To Natadera Temple Beyond the autumn leaves, great rocks with openings

At first I’d looked only at colourful branches, then saw a hole in the rock beyond. Looking at Kigan Yusenkyo at Natadera in autumn, I stopped in surprise at its shape. These weren’t simply great rocks standing upright; there were pointed places and hollowed places too.

Holding the collar of the beige coat over my white clothes, I looked to the rocks’ tops. A small torii appeared between the trees. Finding it made the rocks beside it feel even bigger, and distances I hadn’t understood a moment earlier became clearer.

The rocks are said to be traces of an ancient undersea eruption, shaped over long years by wind and waves. Thinking about the sea at a mountain temple felt strange, and I traced the edges of the openings with my eyes once more.

Where autumn leaves overlapped, they partly hid the bases of the rocks. Raising my eyes from there, I could see dark hollows and sunlit rock clearly. I wanted to look closely at details and also remember the whole view. For a while, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the viewing area.

Apparently Basho visited here in 1689 too. Which of the rock shapes before me had stayed in his memory? Thinking about a view seen by someone long ago made this more than simply a day of beautiful autumn leaves. I loosened my grip on my coat collar and breathed slowly.

Next, I’d like to visit the main sanctuary and three-storey pagoda, then taste Natadera’s sesame tofu before leaving. After so much time with the rock hollows, I wanted to take my time deciding what to enjoy next, too. I felt I’d remember today’s leaves together with the rocks’ shapes.