTO : satochan


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Related words

***** Fuji, Mt. Fuji, Fujiyama, Fujisan Mount Fuji, Japan

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