Mound worshipped Basho (The mound of "Hanaire")
"Come together this way and
Appreciate the flowers of ume and camellia
Right in this flower vase"
(Basho)
This monument is the pillar-type stone two meters high.
On Dec. 20th of 1692 (Genroku 5), six person of the old Basho, Kikaku, Tourin and others gathered in Choto Aoki's residence to held the meeting of Renga. At that time, Basho originated this Hokku.
To appreciate ume blossoms is to watch ume in the air. This Hokku implies that Basho happened to find early ume and camellia blossoms arranged in a vase at that place and recommend others to come together and appreciate these flowers.
Thirty-six phrases followed on the heels of this Hokku.
Tekihyou Ochi, who had been intimate with Chotou and the pupil of Kikaku, took over the "kaishi" (paper for writing Renga) written on this Hokku, and handed over it to his grandson, Anseishi Housei, via his son, Bakuyu.
Anseishi buried this "kaishi" in this place, as a offering for soul in 1770 (Meiji 7), in the 77th anniversary of Basho's death, and built this monument that was also called "The mound of hanaire".
This monument was the second oldest Haiku monument of Basho, after "Yanagi Mound" in Taisanji Temple, in the twelve monuments of Basho in Matsuyama. Beside this, there are "Kisui Mound" (in Fudou-in), "Shimoya Mound" (in Taihoji Temple in Kuma), "Sakura Mound" (in Itsukushima Shrine), "Arakabu Mound" (in Miho Shrine) and so forth.Tankikaku Utsunomiya's Haiku monument was built next to this monument.
[Notes]
Renga : A linked poem. The one of the poem style in Japan. It had been in fashion in the Middle Ages. In old times, Renga is the short poem that two person join in composing the upper phrase and lower phrase of Waka (Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables) alternately and connect each other ; That is to say the long Renga.
Since the latter terms of Heian Period (794 - 1192), it made progress to the long Renga that many or single person composed and linked the upper phase and lower phase alternately. The first phrase is called "Hokku", the next phrase is called "Waki", the third phrase is called "The third" and the last phase is called "Ageku".
In kyouroku (1528 - 1531) and Tenbun (1532 - 1554) era, the style of funniness and witticism was opened up by Soukan Yamazaki and Moritake Arakida. This style of Rengaege is called "Haikai-Renga".
