While staying at Saikan atop Haguro-san, I caught the attention of the charming Hosokawa family while eating dinner in the common dining room. Mr. Hosokawa was a professor who took as much pride in being listed in Who's Who Japan as he did in impressing his wife with his ability to carry on a conversation with a foreigner in English. Mrs. Hosokawa was a sweet woman who acted dutifully impressed with her husband whenever he sought reassurance about his abilities, and who generously shared some fresh fruit with me.
We sat together again at breakfast the next morning when Mr. Hosokawa made the mistake of asking me where I was going that day. I was on my way to Yudono-san, the second of the three Dewa Sanzan peaks I had time to visit. As it happened, they would be passing Yudono-san on the way to their home in Ibaraki prefecture (which happened to neighbour my adopted home of Chiba). After an awkward pause, Mr. Hosokawa consulted with his wife, and then offered to give me a ride. Although I had fully intended to spend the better part of the morning riding public buses, it was impossible to refuse a chance to save time, money, and continue our conversation. I had nothing to offer them at the time, but afterward sent them some souvenirs from my hometown. We also exchanged New Year's cards the following January.
湯殿山銭ふむ道の泪かな
I cannot speak of
Yudono, but see how wet
My sleeve is with tears.
(Keene)
Miyata Masayuki's illustration of the poem in the Kodansha edition of The Narrow Road to Oku depicts a suggestive glow that respects the tradition while still evoking memories of the shrine's centrepiece. An image of the experience remains vivid in my mind, but I will also choose "to lay down my pen and write no more."
Long after walking
Fluid orange primal clay
My feet are burning.
Next: Sado Island
I had a great hike over Dewa Sanzan. I hope you got to Gassan as well. It has a 'top of the world' feel when hiking up there.
ReplyDeleteA minor geographical error I will point out is that Chiba is hardly a "neighbouring" prefecture. One has to cross at least 4 prefectural borders to get there though one can say the large regions of Touhoku (inc. Yamagata-ken) and Kantou (inc Chiba) are neighbours.
I have to admit my heart sank when I first read your comment because I would consider placing Chiba in close proximity to Dewa Sanzan a major geographical error. Having re-read the post, it appears that while I might not be guilty of a geographical error, I am guilty of the equally serious charge of grammatical ambiguity. In the sentence "As it happened, they would be passing Yudono-san on their way home (which happened to be a neighbouring prefecture of Chiba)" the home I had in mind was the Hosokawa's prefecture of Ibaraki. Upon second reading, I can see how the ambiguity of the sentence would cause confusion, so I will correct it in short order.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to point out the error, but more importantly thanks for taking the time to stop by and read the post. I harbour a fear that my older posts get "lost in the ether," so it is reassuring to know that some of them get visited from time to time. I also must confess to a bit of envy that you were able to complete the hike to Gassan. Due to time constraints, I had to limit myself to Haguro-san and Yudono-san, but I would like to return one day to complete the trek. Congratulations for completing the pilgrimage in full.