Diary of a Pilgrim to Ise - Rendered into English Verse by Henry W. Wells

Oct 13, 2026

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Travel functions as a long-established subject for poetic composition across Asia, especially in China and Japan. The text explains how pilgrimage narratives gain power when religious sites and the sense of adventure combine, turning motion into inspiration. It surveys Chinese and Japanese examples, then focuses on Diary of a Pilgrim to Ise, attributed to Saka Jūbutsu, emphasizing its suitability for illustration and its harmony with the accompanying pictures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages74

Reading Time1 h 54 min

AccessFree to download

Travel as Poetic Subject

Pilgrimage, Religion, and Inspiration

Illustrations as a Core Feature

Diary of a Pilgrim to Ise and Its Verse

792 S28 813 977 UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE LIBRARY iany o apilorim to ds # NOLONGER THE PROPERTY OF THEUNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE LIBRARY Chinese Materials Center,Inc.Asian Library Series No.4 https://archive.org/details/diaryofpilgrimto0000unse iany oapilonim te seAttributed to SAKA JUBUTSU Rendered into English Verse by HENRY W.WELLSWith Ilustrations by CH'ENG HSI CHINESE MATERIALS CENTER,INC. San Francisco 1977 L792S28 81 )977 PRINTED IN THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA 100 Travel as subject matter for poetic composition in bothverse and prose has been familiar from the dawn of literature,nowhere flourishing more abundantly than in the Far East.The inference is generally that persons or places are seen forthe first time,hence encountered with the stimulus of ad-venture and surprise.Travel sets the mind as well as the bodyin motion.Nothing,of course,is more prosaic and unim-aginative than a guidebook for tourists,yet few literaryforms have a longer or more brilliant history than that.basedon the travel theme,which has the initial advantage of con-noting movement,presumably movement forward to alonged-for goal.When to the stimulus of travel is added themagnetic attraction of a site dedicated to religion,the writeris twice favored with an inspiring subject.His book recordsa pilgrimage. This theme in both religious and secular literature hasbeen used extensively in China from early to recent times.As typical instances ranging from older to recent years andfrom the poetic and religious to the realistic and the secularmay be cited Wu Ch'eng-en's delectable story Record of a Journey to the West and Liu O's Travels of Lao Ts'an.Japanese instances are,relatively speaking,even more nu-merous.Basho's celebrated Narrow Road to the Far Northrecounts a journey that was in essence a pilgrimage taken in1689.This poet's pilgrimage to the shrines at Ise is recordedin his Weather-beaten Journey(1684).One of the first andmost moving accounts of this pilgrimage route is the onefreely rendered into English verse here,Diary of a Pilgrim toIse,attributed to Saka Jūbutsu.It is worth passing note thatmany of the most famous poems by Tu Fu and Po Chü-irecord experiences in the course of their extensive travels. Among the chief attractions of this type of compositionfor writers in both China and Japan has always been itsinvitation to artful illustration.Deseriptive subject matterevokes vivid imagery.A book of this sort is scarcely completewithout accompanying pictures.When the scenes witnessedby the traveller are imaginary,illustrations may well befantastic;when the scenes are,as is more often the case,ofreal places,the illustrations have a more or less literal value.Whichever it may be,or whatever compromise is made,it issafe to say in general that no small portion of pictorial artin China and Japan is to be found in such illustrations.Hence it is in keeping with one of the most firmly establishedtraditions in the East that this book is embellished withillustrations based upon paintings.The pictures are conceivedas an integral feature of the book. This version of Saka's work and the pictures agree intheir spirit and intention.Saka writes with powerful andpoetic imagination.No traveller could find his way to Iseusing his work as guide.So poetic is the style that ithas seemed advantageous to put the whole into verse,

FAQs

Why is travel considered a strong theme for poetry and prose?

Travel naturally suggests first encounters, adventure, and surprise, putting both mind and body in motion and providing an inspiring subject for composition.

How do pilgrimage themes differ when religion is involved?

When travel is paired with the magnetic attraction of a religious site, the writer gains an additional inspiring dimension, turning the journey into a pilgrimage.

What role do illustrations play in this kind of travel literature?

The text argues that descriptive subject matter calls for vivid imagery and that such books are rarely complete without pictures, which may range from imaginative to literal value depending on whether scenes are fictional or real.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Riley