Kyoto Hana no Miyako

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Kyoto (Hana no Miyako)


***** Location: Kyoto, Japan
***** Season: Late spring
***** Category: Plant / Humanity

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Explanation


"capital of blossoms", hana no miyako 花の都
Kyoto in cherry blossoms, Kyoto during the cherry blossom season
miyako no hana 都の花 the flower of the capital (cherry blossom)

. Cherry blossoms (sakura 桜)



見わたせば柳桜をこきまぜて
都ぞ春の錦なりける

miwataseba yanagi sakura o kokimazete
miyako zo haru no nishiki narikeru

gazing over the capital
green willow threads entwine
soft red cherry blossoms
as if the Heian capital
had spread a spring brocade

The Monk Sosei 素性法師 (around 910)
Kokin Wakashu Poetry Collection　古今和歌集



source :　yoshida sanso.com

Kaiseki meal in memoriam of the above waka poem.


. Poetry and Japanese Food .


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Kyoto 京都

Heian-kyō, Heiankyoo, Heiankyo (平安京 "tranquility and peace capital"),
became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. In Japanese, the city has been called
Kyo (京), Miyako (Miako) (都) or Kyo no Miyako (京の都).
Keishi (京師), meaning "metropolis".
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




蚊柱の穴から見ゆる都哉
ka-bashira no ana kara miyuru miyako kana

through a hole
in the mosquito swarm...
Kyoto

The mosquitoes are swarming in a column (ka-bashira).
The "capital" (miyako) was Kyoto in Issa's day. This is where the emperor and his court lived. Political and military power was centered in the Shogun's city of Edo, today's Tokyo. Sakuo Nakamura pictures Issa, as he approached Kyoto, feeling heavy pressure to do well in this cultural and literary center. "Those pressures stood before him like a mosquito swarm."
Issa, 1814 (Tr. David Lanoue)


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Rakuchuu (洛中) Central Kyoto

洛中に桔梗の花が三日咲
Rakuchu ni kikyoo no hana ga mikka saki

in central Kyoto
bellflowers boom
three days long

Haifu Yanagidaru Senryu Collection 誹風柳多留



Temple Daikomyo-Ji 大光明寺


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Shimogyo-ku (下京区)
is one of the eleven wards in the city of Kyoto.
First established in 1879 as an administrativev unit, it has been merged and split, and took on its present boundaries in 1955, with the establishment of a separate Minami-ku.
Kyoto Tower and Kyoto Station are major landmarks in Shimogyo-ku.
Shimogyo-ku has a population of 74,897 and an area of 6.82 km². Three rivers, Horikawa, Kamogawa and Takasegawa, are in the ward.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



下京や闇いうちから花の春
shimogyô ya kurai uchi kara hana no haru

Shimogyo Town--
in the dark before dawn
spring blossoms

. . . . .


下京の窓かぞへけり春の暮
shimogyô no mado kazoe keri haru no kure

counting the windows
of Shimogyo Town...
spring dusk

Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


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Bridges 橋　hashi



shijoo oohashi 四条大橋 big bridge at Shijo



gojoo oohashi 五条大橋 big bridge at Gojo

. Ushiwaka-maru and Benkei at Gojo Bridge .



春水や四条五条の橋の下
shunsui ya Shjoo Gojoo no hashi no shita

water of spring -
at Shijo and Gojo
under the bridges

Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村

. water in spring, haru no mizu 春の水 .


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Oohara 大原 Ohara Kyoto

quote
Ohara is a rural town nestled in the mountains of northern Kyoto, about one hour from Kyoto Station, but still technically located within Kyoto's city limits. Ohara is best known for Sanzenin Temple and particularly popular in mid November during the autumn leaf season, which typically occurs about one week earlier than in central Kyoto.
Otonashi Waterfall
Jakkoin Temple
Jikkoin Temple
Hosenin Temple
Raigoin Temple
Shorinin Temple
source : www.japan-guide.com

Ohara is also famous for the "women from Ohara", ooharame 大原女, Oharame, who used to carry vegetabels and firewood to the market in Kyoto and make a good living.


observance kigo for late winter

oohara zakone 大原雑魚寝 (おおはらざこね)
sleeping together at Ohara
.... zakone 雑魚寝（ざこね） "group sleep"
"like all kind of fish", all crowded together
on the night before setsubun, February 3 at shrine 江文神社 Ebumi Jinja

This is the night of the zakone in Ohara,when all the people of the village, young and old of both sexes, masters and servants, all are allowed to lie down together and sleep in the Ebumi shrine. It is a kind of vigil before setsubun, a religious custom, and for once no restrictions whatsoever are placed on what the sleepers may venture to do. Many couples found together on this night.
This is based on a legend of a large man-eating snake, which came down to the village when hungry, and the villagers all bundled together to be safe.
But it has been forbidden to do this since the Meiji period.

The custom of zakone is also alive in other temples and shrines in Japan, sometimes during O-Bon in autumn or on the last night of the year.


から人と雑魚寝もすらん女かな
karabito to zakone mo suran onna kana

lying down together
with people from China -
these women

Kobayashi Issa 一茶
Tr. Gabi Greve


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にしき木の立聞きもなき雑魚寝かな
nishiki ki no tachigiki mo naku zakone kana

Yosa Buson 蕪村


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雑魚寝布団夢の豺狼越え歩く
zakonebuton yume no sairoo koe-aruku

Takada Chooi 高田蝶衣
(1886−1930)

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tetsugaku no michi 哲学の径 / 哲学の道
The Philosopher's Path

Der Philosophenweg, Heidelberg, Germany is the original.

The Philosopher's Walk, Philosoper's Road
a pedestrian path that follows a cherry-tree-lined canal in Kyoto, between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji. The route is so-named because the influential 20th century Japanese philosopher and Kyoto University professor Nishida Kitaro is thought to have used it for daily meditation. It passes a number of temples and shrines such as Hōnen-in, Ōtoyo Shrine, and Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji. It takes about 30 minutes to complete the walk, although many people spend more time visiting the sights along the way. On the norther part of the walk, there are good views of the nearby Daimonji. The walk is a popular destination for tourists and locals, especially during hanami.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


はつ冬の哲学の径一詩人
hatsufuyu no tetsugaku no michi ichi shijin

beginning of winter
on Philosopher’s Road
one poet

Sakiko Fujishima 藤島咲子

source : Tr. Fay Aoyagi


quote
Der Philosophenweg
ist ein circa zwei Kilometer langer, vor allem zu Beginn sehr steiler Weg, der vom Heidelberger Stadtteil Neuenheim auf den Heiligenberg führt. Er liegt damit dem Heidelberger Schloss am Königstuhl direkt gegenüber und ist eine der Sehenswürdigkeiten Heidelbergs.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

東の東山山麓の細い道が、ドイツ・ハイデルベルクの
「哲学者の道」と地形がそっくりともいわれる.



Philosopher's Walk
a squirrel in the path
looking to and fro

Chen-ou Liu
Ajax, Ontario, Canada

source : haibuntoday.com



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Place name in Sakyo 京都市右京区

. Omuro 御室 .


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Modern Kyoto in Winter
Tokuriki Tomikichiro (1902-2000)


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Things found on the way

We also have the expression : the thriving city of Edo

hana no o-Edo, the flourishing town of Edo
花の大江戸


時鳥花のお江戸を一呑に
hototogisu hana no o-edo o hito nomi ni

oh cuckoo--
swallow blossom-filled Edo
in a gulp!


初夢の不二の山売る都哉
hatsu yume no fuji no yama uru miyako kana

year's first dream--
Mount Fuji is sold
in Kyoto

Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue

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鐘一つ　売れぬ日はなし　江戸の春
kane hitotsu urenu hi wa nashi Edo no haru

spring in Old Edo -
not a day without a
temple bell sold

寶井其角 Takarai Kikaku (1661-1707)

. Temple Bells and Haiku



Read more details of this
discussion from Translating Haiku


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. Arashiyama 嵐山 "Storm Mountain" .


. Temple Chishaku-In 智積院 .
京都府京都市東山区東瓦町964


. Higashiyama Culture 東山文化 　
Higashiyama, Kyoto


. River Horikawa 堀川 .


. Jizo Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 Statues in Kyoto .


. WASHOKU - Kyoto and Kaiseki Ryori 懐石料理 　


. WASHOKU
Kyooyasai 京野菜 vegetables from Kyoto 　


. WASHOKU . Mitarashi dango 御手洗団子
rice dumplings from Shimogamo 　



. Kyoto Clay Dolls 　
some with Daruma san



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HAIKU

京までは まだ半空や 雪の雲
Kyoo made wa mada nakazora ya yuki no kumo

until Kyoto
it is just half-way -
clouds with snow

Matsuo Basho, 44 years old （笈の小文）
written at Narumi 鳴海

. . . . .


source : suisai-blog.com


京にても 京なつかしや 時鳥
Kyoo ni te mo Kyoo natsukashi ya hototogisu

even when in Kyoto
I long for Kyoto -
hototogisu
Tr. Gabi Greve

Matsuo Basho
stayed at Genjuu-An 幻住庵 Genju-An in Shiga in the year Genroku 3 (1690), but had been to a visit in Kyoto.

This haiku has the cut marker YA at the end of line two and the name of the bird,
hototogisu, as the last line.


Even in Kyoto --
hearing the cuckoo's cry --
I long for Kyoto.
Tr. Robert Hass


Bird of time –
in Kyoto, pining
for Kyoto.
Tr. Lucien Stryk



. Little Cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalis,
hototogisu ホトトギス, 時鳥 .

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. shio ni shi te mo iza kotozuten Miyako-dori .

miyakodori 都鳥 hooded gull
Larus ridibundus. lit. "bird of the capital"
kigo for all winter


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天秤や京江戸かけて千代の春
. tenbin ya Kyō Edo kakete chiyo no haru .
balancing Kyoto and Edo on a giant scale


MORE - Visiting Kyoto
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .



Paintings about Basho from the Kyoto Museum Collection
京都国立博物館所蔵
source : www.bashouan.com


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のらくらや花の都も秋の風
norakura ya hana no miyako mo aki no kaze

loafing around -
even in the capital of blossoms
now autumn wind

Kobayashi Issa, 1816


Maybe Issa stayed in Edo ?
Issa stayed in Edo not in Kyoto. So I think 花の都 is not necessary to be Kyoto.
Nakamura Sakuo Haiga

. . . . .


行秋やすでに御釈迦は京の空
yuku aki ya sude ni o-shaka wa kyoo no sora

autumn ends--
already the Buddha
fills Kyoto's sky

or

autumn ends--
already the statue of Buddha Shakamuni
is under the sky of Kyoto
Tr. Gabi Greve


In a prescript to this haiku, Issa alludes to an image of Gautama Buddha being returned to its temple in Kyoto.
Seiryooji 清涼寺 Temple Seiryo-Ji, Shakado 釈迦堂 in Saga, Kyoto, is quite famous for the statue of Gautama Shakyamuni which is about 160 cm high and rather simple in a robe of Indian style of Gandhara Buddhas. It was made in China and had the intestines made of silk inside.



The statue had been shown at the temple Eko-In 回向院 (Ekooin) in Edo in 1810.

More about the temle Seiryoji and haiku
. Saga　嵯峨 Spring Festivals .


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ほととぎす平安城を筋違（すじかい）に
hototogisu Heianjoo o sujikai ni

this cockoo -
it criss-crosses over
Heiankyo



御火焚や霜うつくしき京の町
ohitaki ya shimo utsukushiki kyoo no machi

bonfire ceremony -
the frost is so beautiful
in the town of Kyoto


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 　 　　



. Bonfire ceremony (ohotaki 御火焚) 　　


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plant kigo for early summer

miyakogusa 都草 (みやこぐさ) "capital plant"
It used to grow wild around the capital of Kyoto in the old days.
Now it is found everywhere in Japan. Its yellow flowers look like enchanted butterflies.

Lotus corniculatus
is a common flowering plant native to grassland temperate Eurasia and North Africa. The common name is Bird's-foot Trefoil (or similar, such as "birdsfoot trefoil"), though the common name is often also applied to other members of the genus. It is also known in cultivation in North America as Birdfoot Deervetch.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



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Related words

***** . Miyako Dance (Miyako Odori 都踊)
kigo for late spring 　


. Kyoto Festivals in April


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Hana no Oedo 花の大江戸
***** Edo 江戸, The City That Became Tokyo


***** Nara 奈良 the ancient capital


***** . Gosho Imperial Palace in Kyoto 京都御所 .


***** . Rashoomon 羅生門 Rashomon Gate .


***** . Shishinden 紫宸殿 Hall for State Ceremonies .


***** . Place names used in haiku 　


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