In the second month of 1925, ordained at last, I became keeper of the Mitori Kannon-dō in the Higo countryside — a life of solitude among the hills, still if you called it still, lonely if you thought it lonely.
the pines all droop their branches — namu kanzeon
matsu wa mina shidarete namu kanzeon
1925–1932 · Years of mendicant wandering
Sōmokutō · The Begging Bowl (Hachi no ko)
In the second month of 1925, newly ordained, Santōka became keeper of the Mitori Kannon-dō in the Higo countryside. The pines that ring the hall all let their branches hang, and their bowed forms read as an act of worship toward Kannon. A quiet scene at the threshold of his solitary life among the hills.