Mon kado gate

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Mon 門　(kado) ...
the gate of a temple, castle, town or estate



Many farmhouses in my area have a "nagayamon" "long gate house", with one room for the retired head of the family (inkyobeya) and some space for storing supplies at the other side of the entrance throughfare.


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The most beautiful "gate" is probably the Yomeimon in Nikko,
part of the world heritage of Nikko.

陽明門【ようめいもん】－日光東照宮




sanmon 山門 "mountain gate" of a Buddhist temple

monzenmachi 門前町 town in front of the gate of a temple or shrine
They vere especially prosperous with pilgrims during the Edo period.



akazumon 不開門
byoumon 廟門
chuumon 中門
Dairimon 内裏門
hakkyakumon 八脚門
kabukimon 冠木門
Narukomon 鳴子門
roumon 楼門
suzakumon　朱雀門
yashikimon 屋敷門
Youmeimon 陽明門 and many more
Read more information about Japanese Gates
JAANUS : gate ... Daimon 大門 (the Big Gate)


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kuchi wa wazawai no kado 口は禍の門
The mouth is the front-gate
of all misfortune.
The mouth is the root of trouble.



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H A I K U


kigo for the New Year

kado no haru 門の春（かどのはる） spring at the gate


. Gate Decoration with Pine, kadomatsu 門松 　


. kado nyuudo 門入道（かどにゅうどう）to ward off the demons at the gate 　
oniuchigi, oni uchigi 鬼打木 (おにうちぎ)


. kadorei 門礼（かどれい）New Year visitor ("at the gate" ) 　
..... kado no reichoo 門の礼帳（かどのれいちょう）
book for signing New Year wishes



. kadobiraki 門開き（かどびらき） "opening the gates again" 　
..... kadoake 門明け（かどあけ）


. hatsu kadode 初門出 (はつかどで) first going out 　
..... hatsuasa kadode 初朝戸出（はつあさとで）
first leaving the house on January 1


. kado-uchi 門打（かどうち）"hitting the gate", spring prayer at the gate 　
special ceremony in North Japan



Sanmonbiraki, sanmon biraki 山門開き (さんもんびらき)
opening the temple gate
During the Edo period, the gates of famous temples in Edo were opened on January 16th and people could climb up the gate tower.
Now this custom has been abolished.


SAIJIKI – NEW YEAR OBSERVANCES


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kigo for all spring

hana no mon 花の門（はなのもん）gate with cherry blossoms


kigo for late spring

kado yanagi 門柳（かどやなぎ）willow tree by the gate


Issa and a pipe haiku

by my gate's willow
. kuwae giseru muyoo de mo nashi kado yanagi 　



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kigo for all summer

. kado shimizu 門清水（かどしみず)
clear water at the corners (of an estate) 　



ari no to watari 蟻の門渡り（ありのとわたり）
ants crossing the gate
(according to the Chinese lore)
refers to a row of ants, to a small mountain pass and to the perineum, part of the human body.



mugura no kado 葎の門（むぐらのかど）
gate covered with cleaver weeds
usually of a poor and abandoned home

. mugura 葎 (むぐら) cleavers



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kigo for late summer

kado suzumi 門涼み（かどすずみ）coolness at the gate






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Read the full discussion of the translations here
. Compiled by Larry Bole 　
Translating Haiku Forum


April is National Poetry Month in the US.
Today, 4/22, I received this Poetry Daily Poet's Pick:

門々の下駄の泥より春立ちぬ
かどかどのげたのどろよりはるたちぬ

Kado kado no
Geta no doro yori
Haru tachinu.

At every doorway,
From the mud on wooden clogs,
Spring begins anew.

Issa

— Translated by Daniel C. Buchanan
One Hundred Famous Haiku
Japan Publications, Inc. (Tokyo and San Francisco 1976)


* * * *

Other translations:

Kado-gado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

At every gate,
Spring has begun
From the mud on the clogs.
trans. Blyth

Blyth's comment:
To see the beginning of spring in the black mud that sticks to everyone's 'geta',--this especially belongs to Issa. Up to the present, the mud has seemed only something dirty and unwanted, but as the harbinger of spring the mud now is not seen as an inconvenient and ugly thing, but as a delicate happiness for everybody.

* * * *

Kado kado no geta no doro yori har u tachinu.

Spring has come! In the mud of each family's geta.

trans. Max Bickerton
The Transactions of the Asia Society of Japan, Second Series, Vol. IX, 1932

Bickerton's comment:
In his [Issa's] effort to get away from the banal, his conflicts sometimes are very prosaic. Most people associate spring with new leaves, and cherry blossoms, but Issa looks down to people's feet, and sees its arrival in their geta, dirty with the mud of melted snow.

* * * *

kadokado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

from the mud of geta
going gate-to-gate
spring begins
trans. Higginson
UVA Library Etext Initiative, Japanese Haiku, 'risshun': beginning of spring


* * * *

At every doorway,
From the mud on the wooden clogs
Spring begins anew
trans. Daniel C. Buchanan

I include this translation again because it is also found at the artist Jo Fallon's website:
http://www.jofallon.co.uk/index.php?/work/haiku/



She has illustrated this haiku there with a nice painting.


* * * *

kado-gado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

muddy clogs
at the gates reveal...
it's spring!
trans. Lanoue



My EL version:

kado kado no geta no doro yori haru tachinu

at gate after gate
mud-caked clogs--
must be spring!


Issa, trans. Larry Bole


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Issa about becoming 60 !

まん六の春と成りけり門の雪
manroku no haru to nari keri kado no yuki

60 years old
my new spring
snow at my gate


. manroku .. the 60th birthday 　



Issa and the outhouse ...
. nushi ari ya no setchin ni mo kado no matsu 　




Issa and the gate of a graveyard
. omboo ga kado mo soyo-soyo aoyagi zo 　



Issa and the new year at his gate
. waga kado wa hiru sugi kara ga ganjitsu zo 　



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門前や　何万石の　遠がすみ
monzen ya nanmangoku no toogasumi

finally Matsuyama !
the far away haze
of a thriving town
(this is a rather free translation)


. Temple Saimyo-Ji and Issa
最明寺（さいみょうじ） 　



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翁忌や何やらしゃべる門雀
okina-ki ya naniyara shaberu kado suzume

Basho's Death-Day--
what are you chattering
sparrows at the gate?


. Issa and the memorial day of Basho 　



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Temple Gate,
no garlic or liquor beyond this point!

. kunshuu sanmon ni iru o yurusazu 　


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. Torii 鳥居
Gate of a Shinto Shrine 　


. Geta, Wooden Sandals, Clogs, 下駄


. haru no doro 春の泥 spring mud 　
..... shundei 春泥



. Kimon, the "Demon Gate" 鬼門 　


. Kuromon ("Black Gate") of Temple Kan'ei-ji 　


. Kaminari Mon (Thunder Gate) Asakusa Tokyo 　


. temple gate of Saikoku-Ji 　
with many straw sandals




New temple gate, after the earthquake, in Yonago



Daruma Pilgrims in Japan

O-Fudo Sama Gallery

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Hokkeji Temple Nara

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Temple Hokke-Ji


Hokkeji (法華寺, Hokke-ji)
is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Nara, Japan.

Hokke-ji was built by Empress Kōmyō in 745, originally as a nunnery temple on the grounds where previously her father Fujiwara no Fuhito's mansion stood. According to records kept by the temple, the initial construction went on until around 782. The temple once had a large complex with several halls and gates, and two pagodas.

Hokke-ji was no exception to be heavily damaged in the fierce Siege of Nara, in 1180. In spite of reconstructions in the 12 to 13th century, the complex was again hit by civil war fights during Sengoku period.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




奈良　法華寺　光明宗総国分尼寺
http://www.hokkeji-nara.jp/


The name is sometimes rendered as
Hokkedera or Hokedera in English.

. . . . .


Hina eshiki 雛会式/ ひな会式 Hina Doll Ceremony
From the first to the seventh of April.
In memory of Empress Komyo Kogo.

. WKD : hina matsuri　雛祭り Doll Festival


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Empress Komyo 光明皇后 Komyo Kogo

source : hokkeji museum

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The Salvation of Women in Pure Land Tradition

The Neo-shingon Vinaya monks recognized the rebirth of women and constructed an ordination platform at Hokkedera which permitted them to become regular nuns.
This possibility was open to all women believers.

source : www.shindharmanet.com


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法華寺の空とぶ蛇の眇かな
Hokkeji no sora tobu hebi no manako kana

the squint of the eyes
of a serpent flying in the sky
of temple Hokke-ji

Yasui Koji (Kooji) 安井浩司

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waga seko to
futari mimaseba
ikubaku ka
kono furu yuki no
ureshikaramashi

Were my man
and I to view it together
how very much
this falling snow
would pleasure me.

Empress Koomyoo (701-60)
Tr. Bill Higginson


Empress Komyo (光明皇后, Kōmyō kōgō)
(701–760)
was the Nara period consort of Japanese Emperor Shōmu (701–756).
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



国分尼寺 Kokubun-niji for nuns
. Temple Kokubun-Ji 国分寺 .


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Hokkeji no mamori inu 法華寺の守り犬 protector dog
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

These little clay figures are twisted by hand and then fired. They come in three sizes. They are all made by the nuns of the temple.
Most are painted with young pines. The wood of these trees is used for goma fire ceremonies 護摩木. The ashes from these fires are mixed with the clay.
They also have five red spots for the five parts of a human body 五体.
On the back side is the character for mountain 山, referring to the fact that clay and earth from the compounds of this monastery (mountain) are used.



It is even the subject of a stamp from the year 1969.

. Folk Toys from Nara .


Another toy statue from this temple:

. Shotoku Taishi figure 聖徳太子の尊像 .



. Inu 戌 /　犬　Dog toys and amulets .

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法華寺に守り犬買ふ小正月
Hokkeji ni mamori inu kau koshoogatsu

at temple Hokke-Ji
I buy a dog talisman -
little New Year

Kawai Kayoko 河合佳代子

. WKD : "Little New Year" (koshoogatsu)
January 15

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Haiku about Hokke-Ji

法華寺が多し洛都(みやこ)の暑さかな 筑紫磐井 婆伽梵
法華寺の厠正しき暑さかな 攝津幸彦 未刊句集
法華寺さま菓子も薄紅初句会 澤田弦四朗
法華寺に届く塗箱椿餅 田中英子
法華寺に見ざりし土筆隅寺に 森 澄雄
法華寺の減罪の凍て畳より 井沢正江 晩蝉
法華寺の甍の雨の秋の昼 森澄雄 游方
法華寺の空とぶ蛇の眇(まなこ)かな 安井浩司(1936-)
法華寺の蛇も前兆(シーニュ)に堕ちるべし 安井浩司 密母集
法華寺の里に玉苗余りけり 大屋達治 龍宮
法華寺や開花非開花まんじゆ沙華 北野民夫

海棠や藁屋造りの法華寺 平野木守
秋海や天津小湊法華寺 小杉余子 余子句選

source : HAIKUreikuDB

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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan


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Pagoda (too)

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Pagodas of all kinds

quote
tou　塔
Also called touba 塔婆, sotoba 卒都婆 or *tasoutou 多層塔 (lit. many layered tower).
A pagoda. Originally in India, a facility for preserving the Buddha's ashes in a simple earthen mound. Over time, the mounds became more and more elaborate.

As Buddhism spread through Central Asia the mound became smaller, elongated and the finial *sourin 相輪, became larger in proportion to the base. After Buddhism reached China, influence from the Chinese watchtower combined with the central Asian stupa to form a tall, tiered structure.

From China it spread to Korea and thence to Japan where it became the focal point on a central axis in early Japanese temples. One pagoda was positioned on an east-west axis sharing importance with a *kondou 金堂 (lit. golden hall) on each side of it. (See *garan haichi 伽藍配置). During the 6c. to 9c. centuries, pagodas were repositories for the Buddha's relics. Also pagodas were built to mark a holy site or as an oblation to the soul of the dead.
During the 8c., two identical pagodas were commonly constructed and were usually placed outside the sacred area where the kondou was enclosed, as at Todaiji 東大寺, Nara. They are no longer extant.
With the introduction of esoteric Buddhist sects, the *tahoutou 多宝塔, a 2- storied pagoda, became popular while the pagoda as a vessel for the Buddha's ashes or relics gradually lost importance. As new sects and new doctrines spread, the pagoda was relegated to an area apart from the central compound of the temple. The Pure Land sects known as Jodoshu 浄土宗 and Jodo Shinshu 浄土真宗 rarely erected pagodas.

Read more HERE
source : JAANUS




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A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia.

The word is first attested for in English in the period c. 1625–35; introduced from the Portuguese pagode, temple, from the Persian butkada (but idol + kada temple, dwelling.)
Another etymology, found in many English language dictionaries, is modern English pagoda from Portuguese (via Dravidian), from Sanskrit bhagavati, feminine of bhagavat "blessed" - bhaga "good fortune."
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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from my archives


"Dragon wheel, dragon vehicle"
ryuusha, ryusha 竜車, 竜舎
see:
. Soorin 相輪 finial of a pagoda 　




. Two-tired red Pagoda at Mt. Koyasan, Wakayama



. 成田山 平和大塔 Peace Pagoda at temple Narita san 　



. Pagoda at temple Toji (Tooji 東寺) 　



. Grave marker (sotoba 卒塔婆) 　
sotoba : Japanese pronounciation for STUPA.　


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Koomyoo-Boo, Ikuchijima, Shimanami Kaido

Pilgrimage to Shikoku
Gabi Greve, 2005






Stupa in Enoshima, near Kamakura



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kigo for late spring



shakutoo 石塔（しゃくとう）"stone pagoda"
..... shakutoo 積塔（しゃくとう）
shakutoo-e 積塔会 (しゃくとうえ)
ceremony for blind people
..... shakutoo-e 石塔会（しゃくとうえ）
zatoo shakutoo 座頭積塔（ざとうしゃくとう）

. Blind people and Haiku


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looking up
what a high pagoda
in the autumn sky

Masaoka Shiki

. "high sky", "high heaven", ten takashi 天高し : KIGO 　　


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白毫の塔まぼろしに山時雨
Byakugoo no too maboroshi ni yama shigure

the pagoda of temple Byakugo
is now only a vision ...
sleet on the mountain

小島千架子




白毫寺多宝塔

More details about the temple Byakugo-Ji, Nara
(in Japanese, with many photos)
source : ~s_minaga

Byakugo means white cilia on the forehead of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The temple is famous for its camellia trees.
It is dedicated to Amida Buddha, built on behalf of Tenji Tenno (626 - 671). The famous wooden two-tired pagoda has been sold in the Taisho area and could be visited in a private villa 井植山荘 near Takarazuka until 2002, when it burned down during a forest fire.


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Haiku by Kobayashi Issa


塔ばかり見へて東寺は夏木立
too bakari miete Tooji wa natsu kodachi

only the pagoda
shows from tempel Toji ...
summer trees


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よい程に塔の見へけり雲の峰
yoi hodo ni too no mie-keri kumo no mine

so good
to see this pagoda -
billowing clouds



Pagoda of temple Toji, Kyoto


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Eta and Burakumin

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Eta and Burakumin

eta 穢多 (えた) "filthy mass" , burakumin
the "untouchables" of the Edo period
die Unberührbaren



Burakumin (部落民, Literal translation: "small settlement people")
hamlet people

In the feudal era, the outcast caste were called eta (literally, "an abundance of defilement" or "an abundance of filth").
Some burakumin refer to their own communities as "mura" (村 "villages") and themselves as "mura-no-mono" (村の者 "village people").

They are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and the residents of Korean and Chinese descent.





The burakumin are descendants of outcast communities of the feudal era, which mainly comprised those with occupations considered "tainted" with death or ritual impurity (such as executioners, undertakers, workers in slaughterhouses, butchers or tanners), and traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets and ghettos.

They were legally liberated in 1871 with the abolition of the feudal caste system. However, this did not put a stop to social discrimination and their lower living standards, because Japanese family registration (Koseki) was fixed to ancestral home address until recently, which allowed people to deduce their Burakumin membership. The Burakumin were one of the several groups discriminated against within Japanese society.

Other outcast groups included the
hinin (非人—literally "non-human") (the definition of hinin, as well as their social status and typical occupations varied over time, but typically included ex-convicts and vagrants who worked as town guards, street cleaners or entertainers. )

In certain areas of Japan, there is still a stigma attached to being a resident of such areas, including some lingering discrimination in matters such as marriage and employment.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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quote
Kan Takayuki suggests that senmin were seen as religious people possessing a special talent which enabled them to interact with the mystical world. Some senmin were also called hafurinotami because they performed hafuri ritual duties. They were untouchable because of some ambiguous feeling involving both fear and reverence. Because of these special powers, senmin could have been a political threat to the Japanese Emperor, a living god and the master Shinto-priest who was supposed to have the same mystical powers. The symbolic power of the purity of the Emperor was enhanced by degrading the senmin class. The Emperor was in the highest position and the senmin were at the lowest in a kind of bipolar religious status.
In order to enhance the Emperor’s religious power, senmin were placed under the direct control of the Emperor or some other powerful clans.
Gradually the Shinto concepts of imi (taboo) and kegare (pollution) became linked to the Buddhist prohibition on taking any life.
source : www.iheu.org/untouchability


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In rural Japan, small settlements and hamlets are also called BURAKU until nowadays.
I live in a hamlet with eight neighbour families, each in turn becomes the "hamlet head" (burakuchoo) for one year, even my husband, when it is our turn. This does not have any negative meaning.


The Class System of Edo
mibun seido 身分制度 (みぶんせいど) Klassensystem

At the end of the Edo period, there were about 6-7% samurai, 80-85% farmers, 5-6% merchants and craftsmen, 1.5% priests for Shinto and Buddhism and 1.6% Eta and Hinin.

shinookooshoo 士農工商 Shinokosho
the four social classes of
warriors, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants


source : blog.katei-x.net/blog


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quote : From the Gutenberg Project
Tales of Old Japan
by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford


THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
Once upon a time,
some two hundred years ago, there lived at a place called Honjô, in Edo, a Hatamoto named Takoji Genzaburô; his age was about twenty-four or twenty-five, and he was of extraordinary personal beauty. His official duties made it incumbent on him to go to the Castle by way of the Adzuma Bridge, and here it was that a strange adventure befel him.

There was a certain Eta, who used to earn his living by going out every day to the Adzuma Bridge, and mending the sandals of the passers-by. Whenever Genzaburô crossed the bridge, the Eta used always to bow to him. This struck him as rather strange; but one day when Genzaburô was out alone, without any retainers following him, and was passing the Adzuma Bridge, the thong of his sandal suddenly broke: this annoyed him very much; however, he recollected the Eta cobbler who always used to bow to him so regularly, so he went to the place where he usually sat, and ordered him to mend his sandal, saying to him:

"Tell me why it is that every time that I pass by this bridge, you salute me so respectfully."


GENZABURÔ'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN


When the Eta heard this, he was put out of countenance, and for a while he remained silent; but at last taking courage, he said to Genzaburô,
"Sir, having been honoured with your commands, I am quite put to shame. I was originally a gardener, and used to go to your honour's house and lend a hand in trimming up the garden. In those days your honour was very young, and I myself little better than a child; and so I used to play with your honour, and received many kindnesses at your hands.
My name, sir, is Chokichi. Since those days I have fallen by degrees info dissolute habits, and little by little have sunk to be the vile thing that you now see me."

When Genzaburô heard this he was very much surprised, and, recollecting his old friendship for his playmate, was filled with pity, and said, "Surely, surely, you have fallen very low. Now all you have to do is to presevere and use your utmost endeavours to find a means of escape from the class into which you have fallen, and become a wardsman again. Take this sum: small as it is, let it be a foundation for more to you." And with these words he took ten riyos out of his pouch and handed them to Chokichi, who at first refused to accept the present, but, when it was pressed upon him, received it with thanks.

Genzaburô was leaving him to go home, when two wandering singing-girls came up and spoke to Chokichi; so Genzaburô looked to see what the two women were like. One was a woman of some twenty years of age, and the other was a peerlessly beautiful girl of sixteen; she was neither too fat nor too thin, neither too tall nor too short; her face was oval, like a melon-seed, and her complexion fair and white; her eyes were narrow and bright, her teeth small and even; her nose was aquiline, and her mouth delicately formed, with lovely red lips; her eyebrows were long and fine; she had a profusion of long black hair; she spoke modestly, with a soft sweet voice; and when she smiled, two lovely dimples appeared in her cheeks; in all her movements she was gentle and refined.
Genzaburô fell in love with her at first sight; and she, seeing what a handsome man he was, equally fell in love with him; so that the woman that was with her, perceiving that they were struck with one another, led her away as fast as possible.

MORE is HERE
source : www.gutenberg.org



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Buddhists are not allowed to eat meat of animals with four legs.
The custom of eating meat from four-legged animals in Japan, especially beef, became more popular after the Meiji restauration.
Before modern times, beef was not eaten, only the hides of cows were used for drums and other items.

. WASHOKU
Eating Meat in Japan 　


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Haiku by Kobayashi Issa


えた村の御講幟やお霜月
eta mura no okoo nobori ya o-shimotsuki

in the Eta village
there is a Buddhist banner -
this frost month

Frost Month (shimotsuki)
the eleventh lunar month, now November


. . . . .


えた町も夜はうつくしき砧哉
eta mura mo yo wa utsukushiki kinuta kana

in the outcasts' village too
a lovely night...
pounding cloth

. kinuta 砧 (きぬた) fulling block 　



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shizu 賎（しず）身分の低い者 a person of low standing,
meeserly, vulgar, despicable
vulgar, mean ...
of low social status 身分・社会的地位が低い
poor mazushii 貧しい。misuborashii みすぼらしい

賎 (also as adverb iyashii )


senmin 賎民 (賤民) humble [lowly] people [folk]
despise people (as opposed to the ryoomin 良民, the good citizens)
Pöbel; Gesindel; Lumpengesindel; Plebs ; Canaille.
sogar die Unberührbaren

gesen no tami 下賤の民 people of low birth, humble origin
. . . . .gemin 下民

kawaramono 河原者 "people living at the banks of rivers"
(including travelling actors)

People were also divided into 5 subgroups
ryooko 陵戸・ kanko 官戸・ kenin 家人・kumehi 公奴婢・ shimehi 私奴婢
mehi, dohi 奴婢 means servant
Knecht; Gesinde; Hörige ; Diener.

. . . . .

鬼は賎の目に見えない
oni wa shizu no me ni mienai

demons are not visible to lowly people

. . . . .



花は賎の目にも見えけり鬼薊
hana wa shizu no me ni mo mie-keri oni azami

these flowers can be seen
even with the eyes of lowly folks -
demon thistles

Matsuo Basho

Tr. Gabi Greve : Thistle Haiku
Read a discussion of this haiku.

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賎の子や稲摺りかけて月を見る
shizu no ko ya ine surikakete tsuki o miru

this child of low folks -
after husking rice
it looks at the moon
Tr. Gabi Greve




Peasant children
hull rice
gazing at the moon.
Tr. Thomas McAuley



A peasant’s child
husking the rice, pauses
to look at the moon.
Tr. Makoto Ueda



Husking rice,
a child squints up
to view the moon.
Tr. Lucien Stryk




A farmer’s child
hulling rice arrests his hands
to look at the moon.
Tr. Nobuyuki Yuasa



a poor peasant boy
husking rice, he pauses now
to gaze at the moon
source : www.tclt.org.uk



We have the same kanji 賤 in this word

. yamagatsu 山賤(やまがつ) woodcutters 　
lumberjacks

Read this entry with another haiku by Matsuo Basho.


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Daruma Pilgrims in Japan


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