『오쿠로 가는 작은 길(おくのほそ道)』의 심상지리- 시라카와 관문(白河の関)과 스카가와(須賀川)를 중심으로 -

Abstract

In this article, we attempt to analyze Matsuo Basho’s(1644–1694) travel writing Narrow Road to the Interior from the perspective of the image and psychology of this work. First of all, we explore the realm and the historical development of Oku(=Mutsu), the Tohoku area in Japan where Matsuo Basho mainly stayed. In particular, we analyze Basho’s trip to Shirakawa-no Seki and Sukagawa, with our analysis being based on Basho’s description of the area in the travel writing and Sora’s Diarywritten by Sora, who accompanied Basho. Our central claim is that Shirakawa-no Seki served as a boundary with Oku, a historic place for the tribe Ezo and that it was subsequently featured as space for literature by the poets, including Basho. However, Basho traversed Shirakawa- no Eki while thinking of the ancient tradition of literature, and once he entered Oku in Sukagawa, the perspective suddenly shifted into that of the present and he attempts deep interactions with his acquaintances about the literature. The scenery of Narrow Road to the Interior, as it were, depicts the lively interactions between the people of the present time and the people at that time, based on the image and psychology of Oku(=Mutsu), which blow up the readers’ image of Oku as an “unknown and mysterious” place. Revisiting this travel writing, we will travel through the places where Basho traveled and will capture the emotions of those who lived the era.