Deep Kyoto

good places - good people

Pine felling on Mount Ogura

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Once again last Saturday I joined P.T.O. (People Together for Mt. Ogura) for another day of pine cutting on the summit of Mount Ogura. Above you can see a misty view of the Hozu river gorge.  To the right of the view in the foreground is a pine tree that is completely brown. It has unfortunately succumbed to the pine disease that is killing so many trees not only on Mount Ogura but throughout Japan. This is why we are cutting down the pine trees that have died – to stop the disease from spreading. Below is another view of the Hozu river. In a week or two when the maples have turned, this view will be spectacular. Many people will be taking the Torokko train through the valley and the Hozu-kudari boat trip back to Arashiyama to enjoy the wonderful autumn scene… little knowing a large part of the oaks and pines in the Saga/Arashiyama are threatened by separate diseases… [Read more…]

Music in a Bamboo Grove

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Earlier today, I joined the conservation group P.T.O.‘s activities in Arashiyama. We spent the morning preparing bamboo switches that will be used to repair the fences along the bamboo groves this autumn. These fences are important because they keep the wild boar out and prevent them from eating up all the new bamboo shoots in the spring. After we had finished our work we were treated to an unusual performance by one of our members. Here in the bamboo forest Aki Nagane played for us the mukkuri, a traditional Ainu mouth harp made itself from bamboo. Just watch this. It’s a special moment in a special place.

Stephen Gill‘s impromptu haiku at the end of the video was later revised as follows,

むっくりや草木の言葉聞こえけり
mukkuriya/kusakinokotoba/kikoekeri

Here’s a simple translation:

Through you, oh mukkuri
I hear the language
of the grasses and trees.

Nagane-san added that as she played she was imagining both the growth of the bamboo and the water being sucked up along it’s height from the ground and right up to the top.

Related:
Clearing up the Mountain
People Together for Mt. Ogura – The Poets’ Mountain
One Hundred Poets on Mount Ogura, One Poem Each