Haiku Journey: Iga Ueno

Half way between Kyoto and Nara there is a tiny train station. If one disembarks there, it is possible to begin a journey into the heart of Mie Prefecture to the small town of Iga Ueno. Why would anyone choose to forgo a day in the historical havens of Kyoto and Nara to make such a trip? Perhaps it is to see the small castle reconstruction or visit the site of a revenge killing immortalized in the kabuki play Igagoe Dochu Sugoroku. More likely you are drawn to the ninja house with its hidden doors and trapdoor floors where a wizened man can retrieve a blade so quickly it seems as though it appeared in his hand by magic. All these reasons may have their appeal, but the best reason of all is that it is the birthplace of Japan's preeminent poet, Matsuo Basho.

Basho was born in Iga Ueno in 1644, a time of peace in the land when literary and artistic pursuits began to flourish among the samurai and merchant classes. The town is justifiably proud of its native son, and offers a number of places to honour his memory, including Basho Seika, his birth home. Located in the eastern part of the town, it is also the site of Chogetsuken, the small cottage where he stayed when visiting and the site where he compiled his first set of poems, Shell Matching. The gloomy darkness of the home's interior contrasts with the sunlight and shadows playing on a patch of moss in the small interior garden. If one is moved to compose a haiku on the spot, it can be placed in a haiku box marked with a straw hat to be judged in a municipal contest.

wild roses border

narrow valley crossroads

travelling alone

Around the corner from his former home stands Aizenin (Henkozan Ganjoji Temple), the family temple. Visitors can pay their respects at a small grave where his hair is interred--it was not an uncommon practice in Japan for famous people to be buried in more than one place to reflect the various locations that were called home. Whether one visits his family temple or not, the next logical stop is Ueno Park in the heart of the town. For those familiar with Tokyo, the park uses the exact same kanji as its more famous counterpart in the nation's capital (上野公園), making it a little easier to find.

At the park, one can visit the Basho Memorial Museum and see poem scrolls inscribed in Basho's own hand. From there, it is a short walk to a quirky building called Haiseiden, which honours Basho's life symbolically in architecture. According to the guidebook,

The round roof is his sedge hat, the octagonal roof his straw raincoat, the pillars his walking stick, and the wooden frame of the building arranged as his face. 

Whether one can see his face in the frame or not, it is left to the individual to decide, but a clearer image of his likeness is available within the hall itself. Apparently it is only open to the public once a year, but if a caretaker happens to be sweeping it that day, one polite request in Japanese might gain you entry to snap a photograph. If you are fortunate enough to enter Haiseiden, it will leave you satisfied with your literary pilgrimage, but with a tinge of regret that you didn’t budget more time for this charming town and a visit to his only surviving hermitage, 蓑虫庵, Minomushian.

みのむしの音を聞にこよ草の庵

Listen to the sound
Emanating from the thatch
of Bagworm Hermitage










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