*"This monument was built in the remains of Shiki's residence at the proposal of the association of Shiki in Matsuyama, under the contributions from Mr. Akira Tachikawa, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Shiki's death. By mean of this, we handed down the eternal literal achievements of this resident to posterity. (Built by the association of Shiki in Matsuyama, on Sept. 19th of 1951 (Showa 26) )"
Here had been the house that Shiki, the most excellent Haiku originator, had lived two to seventeen years old, when he went up to Tokyo in 1883 (Meiji 16).
This monument was the first Tanka (Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables) monument of Shiki in Japan and the characters on this monument were enlarged the characters in Shiki's essay, "Gyoga-Manroku ; Putting on record aimlessly lying on my back".
On Mar. 10th of 1902 (Meiji 35), Sachio Itoh came to inquire after Shiki's health. On Mar. 26th, Shiki presented this Tanka and eleven others in the newspaper "Nippon", prefacing " Tanka I composed every morning and evening, watching a pot planted a red plum tree with horsetails and others that had been presented by Sachio."
Hekigotou also composed the following Tanka and thirteen others when he went to pluck horsetails, and present them in "Nippon" on Apr. 4th.
"In a foreign country, I remember that I had picked up horsetails in the field of my home country"All of these Tanka were appeared in "Gyoga-Manroku".
For Shiki, in the sick bed, the plum tree and horsetails would served as something to remember his home country. In fact, Shiki was likely to love horsetails and he said;
"Nothing is so tasty and suggestive as a horsetail."
[Notes] horsetail : a reproductive shoot of the field horsetail.
