Basho says they came to Mt. Haguro on 6.3 (7.19). According to Sora, on that day they left Shinjo and went to Motoaikai where they boarded a boat and went downriver past Furukuchi to the confluence of the Kiyogawa. From Karikawa they headed south and shortly after four o'clock arrived at the village of Touge at the foot of Mt. Haguro. There they visited Kondo Sakichi who accompanied them to Minamidani. It is not clear whether they got off the boat at Kiyokawa or at Karikawa.

Mt. Haguro rises 419 meters above sea level, and along with Gassan and Yudono is one of three peaks of Dewa. It is the home base of the Haguro sect of religious austerities. In Basho's time the Haguro Gongen was a combination of Buddhist and Shinto worship, but in the Meiji period the two religions were officially separated and this became the Haguro Jinja.

Zushi Sakichi is identified as Kondo Sakichi by Sora. Zushi means instructor or mentor, so that may be a professional title rather than a family name. We do know that he lived here at the foot of Mt. Haguro and was a fabric dyer by trade. We know from other works that he showed Basho around the area and asked about haikai and that later he went to Edo to visit Basho. He died in 1693 on a trip to Kyoto.

The title of Betto usually refers to the head of an office or bureau, but here it means the head of a temple or shrine. This man was the head of the entire temple and shrine complex on the mountain and supervisor of the priests.

Egaku was a Kyoto man serving as Betto and Basho brought with him from Ichiei in Oishida a letter of introduction so they were given lodging in the temple. Egaku had a taste for haikai and later officially became a disciple of Basho.

The title Ajari comes from the Sanscrit word Acarya which refers to a particularly virtuous priest, but in the Shingon and Tendai sects in Japan it simply marks a level of priestly achievement.

Minamidani no betsuin was a new temple built in 1662, but ten years later it burned and another temple was moved to this site and rebuilt. This is where Basho and Sora stayed. The temple itself existed until the Meiji period, but today only the foundations remain.

When Basho says they composed a sequence of verses, we know from Sora's account that Basho opened the sequence with the poem "Arigata ya" on 6.4, but they only completed the first six verses that day. The following day, 6.5, they completed the first half and the second half was finished on 6.9 after they came down from Gassan and Yudono.

The fifth was 6.5 (7.21). Sora says a light rain fell during the morning, but cleared off around noon. Until noon they fasted and did something with the sacred ropes pilgrims use. In the evening after eating, they worshipped at the Haguro shrine and when they came back wrote poetry, but did not complete their sequence.

Nojo Daishi was known by a variety of names, but he was a prince of the blood, third son of the Emperor Sushun (r. 587-592). He is said to have opened this mountain. His secular name was Haehiko and on this mountain there is a shrine dedicated to him and said to contain his grave. According to legend he came to this mountain to flee the insurrection caused by Soga no Umako in which the Emperor Sushun was killed. It is hard to know what to make of this story since the Soga family supported the introduction of Buddhism in opposition to the Monobe and Nakatomi families who supported the native religion of Shinto. If Umako murdered Sushun in the cause of Buddhism, why did Nojo Taishi, his son, become such an ardent Buddhist. In any case, legend says that Nojo Taishi was led to this mountain by a sacred bird and here he renounced the world, wore clothing made of bark and vines and lived on nuts and berries. Basho says he is not sure when this man lived which is his way of saying he has heard many legends, but cannot vouch for the truth of them.

Engi Shiki was commissioned in 905 by the Emperor Daigo and was compiled by Fujiwara Tokihira, Ki no Haseo, and Miyoshi Kiyotsuna. This work details all the court offices and procedures and ceremonies and lists shrines throughout the country.

The origins of the name Hagurosan seem to be essentially as Basho recounts. This is confirmed by several local gazateers. The story Basho gives is actually found in the Azuma Kagami rather than the Engi Shiki.

The Fudoki Basho refers to here was commissioned in 713 by the Emperor Gemmei. Every province of the country was to submit such a local gazateer, but today only five of the fragments remain and none of them deals with this place. Such a work probably did not exist in Basho's time either. Basho probably heard the story told by someone and wrote it down.

Mt. Gassan is the highest of the three Dewa peaks rising 1980 meters. At its peak is a Gongen shrine for the worship of the moon deity Tsukiyomi no mikoto. Today the shrine is called Gassan Jinja. The mountain is called Gassan because when it is coverd with snow it looks like a half moon standing against the sky.

Mt. Yudono is also one of the three peaks of Dewa and has a height of 1500 meters. Because the entire mountain is said to be the embodyment of a deity, it does not have conventional shrines on it, rather, there are small stone structures where muddy hot springs come out of the ground. Because of the iron in the soil the water is rusty colored and the way the earth is heaped up is awe-inspiring. Because this place is so far removed from the secular world, man made buildings are not in evidence. One description of the mountain says there are jumbles of large rust- colored stones with steam and hot water pouring from them. This gives us some idea of what the mountain is like.

All three of these mountains are venerated as places where religious austerities are performed.

Something complex and mysterious is going on in this passage. In one sense the light of the Buddhist law shines with increasing brightness. In another sense it is the enlightened heart/mind that shines with increasing brilliance and purity. Is this light self-generated (by the pure heart), or other-generated (by the sacred law)? In haibun writing we often see this ambiguity between self and other (Jido and Tado). Both forms of enlightenment nurture each other making it clear that this is a very sacred and holy place.

The flow of this passage is odd, he makes reference to Nojo Taishi and the foundations of Buddhism in Japan, then drifts off into local history, and then comes back to emphasize how sacred and important this foreign religion is; from that time to this, here and in Edo, with absolute svereity and miraculous inspiration, Buddhism will never perish.

THE POEM: Arigata ya... The season word is kaorasu to indicate summer when the fragrance of the grasses is strong. In this poem the wind is blowing from the south. The season word is not really clear here. An earlier version of the poem goes: Arigata ya/ yuki wo kaorasu/ kaze no oto. By changing the last line to Minamidani Basho allows the poem to name the place where he composed it. At the same time, the word minami enlivens the poem by providing a combination of engo: kaoru, kaze, and minami. This poem is clearly an allusion to a Chinese poem by...

The opening five syllable phrase in this poem is just the sort of thing Basho liked. He expresses both his feeling of respect and celebration for a sacred place where the incense of Buddhism is powerful and also his feeling of gratitude for the warm hospitality of Egaku Ajari. The second phrase gives expression to the fresh fragrant breeze that blows over the snow remaining. In this place even the snow that chills the body to its core has a fragrance. This creates a truly pure feeling and this is something to be truly grateful for.

This interpretation is probably not wrong, but when we consider the remaining snow, there is a question of where this snow is located. Basho says he wrote this poem on 6.4 (7.20), so it was at the very height of summer and it is not likely that snow remained anywhere near Minamidani, but perhaps he could see snow on the surrounding peaks. In that case the wind has blown across the snow pack of the peaks and is chilled when it reaches Minamidani. It is a welcome coolness at this time of year. Basho could hear the wind, feel its coolness, and see the snow on the distant peaks and could feel/smell the cool air. No doubt this reminded him of the Chinese poem he alludes to.

The idea of a fragrant breeze suggests the fragrance of summer grasses, but Basho inverts it to the fragrance of snow. In Basho's poem the valley is both redolent with spring and chilly with winter while the actual season is high summer.

According to Sora's account, it was after four o'clock on 6.3 (7.19) when they arrived at Kondo Sakichi's home and gave him their letter of introduction from Ichiei to Egaku Ajari. Sakichi took the letter to the Ajari, then brought Basho and Sora to Minamidani. By then it was quite late and growing dark. that evening they were weary from their travel and rested comfortably. The following day, 6.4, the weather was clear. After eating buckwheat noodles around noon, they were summoned to the Ajari's quarters and for the first time met Egaku. The priest had a taste for haikai and they composed the first six stanzas of a poetry sequence. They worked on this further on the 5th and completed it on the 9th. Egaku's poetry is included in several anthologies and Basho enjoyed his hospitality.

The accomodations were spotlessly clean and the surroundings were relaxing. Affected by this, Basho wrote his Arigata ya poem as a form of greeting to his host.

On the 5th a light rain fell during the morning, but cleared off around noon. After eating dinner they visited the Haguro Gongen. They took time to reflect on the history of Mt. Haguro and the origin of the name Dewa. Sometimes Basho did not pay much attention to historical accuracy, but he did on this occasion. In the latter part of the passage he talks about the glory of Tendai Buddhism and the priests here who are devoted to it through the efforts of Tenyu Hoshi. While he was here Basho wrote a memorial tribute to the priest which still exists.