10/12/2016

Buson hatsumono first things

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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .
(1715-1783)

. hatsumono, hatsu-mono 初物 first things - Introduction .

The townspeople of Edo loved their "first things" and spent a lot of money on them!

There are many New and First activities and things throughout the year.

There are 386 kigo starting with 初..., and
119 of them do not relate to the New Year.

There are 93 kigo that end with ...初 and
7 of them do not relate to the New Year.






Some translations are from the friends at this facebook forum:
. Formal Haiku - The Art of 5-7-5 .

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初秋や余所の灯見ゆる宵のほど
hatsuaki ya yoso no hi miyuru yoi no hodo

Early autumn--
Lights of houses are on
Even in a young evening.
Tr. Shoji Kumano


The start of autumn!
Evening is at the point where
other's lights are seen.


All the more expensive hard cover anthologies of the famous haiku writers will include prose versions of the haiku that include everything that the haiku hints at. Kumano's translation is a rendering of the prose piece accompanying this haiku in the Buson anthology I have. I think that writing everything in just kills the poetry in the original.
By making the evening the subject, Buson is able to give us a scene that accurately depicts the falling darkness through time so we can stand and watch the house lights in the houses he looks down upon come on. It catches the mood of the time of year when evening falls earlier and earlier.
Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook


Lights of houses on
even in a young evening—
early autumn’s start

Tr. Bill Dennis - facebook


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初冬や日和になりし京はずれ
hatsufuyu ya hiyori ni narishi kyoo hazure

Winter comes
And with it the weather
Outside of the capital.
Tr. Thomas McAuley



初冬や訪はんと思ふ人来ます
hatsufuyu ya towan to omou hito kimasu

The first of winter--
One I've wanted to visit
Called on me.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

Early winter--
I thought I was going visiting
but the person has come here.
Tr. Sawa and Shiffert


Winter has begun!
The one I was hoping of
visiting does come.


When winter comes people tend to hunker down and stay at home, which can lead into a desire for the company of others. Buson hasn't been able to rouse himself to go visit a person that he wants to see, but now that person has come to visit him.
With an interesting twist, Buson has turned the negative connotations that usually follow the coming of the winter into a positive emotion.
Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook


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初氷何こぼしけん石の間
hatsugoori nani koboshiken ishi no ai

The first ice--
What was spilled
Between the stones?
Tr. Nelson and Saito


The first skim of ice,
there's something that's been spilled on
the shrine's slab walkways.


'Ishi no ma' are the slabs of stones that are laid in as a walkway in the open air courtyard that connects the main hall and the worship hall on the grounds of a large shrine. The courtyard has been iced over, but something has been spread on the smooth walkway slabs to turn the ice on it into slush so people will be able to come and go on it. By wondering about why the walkway is slush, Buson is able to draw a contrast between it and the rest of the courtyard that is still skimmed by a smooth pristine layer of ice.
Tr. Jim Wilson, comment James Karkoski - facebook

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. yamadera no suzuri ni hayashi hatsugoori .
山寺の硯に早し初氷 

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初霜や吹き返しある葛の葉に
hatsushimo ya fukikaeshi aru kuzu no ha ni

The year's first frost--
On the kudzu leaves
Flipped over by the wind before.
Tr. Nelson and Saito


First frost of the year!
On the kudzu leaves that are
blown upside over.


The broad kudzu leaves attached to the vine are easily blown around by the wind and Japanese poets have been writing about them for centuries. Bashō wrote a haiku about noticing the frost on the front of the leaves and Buson is noticing it on the leaves that have been turned upside by the wind.
Another example of the different positional kind of perception that Buson was able to look at the world with.
Tr. and comment James Karkoski - facebook


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初霜やわづらふ鶴を遠く見る
hatsushimo ya wazurau tsuru o tooku miru

The year's first frost--
An ailing crane
In the distance seen.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

winter's first frost--
visible in the distance
an ailing crane
Tr. Ueda

the first frost;
seeing a suffering crane
in the distance
Tr. Michael Haldane


The first frost has fallen!
Worn suffering cranes
will be seen from afar.


Cranes are migratory birds that come into Japan from Korea and China at the start of winter. The first frost means the coming of winter, and Buson expects that the weary cranes ending their migration won't be far behind. The Japanese often just use the dictionary form of verbs as the future tense and I think it is clear that Buson is indicating a future action here. It could also be argued here that he might be talking about a habitual action, and so the present tense 'are seen' can be read too. But I think the probability of the cranes always showing up on the first day of frost is an improbable argument.
Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

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初潮に追はれてのぼる小魚かな
hatsushio ni owarete noboru shoogyo kana

By the first full tide
Pursued Upstream
swim the fries.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

By the high tide
swept away so they swim upstream,
the tiny fish!
Tr. Sawa and Shiffert


Being pursued
by a strong autumn moon tide....
the small fish climb upstream!

Pressed by the strong
autumn moon tide to rise up;
the small fish of the sea!


Hatsushio is the tide that is caused by the full moon that occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar.
By the solar calendar it now occurs in September. Since the moon affects the tides, this very bright moon is considered to cause the strongest tides of the year.
In Japanese, the verb is always at the end of the phrase, and since they also place them together to make compiled verbs, and place them as modifiers in front of nouns, the three verbs Buson stacked together in this haiku make it able to have a double reading.
In the first version, the strong tide that the 15th night moon makes has moved up so far up river that it is forcing the small fish there to flee from it.
The second reading implies that the fish are in the ocean and the tide is making them rise up with it.
I prefer the first reading, my in-laws house is on a quite a distance up a small stream that runs into the sea, so I've experienced how much, and how far, the coming of the tides can affect fresh water levels and water quality.
Tr. and comment : James Karkoski - facebook

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. hatsu yuki no soko o tatakeba take no tsuki .
初雪の底をたたけば竹の月

The first snow
Emptying itself to its last flake--
The moon above bamboo.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

when the first snow
strikes the lowest culms
bamboo moonlight
Tr. Addis

A bamboo moon
Is caressing the round
Of early snow
Tr. ?

The season's first snow,
A few flakes slowly falling --
Bamboo and moonlight.

Tr. Jim Wilson - facebook


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- hatsushigure 初時雨 first winter shower

秋のあはれわすれんとすれば初時雨
aki no aware wasuren to sureba hatsushigure

Autumnal sadness
Just about to forget as I was--
The first winter shower.
Tr. Nelson and Saito


Just when I'd thought
I had forgotten autumn's pathos;
the first rain of winter.


The haiku is pretty explicit and needs no explanation.
It catches the state of mind that happens when the soft thin beginning rains of winter start to wet the brown and desolate landscape that the end of autumn brings. Buson used 19 morae to express sentiment.
Tr. James Karkoski - facebook

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みのむしの得たりかしこし初時雨
minomushi no etari kashikoshi hatsushigure

A bagworm--
Complacent and proud
The first shower in winters.
Tr. Nelson and Saito


Straw raincoat bugs
without any hesitation,
the first rain of winter.

The straw raincoat bugs
have done well for themselves:
the first rain of winter.


Bagworms in Japanese are called 'minomushi' (literally straw raincoat bugs) because they will often camouflage themselves with twigs and leaves that make them look similar to the old style made from straw 'mino' raincoats that were in use before the modernization of Japan.
They are a fall 'kigo' because the males in autumn will seek out the females who never leave their protective 'bags' (or coats) to mate. The female dies and the eggs ride out the winter until hatching in the spring.
The phrase 'etari kashikoshi' (literally 'having obtained wisely') is translated in Japanese to English dictionaries as 'readily, very eagerly, without a moment's hesitation,' but in Japanese dictionaries it is explained as 'when things go the way you thought and and proceed well to satisfaction.'
I like the first version better because I think it brings out the connection between the seeking of the female and the winter rain with a bit more humor. (I have added a syllable in the 2nd line of the first translation, 'a' instead of 'any' just doesn't sound right to me)
Tr. James Karkoski - facebook

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- hatsune 初音 first call of the bush warbler

うぐいすの 枝ふみはずす 初音かな
uguisu no eda fumihazusu hatsune kana

A warbler
Missing its footing on a twig--
Its first song in spring.
Tr. Nelson and Saito


A bush warbler loses
its footing on a branch:
its first sound I hear!!


I live at the foot of a mountain so I often hear the bush warblers when they are around in spring. As the video link below shows, their warbling does have a slippery slope quality to it, which Buson humorously relates to loosing balance while singing. The verb here can also be read as indicating the future, but in this case I don't think it does.
- reference :youtu.be/FhXfQrKvokU -
Tr. James Karkoski - facebook

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うぐひすの 麁相がましき初音哉
uguisu no sosoo ga mashiki hatsune kana

The warbler's
inexperienced simplicity is better
year's first song
Tr. Crowley


The warbler's rough
inattentiveness has increased:
the first songs it sings!


The young warblers initially have trouble making the sounds that has made them the favorite songbirds in Japan. The pitch of the fledglings can be quite wild until they hear enough of the smoother older birds who they start copying.
In Buson's day, the practice of keeping caged warblers in the house was popular and it is most likely that he is writing about a young warbler that he is keeping as a pet. Perhaps, the lack of being around other birds is what is keeping this one from singing sweetly? Having had the experience of hearing a caged warbler sing, I can attest to how much of a force of sound they can generate in an enclosed space.
A young one who is in the stage of practicing must be quite jarring indeed!
Tr. James Karkoski - facebook



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. hatsumono, hatsu-mono 初物 first things - Introduction .

. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 - Introduction .

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

. BUSON - Cultural Keywords and ABC-List .


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10/06/2016

Edo Anthology Book

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.  Reference and LINKS - Books .
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An Edo Anthology:
Literature from Japan’s Mega-City, 1750-1850
Editor: Jones, Sumie; Watanabe, Kenji
University of Hawaii Press



During the eighteenth century, Edo (today’s Tokyo) became the world’s largest city, quickly surpassing London and Paris. Its rapidly expanding population and flourishing economy encouraged the development of a thriving popular culture. Innovative and ambitious young authors and artists soon began to look beyond the established categories of poetry, drama, and prose, banding together to invent completely new literary forms that focused on the fun and charm of Edo. Their writings were sometimes witty, wild, and bawdy, and other times sensitive, wise, and polished. Now some of these high spirited works, celebrating the rapid changes, extraordinary events, and scandalous news of the day, have been collected in an accessible volume highlighting the city life of Edo.

Edo’s urban consumers
demanded visual presentations and performances in all genres. Novelties such as books with text and art on the same page were highly sought after, as were kabuki plays and the polychrome prints that often shared the same themes, characters, and even jokes. Popular interest in sex and entertainment focused attention on the theatre district and “pleasure quarters,” which became the chief backdrops for the literature and arts of the period. Gesaku, or “playful writing,” invented in the mid-eighteenth century, satirized the government and samurai behavior while parodying the classics. These entertaining new styles bred genres that appealed to the masses.
Among the bestsellers were lengthy serialized heroic epics, revenge dramas, ghost and monster stories, romantic melodramas, and comedies that featured common folk.
source : www.uhpress.hawaii.edu


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- source : Kinokuniya Webstore -



Some of the translations presented here are the first available in English and many are based on first editions.

Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction: The Production and Consumption of Literature in a Flourishing Metropolis
Notes for the Reader

I Playboys, Prostitutes, and Lovers
Seki the Night Hawk, 1753
Yamaoka Matsuake / Robert Campbell

"A Lousy Journey of Love: Two Sweethearts Won't Back Down" 1783
Hiraga Gennai / Timon Screech

At a Fork on the Road to Hiring a Hooker, 1798 (Sara Langer, Trans)
Umebori Kokuga

Intimations of Spring: The Plum Calendar, 1832-1833.
Illustrated by Yanagawa Shigenobu and Yanagawa Jusan (Shigenobu II)
Tamenaga Shunsui / Valerie L. Durham


II Ghosts, Monsters, and Deities
One Hundred Monsters in Edo of Our Time, 1758
Baba Bunko / William J. Farge

Rootless Grass, 1763, 1769
Hiraga Gennai /David Sitkin

Thousand Arms of Goddess, Julienned: The Secret Recipe of Our Handmade Soup Stock,
1785. Illustrated by Kitao Masanobu -- (Santo Kyoden)
Shiba Zenko /Adam L. Kern

The Monster Takes a Bride, 1807. Illustrated by Katsukawa Shun'ei
Jippensha Ikku /Adam Kern

Epic Yotsuya Ghost Tale, 1825
Tsuruya Nanboku IV / Faith Bach


III Heroes, Rogues, and Fools
Playboy, Grilled Edo Style, 1785. Illustrated by Kitao Masanobu
Santo Kyoden / Sumie Jones

Osome and Hisamatsu: Their Amorous History---Read All About It!, 1813 219(28)
Tsuruya Nanboku IV / Sakurada Jisuke II / Caryn Callahan

Opening section from The Tale of the Eight Dog Warriors of the Satomi Clan,
1814-1842. Illustrated chiefly by Yanagawa Shigenobu and Keisai Eisen
Kyokutei Bakin / Ellen Widmer

Funamushi episodes from The Tale of the Eight Dog Warriors of the Satomi Clan, 1814-1842.
Illustrated chiefly by Yanagawa Shigenobu and Keisai Eisen
Kyokutei Bakin / Valerie L. Durham

Eight Footloose Fools: A Flower Almanac, written in 1820, published in 1849.
Illustrated chiefly by Keisai Eisen, Utagawa Kuninao, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Ryutei Rijo / Dylan Mcgee / Christopher Robins

Benten the Thief, 1862
Kawatake Mokuami / Alan Cummings


IV City and Country Folks
Mr. Senryu's Barrel of Laughs, Edo Haikai Style, 1765-1838
Karai Senryu / Jason Webb

"The Housemaid's Ballad" and Other Poems, 1769
Domyaku Sensei /Andrew Markus - In the World of Men, Nothing But Lies, 1812. Illustrated by Utagawa Kuninao
Shikitei Sanba / Joel Cohn

The Floating World Barbershop, 1813-1814. Illustrated by Utagawa Kuninao
Shikitei Sanba /Charles Vilnis

Tales from the North, 1818
Tadano Makuzu / Bettina Gramlich-Oka


V Artists and Poets
On Farting, c. 1774, c. 1777
Hiraga Gennai / William F. Sibley

The "Peony Petals" Sequence, 1780
Yosa Buson / Takai Kito / Chris Drake

Peasants, Peddlers, And Paramours: Waka Selections
Roger K. Thomas

Icicle Teardrops and Butterfly Wings: Popular Love Songs
John Solt


VI Tourists and Onlookers
Comparisons of Cities-
(1) Anonymous,
"What They Think Good about Kyo and Edo,"
c. 1820,
(2) Shiba Kokan, "On Good and Bad Things about Kyo and Edo" (A Letter
to Yamaryo Kazuma), 1813, and
(3) Kimuro Boun, Tales of the Kyo I Have Seen, 1780
Timon Screech

Songs of the Northern Quarter, 1786
Ichikawa Kansai / Mark Borer

Outlandish Nonsense: Verses on Western Themes
Timon Screech

An Account of the Prosperity of Edo, 1832: "Urban Chivalry" and "Honjo District"
Terakado Seiken / Andrew Markus


Source Texts and Modern Editions
List of Contributors
Permissions
Index of Names
Subject Index


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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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10/02/2016

Koshu Kaido

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. Kaido 日本の街道 The Ancient Roads of Japan .
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Kooshuu Kaidoo, Kōshū Kaidō 甲州街道 Koshu Kaido Road
The Highway from Edo via Kofu to Suwa


One of the Edo Gokaidoo 江戸五街道 Edo Gokaido, Gokaidō - Edo Five Routes
Five Kaido starting at Nihonbashi, Edo

Koshu Kaido 甲州街道 Kōshū Kaidō
Nakasendo 中山道 . 中仙道 Nakasendō
Nikko Kaido 日光街道 Nikkō Kaidō
Oshu Kaido 奥州街道 Ōshū Kaidō
Tokaido 東海道 Tōkaidō


The Koshu Kaido was especially planned by Tokugawa Ieyasu to secure his route to escape Edo in case of an attack.
He had a group of 100 special armed guards live in Shinjuku to help and protect him in case of need.

. Hyakuninchoo 百人町 Hyakunincho district .
teppoogumi hyakunin tai 鉄砲組百人隊 100 Riflemen Team
Hyakunin (hundred-man) brigade of shooters //100 men musket (teppo) corps
stationed in Shinjuku


From Sekino-shuku (関野宿) there was a possibility to use the river 相模川 Sagamigawa to ship luggage coming from Kyoto to the coast (now to the towns of Chigasaki and Hiratsuka) and from there by boat to Edo.





. 甲州裏街道 Koshu Ura Kaido .
Another fast exit road from Edo.


. Yotsuya 四谷 / 四ッ谷 Yotsuya district - "four valleys" - Shinjuku .
There were also yotsuya 四ツ家 four rest houses on the 甲州街道 Koshu Highway:
梅屋 Umeya, 保久屋 Hokuya, 茶屋 Chaya and 布屋 Nunoya.


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There are 44 post stations along the Kōshū Kaidō:

Tokyo
Nihonbashi's highway distance marker, from which modern highway distances are measured
View of Mt. Fuji from Tama River in Fuchū

Starting Location: Nihonbashi (Chūō)
1. Naitō Shinjuku (内藤新宿) (Shinjuku)
. 2. Shimotakaido-shuku (下高井戸宿) (Suginami)
. 3. Kamitakaido-shuku (上高井戸宿) (Takaido, Suginami).


Fuda-Goshuku(布田五宿)Five Stations from Fuda (Chōfu, Chofu)
They are all small post stations:
4. Kokuryō-shuku (国領宿) (Chōfu)
5. Shimofuda-shuku (下布田宿) (Chōfu)
6. Kamifuda-shuku (上布田宿) (Chōfu)
7. Shimoishihara-shuku (下石原宿) (Chōfu)
8. Kamiishihara-shuku (上石原宿) (Chōfu)

. 9. Fuchū-shuku (府中宿) (Fuchū, Fuchu) .
10. Hino-shuku (日野宿) (Hino)
. 11. Hachiōji-shuku (八王子宿) (Hachiōji, Hachioji) .

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12. Komagino-shuku (駒木野宿) (Hachiōji)
There was a special barrier (sekisho 関所) to prevent women to get out of Edo and weapons to come into the town. The barrier was beside a steep river.


CLICK for more photos !

At the barrier were two stones, one for the traveller to place his hands 手付き石 tetsuki ishi, while the official checked his papers, and one to place his papers in front of the official 手形石 tegata ishi.

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13. Kobotoke-shuku (小仏宿) (Hachiōji)
Also called 富士見関 because Mount Fujisan could be seen from here.
There were no lodgings at this station.

Kanagawa Prefecture
14. Ohara-shuku (小原宿) (Sagamihara)
15. Yose-shuku (与瀬宿) (Sagamihara)
16. Yoshino-shuku (吉野宿) (Sagamihara)
17. Sekino-shuku (関野宿) (Sagamihara)

Yamanashi Prefecture / Kōfu
18. Uenohara-shuku (上野原宿) (Uenohara) - Momotaro legend



19. Tsurukawa-shuku (鶴川宿) (Uenohara) - Momotaro legend
20. Notajiri-shuku (野田尻宿) (Uenohara)

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21. Inume-shuku (犬目宿) (Uenohara)- Momotaro legend






甲州犬目峠 Inume Toge Pass by Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎  

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22. Shimotorisawa-shuku (下鳥沢宿) (Ōtsuki, Otsuki) - Momotaro legend
23. Kamitorisawa-shuku (上鳥沢宿) (Ōtsuki) - Momotaro legend

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24. Saruhashi-shuku (猿橋宿) (Ōtsuki) - Momotaro legend
It was famous for its 猿橋 Saruhashi, the "Monkey Bridge".



- quote -
Located in Otsuki is one of Japan's most famous bridges. The 1300 year old wooden bridge crosses the Katsura River in Yamanashi as it flows between two high cliffs. The ingenious cantilevered design is said to have been inspired by monkeys holding hands to cross the river. Obviously it must have been rebuilt many times, but the basic design has never been changed.
- source : japantravel.com/yamanashi -

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25. Komahashi-shuku (駒橋宿) (Ōtsuki, Otsuki)
26. Ōtsuki-shuku (大月宿) (Ōtsuki) - Momotaro legend
27. Shimohanasaki-shuku (下花咲宿) (Ōtsuki)
28. Kamihanasaki-shuku (上花咲宿) (Ōtsuki)
29. Shimohatsukari-shuku (下初狩宿) (Ōtsuki)
30. Nakahatsukari-shuku (中初狩宿) (Ōtsuki)
31. Shirano-shuku (白野宿) (Ōtsuki)
32. Kuronoda-shuku (黒野田宿) (Ōtsuki)


Sasago Toge Pass 笹子峠 - 1067 m



33. Komakai-shuku (駒飼宿) (Kōshū)

34. Tsuruse-shuku (鶴瀬宿) (Kōshū)
35. Katsunuma-shuku (勝沼宿) (Kōshū)
36. Kuribara-shuku (栗原宿) (Yamanashi)
37. Isawa-shuku (石和宿) (Fuefuki)
38. Kōfu-shuku (甲府宿) (Kōfu, Kofu)
39. Nirasaki-shuku (韮崎宿) (Nirasaki)
40. Daigahara-shuku (台ヶ原宿) (Hokuto)
41. Kyōraiishi-shuku (教来石宿) (Hokuto)

Nagano Prefecture

42. Tsutaki-shuku (蔦木宿) (Fujimi, Suwa District)
43. Kanazawa-shuku (金沢宿) (Chino)
44. Kamisuwa-shuku (上諏訪宿) (Suwa)
Ending Location: Shimosuwa-shuku 下諏訪宿 (Shimosuwa, Suwa District)
 (also part of the Nakasendō)

- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Saku Koshu Kaido 佐久甲州街道 Saku Highway .
also called Koshu Okan 甲州往還 Kosho Road


. Kunitachi 国立市 Kunitachi town .
lies along the historical Kōshū Kaidō.

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- reference source : free-age.jp/bridgestone-

There are various legends along the Koshu Kaido. Even Momotaro, the Peach Boy, was here!
This story is basically fun with the pun words.
桃太郎伝説もある甲州街道
From the mountain in the North of the road, called 百蔵山 Momokurayama (momo is a pun with momo 桃, the peach) the peach came rolling down the river. It was picked up at 鶴島 Tsurushima (Tsurukawa) in 上野原 Uenohara. From this peach Momotaro was born. When he grew up, he got his helpers, the dog from 犬目 Inume, the 雉 pheasant (bird) from 鳥沢 Torizawa and the monkey from 猿橋 Saruhashi.
They went to Mount 九鬼山 Kukiyama (Mountain of the nine demons) in 大月南方 Otsuki-South
and to Mount 岩殿山 Iwatonosan, Iwadonosan in 大月北方 Otsuki-North to drive away the demons.
One of the demons was wounded and bleeding, so now at the shrine 子神神社 Nenokami Jinja there can be found red soil, remains of the demon's blood.


- reference source : ymnco2.sakura.ne.jp/me/onitue -

The red soil, used for a stone wall in the shrine compound, had to be demolished in 2003 due to the danger of collapsing.

. Momotaroo 桃太郎 Momotaro the Peach Boy .

. Kukiyama 九鬼山 "Mountain with Nine Demons" .



- 大月桃太郎研究会 - facebook -


. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

................................................................................. Fukushima 福島県
平田村 Hirata

The old demon hag from Adachihara in Nihonmatsu 二本松の安達が原の鬼ババア
used to kill and eat travellers on the Koshu Kaido. From others she extracted money or valuable things.


source : rg-youkai.com/tales/ja/07_fukusima

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- reference : nichibun yokai database -

安達が原の鬼婆
安達が原の岩屋に鬼婆が住み、旅人を食べる。泊まった僧侶に骸骨の山を見られ、殺そうとしたが観音像とお経の力に近づくことができず、そのうち朝日が昇って、鬼婆は光にやられて死んだ。

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甲州街道こうしゅうかいどう
- reference source : jinriki.info/kaidolist/koshukaido -

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- - - - - H A I K U and S E N R Y U - - - - -

お山開きし甲州街道となりにけり
O yamabirakishi kooshuu kaidoo to nari ni keri

after the opening
of the mountain this becomes
the Old Koshu Road . . .


. Tomiyasu Fuusei 富安 風生 Tomiyasu Fusei .
(1885 - 1979)


. yamabiraki 山開 "opening the mountain" .
- - kigo for late summer - -

Usually a ritual at a shrine at the foot of the mountain, with members then climbing the mountain for the first time in this new season.


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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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9/01/2016

Toyosu Fish Market Tokyo

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. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .
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Toyosu Food Market 豊洲市場 “Toyosu Shin Shijo”

. Tsukiji Fish Market 築地市場 .
- Introduction -

Original price: 431.6 billion Yen
final price: 588.4 billion Yen



It was supposed to open in November 2016 - BUT

Thanks to the new governor, Yuriko Koike 小池百合子.



Toyosu was chosen by former Governor of Tokyo Shintarō Ishihara for relocating Tsukiji fish market, but there was a longstanding controversy over this plan due to the toxic contamination of the chosen relocation area.
(wikipedia)

MetGov - Tokyo Metropolitan Government

September 28 - NHK
Koike told the metropolitan assembly on Wednesday that confusion over the planned relocation of a wholesale food market has resulted in loss of public trust.
The Tokyo government had planned to move the Tsukiji market to Toyosu this year after decontaminating the site, where a gas production plant once stood. But the work was not carried out as recommended by experts.
Koike criticized the government's handling of the problem, saying those making decisions have all denied knowledge of the discrepancy, prompting public frustration.
She stressed that it's her job to find out who decided what, when decisions were made, and whether a cover-up took place.


- last updated : 2016 - September 30 -
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This was the original plan, with morido 盛土 layers of clean soil
a layer of gravel/concrete
2 meters cleaned ground
2.5 meters new ground
a thick layer of concrete

Now suddenly these layers are missing and the buildings are standing on
謎の空洞 mysterious empty boxes, hollow space, empty concrete basement cavities . . .

MetGov says the hollow spaces have a concrete cover of 40 cm thickness. But not all of the ground is covered.


September 30, Friday NHK
The head of the Tsukiji market greengrocers' union says he feels betrayed by the Tokyo Metropolitan government.
Mikio Izumi spoke to reporters after watching Governor Yuriko Koike's news conference on Friday. His union is made up of about 450 fruit and vegetable dealers.
He said it is extremely disappointing that officials did not carry out the decontamination work as they had originally proposed. He added that he hopes Tokyo officials never again present market dealers with false explanations.
Izumi said the dealers are also shocked by the latest groundwater test at Toyosu, which found benzene and arsenic slightly in excess of environmental standards.
He said he wants a panel of experts to assess the results and consider measures to remedy the situation.


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- - - - - 東京都知事 Governors before Koike  

They obviously never asked too many questions.

September 27:
Koike is going to meet Ishihara regarding the capital's troubled new wholesale food market.
Ishihara was in charge when controversial decontamination steps were taken at the site.

There have been five heads of the Toyosu Project since 2008, it seems. And all claim they thought the morido was done properly.

September 30, Friday - NHK
An inquiry into the Toyosu market site has concluded that former Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara did not influence the location's underground design plan.
The inquiry confirmed that in May of that year, Ishihara told a Tokyo government official in charge of the wholesale market to study a different plan to cut costs. Ishihara proposed burying empty concrete chambers called caissons under the market's buildings.
But the market's chief told the governor the next year that the idea would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more. Ishihara reportedly said he understood.
The inquiry team says several other Tokyo government officials have also testified that Ishihara's idea had nothing to do with the subsequent construction of empty spaces beneath the market buildings.


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There are many open questions :

Who signed the plan for the building standing not on the morido,
but with an open box space of about 4.5 meter high?

Was there a misunderstanding, since everyone claims it should be above the morido?
Or was it deliberate by someone in the city office? (quite possible)
or the construction firm (hardly believable) ?


Was there a plan to built an underground space for maintenance above the morido with stilts to support this?

How far above ground is the main access road for the dealers to reach their allocated spaces ?
It seems it is higher that necessary.


September 13, 2016 - NHK news
Former and current Tokyo metropolitan officials apparently knew they were misinforming the public about steps to counter soil pollution at a new wholesale market site, but took no action.


Sept. 23? - NHK news
Possible change in assessment on new market site
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has suggested that the environmental assessment for the city's proposed new food market may need to be altered.
She hinted at the possibility on Friday, while speaking to reporters.
It was recently revealed that the market site had not been completely filled in with clean soil, as recommended by experts.
The metropolitan government issued an environmental assessment report for the new market in 2011. It stated there will be no impact from exposure to contaminated substances after decontamination efforts are completed.
A gas plant used to stand at the site and harmful substances were detected. The report was based on experts' advice to fill the site with clean soil as part of decontamination efforts.
Koike says that generally speaking, if any problem arises from what was previously reported that must be included in a new assessment.
She also says it will take about a month to decide whether to conduct a fresh investigation and about another 15 months to put together.


The 4.5-meter layer of clean soil is missing from under five main structures at the new market location.

September 27, 2016 - NHK
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says its officials asked an architectural design firm to create empty spaces beneath the capital's new wholesale food market, against the advice of experts. ...
The Tokyo government is looking into why the spaces were created despite the fact that experts said back in 2008 that the entire compound should be filled with clean soil. ...
The probe has yet to determine who decided to go against the advice and when the decision was made.


September 28, 2016 - NHK
Ryoichi Kishimoto, The chief official of Tokyo's wholesale food markets has apologized for misinformation about measures taken to deal with soil pollution at the site of a new market.
... He apologized for causing people to worry. ...
- but no explanation for the WHY !

September 30, NHK - Friday
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has come up with an investigative report on decontamination work at the capital's planned new wholesale food market in Toyosu. NHK has learned that the report says officials were unable to determine who decided not to fill the market's foundations with clean soil or when the decision was made.
... The report says officials in bureaus in charge of the matter began discussing in 2008 a plan to create spaces underground for monitoring contamination even after the market's opening. In 2009, they created an image of the spaces with heavy machinery placed underground.
Officials then proceeded with studies on soil decontamination between 2010 and 2013. In August 2011, department and section chiefs are said to have confirmed at a meeting a policy to create underground monitoring spaces.
... The report attributes the problem to a lack of communication between superiors and subordinates as well as employees in administrative sections and those in engineering sections. In addition, it's not clear who was responsible for the entire project.
... full discussions of the issue next week.
..... A former chief official of Tokyo's wholesale food markets Naoyuki Tsukamoto says he knew that the ground under the buildings of the new Toyosu market was not covered with clean soil. Tsukamoto is one of 5 former chief officials that served in the post during the planning of the decontamination measures. ..... On Friday morning, Tsukamoto said in an NHK interview that he saw the buildings' blueprints, but that he didn't think it was a problem.
.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike says an inquiry has failed to find out who was responsible for not putting clean soil under the buildings of the capital's new food market.
She hinted at a further investigation.
... She said that in August 2011, department and section chiefs confirmed the basic policy of creating the spaces. Officials are said to have discussed measures to deal with polluted soil between 2010 and 2013.
... Koike suggested she will consider new steps, including a further probe and introducing a whistleblower system to prevent a recurrence of the problem.

October 03, Monday
Hiruobi showed a blueprint of the buildings, with a space of about 2 m and a small shovel car inside, then a ?concrete ceiling (seemingly in ground level), then another space of about 2 m for "monitoring" and then the buildings.
Now Koike san has to make sure the official report is not accepted and the truth made more clear.

Gaping holes in the Toyosu report (JT)
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government should reveal the decision-making process that altered measures to shield the Toyosu market from onsite toxic substances.

And another fish marked in Omiya (North of Tokyo) is worried about the 風評被害 "fuhyo higai" bad reputation of food coming from Toyosu (now they get it via Tsukiji).

October 05 (NHK)
Document on Toyosu construction discovered
Democratic Party members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly say they have found a document that is not mentioned in a report on the decontamination work at the site of the capital's new wholesale market.
The Tokyo government released the results of its inquiry on Friday. But the report fails to determine who was responsible for not putting clean soil under the buildings at Toyosu that will replace the aging Tsukiji market.
The report says Tokyo government officials studied measures to deal with soil contamination between 2010 and 2013. It considers this period as crucial for decision-making, and gives a detailed explanation of the process of designing the market buildings.
Democratic Party members say, however, that the report does not include a document showing a building and its foundations.
A design firm submitted the plan to the Tokyo government by January 2011. It contains a drawing of a building and says there is no need to put clean soil under the structure.
Observers say assembly members are likely to question the thoroughness of the Tokyo government's probe.

October 06 (JT)
Koike vows to nail officials who cut corners in Tsukiji move
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Wednesday she may take disciplinary action against officials involved in the relocation of the Tsukiji fish and vegetable market ...

(NHK)
Fish wholesalers in Tokyo have sharply criticized the Metropolitan Government for misleading them about the environmental safety of the site meant to replace the aging Tsukiji food market.
They expressed anger at a meeting with government officials on Thursday.
About 300 wholesalers based at Tsukiji attended Thursday's meeting, which was closed to the media. ... They demanded compensation for the relocation postponement. And they told officials they wanted assurances that Tsukiji's reputation for clean and safe fish would be maintained at the new site.
One wholesaler expressed concern that the massive media attention will threaten the market's success if consumers are worried about the fish there.


October 06 (JT)
Former governor Ishihara refuses to attend hearing on Toyosu market soil woes
Ishihara had said he would assist with any investigation into the decision-making process that led to the soil debacle at Toyosu.
LDP, Koike mend fences ahead of by-election for her former seat

October 07
It seems the construction company made a proposal about the open spaces under the building. But that is highly improbable, because these firms usually only react to instructions from their client.
The MetGov official pages now show the ongoings about Toyosu, mostly dated in 2008 or 2009.
And one of them, also officially dated in that year, was inserted on September 2016 ! (It is a bit tricky to find that out online, but possible for anyone to check.)
The MetGov is still not helpful in the search for the truth of the matter.


October 13, Thursday - NHK
Head of Tokyo's wholesale market to be replaced
The official in charge of Tokyo's wholesale food market will be replaced to take responsibility for the confusion over the relocation of the Tsukiji market.
..... Ryoichi Kishimoto, and several other senior officials, will be removed from their posts shortly. ... Tokyo officials plan to investigate Kishimoto's predecessors as well.

Tokyo assembly approves Toyosu panel
The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has approved setting up a special committee to delve into problems related to relocating a food market in the Japanese capital.
The panel was proposed after safety, construction costs and other problems at Toyosu were discussed by a committee in charge of the move.
The discussion led to findings that a report on the metropolitan government's internal probe into the new site contained incorrect descriptions.
The panel is to continue discussions while the assembly is closed. Another panel of experts and a taskforce of the metropolitan government are also investigating the issue.

November 01 - NHK
Koike reveals the time line of this development, with August 2011 as the crucial time when the plan was changed from morido to monitoring space. There are at least 2 OB and 8 other officials involved, and at their top Ishihara (who does not remember much . . .) .
.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has blamed 8 former department and section chiefs of the Tokyo government over changes in decontamination measures at the capital's new wholesale food market. ...
Experts had advised the Tokyo government years ago to cover the entire site with clean soil, as the ground was contaminated with chemicals from a gas plant that had once stood there.
The governor concluded that the decision was reached in a meeting of department and section heads in August of 2011.
She added that the decision was finalized one month later when the head of Tokyo's wholesale food markets approved a construction order.
Koike criticized the decision to change the decontamination measures, saying the Tokyo government had decided by 2009 to place clean soil over the entire site.
She said 8 former department and section chiefs during a period of about 18 months from November 2010 were in positions to make or know of the decision. Four of them are current senior officials, including a vice governor who was the head of the wholesale food markets in 2011. The other 4 are retired.
Koike said some of them said they didn't know or didn't receive reports, but that such excuses are not acceptable. She said she plans to impose penalties on the 8 people.
..... An internal probe by the Tokyo metropolitan government has shown that a former department chief likely played a key role in changing the decontamination measures for the capital's new food wholesale market.
..... The internal probe found that the former department chief in question was also involved when the Tokyo government made a formal decision in February of 2009 to cover the entire site with clean soil.
... The probe also shows that around January of the same year, the ex-chief may have proposed the idea of creating space under the Toyosu buildings for the first time.
The report says
the idea was passed down among officials in technical fields over the following years.
But in response to Tokyo officials' questions, the ex-chief denied playing such a role in those key phases.
The denial is believed to be one reason the latest probe failed to find out why the officials decided not to place clean soil under the buildings.
Tuesday's report says no officials in managerial positions raised questions about the change, even though there should have been many opportunities to do so.
It says it cannot be denied that the impact of such failure to act was grave.
-
- This shows who did when, but still not WHY this happened.

November 17 - NHK
Koike to present schedule for food market move
According to the new schedule, the Toyosu market can open in about a year if safety is assured by an expert panel and a Tokyo government team.
The schedule also says more construction work at the site may further delay the market opening. If a new environmental assessment is needed, it means a delay of another year.


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- - - - - monitoring space  モニタリング 

Toyosu market basement areas created for emergency cleanup work
Why would this be necessary if the ground was properly prepared with 4.5 m clean soil?

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Why is now the gravel layer open and only partly covered with concrete?

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anzen anshin 安全 安心 to be safe, to feel safe
The motto of the new Toyosu market.
BUT
many now think, even if the water is pronounced anzen,
the whole project does not feel anshin for a food market.



The water under the buildings the pools - how much is it tainted?
There are differences in the findings of the parliament party members and the Town Officials.

The water level seems rising (it rained a lot around Spetember 20 - 26). It is now almost 30 cm.

September 13th
The first results: hexavalent chromium and arsenic.

September 17, 2016
Benzene, a toxic chemical, was not found in water in the basement - says the MetGov.

Sep 18
arsenic and chromium found at density levels around 10 to 35 percent of the legal limit.
These substances do not evaporate into the air.

Sep 21
Some members of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly say that a cyanide compound has been detected. The level exceeds the government-set environmental standards.

- NHK news -
Lead detected in water at Tokyo's new market site
The Tokyo Prefecture government says that a slight amount of lead was found in water that has accumulated below the site of a proposed new food market.
They show that the amount of lead in the water is about one tenth the level permitted by environmental standards.
The samples from the site in the Toyosu also contained traces of arsenic.
They were tested for 7 harmful substances. The water did not contain benzene, cyanogen or hexavalent chromium.

September 30
toxic substances in excess of environmental standards.
It was the 8th in a series of surveys that began 2 years ago, following the completion of soil decontamination work at the site. It was the first test in which measurements exceeded limits.
The officials say that 2 of 3 groundwater samples collected near the market's fruit and vegetable building contained the chemical benzene.
One of them measured 1.1 times the environmental standard and the other 1.4 times.
Another sample contained arsenic measuring 1.9 times the standard.
In the previous 7 surveys, the substances measured below the standards.
..... The Tokyo government officials say the figures are preliminary and detailed analyses and opinions from experts are needed before taking action.
Professor Minoru Yoneda:
the groundwater is not for drinking and he does not believe it would pose a threat to human health. !!!!!

October 20 (nhk)
Groundwater unaffected by pumps at Toyosu site
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says a fully operational pumping system has so far had no effect on the groundwater level at the planned relocation site of Tsukiji food market.
... Previously, the government said a pumping system to control groundwater would resolve problems when it became fully operational. It said a layer of clean soil put down to deter contamination would dry out and water would stop accumulating.
The system became fully operational on Monday.
However, the government said that water remains in the layer of clean soil and is still pooling underground. ...


- - - - - air pollution in the underground open box spaces - - - - -

Sep 18
While traces of benzene are still in Toyosu’s air, its density level is within the safety limit, according to metropolitan government data.

Sep 26
Benzene has been found in the air . .. in low levels.

October 17 (Monday)
Mercury at 5 to 7 times the national air quality standard was found in air beneath the buildings.

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- - - - - one special building for the administration people
管理施設棟 kanri

(who will be sitting there all day . . .)

There is just one building in the complex built as planned above the morido.
With a pit for monitoring above the morido.

WHY ?

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- - - - - Money and the price of it all

original bid about 63 billion yen (628 million dollars) in November 2013.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's projected prices for construction contracts rose by 60 percent in the second round of tenders, from the failed first round.
Three joint venture groups headed by 3 major construction firms took part first, but all retracted their tenders.
- second round of bidding 3 months later, about 1.03 billion dollars.
The 3 groups each won a contract, at prices ranging from 99.7 to 99.9 percent of the revised projected prices.
Professor Hiroshi Arikawa of Nihon University:
if the Tokyo government had to change the prices following requests from construction firms, its system to calculate projected prices must also come under scrutiny.

In 2014, the decontamination (and morido) was completed at a cost of
85.8 billion Yen.


How much money was "saved" with the new plan and where is the money now?

How much will the restauration from the new reality to a safe market cost?

..............................................................................................................................................

Why do some of the piping hang high up under the ceiling?

Why are some pipings so low that no maschinery can drive around in these spaces?

..............................................................................................................................................

- - - -- The open hatchets to let down equipment -

If the buildings were safe, why the need to do this "just in case?"

Why are some hatches right beside the building (3 m x 6 m)
and at least one other further away, with a road above?
Is the whole ground from this hatchet to the building now open?


Are the hatchets connected to the buildings? with an open door?

Why do they have a slit of about 3 mm around, where rain water can get through?

If heavy equipment has to be dismanteled to get down,
what kind of equipment is there DOWN there to get them together again?

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- - - - - Earthquake

Since the original building was planned for 4 stories
is the new building with its underground space the same quake proof structure?

the revetment work carried out by the contractors wasn’t sufficient to stabilize the ground in the area, pointing out that parts of the Toyosu site liquefied during the March 2011 quake, bringing sand and stones to the surface.

October 27
Toyosu fish market structures are earthquake-proof: designer said.
(But we saw quite some wobbeling in the news elsewhere. . . and not all architects agreed to the assessment.)



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- - - - - Future plans since September 2016 - - - - -

What can be done to secure the place as it is now and
open the fish market at some point in the - far - future?

October 03
Talk about using the complex as a casino are growing.

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- reference : NHK World News -

- reference : Japan Times - (JT) -

- reference : ひるおび 豊洲 -


- general online reference -


豊洲市場の特徴 (Japanese HP of the project, it seems)
- reference source : shijou.metro.tokyo.jp/toyosu -

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. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .


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8/26/2016

Baisao old tea seller

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Baisaoo, Baisaō 売茶翁 Baisao, "Old Tea Seller"
賣茶翁 (ばいさおう) / 高遊外 Ko Yugai.

(1675 – 1763)


Baisaō with his portable tea stand,
as depicted in a gently comical caricature painting of the late 19th–early 20th century

- quote
was a Japanese Buddhist monk of the Obaku school of Zen Buddhism, who became famous for traveling around Kyoto selling tea. The veneration of Baisao during and after his lifetime helped to popularize sencha tea and led to the creation of the sencha tea ceremony.

Baisao went by many names during his lifetime, as was common at the time. As a child, he was known as Shibayama Kikusen. When he became a monk, his Zen priest name was 月海元昭 Gekkai Gensho. Baisao, the nickname by which he is popularly known, means "old tea seller." He acquired this name from his act of making tea in the Kyoto area.
Later in his life, he denounced his priesthood and adopted the lay name of 高遊外 Ko Yugai.

Baisao was born in the town of Hasuike in what was then Hizen Province.
- snip -
Tea
Around 1735, Baisao began selling tea in the various scenic locations in Kyoto. At this time, he had not yet formally given up his priesthood. Baisao never sold his tea for a fixed price. Instead, he carried a bamboo tube with which he collected donations. He lived an ascetic life, despite his lasting friendships with illustrious individuals, and used the meagre donations from his tea peddling to keep himself nourished. As for his tea equipment, he carried it all in a woven bamboo basket he called Senka ("den of the sages") that he lugged around on a stick over his shoulder.

Baisao's method of preparing tea was referred to as sencha, or "simmered tea". In this method, whole tea leaves would be tossed into a pot of boiling water and simmered for a short period of time. This style of tea differed from matcha, the most common tea in Japan at the time, which consists of tea leaves ground into a fine powder. The method of brewing tea by grinding it into a powder and whisking it with hot water was popular in China in the Song dynasty, during which Zen Buddhist monks first brought the practice to Japan. By contrast, the Obaku school of Zen specialized in brewing loose leaf green tea, a style that had gradually become popular in China during the Ming dynasty. Sencha partisans of the time opposed the rigid, elaborate formalism of the traditional chanoyu tea ceremony, which uses matcha. The comparative simplicity of adding tea leaves to water appealed to many Japanese monks and intellectuals (among them Baisao and much of his social circle) who admired the carefree attitude advocated by the ancient Chinese sages. Baisao himself saw tea as a path to spiritual enlightenment, a point he made repeatedly in his poetry.

It is not known where Baisao originally obtained his tea leaves from, but by 1738, the sencha method of brewing tea had become popular enough that one of his acquaintances, a tea grower in Uji, developed new production methods to create a type of tea named after the brewing method. This sencha tea was made of whole, young leaves which were steamed and then dried. This technique differs from the typical Chinese method of producing loose leaf tea, which does not involve steaming. Baisao himself praised the tea highly, and the term sencha has come to refer primarily to the tea leaves produced by this method, not to the method of brewing them.
- snip -
Baisao's poetry and calligraphy
are considered important in the Zen history of Japan, especially in Kyoto where Baisao was well known. His poetry was highly regarded by the artists of 18th century Kyoto, which was more "liberal" than the capital city of Edo (modern Tokyo). Over 100 of his poems have survived. Some of Baisao's writings were published in 1748 as A Collection of Tea Documents from the Plum Mountain (Baisanshu chafu ryaku). In this text, Baisao argued for the philosophical superiority of sencha over chanoyu, and wrote that priests who performed the chanoyu tea ceremony were as far from the example of the ancient sages as heaven from earth.
- snip -
Today, Baisao is considered one of the first sencha masters. After his death, sencha continued to rise in popularity, gradually replacing matcha as the most popular type of tea in Japan.
- source : wikipedia

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高遊外売茶翁佐賀地域協議会
佐賀市松原4丁目6番18号 / Saga, Matsubara
- source : kouyugaibaisao.com -

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The Old Tea Seller: Life and Zen Poetry in 18th Century Kyoto
by Baisao (Author), Norman Waddell (Translator)


Baisao was an influential and unconventional figure in a culturally rich time period in Kyoto. A poet and Buddhist priest, he left the constrictions of temple life behind and at the age of 49 traveled to Kyoto, where he began to make his living by selling tea on the streets and at scenic places around the city. Yet Baisao dispensed much more than tea: though he would never purport to be a Zen master, his clientele, which consisted of influential artists, poets, and thinkers, considered a trip to his shop as having religious importance. His large bamboo wicker baskets provided Baisao and his customers with an occasion for conversation and poetry, as well as exceptional tea.
The poems, memoirs, and letters collected here trace his spiritual and physical journey over a long life. This book includes virtually all of his writings translated for the first time into English, together with the first biography of Baisao to appear in any language. It is bound to establish Baisao’s place alongside other Zen-inspired poets such as Basho and Ryokan.
- source : www.amazon.com -


The Old Tea Seller: Life and Zen Poetry in 18th Century Kyoto
By Baisa Baisa

- source : books.google.co.jp -


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Searching for the Spirit of the Sages: Baisaō and Sencha in Japan
by Patricia J. Graham - 1996
PDF file

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Baisaō on a Footbridge by 伊藤若冲 Itō Jakuchū (1716-1800)

- quote -
賣茶翁 Baisaō (1675-1763)
..... Baisaō was an inspirational and unconventional figure in a culturally rich time period in Kyoto.
.....
Book reviewed by Joseph S. O’Leary, Sophia University
Book reviewed by Vladimir K.
.....

- - - - - Two quotes from Baisaō:
“The price for this tea is anything
from a hundred in gold to a half sen.
If you want to drink free, that's all right too.
I'm only sorry I can't let you have it for less.”



“What's the tea seller got in his basket?
Bottomless tea cups?
A two-spouted pot?
He pokes around town for a small bit of rice,
Working very hard for next to nothing ---
Blinkering old drudge just plodding ahead ...
Bah!”



portrait by 田能村竹田 Tanomura Chikuden (1777-1835)

More illustrations and translations of his writing are here :
- source : terebess.hu/zen/mesterek -

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Making the busy streets my home
right down in the heart of things
only one friend shares my poverty
this single scrawny wooden staff.
Having learned the ways of silence
within the noise of urban life
I take life as it comes to me
and everywhere I am is true.

Rambling free beyond the world
enjoying the natural shapes of things
a shaggy eight-year-old duffer
scraping out a living selling tea.
He escapes starvation, barely,
thanks to a section of bamboo,
a tiny house with a window hole
provides all the shelter he needs.

Outside, carts and horses pass
annulling both noise and quiet
inside, easy talk at the stove
banishes notions of host and guest.
He lives under a row of tall pines
beside a temple of guardian sages
where the pine breeze sweeps clear
the dust of fame and profit.



I'm not a Buddhist or Taoist
not a Confucianist either
I'm a brownfaced white-haired
hard up old man.
People think I just prowl
the streets peddling tea.
I've got the whole universe
in this tea caddy of mine.

Left home at ten
turned from the world
here I am in my dotage
a layman once again;
A black bat of a man
(it makes me smile myself)
but still the old tea seller
I always was.

Seventy years of Zen
got me nowhere at all
shed my black robe
became a shaggy crank.
now I have no business
with sacred or profane
just simmer tea for folks
and hold starvation back.

Tr. Norman Waddell


Baisao makes a good case for a simple but elegant life of attention, beauty, and contentment that honors old age and the impermanence of life.
- source : spiritualityandpractice.com -

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朱泥ダルマ彫煎茶 Cup for Sencha
made from shudei 朱泥 red clay from China

. Sencha 煎茶  .
a Japanese green tea, specifically one made without grinding the tea leaves.

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仙台市の 売茶翁 ( ばいさおう ) の「みちのくせんべい」
- reference : takedala/dokugen -


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. Edo bakufu 江戸幕府 The Edo Government .

. Famous Places and Powerspots of Edo 江戸の名所 .

. Doing Business in Edo - 商売 - Introduction .

. shokunin 職人 craftsman, craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .

. senryu, senryū 川柳 Senryu poems in Edo .

. Japanese Architecture - Interior Design - The Japanese Home .

. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .


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