It’s presumptuous to dress too warmly.
With eyes on the stone Buddhas inspired by the 88 Temple Pilgrimage in Shikoku and listening to the locals talk about living in harmony with nature, poet Kon Ito — recently renowned for her third poetry collection Ki ga Suru Asa(published by Nanaroku-sha) — jots down the moments that move her as she walks Mt. Suzugamine in the town of Kaiyo, Tokushima.
“Ever since I started writing tanka, I’ve been taking notes on everything that catches my attention on my smartphone. If I don’t, I’ll forget, and it would be a waste to let those moments of inspiration slip away. Just now, I wrote down ‘It’s presumptuous to dress too warmly.’ It made me think that bundling up simply because I’m worried about the cold isn’t in line with what it means to be a living being; it shows I’m not listening to what my body is trying to tell me.”
Originally from Tokyo, Ito-san senses a quiet power in Tokushima Prefecture; the solemn presence of nature, the houses clustered tightly along the mountains and coastline. Encounters with locals and the many ways they live closely with nature — such as foraging for wild herbs and vegetables in the mountains — often stir the heart of this city-dwelling poet.
No doubt walking the Shikoku pilgrimage through such landscapes appears fresh and surprising to her.
“When I saw the pilgrims, I was thrilled! I thought, ‘They’re real!’ Everything was new to me — the white attire, the hospitality culture. I’ve only experienced a small part of it so far, but while walking, I found the sensation on the soles of my feet fascinating. I realized the act of stepping is actually a form of interaction with nature.”
The Tokushima stretch of the Shikoku pilgrimage is often referred to as the “Dojo of Awakening.” Walking along Suzugamine and the pilgrimage paths, the poet, feeling a closer connection to nature, jotted down a new thought: “I will walk a good path.”
I wonder if that cloud is 100 meters wide
“I feel an energetic vibe in Kōchi Prefecture,” says Ito-san. “The sky, the sea, the mountains, and the people all have a grand scale, and it feels wonderful. I even made a note about looking up at a huge cloud and wondering if it’s about 100 meters wide.”
Bundling up, a good path, huge clouds… It seems that the small, overlooked joys in everyday life have a hold on Ito-san’s heart. Nevertheless, she asserts that for her, these emotions are, without a doubt, “100% genuine.”
“I’ve always been a bit different… What moves me might not always resonate with others. Since there’s no one I can really share these feelings with, I usually keep them to myself and jot them down in my journal. But getting into tanka has allowed me to express these genuine emotions through my work.”
On the way to Chikurin-ji, Ito-san enjoys a bite of Kōchi’s famous inaka-zushi, made with vegetables instead of seafood. She notes, “Sushi is a unit of happiness in a single bite.” While others relax during lunch, Ito-san quietly savores the satisfaction that one bite of sushi brings.
So, how can one capture the movements of the heart like a poet?
“Usually, it feels like my heart is closed off, but here in Shikoku, it feels wide open,” she explains. “Even subtle stimuli like the mountains and the sky, I can take notice and real interest in them. But, if my heart were always open like that, it would be overwhelming. It’s not about which is better. Knowing that both modes exist, however, might be a shortcut to living a more enjoyable life.”
Perhaps the journey along the Zen Trail has left her heart wide open. Later that night, as she stepped out of her hotel to go for dinner, Ito-san appeared not in shoes, but in the guest room slippers.
Kon Ito
Tanka poet, born in Tokyo in 1993. She began composing in 2016. In 2019, she self-published her first collection, “Hada ni Nagareru Toumei na Kimochi,” followed by “Michiru Ude” the next year. Both collections were reissued in new editions by Tanka Kenkyusha in 2022. In December 2023, her third poetry collection, “Ki ga Suru Asa,” was published by Nanaroku-sha. She is currently a prominent figure driving the contemporary tanka boom.
