A Study of Okamoto Kanoko’s Fifty-three Stages on the Tokaido: A Focus on the Haiku of Basho

Abstract

This paper analyzes Kanoko Okamoto's 1938 novel, Fifty-three Stages Tokaido ("Tokaido gojyusantsugi"), with a focus on the haiku of Basho. It investigates the narrator's memory of the haiku "Kogarashi no mi ha Chikusai ni nitaru kana", analyzes her experience rememberinrg the as similar to Chikusai, Basho, and the world of the haiku. The narrator remembers an individual memory, a trip she once took with her husband. In the novel, the narrator and her husband are on a trip to Kuwana, the place of Basho's travels in Winter Days ("Fuyu no hi"), which featured the people of Owari province. The narrator realizes that her experience is hers, but is also connected to dozens of related experiences, for example those of, Basho and Chikusai, among others. She seems to be in a good mood taravelling with her husband around Tokaido, as she collects memories and senses that these memories are linked to other memories of Tokaido. As a result, the narrator/protagonist realizes that her life is also original.

Keywords

• Kanoko Okamoto
• Basho
• Chikusai
• Haiku
• Edo-period Edo-Kyoto highway