Ryokan

 

Beneath the rising mist

On this long spring day,

I planned to beg for rice

But upon entering the village

I see the village children

Now that it's spring

They gather together

At the temple gates

Playing with hand balls

Without a care to beg for rice

I join in their midst

Among them I count

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven

You sing, I clap

I sing, you clap

Clapping and singing

In the rising mist

We pass the long spring day

                                                                   handball ( temari) playing

During the Edo period, the Tokugawa regime employed Confucianism as a ruling ideology, building it upon the traditional communities. The government, under the shogunate, controlled Buddhist temples through the Danka system. In that era, there existed a world of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, all originating from continental and lowland Asia, untouched by Western thought and predating modernity.

Ryokan was born in 1758 in Izumozaki, Echigo. He was the eldest son of a wealthy local leader and a shipping merchant, Yamamoto Shinzaemon. As a child, his name was Yamamoto Eizo, and he enjoyed a privileged upbringing. Izumozaki was a thriving port for Kitamae-bune ships that traveled around the Sea of Japan, transporting goods from the Seto Inland Sea to the northern regions. It also served as an important port for the Sado gold mine. At the age of 7, Ryokan began attending a Chinese academy where he studied Confucian classics such as the Analects and the Four Books and Five Classics, developing a fondness for Wen Xuan and Tang poetry.

At the age of 22 in 1780, he renounced his inheritance in favor of his younger brother, Yuzi, and entered monastic life at Entsu-ji, a Soto Zen training temple in Bitchu. During the Edo period, Zen Buddhism had three main schools: the Rinzai, Soto, and the newly introduced Obaku sect, which originated from the teachings of Yin Yuan, a Chinese monk. Entsu-ji, though a Soto Zen temple founded by Dogen, was influenced by the Obaku teachings. In this temple, practitioners would practice Zazen meditation, and also chant the name of Amida Buddha while striking a wooden fish and ringing a bell, embodying a mix of self-power and other-power doctrines.

Ryokan grew up during the prosperous Tanuma era and led a comfortable life. By the time he entered Entsu-ji, Japan was hit by the Tenmei famine, and later, the Kansei Reforms forced people to live frugally. In Echigo, there were movements to establish the Pure Land sect as the state religion. Amidst this, Ryokan returned to his hometown, continued to practice Dogen's Zen Buddhism, and eventually became a hermit and recluse. In 1796 , he settled in an old hermitage called Gogoan on Mt. Kugami in his native Echigo.

As a boy, he abandoned his father and ran to a foreign land.

Through hardships, he painted tigers, 

but couldn't even become a cat.

If someone were to ask the meaning behind this,

It is simply the life of Eizo, as he always was.

This residence was an old hermitage built for the high priest of the Shingon sect's Kokuzo-ji Temple. Nestled in a cedar forest, the small thatched hut was cool in summer and buried in snow in winter. Ryokan borrowed this dwelling and lived alone, descending into the village for alms. Many children joined him on his alms rounds, playing together. As a monk who wasn't a temple priest, he performed alms begging for over 20 years in this area. 

His poetry and calligraphy caught the attention of scholars and Confucians in Edo and other places, and many cultural figures came to visit his hermitage.

In his lifetime, he was lazy about making a living,

Leaving it all to heaven's will.

Three measures of rice in his bag,

A bundle of firewood by the hearth.

Who would ask about the traces of enlightenment or delusion?

Why would he care for the dust of fame or gain?

Behind the grass hut in the night rain,

He stretches out his legs at ease.

In 1810 , Ryokan's family home, Tachibana-ya, went bankrupt.

A life of incompetence, with nothing accomplished,

I entrust myself to the mountains of Kokujyousann.

If in future, one asks about my friendships,

All my companions are the monks of the mountain fields.

In 1812 , he compiled a collection of poems, "Sodoshukanka," and a collection of songs, “Furusato."

In this shrine grove, under the trees,

I played with the children, in these,

it seems the  long last days of spring .

In 1816 , at the age of 59, he moved to a grass hut near Otogo Shrine at the foot of Mt. Kokujyousan. This was closer to the village, and children often came to play. In the shrine's buildings, he composed waka and Chinese poetry and practiced calligraphy. Hearing of his reputation, the Lord of Nagaoka, Makino Tadakiyo, personally visited him at Otogo Grass Hut and offered him a position in Nagaoka. However, Ryokan responded with the verse "The wind brings so many falling leaves," indicating his wish to continue living alone in his grass hut.

At the age of 69, he moved to the Kimura residence in Shimazaki, where he met Teishin. Teishin compiled the collection of poems "Hachisu no Tsuyu," which documented the meeting, companionship, and final moments between Ryokan and herself, containing 60 collaborative poems.

"To see you thus, brings such joy to my heart,

Yet, I wonder if it's still an unending dream that's yet to depart." - 

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Teishin Nun

"In this dreamlike world, I wake and then dream anew,

Discussing dreams within dreams, as they all come into view." - 

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Ryokan

Gradually, this residence became a place where Ryokan received care for his ailing body and spent his last years.

The novelty of Ryokan's poetry lies in the expression of his sorrow or joy that goes beyond the mere beauty of nature often portrayed in traditional Japanese poems. His poems, rooted in Zen enlightenment and Daoist philosophy, carry a resonance that is distinct from many other conventional works.

"Mist rises on this long spring day,

With the children, I play handball,

 passing the time away."                                                     - Spring

"The wind is pure, the moon is bright,

Together let's dance through the night,

 in the twilight of our lives."                                              - Summer

"Autumn approaches, a subtle sadness in the air,

Listening to the rain falling on the bamboo grass, 

a solitary affair.”                                                                - Autumn

"In the midst of faint snow, 

the Three Thousand  Great Thousand Worlds are standing,

And within it, flakes of foam-like snow is falling”                 

                                                                                           - Winter

From a young age, he studied Classical Chinese, internalized the principles of the Four Books and Five Classics, and later awakened to Zen. Thereafter, the poetry that emerged from his long life of mendicancy was neither Confucian nor Zen teaching, but transcended both. It became a melody born from life within the natural cycles of Japan's spring, summer, autumn, and winter, resonating with the unpretentious and sincere songs of Tachibana Shoran. In his final years, as he was cared for by Teishin on his sickbed, his depiction of realism approached something akin to modern poetry that transcends time.

"The blackness of night endures, as I lie in pain.

I continually get up to use the toilet, a recurring refrain.

By day, I hurry to the privy, unable to stay,

When will these nights end, when will dawn light my way?

If this night should break and dawn should rise,

Come, all, and wash away the urine, for once again I cannot arise.

This long night." -                              

                                                                  "Sleepless Night”

"Showing the back, 

revealing the front,

The scattered maple leaf.

He  mark the end of a life, with this poem, leaves this world at the age of seventy-four.

Basho and Isabella Bird

The months and days the travelers of  eternity.

The years that come and go are also voyagers.

 In 1878 (Meiji 11), Isabella Bird, then 46 years old, arrived at the port of Yokohama, Japan, on May 20th, after completing her journey in Hawaii. She stayed in various towns in the Kanto region, including Asakusa in Tokyo. Following the embankment road and taking in the continuous villages of the Kanto Plain, she headed towards Nikko on June 10th and arrived there on June 13th, before eventually staying in Niigata.

"We set out early this morning in a light drizzle and climbed straight up a hill under a row of cedar trees that stretched for eight miles. The vegetation was lush, suggesting the hot and humid summer climate and the abundant rainfall of the mountainous region."

The Toshogu Shrine in Nikko is a mausoleum of Japanese architecture and gardens. Due to the anti-Buddhist policies of the Meiji period, the grand ceremonies and Buddhist fixtures had been removed. Although it had changed since the Tokugawa period, Bird marveled at the dragon head and peony lattice carvings of the Yomeimon gate, and the arabesque patterns, noting "Wealth and art have created a paradise with gold and color." She also saw the pagoda containing Ieyasu's remains, a bronze crane, and a vase of lotus flowers and wrote, "Outside, the grandeur of nature envelops the tomb of the great general in exquisite sorrow," capturing Japan as it was in the Edo period through the eyes of a foreigner

　

In the spring of 1689 (Genroku 2), on May 16th (old calendar March 27th), Matsuo Basho left Edo Fukagawa and headed towards Nikko. It was the beginning of his journey for "The Narrow Road to the Deep North," and he arrived in Nikko on May 19th. For the people of the Edo period, Nikko was a place where Kobo Daishi (Kukai) renamed the land from Futara Mountain to Nikko, a place abundant in benevolent water and wild lands, and a haven of tranquility for all classes. There was so much to admire that he could not put down his brush.

　　The passing of spring –

　　Birds cry laments

　　and the eyes of  fish fill with tears

　　

　　On sacred Mount Nikko

        New  leaves,  green leave

      Radiant in the light of the sun

　　For a while, I shall remain

　　Secluded by the waterfall

　　At the start of summer

During the rainy season, Basho crossed the Shirakawa barrier, passed through Fukushima, headed towards Sendai, and went further north from Matsushima to Hiraizumi.

　　Summer grasses –

　　All that remains,

　　Of warriors' dreams

　　All these years and rainy seasons,

        Was  it only you that was spared

　　Sacred hall of Gold.

　　Deep silence –

　　Permeating rokks,

        The shrill of cicadas

　　

While crossing the Mogami River on his way to Niigata, Basho waited for a boat in Oishida during the rainy season around the old calendar May 29th. The Mogami River, with its source in Yonezawa and upstream in Yamagata, was known as a difficult passage during the Edo period.

　　May's rains gathered fast,

　　Swiftly flows ,

　　The Mogami  river

　　　　

Basho climbed Mount Haguro, one of the Three Mountains of Dewa, which also includes Mount Gassan and Mount Yudono. The shrine on Haguro, part of the Tendai sect, is known as a training center for monks and is revered and feared as a sacred site.

　　In the coolness –

　　a faint crescent moon   hovers 

        over  Black Feather  Mountain

　　Peaks of cloud –

　　How many have crumbled,

        To the moon mountain

Afterward, Isabella Bird stayed in Niigata for over a week at the beginning of July to observe Christian missionary activities. It was the rainy season without a clear day, but she saw Niigata, a port town on the Japan Sea side with a population of 50,000 at the mouth of the Shinano River. Government offices and schools had been established, and an English school had 150 students. At the time, Niigata Prefecture had a population of 1.5 million, making it the most populous prefecture. It was a major production area for rice and other crops, canals were used for transportation, and she saw a newly developed and clean city area.

Matsuo Basho passed through Fukushima and Sendai and arrived in Niigata from Sakata in the old calendar July. He didn't show much interest in the city of Niigata, and his thoughts turned to the next leg of his journey, the 130 ri (about 520 km) to the Kaga province capital of Kanazawa, enjoying the natural scenery.

　　July moon –

　　Not the usual night,

　　Even on the sixth day

　　Above the rough seas,

　　Stretching herself out over Sado Island,

   　 The Milky Way

Isabella Bird's journey took her from Niigata to Yamagata, Yokote, Akita, and Aomori, before crossing to Hakodate in Hokkaido. That year was marked by an unusually long rainy season, and in the town of Hirakawa in Aomori Prefecture, she encountered flooding caused by more than a week of heavy rain that had swollen the local river. 

As she described, "Each wave, frothing with a yellow-brown foam, reared its crest, much like the mane of a chestnut horse." Logs and trees were swept away, and bridge abutments were eroded. Of the 19 bridges in the area, only two remained, and almost all the roads had been washed away. Afterward, she finally reached Kuroishi by alternately riding horses and human-powered carts. It was a beautiful town 22 and a half miles from Aomori. During her journey, Bird wore American mountain attire and Wellington boots, riding packhorses. In heavy rain, she used a mino (straw raincoat) and umbrella to avoid getting soaked.

Basho's "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" is a symbol of Japanese culture, a classic of haiku poetry, and one of the best-known literary works of the Edo period. Two hundred years later, British-born Isabella Bird arrived in Japan after her travels in Canada, America, Oceania, and Hawaii. She journeyed through parts of Japan unvisited by foreigners and published "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan." 

Unlike Basho, a haiku poet who traveled in a historical context, Bird wrote about Japan in the same season but with a different perspective and spatial view. In her work, she depicted regional children, women's customs, and traditions, as well as nature, elements that have changed little since the Edo period.

 Isabella Bird continued to travel to China, the Malay Peninsula, the Sinai Peninsula, Tibet, Persia, and Morocco. Her keen observational eye, free from preconceptions and informed by a broad cultural background, made her travelogues enduring classics read worldwide.

My body ,now  lose to fifty years of age ,has become an old tree that bears bitter peaches' a snail which ha lost its shell ,a bagworm separated from its bag; it drifts with the winds and clouds that know no destination .

平安仏教ともののあわれ

 秋きぬと目にはさやかに見えねども風のおとにぞおどろかれぬる

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　藤原　敏行　　　　古今和歌集

「花に鳴くうぐいす、水に住むかわずの声をきけば、生きとし生けるもの、いづれか歌をよまざりける。力をもいれずして、天地を動かし、めに見えぬ鬼神をも、あはれと思わせ、男女のなかをも和らげ、猛きもののふの心をも、なぐさむるは歌なり」　

　古今和歌集は、紀　貫之らによって日本最初の勅撰和歌集として編纂された。　その紀貫之は「男もすなる日記というものを、女もしてみむとしてするなり。それの年の師走の二十日あまり一日の、戌のときに門出す。」で始まる「土佐日記」を書いた。今まで男が漢文で書いた記録書である日記を、女性が書いたことにした、日記文学である。　ある人が土佐から任期を終え、今日に帰ってくるという虚構の日記で、多くの言葉遊びと、多くの和歌が含まれている。その４０年後には「蜻蛉日記」が道綱の母によって書かれた。

　平安時代の文学は和歌や日記、歌物語、作り物語、私家集など多くの神話にも似た物語世界がしだいに貴族から多くの人々、庶民の間に広がっていった。その物語の底流には仏教の世界観が色濃く反映し、江戸文学に見られるような儒教の影響はなかった。　

　竹取物語は、現在原本は確認されていない散文の物語で、現代のSFと同じ、思考による空想の物語が平安の世界で展開する。かぐや姫は平安時代の人の世の世界に現れた月の都からの使者で、最後は地球を離れ故郷の月にかえる、時代を超えた、ストーリーであった。

「うつほ物語」、継子いじめの「落窪物語」、在原業平の「伊勢物語」などの多くの小説が書かれた。それらの小説の内容は、源氏物語と同様に、仏教的無常観や因果応報といった仏教的世界観が見られる。伊勢物語の中に「散ればこそ、いとど桜は愛でたけれ、うき世になにか久しかるべき」は無常観の中の美、はかなく散りゆく桜に美を見いだしている。

　今昔物語は、漢字とかなの混じった文字で記載された物語で、天竺（インド）、震旦（中国）、本朝（日本）の仏教の物語と世俗の物語に分かれる。「今は昔」で始まり、「となむ語り伝えたるとや」で終わる。そしてその結語は面白し、微妙なり、奇異なり、と評価し結ばれる現代日本人と変わらない感情が現れている。内容は、物語の主人公の行いが、何をもたらすかといった仏教的因果の物語、極楽往生疑いなしで終わるものが多く、芥川龍之介の小説「鼻」のように僧侶の生活やお寺が舞台の物語と、平安時代の庶民の物語で、源氏物語の天皇とその間近の上流貴族の様や、それに、まつわる女房の物語とは全く違った、様々な階層の人々の貧困や、欲望や蓄財の仕方、その悪行や盗人、羅生門の世界が展開する。

　当時の人々の物の見方の根底にある仏教の世界は、地獄と極楽で、それはインドの仏教経典の「起世経」や「正法念処経」をモデルにしたものと、中国の「馬頭羅刹仏名経」の経典から描いた地獄絵が生まれ、仏教の経典とともに日本にもたらされた。日本では、平安初期の「日本霊異記」の因果応報物語の中に、悪しき行いをしたものが地獄に落ちて行く話が描かれている。枕草子の中に、年末の仏名会の地獄絵を女房たちが、気味わるがって眺めている時、清少納言はそれを観るのを怖がり、部屋に閉じこもった、と書かれている。

　地獄の思想は初に貴族たちが、仏教の経典からイメージをつかみ、言葉、絵や彫刻によってそれを表現し、一般の人々に広がっていった。　平安時代の人々にとって地獄とは、六道のうちの地獄、餓鬼、畜生の死後の世界をモチーフにした絵に描かれた世界であった。　仏教の六道輪廻の思想とは、死後に六道すなわち、地獄道、餓鬼道、畜生道、阿修羅道、人間道、天道、がありその世界を人間は転生して行く。悪行を重ねると地獄に行き、善行をすれば天道の幸福な世界、極楽に死後行ける。そして極楽の世界をこの世に生み出すため、仏堂を建て、その中に仏像をおさめ極楽浄土の空間をつくった。

　源氏物語には、前の世のむくいといった、輪廻による因果応報の世界観が書かれている。また、葵の上に乗り移った生霊をよりまし（憑坐）役の体に写す、霊魂移動の場面もある。　当時、ものの霊が登場し、鬼が現れ、狐が人をばかすと信じられ、ものの霊や怪異に対してに対抗する陰陽師や法師も現れる。

　朝廷でも、天災地変や物怪や雨乞いに、仏典読経、神社奉幣とともに五行思想にもとにした五色の龍を祀る行事が行われ、陰陽に詳しい陰陽師が祈祷を行った。これが、貴族社会に定着し、公家文化の一部になっていった。仏教と神道と、中国の陰陽五行思想が日本化した陰陽道さらには祟りを恐れる御霊信仰があった。これらを神仏の力を借り、あるいは加持祈祷により物の怪を鎮める儀式が当時の貴族社会では普通のことで、地獄極楽の仏教思想と物の怪、悪霊の思想両者が合体した仏事がとり行われていた。

　平安時代、様々な時代背景で、様々な人々によって書かれ、記録された書物が書かれ、平安文化をつくりだした。それをどのように評価するかは、時代により、思想により異なってくる。　源氏物語の内容について、伊勢物語と同様に、江戸時代儒学者は、風俗を乱す元であると、批判していた。また国学者の春満も中世以来、風俗が乱れたのは、和歌の恋歌のためであると考え、それらは、退廃にも近い平安時代の皇室や公家社会の奢侈な生活の反映と解釈していた。林羅山は古今和歌集の序文を高く評価したもののその他の草子などはほとんど評価しなかった。

　 それに対して本居宣長は、源氏物語について「歌のいでくる本は物のあわれ也。その物のあわれをしるには、この物語を見るにまさる事なし。この物語は、紫式部がしる所の物のあわれよりいできて、今見るひとの物のあわれは、この物語よりいでくる也。されば、この物語は物のあわれをかきあつめて、よむ人にもののあわれをしらしむるより外の義なく、よむ人ももののあわれをしるより外の意なかるべし。是歌道の本意也。」

　すべて外部の物事にふれて感動するのがもののあわれであるとし、「うれしきにも、おもしろきにも、たのしきにも、おかしきにも、すべてあわれとおもわるるは、みなあわれ也」また、儒教や仏教の善悪の基準は、書の評価とは別物で、人の自然な感情の流れを描いた物語をよむことで、世間のことがよくわかる。と考えた。

　平安時代、貴族社会から仏教は取り入れられ、神社を排除することなく日本中に広まり、国、家、個人だれもが極楽浄土を希求し、病気や争い、悪霊、自然の猛威に対して、神に頼み、仏に祈り、加持祈祷が行なわれていた。

これらの宗教的世界で創られた平安文学に見られる人の心の表現、源氏物語の「もののあわれ」、清少納言の枕草子の「いとおかし」、あるいは今昔物語の「おもしろし」、「微妙なり」といった感性は今もあまり変わらない。

　　　見渡せば花も紅葉もなかりけり浦の苫屋の秋の夕暮れ　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　新古今和歌集　　　藤原定家

"Tales of Rain and Moonlight”, Ugetsu Monogatari

 

To understand the literary world of the Edo period, one must overcome significant historical gaps in how people perceived the world, along with the language barrier. There are two major layers of transformation: the worldview of post-war democracy, with the establishment of democracy and human rights after Japan's defeat in World War II, and the rejection of the feudal family system and emperor-centered nationalism. 

The second layer involves the Meiji Restoration, which rejected Confucianism and altered the treatment of Buddhism, revealing the spiritual world of the Edo period beneath. This world was inhabited by the Buddhist concept of reincarnation and the Confucian values of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety, coexisting with a world of supernatural creatures.

Overcoming the barriers of language and cultural gaps reveals a fresh literary world, whose works would later influence many writers.

Rohan compiled the Water Margin, thereby bringing forth the mute child of three generations,

Shikibu wrote the original words, but those who once fell into evil ways,

Indeed, it's merely a place pressed to perform their duties.

 "Tales of Rain and Moonlight", which reflects the mood and themes of the stories – they are often melancholy, dealing with the mysterious and the ethereal, much like the feeling one might get on a rainy, moonlit night."The Ugetsu Monogatari, commencing with the introduction, 'In March of the fifth year of Meiwa, when the rain has cleared, under the hazy moonlight of the late spring night, this book was compiled by the window and bestowed upon Azusa. It is titled 'Tales of Moonlight and Rain,' was published in 1776 (the fifth year of An'ei) when Ueda Akinari was 43 years old.

Ugetsu Monogatari is a collection of bizarre short stories that include 'Shiramine,' 'The Chrysanthemum Vow,' 'The Reed-Choked House,' 'The Carp of My Dreams,' 'The Buddha, the Law, and the Priest,' 'The Kettle of Kibi,' 'Lust of the White Serpent,' 'The Blue Hood,' and 'A Discourse on Poverty and Wealth.' These are narratives that project the intricate emotions and thoughts harbored within individuals onto their extraordinary content.

'"Shiramine", the first tale in Ueda Akinari's "Ugetsu Monogatari", tells the story of Saigyō, a monk who encounters the vengeful spirit of dethroned Emperor Sutoku while traveling. The spirit, filled with resentment over his past, asks Saigyō for a consoling poem. Despite Saigyō's poignant verse about the transient nature of life, the spirit remains unconsoled, underscoring the power of lingering resentment and the potential of art to express deep emotions.

The Chrysanthemum Vow' tells of a young man named Samon, who lives with his mother, nursing a passing samurai one day and forming a brotherly bond with him. The recovered samurai turns out to be a military scholar from Izumo, named Soemon, who promises to return on September 9th and goes back to his hometown, where he becomes imprisoned and unable to fulfill his vow. The story follows him taking his life to keep his promise, even if it means becoming a ghost, later seen as an Edo-era version of the fidelity of Melos' friend.

In 'The Reed-Choked House,' the spirit of Miyagi, who had kept faith with her husband's promise and kept waiting, was already dead, and the apparition living in their now ruined home was just a phantom of Miyagi.

Soemon's spirit traveling on the wind, the spectral form of Miyagi who dies of desperation while waiting seven years for her husband Katsushiro in 'The Reed-Choked House,' and the vengeful spirit of the Cloistered Emperor Sutoku; all these stories depict intangible spirits realizing the emotions of the deceased, after bodies filled with hope, despair, resentment, or desire have disappeared

"This Ugetsu Monogatari is a collection of short stories that had a significant influence on later Japanese novelists, and it became a representative work of the Edo period's Yomihon.

Ueda Akinari was born in 1734 (the 19th year of the Kyoho era), and at the age of four, he was adopted by the Ueda family, a paper and oil merchant in Dojima, Osaka. He studied at a private school called Kaitokudo and, at the age of 33, authored 'Shodou Akiramimi Seken Saru(shodo hearing ear world monkey)’ 

"Although he studied national studies, at the age of 38, he lost his home in a fire. Seizing this as an opportunity, he studied medicine from Confucian doctors and started practicing medicine in Osaka at the age of 42. Then, at the age of 43, he released the Ugetsu Monogatari to the world.

The background to the birth of this new novel, a story independent from the medieval Buddhist or early modern Confucian morals of rewarding good and punishing evil, was the cultural changes of the Edo period.

The Obaku Sect, a branch of Zen Buddhism, persecuted under the Qing dynasty at the end of the Ming dynasty, migrated to Japan in the 17th century. Particularly during the era of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa generously treated them, built temples all over the place, and made them Zen temples. During this time, Ogio Sorai, the policy brain of the time, welcomed Kaneyama Okajima, learned Chinese, and established classical literature studies. This separated literature and art from politics, and furthermore, Kaneyama Okajima translated a large amount of Chinese vernacular literature, bringing Chinese vernacular literature to Japan. The Obaku sect of Zen Buddhism was indeed the culture of the Ming Dynasty itself and had a significant impact on Buddhism in the Edo period."

This sencha was a symbol of Ming culture. In Baisao's sencha salon, literati from Kyoto gathered to create a 'China School', a place to study Chinese painting, literature, and the lifestyle of figures like Tao Yuanming. Yosa Buson, Ike no Taiga, and Ueda Akinari were influenced by this Chinese culture and created the literature of Kyoto and the upper regions during the Edo period. Later, the center of culture moved to Edo, marking the final period when Kyoto culture still retained its brilliance.

"When Akinari was 53 years old, as a scholar of Kokugaku (national studies), he criticized Motoori Norinaga, a nativist scholar and advocate of restorationism. Norinaga had claimed that Japan, the birthplace of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, was a country illuminating all nations, and that there was no superior country in the world. In response, Akinari contested this by saying, 'If you look at a world map, no one would agree that Japan is at the center of the world,' which sparked a dispute.”

"Even if you're hailed as the Hyobee of Kojiki studies, it doesn't mean you have the last word."

In response to Norinaga's poem:

"When asked of the soul of Yamato in Shikishima, it shines like cherry blossoms under the morning sun."

Akinari humorously retorted:

"What's all this 'Yamato spirit' fuss in Shikishima? Yet again, more prattle about cherry blossoms."

Kokugaku, or National Studies, originated from Keichu, who innovated the interpretation of waka (classical Japanese poetry), rejecting the medieval oral traditions and advocating for waka as an expression of the heart. Simultaneously, Norinaga Motoori argued for the concept of Yamato-damashii, or the Japanese spirit, unaffected by Buddhism or Chinese thought, and sought to elucidate the pre-existing Japanese way. It was Kamo no Mabuchi who first merged these two paths of waka studies and ancient ways.

Ueda Akinari, a student of Kamo no Mabuchi, leaned heavily towards an artistic and literati-style activity, and as such, found himself in opposition to the nationalist, Japan-centric Norinaga Motoori.

At the age of 55, Aki Naru left the medical profession and moved to Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, while writing essays like "Sanmuiki" and travelogues on waka poetry, and a collection of poetic essays called "Tsurabumi" (Wisteria Notebook). Around the age of 60, Nambo Ota worked as a government official in Osaka and met with Ueda Aki Naru, depicting their harmonious relationship in “Tandaishousinnroku" (Records of Gallantry and Cowardice).

In his later years, Aki Naru left behind a collection of short stories titled "Shun'u Monogatari" (Spring Rain Stories). 

Within these tales, he wove allegorical stories that personified human emotions, such as "Blood Armor," "The Bonds of Succession," "The God with a Single Eye," and "The Blossoming Face of Death.

" His view of humanity was that there are no purely evil or virtuous individuals; all people are capable of mistakes and changeable. The final story shares a theme with “The Blue Hood," where a ruffian undergoes a transformation of heart and becomes a Buddhist monk, illustrating the idea that releasing one's heart leads to becoming a demon, and restraining it brings enlightenment.