Choukenji Temple

"Having a good look at
The hedge where I found shepherd's purse
Being open in a corner"
(Basho)

This Haiku monument was placed at the southern side of the pond in the circular type garden.
It's unknown when this monument was built, but it must be in Edo period. Basho composed this Haiku in those days of 1688 (Teiryo 3), at the age of about forty-three.
The flower of Shepherd's purse is small and white, and has no good point, but the expression of "have a good look at (...)" in this Haiku implies the surprise and delight when Bash found the inconspicuous flower open.
The Haiku monument of Baioku Ohshima is placed at the left side of the gate of this temple, and the Haiku monuments of Santoka and Ichijyun Takahashi are standing facing each other.
This temple was the old temple moved by Yoshiakira Katoh from Matsumae, the old culture town. That was no longer what used to be because of the war damages, but the landscape of the garden was designed in the beginning of Edo period, and have something to view.