Coming and going - Kyorai

A haiku poet from the mid-Edo period. Mukai. Commonly known as Heijiro, his pen name was Motofuchi, and his hermitage name was Rakushisha. He was born in Nagasaki, Hizen Province, as the second son of the Confucian physician Motomasu (he had nine siblings, including his older brother Motoha and younger sister Chiyo). At the age of eight, he moved to Tokyo when his father emigrated. He was adopted by his maternal uncle, the Kume family in Fukuoka, for a time, and studied martial arts, mastering their secrets. However, at the age of 24 or 25, he gave up bows and arrows and returned to Tokyo, where he served the Dojo family, studying Onmyodo.

From 1684 (the first year of the Jōkyō era) onwards, he studied under Basho and devoted himself to haiku poetry. The following year he retired to the Rakushisha in Saga, and was entrusted with compiling "Sarumi no", a representative anthology of the Basho school of poetry. Basho trusted him so much that he was called the haiku magistrate of the Kansai region. After Basho's death, he tried to faithfully convey his teacher's style to his fellow disciples such as Roka, Fukoku, and Ushichi, and wrote books on haiku such as "Kyoraibumi" and "Tabineron." He also had many debates (haikai debates) with Kyoriku to warn his fellow disciples from going down the wrong path, and "Kyoraisho," highly regarded as the best haiku book in the Basho school, was the culmination of all of these works. His honest and moderate personality was supported by a strong sense of pride, and his style of writing was elegant and quiet, realizing the essence of the Basho school, but in his later years it gradually became more simple. He passed away on September 10, 1271, at his home in Shogoin, Okazaki, Kyo. His grave was located at Shinnyodo Temple in Rakuhoku, along with his followers, but it has now been lost and a small monument commemorating his death has been erected in Saga, Rakusai.

[Minoru Horikiri]

The autumn wind blows and the strings are loosened on the white bow.

"Mukai Kyorai" edited by Shoichiro Sugiura et al. (1954, Kyorai Commemoration Society)" ▽ "The Complete Works of Kyorai Sensei" edited by Hatsuo Ouchi et al. (1982, Rakushisha Preservation Society)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸中期の俳人。向井氏。通称平次郎、字(あざな)は元淵、庵号(あんごう)落柿舎(らくししゃ)。儒医元升の次男（兄元端、妹千代など9人兄妹）として肥前国長崎に生まれ、8歳のとき、父の移住に伴い上京。一時、福岡の母方の叔父久米(くめ)家の養子となって武芸の道を学び、その奥儀を極めたが、24、25歳のころ弓矢を捨てて帰京し、陰陽道(おんみょうどう)の学をもって堂上家に仕えた。

　1684年（貞享1）以降、芭蕉(ばしょう)に師事して俳諧(はいかい)に専念し、翌年には嵯峨(さが)落柿舎に隠棲(いんせい)、蕉門の代表的撰集(せんしゅう)となった『猿蓑(さるみの)』編纂(へんさん)の任を与えられるなど、芭蕉の信頼厚く、関西の俳諧奉行(ぶぎょう)と称されるほどであった。芭蕉没後は、浪化(ろうか)、風国、卯七(うしち)ら門友間に忠実な師風を伝えることに努め、『去来文(きょらいぶみ)』『旅寝論(たびねろん)』などの俳論書を著し、また同門高弟連の邪道に走るを戒めるべく許六(きょりく)と論争（俳諧問答）を重ねたりしたが、蕉風随一の俳論書として評価の高い『去来抄』は、いわばそれらの総決算であった。篤実穏健な人柄は、反面強い自負心に支えられ、作風は、蕉風の真髄を悟って高雅清寂であるが、晩年はしだいに平明に向かっている。宝永(ほうえい)元年9月10日、京岡崎聖護院(しょうごいん)の家に没した。墓は洛北(らくほく)真如堂(しんにょどう)に一門の人々とともにあったがいまは失われ、洛西嵯峨に招魂の小碑が建っている。

［堀切　實］

　秋風やしらきの弓に弦(つる)はらん

『杉浦正一郎他編『向井去来』（1954・去来顕彰会）』▽『大内初夫他編『去来先生全集』（1982・落柿舎保存会）』

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