Basic Information
Description
Founded in the late 800s by the monk Anne Sozu. It later fell into ruin but was revived by Tesshu, who reestablished it as a Rinzai Zen temple of the Nanzen-ji school. The grounds contain the grave mound of Basho, haiku poem stones, and the graves of Gosho, Keibun, Aoki Getto, and Buson, among others. This is also the temple where Murayama Taka-jo, a woman caught up in the upheavals of the Bakumatsu period, spent her final years as a nun.
"In my loneliness, let me grow lonelier still — o cuckoo" (Basho)
"Ears, eyes, lungs, and heart — here the banana leaves unfurl at Basho's hut" (Buson)
"When I too am dead, let me rest beside this stone — withered pampas grass" (Buson)
"Departing spring — in Kyoto, the graveyards catch the eye of passersby" (Kyoshi) — this poem was also composed at this temple.