I grieve and think of the moon and things My tears are falling from my awkward face.
(Grieve, and let the moon make you think, not so much of my tears that flow for love, but because of the moon.)

The 86th of the 100th.A poem written by Saigyo HoshiIt is. Saigyo was a poet of natural talent. He came from a prestigious family and was a samurai (the emperor's personal guard) on the northern side of Emperor Toba, but renounced the secular world at a young age and became a monk. He then traveled around the country and left behind many poems wherever he went. Among them are many love poems, but one theory is,A broken heart led me to renounce the mundane world.It is also said that.

This Saigyo established a hermitage,Sagano, west of Kyoto.Saigyo must have often walked in the Arashiyama area.The following episode can be found on the "Ryumon Bridge" that spans the road leading east in front of the Tenryuji Temple gate.

As Saigyo passed by this bridge, a child appeared from the other side and tried to recite a poem. Saigyo did not treat him like a child and immediately replied with a poem. However, the child responded with more poems. Saigyo was impressed and replied, "Oh, really? However, the child immediately replied again. They recited poems to each other like a question and answer session,At last, the poet lost his patience and became stuck in his poem and could not return it. The bridge became known as "Utazume Bridge" after Saigyo, the great poet, was defeated by the poet's return poem.That's what it means.

I visited the current Longmen Bridge. It is a small bridge, blending into the cityscape, and not many people stop to visit. However, a sign at the foot of the bridge says that Saigyo composed a poem at a liquor store located at the foot of the bridge and was stuck in replying to the poem.

Ryumon Bridge associated with Saigyo Houshi

I introduced it earlier.The episode that led to this piece tag, which is different from the story of the childhas also been handed down to the present.

As Saigyo was passing a bridge, he smelled faintly of plum blossoms and sake. He bumped into a woman coming out of a liquor store. There,

The plum blossoms, which come to smell in the jar, are a sign of spring.
(The plum blossoms coming from the pot garden should be the first sign of spring, and with the scent of the plum blossoms, I would like to have a cup of sake with a good aroma from the sake pot.)

When Saigyo recited the poem to the woman, she immediately replied,

The flowers that bloom in the jar are still in bloom, and the haze lingers, a sign of spring.
(The plum blossoms in the pot garden are past their prime, only the remnants of spring remain, and the sake in the sake pot is gone like a haze, only the smell remains.)

The poet replied, "I am a poetess. Houshi was so stumped by the return poem that "Ryumon Bridge" became "Utazume Bridge (Utazume Bridge)" from then on. Did Saigyo miss his drink?

Plum blossoms in the poem were past their prime, but the red plum blossoms were just at their best.

Now, Saigyo has another famous poem.

I wish to die in spring, under the flowers, around the time of the first moon of that Kisaragi month.
(If I could only wish, I would die under the cherry blossoms in full bloom around the time of the full moon in February.)

The time of the full moon in February of the lunar calendar is exactly mid-March in modern times. Actual,As Saigyo himself wished, he died on the 16th, the day after February 15 (mid-March) of the lunar calendar, under the flowers in full bloom, surprising the people of the time.It is conveyed as.

Saigyo Well" still remains on the north side of Ochikakisha.
It is said to have been used by Saigyo Hoshi when he established his hermitage in this area.

Long and quiet Sagano seen from in front of Saigyo Well