Shinto Shrine and Cherry Blossoms

Of inauspicious birth in the brothel districts of the capital city of Kyoto—the illegitimate offspring of a high-ranking samurai and a young geisha Rengetsu Otagaki became a Buddhist nun and one of the most respected poets, potters, painters, and calligraphers in late Edo (1615–1868) Japan.  She was a celebrity in the cultural life of the ancient capital and acquainted with most of the literary and artistic luminaries of her time.  Two collections of her poems—all in the form of waka, a classical Japanese verse in a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable pattern—were published during her lifetime.

Rengetsu was at the height of her artistic powers and fame when she brushed this poem slip (tanzaku, today mounted as a hanging scroll).  She composed and wrote the waka verse while a Shingon Buddhist priest named Gesshin brushed the abbreviated scene of a Shinto shrine gate sheltered by trees below.  The two collaborated on many illustrated poem slips.  (Shingon is an esoteric, also known as tantric, sect of Buddhism originating in India and Tibet and Shinto is the native religion of Japan.)

Rengetsu inscribed her waka verse in the Japanese kana writing system—waka and kana are traditionally favored by women writers.  It reads:

At the shrine of

Imperial princesses,

I perform the spring purification rite

As cherry blossoms mingle

With the leaves of the sacred sakaki tree.

The text informs us that there was a special shrine where imperial priestesses secluded themselves to perform religious purification rites.  On sees cherry blossoms—the Buddhist flower of transient life—blending with several sakaki—the Shinto tree of purification.