We reached the town of Fusa
on the banks of the River Tone towards nightfall. The fishermen
of this town catch salmon by spreading wickerwork traps in the
river, and sell it in the markets in Edo. We went into one of the
fishermen's huts and had a short sleep amidst the fishy smell.
Upon waking, however, we hired a boat, and, descending the river
under the bright beams of the moon, arrived at Kashima Shrine.
On the following day it
started to rain in the afternoon, and in no way could we see the
rise of the full moon. I was told that the former priest of the KimponjiTemple was living in seclusion at the foot of the hill where the
shrine was situated. So I went to see him, and was granted a
night's shelter. The tranquility of the priest's hermitage was
such that it inspired, in the words of the ancient poet, 'a
profound sense of meditation' in my heart, and for a while at
least I was able to forget the fretful feeling I had about not
being able to see the full moon. Shortly before daybreak,
however, the moon began to shine through the rifts made in the
hanging clouds. I immediately wakened the priest, and other
members of the household followed him out of bed. We sat for a
long time in utter silence, watching the moonlight trying to
penetrate the clouds and listening to the sound of the lingering
rain. It was really regrettable that I had come such a long way
only to look at the dark shadow of the moon, but I consoled
myself by remembering the famous lady who had returned without
composing a single poem from the long walk she had taken to hear
a cuckoo. The following are the poems we composed on this
occasion:
Regardless of weather,
The moon shines the same;
It is the drifting clouds
That make it seem
different
On different nights.
--Written by the priest
Swift the moon
Across the sky,
Treetops below
Dripping with rain.
--Written by Tosei
Having slept
In a temple,
I watched the moon
With a solemn look.
--Written by Tosei
Having slept
In the rain,
The bamboo corrected
itself
To view the moon.
--Written by Sora
How lonely it is
To look at the moon
Hearing in a temple
Eavesdrops pattering.
--Written by Soha
~ ~ ~
from A Visit to the
Kashima Shrine, by Basho, a chapetr in "The Narrow Road to
the Deep North":