OH MATSUSHIMA
March 13th 2011 06:15
On Matsushima and the RECENT quake
A Memorial Blog
One aspect of the damage to the Sendai area that hasnt received coverage YET is the damage to the Matsushima township and bay.
(there's certainly been very too much whiney I had my (skiing) holiday ruined and gosh look the nuclear power plant may melt down type coverage)
Many poets artists and photographers have described its beauty.
Basho in his OKU NO HOSOMICHI Haibun ( a sub genre of Japanese literature combining poetry and prose) wrote:
oh the islands a 1000 broken pieces the summer sea
The particularities of the local geology caused a coastal plateau or tilted section of coastal plain to erode into a near circular bay with 200 plus islands carved by erosion into sculptural shapes and all topped with pines and very beautiful! I visited it many years ago!
A 10 meter wave would have damaged many of the smaller lower islands and wiped out the town. When I caught the train to Matsushima the only barrier that could have slowed the wave was a railway embankment half that height and raised roadways cutting across a flat plain covered with market gardens and paddies and scattered housing.
And now to quote the end of a haiku by JooSoo
NANI MO NASHI
Chiyo once wrote a haiku about another coast at low tide
Hiroumono mina ugoku shiohi gata
Found things moving existing Ebb tide shapes
Let us hope many "found things" such as the upper storeys of buildings boats roofs and other wreckage swept inland turn out to have survivors clinging to them !
Basho was said to have also described Matsushima this way being overwhelmed by his first viewing :
matsushima ya aa matsushima ya matsushima ya!
I have chosen to post this to the misc category cos neither poetry or general news seemed quite the right place!
A Memorial Blog
One aspect of the damage to the Sendai area that hasnt received coverage YET is the damage to the Matsushima township and bay.
(there's certainly been very too much whiney I had my (skiing) holiday ruined and gosh look the nuclear power plant may melt down type coverage)
Many poets artists and photographers have described its beauty.
Basho in his OKU NO HOSOMICHI Haibun ( a sub genre of Japanese literature combining poetry and prose) wrote:
Shimajima ya
Chiji no kudakete
Natsu no umi
Chiji no kudakete
Natsu no umi
oh the islands a 1000 broken pieces the summer sea
The particularities of the local geology caused a coastal plateau or tilted section of coastal plain to erode into a near circular bay with 200 plus islands carved by erosion into sculptural shapes and all topped with pines and very beautiful! I visited it many years ago!
A 10 meter wave would have damaged many of the smaller lower islands and wiped out the town. When I caught the train to Matsushima the only barrier that could have slowed the wave was a railway embankment half that height and raised roadways cutting across a flat plain covered with market gardens and paddies and scattered housing.
And now to quote the end of a haiku by JooSoo
NANI MO NASHI
Chiyo once wrote a haiku about another coast at low tide
Hiroumono mina ugoku shiohi gata
Found things moving existing Ebb tide shapes
Let us hope many "found things" such as the upper storeys of buildings boats roofs and other wreckage swept inland turn out to have survivors clinging to them !
Basho was said to have also described Matsushima this way being overwhelmed by his first viewing :
matsushima ya aa matsushima ya matsushima ya!
I have chosen to post this to the misc category cos neither poetry or general news seemed quite the right place!
| 20 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
