Taneda Santoka

Taneda Santoka was born on December 3, 1882 in a village in the northeast of Honshu , one of the main islands of Japan, in a wealthy landowner family. When he was ten years old, his mother committed suicide by throwing herself in a family well. Although the exact cause of this dramatic act is unknown, according to Santoki's diaries, his mother could no longer endure the corruption and infidelity of his father. After her death, his grandmother was engaged in the education of Taneda.

In 1902, Seichi entered the Waseda University in Tokyo at the Faculty of Literature. At this time, he began to drink so much that in 1904, at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, he left the University. The official reason was a “nervous breakdown,” but it was apparently a euphemism for frequent and unbridled drunkenness. In addition, at this time Seichi's father fell into such a difficult financial situation that he could hardly pay for his son’s education.

In 1906, despite Seichi's penchant for drinking and his father’s vices, they sold family land to open a sake business. In 1909, Takejiro arranged Seichi's wedding with Sakino Sato, a girl from a neighboring village. In his diaries, Santoka admits that the appearance of his mother’s body, extracted from the water, forever changed his attitude towards women. Their marriage was very lackluster. Despite this, in 1910, Sakino gave birth to a son, Ken.

In 1911, Seichi began publishing translations of Turgenev and de Maupassant in the literary journal Seinen (Youth) under the pseudonym Santoca, which meant “Fire on top of a mountain”. In the same year, he joined the local haiku group of poets. At this time, his haiku was mostly observed in a traditionally syllabic form, although there were some hypersilabic ones, for example:

“Cafe is not a decadent in ronju natsu but toberi”

In the cafe we ​​talk about decadence
Summer butterfly flutters

In 1913, Santoka joined the Ogivari Seisensuya Literary Club. Ogivara Seisensui (1884-1976) is considered the founder of the free haiku movement, although his contemporaries, poets Masaoka Shiki and Kawahigashi Hekigoto , also deserve recognition. Poets of the early twentieth century, which were part of the free haiku movement, also known as the free style haiku, composed their works without the traditional syllabic structure of the warehouses “(5-7-5)” and also without the necessary seasonal word “( kigo )”. Santoka began to frequently publish his poetry in Seisensuya's literary haiku-magazine Soun (Layered Clouds). Until 1916, he became an editor. This same year, however, was marked by the bankruptcy of his father Takejiro’s sake business after two years of fruitless work. The family lost everything that remained of their condition. Takejiro began to borrow, and Santoka moved with his family to the city of Kumamoto , to the south of Kyushu , where he planned to open a second-hand bookstore, which was soon opened, but quickly turned into a shop selling picture frames. Two years later, burdened with debt, Santoka Jiro's younger brother laid hands on himself. Then the poet’s grandmother died. In 1919, Santoka left his family to find work in Tokyo . In 1920, by the will of his wife's parents, Santok divorced her. Shortly afterwards, his father dies.

Santoka showed that he can do regular work, just like studying at the university, and although he served as a librarian in 1920, in 1922 he became unemployed due to another “nervous breakdown”. He was long enough in Tokyo to witness the Kanto Great Earthquake, after which he was obviously taken into custody as a communist. Soon after, he returned to Kumamoto, where he helped Sakino keep the bench.

In 1924, an extremely drunk Santoka got on a railway gauge in front of a train that was traveling towards him, which could (or not) be a suicide attempt. But Santoka survived, and he was taken to Hoon-ji Temple, where the abbot agreed to take care of him. Zen influenced Santoka: the following year, when he was forty-two years old, he was ordained a monk.

After his first year at Mitori Hoon-ji Temple, Santoka set off on his first of many trips. He wandered for three years. He spent part of his time on a pilgrimage to Shikoku Island. He reflected on his mother. He visited the grave of a late friend and supporter of Seisenzuy, Ozaki Hosai (1885-1926). In 1929, he briefly returned to Kumamoto to visit Sakino and publish some haiku in Sooney. He begins to publish his works, named after his hut "Sambaku." But soon he again goes on a journey.

During his travels, Santoka wore monastic clothing and a wide hat, known as “kesa,” to protect himself from the sun. He had only one bowl, which he used both for alms and for food. To survive, Santoka went from house to house, asking for alms. Begging (takahatsu) is an important part of the life of Japanese monks. But since Santoka was not a member of the monastery when he was traveling, he was forced to beg for only his own needs. He was often treated with disdain and was interrogated several times by the police. For daily charity, he could get a room in a hotel, food and sake. It can be seen from his diaries that he had very conflicting feelings about his way of life:

March 28, 1933. Even if it means to remain without food, I do not want to ask for the hated alms anymore. People who have never asked for alms will hardly understand my feelings about this.

November 26, 1934. To love sake, to taste sake, to enjoy sake is not so bad. But drowning yourself in sake, rampage under the influence of sake - is not good! Living in this way only with booze is extremely stupid!

November 4, 1939. Rain began to fall and the wind blew greatly ... He blew off my hat, and my glasses went flying - what a mess! But a high school student presents them to me - many, many thanks! Rain is pouring more and more, and the wind is blowing more and more every moment - there is nothing left but to stay for the night in Okutomo - but not one of the hotels has sheltered me. Well, so be it! - all that I say and, looking like a sinking rat, I continue on my way. Finally, I can’t walk anymore and I’m hiding in a roadside warehouse. I unscrew all my clothes and stay here for two hours. The flood! - There is no other word for this - a powerful wind whips, rain flows in free streams. I felt as if the sky had knocked me down - a wonderful feeling, I must say. By evening, I was able to get to Sisikui, but again no one sheltered me. Finally, I got to Cannour, where I found the hotel in which they gave me a room, to my joy.

In 1932, Santoka briefly settled in a hut in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He called it “Kitu-en” (“Abode“ Among all this ””). While he lived there, he published his first poetic book, “House no ko” (“A bowl for alms”). He lived on the donations of friends and supporters, on what he could grow in his garden, and on the money that his son Ken sent him. In 1934, he again went on a hiking trip, but soon became seriously ill and was forced to return home. He again attempted suicide, but survived. In 1936, he again went on a journey with the intention of walking along the path of the famous haiku poet Basho , as described in The Narrow Path to the Far North. He returned to Kitu-en eight months later.

In 1938, Kitu-en became unsuitable for life ^{[ what? ]} , and after another walking trip, Santoka remained in a small temple near the city of Matsuyama. On October 10, 1940, Santoka died in his sleep.

He has published seven poetry collections and many Sambaku editions. He was 57 years old.

• Taneda Santōka, “For All My Walking”, translated by Burton Watson , Columbia University Press, 2003 ISBN 0-231-12516-X cloth ISBN 0-231-12517-8 pbk [102 pp. 245 haiku plus diary entries]
• Taneda Santōka, "Santoka: Grass and Tree Cairn", translated by Hiroaki Sato , Red Moon Press 2002 ISBN 1-893959-28-7
• John Stevens, Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda, Weatherhill 1980 ISBN 0-8348-0151-5 [130pp. 372 haiku] emphasizes the Zen aspect of Santoka's life.
• "Scott Watson", "The Santoka: versions by Scott Watson", Bookgirl Press; 2005 ISBN 4-915948-41-2 C0098. 41pp. over 100 haiku and two essays that emphasize the poet as an individual and the individual as a poet.

• e-texts of Santoka's works at Aozora bunko
• Weeds, Falling Rain a selection of Zen Haikai by Santoka Taneda, translated by Okami
• Santoka - a biography and poems
• Santoka by Kametaro
• Fire on the Mountain: The Selected Haiku of a Wandering Zen Monk Taneda Santoka translated by Hisashi Miura and James Green
• Santoka and Sake by endoy

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