On the Magose-toge Pass at an altitude of 325 meters above sea level, there is a Haiku Monument with a poem penned by Karyoen Toitsu. He is known to have taught the locals about haiku when he stayed in the Kumano area for a year toward the end of the Edo Period. The Haiku Monument is engraved as follows: “Blossoms of the night / above a sound can be heard / mountain water.” This poem itself describes a scene of cherry blossoms blooming at night near the other Jizō statue at the foot of the mountain path.

This statue of a Jizō riding on top of a boat was enshrined right next to this Haiku Monument. It is said that it was carried here by a single sumo wrestler from a temple on the top of Mount Iwafunesan in neighboring Tochigi Prefecture around the middle of the Edo Period. During the times when that Jizō was at its most popular as a deity for protection against accidents at sea, many pilgrims came to worship, so the incense was always lit.

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07. Karyoen Toitsu Haiku Monument and the Iwafune Jizō Statue

07. Karyoen Toitsu Haiku Monument and the Iwafune Jizō Statue

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