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| | Basho Haiku Stones on Oku no Hosomichi: The Killing Stone |
 | | Basho writes in his preface that the gods of Iwashimizu Hachimangu, a famous shrine just south of Kyoto, are also enshrined here in Yumoto, so that if he prays here, he prays at the same time to the gods of both shrines. |
 | | Moreover, Iwashimizu, the name of the shrine in Kyoto, also means "spring water from the rocks," giving Basho the opportunity to compare the hot spring water of Yumoto with the cold spring water of Iwashimizu. |
 | | And behind the shrine is a path, leading into a rocky valley where the Killing Stone is. Basho describes this as emitting poisonous vapors: "Dead bees, butterflies and other insects lie in heaps near it, hiding the color of the sand." Apparently, there is a vent here of the volcano through which sulphuric gasses escape. |
| www.xs4all.nl /~daikoku/haiku/meguri/kuhi-18.htm (1386 words) |
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