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Ryuumon-no-Taki

posted Fab. 2019

Composed by Ise at the foot of a waterfall while visiting Ryuumon
Tachinuwanu kinukishihitomo nakimonoo nani yamahimeno nuno sarasuramu

Kokinshu・zouka・926

Meaning

Why does the goddess have such large cloth being washed under the waterfall in Mt. Ryuumon when no hermit is around to wear clothes cut out of it and sawn together?

This is by Ise, one of the poets in “Kokinwakashu”, when she visited Ryuumon-ji Temple in Mt. Ryuumon (904m) in the south-east of Mt. Tohnomine. Ryuumon-ji Temple appears in “Kaifuusou,“ a book of Chinese-style poems made during Nara Period, and is said to have been the home of three hermits, Kume-no-sennin, Ohtomo-no-sennin, and Azumi-no-sennin. There was a waterfall nearby.

This poem bases on the legend and talks about the waterfall in Ryuumon. Readers may notice that no word of taki, a waterfall, appears in the poem. It is because it was implied by the expression ‘cloth being washed’. A similar use is made in the name ‘Nunobiki-no-taki’, a common term since Heian Period. It was common then to refer falling water to a piece of cloth. ‘Tachinuwanukinu ’ implies a piece of cloth without a cut or a seam.

* Click to play movie.

‘Yamahime ’ is a mountain goddess. The poem says, “There is not even one hermit who will put a piece of cloth to fit him as his clothing. Why does the goddess still keep this large piece over the waterfall?” There is actually a drawing that shows Ise reading the poem at the foot of the waterfall. It was drawn by Gukei Sumiyoshi during the Edo period.

Ryuumon-no-taki still runs down in the depth of Mt. Ryuumon-dake.

On Ise and her love affair

Ise is known by the tanka poem ‘Naniwagata mijikakiashino fushinomamo awadekonoyowo sugushiteyotoya’, which appears in the popular “Hyakunin Issyu”. She served Onshi, the wife of Emperor Uda.

The name Ise came from her father Ise-no-kami Tsugukage Fujiwara. Her first love was Nakahira Fujiwara, Onshi’s half brother. The love ended when Nakahira got married to the daughter of a minister in power. Ise could not stand the situation and escaped to Yamato where her father was stationed. While she lived there for three months, she visited temples including Ryuumon-ji Temple. The poem is one of those made during this period.

“Kokin Wakashu” has only a short forwarding note saying ‘visiting Ryuumon at the waterfall’. “Iseshu”, a private poetry book, has a more detailed explanation of the situation, though the current Iseshu was not edited by Ise herself and believed to be somewhat ficticious. The long forward is found in the section ‘Utanikk i’.

大和に三月ばかりありけるに、龍門といふ寺に詣でたりけり。正月十一日ばかりなりけり。この寺のさまは、雲の中より滝は落つるやうに見ゆ。山の人の家といふは、いたう年経て、岩の上に苔八重むしたり。見知らぬ心地に、いと悲しう物のみあはれにおぼえて、涙は滝に劣らず。橋のもとにしばしあるに、いと暗うなりぬ。「雨や降らむとすらむ」供なる人と言ふ。法師ばら「雪ぞ降らむ」と言ふほどに、いみじう大きなる雪かきくらし降れば、人々「歌詠まむ」と言ふに、この詣でたる人

Yamatoni mitsukibakari arikeruni, Ryuumontoiu terani moudetari.

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Shougatsu jyuuichinichi bakarinarikeri. Konoteranosamawa, kumononakayori takiwa otsuruyouni miyu. Yamanohitonoieto iuwa, itoutoshihete,iwanoueni koke yae mushitari. Mishiranukokochini, itokanashiu mononomi awareni oboete, namidawa takini otorazu. Hashino motoni shibashi aruni, itokurounarin. ‘Ameya furantosuran’ tomonaru hitotoiu. Houshibara’yukizohuran’toiuhodoni, imijiu ooinaruyukikakikurashifureba, hitobito ‘utayoman’toiuni, konomoudetaruhito

“Iseshu”

Meaning

‘Yayoi tohkaamari hitohi’, February in the current calendar, was cold. Looking at the moss-covered old hut of a hermit and the waterfall so sharply runs down as if it were falling directly from clouds. Feeling so sad at a scenery never seen before that I shed tears almost as much as the waterfall.

Soon the sky turned dark and I was talking with my maid whether it would rain. The monks there with the knowledge of the area forecast snow. Eventually it snowed so much that we were unable to see anything. The snow prompted us to compose poems.

‘Snow’ in “Iseshu” should be noted here. In the context, snow’s large white flake, combined with the white color the waterfall created as it came down from cloud-height, made the readers to be able to feel the vastness of the scene behind the cloth. The goddess’s action brings the image of vast nature even more clearly to the readers.

The poem by Ise impressed others at present and no one put forward any more poem. Ise composed another poem while she was stationed in Koshibe in the town of Ohyodo. It had the forwarding note, ‘Looking back the Ryuumon-ji temple with mercy’.

Ise and her life since then

Ise came back to serve Onshi. The bitter experience of broken love affairs seemed to have helped Ise become self-reliable. Her talent in composing poems was nicely developed and widely noticed in both official and private occasions. A child between Emperor Uda and Ise died young. Nakatsukasa, a girl born between Prince Atsuyoshi and Ise, grew up to be one of Thirty-Six Poets along with Ise herself. Ise’s last poem was supposed to be the one composed at the death of Princess Kinshi in 938. Ise was believed to be over 65 then, but no detail is found after that.

Ryuumon-no-taki

At the foot of Mt. Ryuumon-dake there stand Yoshino-Yamaguchi Shrine and Takahoko Shrine. The waterfall of Ryuumon is found not far from these shrines. Ryuumon-ji Temple does not exist any longer and only a noticeboard stands by Orinorishi.

The board carries an explanation that the Ryuumon-ji temple had seen many court nobles since Heian Period and was very prosperous. Matsuo Basho stopped by as well in 1688 during his trip to complete “Oinokobumi”. He left this haiku, Ryuumonno hanayajyoukono tutonisen .

Sakenomini katarankakaru takinohana/Ryuumonno hanayajyoukono tutonisen

Matsuo Basho, “Oino Kobumi”, Edo Period

Basho left another haiku ‘Sakenomini katarankakaru takinohana ’. It must be an alternative choice to express his excitement that he could come up with an association between Rihaku and Ryuumon-no-taki waterfall and flowers.

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