Oct. 13, 2018 – Mt. Miwa 三輪山
After a box lunch taken in the harvest rice-fields near Omiwa Shrine 大神神社 and a visit to Omononushi’s ancient cryptomeria in the main compound, the five poets intending to scale Mount Miwa (467m, to the north of Sakurai) have first to obtain permission at Sai Jinja 狭井神社. They are issued with a route map and pilgrims’ garlands to wear around their necks, each supporting a small bell that jingles all the way up to the summit. All pledge to remain silent throughout the climb. Tito decides to climb barefoot. Here are a few of the haiku from this first day.
Snake God Tree:*
searching through my pockets
for raw egg offering
………………………… Branko
“Komorebi!”*
pointing and whispering
to his wife —
his tree enlightenment!
………………………… Richard
To my sweating forehead
a splash of waterfall —
just halfway to the top
………………………… Kyoko
My vow of silence,
severely tested on the climb
by an English-speaking man!
………………………… Tito
The rock sanctuary:
one family clapping hands in unison,
a lone woman staring faraway
………………………… Kyoko
Pilgrim’s bare feet
imprinting the mud …
unspoken words
………………………… Branko
Miwa —
blue light
shining from a black leaf
on the forest floor
………………………… Tito
After the descent, talk resumes at Hibara Jinja* 檜原神社 a little way along the Yamanobe Old Path. Later that evening, at Wakaba Minshuku*, haiku are shared, appreciated, rejected, and occasionally reworked, until the wine is drunk and midnight has long passed.
Oct. 14, 2018 – Mt. Goharetsu 御破裂山
Two poets return home, but another joined the haike last night. It’s a cool, early autumn morning and four poets are searching for a path over Mount Goharetsu* (610m). Their destination is Tanzan Shrine 談山神社 and its annual “Kakitsusai” 嘉吉祭 harvest festival, which is due to start in a few hours.
Cloud shrouds the peaks
above the plains of Asuka —
a lone kite circling
………………………… Richard
Fields of golden rice
ready for harvesting —
ancient village, unchanged
………………………… Kyoko
The autumn butterfly —
how prim and proper
its ribbon ties!
………………………… Tomiko
The persimmon farmer talks
of a typhoon-damaged slope:
Mt. Katsuragi*
wreathed in mist
………………………… Tito
Their route takes them through the streets of Asuka 明日香 into its eastern foothills, past locals tending their crops, and up into the tall, straight trunks of cypress and cedars growing on the mountainside.
Another step
on rising earth,
interrupted —
span of silver thread
………………………… William
The entomologist —
showing us his bagged live specimens
in a dreary wood
………………………… Tito
The trees close in and
catch our voices — their reply
a soft mockery
………………………… William
They reach Tanzan Shrine, a burst of Japanese architecture, and find the festival’s main ritual is already underway. Removing their shoes, they shuffle quietly into one wide room—open at the back to a sunlit veranda hung with iron lanterns—and join the worshippers. To the shrill accompaniment of gagaku*, many elaborate displays of fruits and vegetables are brought out from deep within the shrine, carefully passed from priest to priest. A glimpse is had of a statue of the enshrined deity, Fujiwara no Kamatari*, whom the festival honours.
The Shinto priest:
a single green pepper
atop his chestnut offering
………………………… Richard
For another year
priest pulls the curtain down
on the clan divinity —
his long, plaintive wail
………………………… Tito
The festival complete, our pilgrims head back into the sun, retrieving lunch boxes from their backpacks.
tier upon tier,
the surrounding trees are touched
by new scarlet
………………………… William
The summit of Goharetsu is attained after a further short climb. To where next year?
* Notes
Snake God Tree – an ancient sugi (cryptomeria) thought to be a yorishiro (conductor) for Okuninushi, who comes in the form of a snake
komorebi – sunshine filtered through branches
Hibara Jinja – a Shinto compound lacking any hall for its divinity, Amaterasu, and thought to be the first Ise Shrine
Wakaba Minshuku – a rustic inn beside Okadera Temple in Asuka
Mt. Goharetsu – to the southeast of Asuka, part of which is commonly referred to as “Tonomine”
Mt. Katsuragi – a peak (959m) to the west of Asuka famed as the haunt of the C7th mystic, En no Gyoja
gagaku – ancient court music, featuring reeds and pipes
Fujiwara no Kamatari – instigator of the Taika Reforms in C7th and founder of the Fujiwara clan
