Cleavers mugura

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Cleaver weeds (mugura)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

The Japanese word mugura comprizes a variety of creepers and grasses, mostly of the family Rubioidea (akane) アカネ属 and yae-mugura ヤエムグラ属 .

akane mugura アカネムグラ（茜葎） Rubia jesoensis



the yae-mugura family ヤエムグラ属
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

yae mugura ヤエムグラ（八重葎） Galium spurium, var. echinospermon
..... false cleavers; Marin County bedstraw, Catchweed, Stickywilly
togenashi yae mugura トゲナシヤエムグラ Galium spurium (yae-mugura without thorns)
kuruma mugura クルマムグラ（車葎） Galium japonicum
yabu mugura ヤブムグラ（藪葎） Galium niewerthii (mugura in the thickest)

kuriibaazu クリーバーズ "cleavers", Galium aparine, goose grass.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Its leaves can be used for herb tea.



the futaba-mugura family フタバムグラ属
futaba mugura フタバムグラ（双葉葎） Hedyotis diffusa


the asa (hemp) family アサ科（あさか、麻科、Cannabaceae）
kana mugura カナムグラ（鉄葎） Humulus japonicus


Here I choose CLEAVERS to refer to mugura.
I have them as permanent visitors in my garden, in a constant fight during the summer months. Their vitality is amazing!
Cleaver is a kind of weed which sticks to everything, grows so quickly even up trees in a forest or among shrubs. It needs to support itself on another plant or building.


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Galium aparine
is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae. It is native to North America and Eurasia. It has several common names, including Cleavers, Clivers, Goosegrass, Stickywilly, Stickyweed, Catchweed, Robin-run-the-hedge and Coachweed.

The long stems of this climbing plant sprawl over the ground and other plants, reaching heights of 1-1.5 m, occasionally 2 m.

It is a common weed in hedges and other low shrubby vegetation, and is also a common weed in arable fields, as well as gardens. As they grow quite rampantly and thickly, they end up shading out any small plants that they overrun.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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kigo for all summer

mugura 葎 (むぐら) cleavers
..... mogura もぐら
kana mugura 金葎（かなむぐら） 鉄葎 Humulus japonicus
yae mugura 八重葎（やえむぐら）Galium spurium

yotsuba mugura 四葉むぐら（よつばむぐら）cleavers with four leaves
yama mugura 山むぐら（やまむぐら）"mountan cleavers"
hana mugura 花むぐら（はなむぐら）"cleaver blossoms"
kiku mugura 菊むぐら（きくむぐら）"chrysanthemum cleavers"
kusa mugura 草むぐら（くさむぐら）"weed cleavers"


. mugura no kado 葎の門（むぐらのかど）
gate covered with cleavers 　
mugura no yado 葎の宿（むぐらのやど）lodging covered with cleavers


mugura shigeru 葎茂る（むぐらしげる）cleavers growing thick
mugura u 葎生（むぐらう）cleavers are growing

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kigo for all autumn

tsuyu mugura 露葎（つゆむぐら）dew on the cleavers


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kigo for all winter

karemugura, kare mugura 枯葎 (かれむぐら)
withered cleavers


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


yamagatsu kuhi memorial stone


山賤(やまがつ)のおとがひ閉る葎かな
yamagatsu no otogai tozuru mugura kana

the poor woodcutters
have to keep their mouths shut
because of the cleaver weeds . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

at Tanimura in Oshu, Yamanashi 甲州谷村
Oshu is another name for the Kai province 甲斐. Written in 貞亨2年, Basho age 43.
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Nozarashi 野ざらし紀行 .

(otogai is the lower jaw, in old times also used for mouth)
The forest workers and hunters of old were rather taciturn anyway.

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.

I see this as plural, since there were usually many forest workers together doing the dangerous job of cutting wood (whith the tools of the Edo period) and transporting it out of a forest. Here we can imagine them finding their way through the thick sticky weeds, and their chattering is disrupted by the silence, trying to keep them out of their mouths. It it was only one, he would probably not be talking to himself and have his mouth shut anyway.



MORE ABOUT
. yamagatsu (forest workers, woodcutters) 　
"lumberjack", "woodsman," "mountaineer," "hillbilly."

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the woodcutter
keeps his mouth closed
tall bed-straw grass
Tr. Jane Reichhold

Comment
1685--summer. The grass called 'mugura' is of the Galium family and is sometimes called "bedstraw" or "goose-foot" grass. The grass could grow as tall as a person's chin.


Larry Bole coments:
So, what was so remarkable about this "woodcutter" that caught Basho's attention? Were they notorious chatterboxes, so that Basho noted that the tall grass shut one up, from not wanting to get grass in his mouth as he talked and talked?

Read a discussion of this haiku translations
by Larry Bole, Haiku Translation Forum


Translation by Oseko Toshiharu
haiku #219 of Volume 2, found on p. 116 of that volume.

A woodcutter's mouth
Is closed firm walking through
The bush of bedstraws!


and his notes
yamagatsu = kikori: a woodcutter or = kariduo: a hunter living in the mountain
otogai: the lower jaw, a mouth
tozuru (rentai) <- tozu (kami-ni, vi.) = tojiru (mod J): to close, shut mugura = yaemugura: a bedstraw, Galium spurium L. var. echinospermom Hayek "" : a cleavers, Galium aparine (goose grass) Galium has about 400 varieties in the world, and 19 varieties in Japan. Mugura is a plant growing wild as tall as the position of someone's lower jaw. This deftly corresponds to the firmly closed mouth of the woodcutter. The preface reads: In the mountain of Kai Province. Listed source is Zoku Minashi-guri: a selection of haikai, compiled by Kikaku, published in 1687.


external Japanese LINK
Basho in Kai province
續虚栗集 collection of poetry
葎 . . やえむぐらなど、繁茂してやぶをつくるつる草の総称》
mugura, name for yaemugura and others.
http://sky.geocities.jp/hokurekihakusyu/kaibasyou.html


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More from Matsuo Basho and the cleavers
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


さしこもる葎の友かふゆなうり
sashikomoru mugura no tomo kabuna uri

Staying indoors,the only friend
At the house of the bedstraw is
The vendor of winter greens!
Tr. Oseko Toshiharu


are you a companion
to those creepers secluded away?
winter vegetable seller
trans. Barnhill

Barnhill's comment:
Winter: winter greens. 1688-89. Basho is living in winter seclusion, with no visitors and his hut covered with creepers. Farmers would walk around selling the meager winter vegetables, such as Chinese cabbage. A scene of a someone living secluded in humble circumstances.


staying indoors
the only friend of bedstraw
a vendor of greens
trans. Reichhold

Reichhold's comment:
1688--winter. Bedstraw, also called goosegrass ('Galium spium'), was used to stuff mattresses for the poor. In winter, Basho has two reliable friends to keep him well, and both were green plants.

* * * *

Is Reichhold suggesting that Basho's futon is stuffed with bedstraw?
And that Basho is using "bedstraw" as a figure of speech to mean himself?

Ah, if only Basho had used 'fuyugomori' (winter seclusion) instead of 'sashikomoru' (staying indoors), it would make the translation somewhat easier, in my opinion. "Staying indoors" begs the question of who is staying inddoors. Barnhill cleverly works around this by saying it's the creepers that are "secluded away." I think we are to take it to mean that Basho is identifying himself with the creepers.

And I would use "peddler" rather than "vendor," since vendors can have stalls, and don't necessarily sell their wares going door-to-door.

. . Discussion by Larry Bole
more haiku with sashikomoru



The history of the futon in the Edo period
keeping warm with what you have ...
. WKD : winter seclusion (fuyugomori) 　
bedtime quilts (yogi) and more


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葎さへ若葉はやさし破れ家
（むぐらさへわかばはやさしやぶれいへ)
mugura sae wakaba wa yasashi yabure ie

even the creepers:
their new leaves lovely
at the dilapidated house
trans. Barnhill

Spring: new leaves on creepers. 1689.
Someone is away serving the Shogun in Edo.


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even bedstraw
has tender new leaves
a dilapidated house
trans. Reichhold

1689--spring.
Shikin (1673-1735), a warrior of the Oogaki Clan, asked Basho to write a haiku on the painting of a ruined house. At this time, Basho was preparing to sell his home, and nothing looks more dilapidated than a house one wants to sell.


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芋植ゑて門は葎の若葉かな　
いも植て門は葎のわか葉哉
imo uete kado wa mugura no wakaba kana

they planted taro potatoes -
at the gate the mugura creeper
shows its new leaves
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in 1688 貞享五年 / 元禄元年, Basho age 45.
At temple Ooedera 大江寺 Oedera, Nabari town, Mie 名張市. The temple was surrounded by taro potato fields, planted by his host, but the weeds were much stronger.
The temple was later destroyed by fire and now a stone memorial reminds of its existence.
To talk about planted food and weeds together shows the kind of fuuryuu 風流 elegance Basho wants to bring to his poetry.
At the kukai meeting in 草庵、二乗軒 二畳軒 in Ise.

There is also a version with "camellia in the bushes"

藪つばき 門はむぐらの若葉かな
藪椿門は葎の若葉哉
yabutsubaki mon wa mugura no wakaba kana

. Oi no Kobumi 笈の小文 .


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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Kobayashi Issa 　一茶　
has quite a few haiku on the mugura, often combined with other season words.

David Lanoue writes :
In an earlier version I rendered mugura as "goose-grass," but I now believe that its sense is more correctly conveyed as "weeds." The plant is mugura, which some translators render as "goose-grass." Maruyama Kazuhiko defines it simply as zassô, "weeds".

竹の葉につれて葎もわか葉哉
take no ha ni tsurete mugura mo wakaba kana

keeping bamboo shoots
company, weeds
fresh green too

Issa, translated by David Lanoue

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. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

夕立の拍子に伸て葎哉
yuudachi no hyooshi ni nobite mugura kana

to the rhythm
of the downpour creepers
longer already
Tr. Chris Drake


This hokku is from the 6th month (July) of 1819, the year evoked in Year of My Life. Judging from its placement in Issa's diary, it was written a few days before the death of Issa's infant daughter Sato on 6/21.

A sudden rain or thunderstorm is passing through, probably late in the afternoon on a hot summer day. The storm doesn't last long, but it is a squall, probably with strong wind as well as heavy rain. Even before the rain is finished, however, the fast-growing wild vines invading the garden seem to have grown even longer than they were a few minutes before. The strength of the rain has given these wild plants even more energy as they try to cover the entire garden. Mugura is a general term, not the name of any one type of herb weed, and the nomenclature changed a bit during modernization.

Today mugura most commonly refers to cleavers and other members of the madder family, but in Issa's time it most commonly referred to Japanese hop (Humulus japonicus), a fairly stiff vine with small hook-like prickles on it that creeps, climbs, and twines around other plants, literally choking them. It also clings to walls and houses and can quickly grow to 3-6 m. high, so it is considered quite invasive. Probably this is the weed Issa is watching in the hokku, though it could be cleavers or a similar plant.

In Issa's vision, the weed vine, somehow sensing the intensity of the pouring rain, seems to gain renewed strength, increasing in length almost immediately in response to the surge of energy it is getting from the rain. The hokku seems to be about how the plant reacts to its environment and about its apparent ability to feel the rhythm of the rain, apparently gaining energy from this powerful rhythm. Issa also seems to feel danger in the energy coming from the rhythm of the rain and the aggressive weeds. Could it be because the strength of the weeds is almost the precise opposite of the increasing weakness shown by his baby daughter?

Chris Drake

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金色の小鳥飛び立つ枯葎
kin-iro no kotori tobitatsu kare mugura

a golden-colored
small bird flies off . . .
withered cleavers


source : hamahide44


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Related words

***** . mogura-uchi 土龍打 ( もぐらうち) "hitting the moles" .

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Crow (karasu)

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Crow, Raven (karasu)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Non-seasonal Topic
***** Category: Animal

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Explanation

In the Japanese saijiki, the word crow (karasu) without further modification is not included, since it is with us noisily all year round.
But some compounds have seasonal references.


.. .. .. Kigo for Summer:

karasu no ko, the children of the crow, baby crow　 カラスの子、鴉の子
crow babies, karasu no ko 鴉の子 (からすのこ)
baby crows, ko garasu 子鴉（こがらす）
parent crows, oya garasu 親鴉（おやがらす）

karasu no su, the nest of the crow　鴉の巣 , 烏の巣


moorhen, ban, 鷭 ばん
is also called: "River crow", kawa garasu 川烏（かわがらす）


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.. .. .. Kigo for Autumn:

crows leaving, wakaregarasu 別烏, 別鴉 わかれがらす
young crows leaving the nest, karasu no ko wakare 鴉の子別れ
crows in autumn, aki no karasu 秋の烏（あきのからす）



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.. .. .. Kigo for Late Winter:

kangarasu 寒鴉 (かんがらす) crow in the cold
..... kana, kan-a 寒鴉（かんあ）


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http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/victor_loewen/P5083108cr.jpg/view.html

In our area in Western Japan, they come mostly in Autumn to feast on the kaki, the persimmons. They also swoop down in spring, when the yamataroo, a kind of large caterpillar , are descending in the millions to feed on the chestnut leaves, thus themselves becoming a delicious food for the crows. They have an elaborate network in the northern province of Okayama and know exactly where to go on the days people put out the trash in the cities (still mostly open on the curbs...) and when the local delicacies in the fields and woods are ripe.

In the big cities, they are quite a nuisance these days, picking at the trash on the curbs and spilling it all over the place while they eat. After them come the stray cats to feed some more, then the rats to finish off the rest.


Sometimes there are so many it looks like Hitchkock and the birds around here, whith their eery crooo croo croo. They also fight with our local couple of birds of prey, the tobi 鳶、 and usually a group of them forces the tobi to seek escape by sreweing ever more high into the sky. Quite a sight to see the tobi soaring in speedy retreat.

a flock of crows is also called

. a murder of crows



Akegarasu, a crow in the morning 明けガラス
does not seem to be a kigo, as far as I could trace it in the big saijiki.
大歳時記
It should not me mixed up with AKI no karasu, crows in autumn, see above.

Gabi Greve


Fujita Akegarasu Sensei

Fujita Akegarasu 【藤田あけ烏】（ふじた・あけがらす）


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After the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the crow was associated with ill-fate or bad-fate or bad luck, foreboding future... which may keep "crow" from not being kigo in Japan.
Etsuko Yanagibori quoted by Chibi

Ravens, rooks, crows, and the like have quite a mythology associated with them in many cultures, some positive, some negative, but almost always powerful.
Chibi
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1213


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Worldwide use


Bhutan



The Raven Crown of the King of Bhutan
Uzha Jarog Dongchen is highly symbolic of the Bhutanese monarchy.

One day, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel dreamt of a raven taking flight from his throne while lending him the power to fly with it. The raven led the Zhabdrung to Pangri Zampa, the seat of Lam Ngawang Chogyel, and entrusted him the place for the establishment of a religious centre. Later, when Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel fled to Bhutan at the age of 18, Yeshey Goenpo is said to have offered him the country.

MORE is here:
source : www.yanatravel.com/


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Croatia

Crow
with photos


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Germany

The first thing that comes to mind is the raven on the shoulder of a witch! Next is
Hans Huckebein, a raven who brings a lot of bad luck, is a famous story of Wilhlem Bush, father of the animation.




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Ireland

I have often thought that the crow is the bird of the winter -- especially in Ireland. They set out on their daily working routine before I rise -- and in the evening they come home, settle on the branches of a favourite tree or woodland, and tell each other all about it. Very ompanionable.
Crows are very much, to me, the sound of childhood, of home, of the open hills of our family farm, of the woodlands in the evening. Intelligent birds. And hard working!

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Japan

The Shinto Goddess, Amaterasu is sometimes represented as a giant raven,
Yata-Garasu 八咫烏 （やたがらす).
A three-legged raven often leads pilgrims in the mountains. The mosts famous is probably the founding legend of Dewa Mountains:

The worship of Dewa-san dates from the seventh century, when an imperial prince fled to this area following the death of his father. In a vision, a three-legged crow led him to Haguro-san (Black Wing Mountain), where he lived to the ripe old age of 90, developing his unique blend of Shinto, Buddhism and ancient folk-religion.
http://www.alpharooms.com/guide_28936.aspx

I collected some material about Black Wing Mountain,
Haguro-San 羽黒山、出羽三山

My story about more mystical things happening in this area, although not about the raven:
The Living Mummies of Northern Japan
http://fudosama.blogspot.com/2006/10/sokushinbutsu.html


In Japanese mythology, the Karasu tengu, or minor tengu, is a supernatural being with the head and wings of a black crow. They serve Daitengu, which are fallen yamabushi (monks), tall men with big noses and red faces who can create tornadoes using fans of bird feathers they carry in their sandals.
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/tengu.shtml


.................... More about Raven Mythology
http://kardev.com/karasu_tengu.htm


In our neighbourhood, there is a temple, Ryoosan-Ji, where in the night of O-Bon, when the dead souls come back to visit the living, on August 14, at midnight to the light of two torches only, the God of the Raven, karasu no kamisama 烏の神様, invades the mind of a local shaman and the man starts hopping around in the dark like a bird, sometimes for more than two hours.
It is said, if he grabs an onlooker and holds him, this person has to die within the next three years. (We have many stories about sudden deaths after such an enounter...)
I invite you to come and partake. It is one of the most spoooky matsuri festivals I have seen in Japan. And just three miles from my home.

Gabi Greve

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Kenya

The best-known crow is the Indian House Crow, which has settled in Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean coast, where it has not endeared itself to the population, and is treated considerable caution...
Isabelle Prondzynski


.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Indian House Crow
http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/fitzpatrick/docs/r549.html

HABITAT: Entirely urban and suburban areas in s Africa, especially industrial sites and informal settlements.

GENERAL HABITS: In pairs when br, flocks up to 50 at other times.
Aggressively mobs other spp, particularly raptors16. Roosts communally in trees, arriving in flocks of up to 200. Possibly displaced from c Durban, KwaZulu-Natal by Pied Crow, but in Mombasa, Kenya, this situation reversed. Regarded as pest in Durban, where birds take food from children, kill chicks of domestic fowls, and repeatedly dive-bomb any person near the nest.
http://www.samarmagazine.org/archive/article.php?id=19


Inter-racial commentary, as the crow flies
By Paul Greenough

The Swahili word for crow is kunguru, and there are several crow species in coastal Tanzania and Zanzibar. One of them, known in ornithology as Corvus splendens or the "house crow", is referred to in Swahili as the "Indian crow" (kunguru wa walozi). This bird is a cynosure: everybody I spoke with in Dar es Salaam and Stonetown in Zanzibar has crow stories to tell. The bird is ubiquitous in these urban areas and invariably makes a nuisance of itself. My suggestion is simple: in complaining about "Indian house crows" Tanzanians and Zanzibaris are also complaining about Indians.

.................................Read it all here:
http://www.samarmagazine.org/archive/article.php?id=19

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North America



Corvus brachyrhynchos (American crow)
The common crow is widely distributed throughout the continent of North America. It breeds from British Columbia east to New Foundland, and south to southern California, Florida and the Gulf Coast. It winters north as far as southern Canada. The common crow is a partial migrant but a permanent resident in some areas.

The common crow is charcoal black in color. It is approximately 17-21 inches in length. Two other very common species within the Corvidae family are the fish crow and the raven. The fish crow tends to be smaller than the common crow (17 inches) while the raven tends to be larger (20-27 inches). A fan shaped tail characterizes the common crow whereas the raven has a wedged shaped tail. Another feature of the common crow is its steady flapping flight, which is different from the soaring. Another difference between the crow and the raven is their calls. The common crow's call is a "caw-caw" or "caa-caa" sound, while the common raven's call is a varied, deep, guttural croaking, "wonk-wonk". The fish crow call is also unlike that of the common crow, either a nasal "kwak" or a nasal two noted "ah-ah."

The common crow is a very intelligent and adaptable creature. In a word one could describe them as opportunistic. Recent studies by ornithologists show that crows and ravens are among the most intelligent birds, along with other members of the Corvidae. Crows gather in groups from two to eight birds in the summer, while during the winter they gather from many miles in great nocturnal roosts of up to thousands of birds. During the day they fly up to fifty miles away from these roosts in search of food. During feeding, one of two crows can be seen on high perched places serving as a lookout for the rest of the flock. These sentinels watch for signs of danger and warn the rest of the flock. This behavior allows the rest of the flock to forage more efficiently. The crow's call has varations that allow it to express warning, threats, taunting, and cheer.

Read a lot more informative things about the crow here:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Corvus_brachyrhynchos.html


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The Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula),
sometimes known as the Eurasian Jackdaw, European Jackdaw or simply Jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly resident, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !






The bamboo is battered
And the jackdaw is hungry
Cool autumn sunshine

- Shared by Res John Burman -
Joys of Japan, October 2012


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Yemen
kigo for winter

on my balcony
picking herbs and a quarrel..
young crow


after the heat
the cool -
my cat talks to a crow


The sparrow
swallows a fly -
listen to crows

Heike Gewi, Yemen, January 2008

***** YEMEN SAIJIKI



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Things found on the way

Two Gods and Three Crows of Arima 三羽烏
In olden times, the gods Onamuchi-no-Kami 大己貴命 and Sukunahikona-no-Kami 少彦名命descended to earth one day and saw three injured crows bathing in a puddle.

. Arima Tosen Shrine 有馬 湯泉神社 Toosen Jinja .

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.. .. .. Raven in Mythology
Essay by Samantha Fleming

For centuries the corvids, ravens and crows in particular (corvus corax is the Latin name for the common raven and corvus corone for the carrion and hooded crows), have had a special place in the mythology of various cultures. In modern times this fascination has barely diminished. From Edgar Allen Poe's literary classic to the film of James O'Barr's cult graphic novel "The Crow", these birds still exert a powerful hold over the psyche of a significant fraction of the population. The Goths who paint their faces with white make-up and the weekend warriors who expect Raven to take them to the Otherworld to meet the dead do not see the same animal as the farmers who set up decoys in order to shoot large numbers of them every year in late spring. This is, however, typical of a creature that presents a paradox wherever one looks.

................................ Read it all here:
http://www.ravenfamily.org/nascakiyetl/obs/rav1.html

Safekeep copy:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Haiku-Essays/message/98

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Native American Mythology : RAVEN

Famous Native American Creative Trickster God, known by many tribes under many names.

There is more to RAVEN than meets the eye. And how many of you have met the eye of a raven? They've always been associated with Godliness. Few people know that the first bird out of Noah's ark was a raven. It just didn't return. It didn't feel the need. ODIN relied on his two ravens to fly round the world every day and keep him informed. Edgar Allan Poe's raven shrieked 'Nevermore' but what that has to do with anything only Poe knows.



In the beginning, RAVEN was first and foremost a Creator and Trickster God - especially of the Haida tribe who, claim he discovered the first humans hiding in a clam shell and brought them berries and salmon. A bit of a tricky God himself, he's also the long-suffering victim of arch-rival in trickery, COYOTE. His brother LOGOBOLA is also a bit of a tricky customer, but, despite what you may have heard, absolutely no frogs are involved. Stories about him abound.
Here's one handed down by the Tsimshian tribe...

............................................ Read it all here:
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/native_american-mythology.php?deity=RAVEN

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......................... CORVIDOLOGY

If men had wings and bore black feathers,
few of them would be clever enough to be crows.
- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher

More lore about the Raven:
http://www.druidry.org/obod/lore/animal/raven.html

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.. .. .. Edgar Allen Poe "The Raven."
http://www.comnet.ca/~forrest/raven.html


"Maine Ice Storm" by Jamie Wyeth


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HAIKU

an early crow
flies toward the sun -
late winter morning

Gabi Greve, Jan. 17, 2005

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the caw of a crow ...
sunshine glints from
a vibrating branch

a crow
in the spring dawn!
pieces of shell*

*the river rook, a cousin of the crow, has been known to crack open clams with river pebbles or small rocks by dropping them on the clam... it it tool use? some argue that it is a sign of intelligence?!

Chibi
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1213

(see below for the Raven Shell ! )

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> > Roadside sycamore,
> > bare branches covered in crows,
> > a curious blossom.

> > Busy day at work,
> > crows returning to their roost,
> > lords of the winter.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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drawing the raven
into itself -
evening shadow

bill k.
http://shiki1.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/4thconres.html

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midnight
the shriek of a crow
on the graveyard

Geert Verbeke

Read more of Geert's Crow Haiku here:
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2004/01/friends-geert-verbeke.html

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they end their flight
one by one--
crows at dusk

Yosa Buson

Shared by Isabelle Loverro
Joys of Japan, February 2012



source : blogs.yahoo.co.jp/tosboe5

Painting by Yosa Buson 鳶・鴉図／与謝蕪村



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.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Two versions of an Issa Haiku

hata uchi no mane shite aruku karasu kana

The crow
walks along there
as if it were tilling the field.
http://www.poetryconnection.net/poets/Kobayashi_Issa/3507


mocking the farmer
plowing, the strutting
crow

David Lanoue has 69 haiku about the crow by Issa.
Use this link and input " karasu "
http://webusers.xula.edu/dlanoue/issa/roman.html

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strolling along -
the ravens' chatter
quickens my pace

© Shane Gilreath

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枯朶に烏のとまりけり秋の暮
kare eda ni karasu no tomari keri aki no kure

A crow
has settled on a bare branch
Autumn evening


On a withered branch,
A crow has stopped
Autumn's eve


A lone crow
sits on a dead branch
this autumn eve

Read more about Basho and some Crow Haiku.
http://www.shades-of-night.com/aviary/haiku.html


Read more details about this famous haiku HERE
Autumn dusk (aki no kure)


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何にこの師走の市にゆく烏
何に此 師走の市に ゆくからす
nani ni kono shiwasu no ichi ni yuku karasu


The End of the Year with a crow and
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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ひごろ憎き烏も雪の朝哉　
. higoro nikuki karasu mo yuki no ashita kana .
. . . the usually hateful crows


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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Bush Raven, Tasmania.

- Shared by Ron Moss, Tasmania -
Joys of Japan, 2012



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a crow landing
on this barren branch <>
the moment it breaks


autumn dusk . . .
the crow's landing breaks
the barren branch

Gabi Greve, Japan, observed in 1996


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Related words

***** Raven Shell, karasugai カラス貝、烏貝: kigo for all spring
also called igai, murasaki igai イガイ（烏貝、カラス貝、ムラサキイガイ


http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~co.a/sakana-zukan-main.html

In most lakes, rivers and sweet waters of Japan. The outside is black and reminds of a crow.

Now we know why Chibi has been talking about shells! :o)

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.. .. .. A drunk raven, Hans Huckebein
http://www.wilhelm-busch.de/geschichten/hans_huckebein/05.php



Ei, ei ! Ihm wird so wunderlich,
So leicht und doch absunderlich.

.. .. .. .. .. This feeling is amazing,
.. .. .. .. .. So light, yet oddly dazing!

Hans Huckebein with English Translation
http://rivertext.com/hans.shtml

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. BIRD SAIJIKI .



. Crow Letters 烏文字 karasu moji
and the special seals of the Kumano shrines, Wakayama


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Cricket, a British Game

nnnnnnnnnnnn TOP nnnnnnnnnnnnn

Title: English, (romaji Japan)

***** Location:
***** Season:
***** Category:

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Explanation


Cricket - the game not the insect - say 'cricket' - or one of any number of cricket related words and we are in summer in the UK - the game is played throughout the summer months.

Here's an example recently published in Asahi Shimbun:

terrorists
the sound of leather
on willow

The poem is here:
http://www.asahi.com/english/haiku/050906.html

And David McMurray comments on the poem in his notes - saying that 'cricket' is a seasonal word for cricket.

paul conneally

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Worldwide use

India

Cricket [ the game] is a religion [almost] in India!
Being played in almost every street - every day of the year!

One big advantage is that since this game is covered extensively by the media - a general awareness about its rules have been established.
If you remember we had a Bollyhood movie two years back called 'Lagaan' - which was all about the uninitiated playing the game and winning!
The world cup every four years is a big event that we Indians look forward to. . .

Kala Ramesh


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

world cup series:
cash registers echo
the TV boom

Kala Ramesh

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Related words

*****

***********************
Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
worldkigo@yahoo.com

WHC Worldkigo Discussion Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WHCworldkigo/

Back to the WHC Worldkigo Index
http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/

Crisp, Cool, sawayaka

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Crisp, cool (sawayaka)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Autumn
***** Category: Heavens

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Explanation

爽やか sawayaka, fresh / refreshing / crisp [of weather]
bracing air of autumn
さやけし sayakeshi, bright and fresh / refreshing / crisp.
爽涼　sooryoo / fresh and cool (in autumn)

After the hot summer, the coolness of autumn days is especially welcome in Japan. The humidity is also a bit less and one feels realy nice and cool.





clear Autumn day
by the little lake -
Namu Amida Butsu !


Gabi Greve - Autumn 2002



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Adjectives used as Kigo

. Sunny day in spring (harubi) .


. Coolness (suzushi) in Summer .


Autumn
Clear autumn (aki sumu)
Cool air (hiyayaka, hiyu, yubie)
Crisp air (sawayaka, sayakeshi)

Winter
Cold (samushi,tsumetashi)


. Adjectives and Haiku .


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HAIKU

clear well
full of water
drips of Mt Fuji

Etsuko Yanagibori


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Crisp clear morning light --
bands of silver jetstream
bind up this city.

Brussels
Brussels is an extraordinary city, blessed with masses of high-flying jet planes, some heading for the transatlantic route or returning from it, some flying North-South over Europe. They all seem to cross over Brussels, and it amuses me that so many seem to follow exactly the street that joins our two office buildings. Sometimes, the jetstreams are visible in the silver moonlight, another magnificent sight... This morning, the many lines running parallel and at right angles to each other, looked like ribbons wrapping the town from somewhere in the sky above.

To me, the words "crisp clear" convey the temperate European winter at its best.

Isabelle Prondzynski


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crisp morning-
waiting for the water
to boil

Kate

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Related words


aki sumu 秋澄む (あきすむ) clear autumn
..... seishuu 清秋（せいしゅう）
sora sumu 空澄む（そらすむ）clear sky
mono no oto sumu 物の音澄む（もののねすむ）clear sounds


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shuuki 秋気 (しゅうき) feeling of autumn
..... aki no ki 秋の気（あきのき）
shuuki sumu 秋気澄む（しゅうきすむ）feeling of a clear autumn


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. . . . AUTUMN
the complete SAIJIKI


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Cherry blossoms (sakura)

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Cherry Blossoms (sakura)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Spring, mostly late spring
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation



Click photo for enlargement.
http://wadaphoto.jp/sakura/yoshino1.htm

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- Matsuo Basho told his disciples:

"Imagine the spring mists over the north bank of the Wei River
when you are standing under the cherry blossoms on the Nerima Hills."

"The north bank of the Wei river" implies the place where Du-Fu once lived.

source : Peipei Qiu: Basho and the Dao


. Chinese background of Japanese kigo .


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kigo for mid-spring

hatsubana 初花 (はつはな) first cherry blossoms
..... hatsuzakura, hatsu zakura 初桜（はつざくら）


higanzakura 彼岸桜 (ひがんざくら) sakura at the spring equinox
uba higan 姥彼岸（うばひがん) Azuma higan 東彼岸（あずまひがん）
tachi higan 立彼岸（たちひがん）


shidarezakura 枝垂桜 (しだれざくら) hanging cherry branches
"weeping cherry"
..... 糸桜（いとざくら）rope cherry
..... shidarizakura しだり桜（しだりざくら）
shidare higan 枝垂彼岸（しだれひがん）
beni shidare 紅枝垂（べにしだれ）red weeping cherry


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cherry blossoms, cherry blossom, hana 花
..... sakura 桜　さくら

kigo for late spring


HANA is the ultimate symbol for the elegance, splendour and fleetingness of things. It can not simple be exchanged for SAKURA in many cases.

For example, hanagokoro, the flower heart, refers to a lady, but you can not say "sakuragokoro" in that case.

"Hana no inochi", the life of flowers, is a general statement, but "sakura no inochi" is not used here.


"capital of blossoms", hana no miyako 花の都
Read : Edo or Kyoto, a discussion of the meaning


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some related kigo of other categories

time for the cherry blossoms, hanadoki 花時 (はなどき)
sakuradoki 桜時（さくらどき）, hana no koro 花のころ（はなのころ）
hana no koro 花の頃（はなのころ）
past the cherry blossoms, hana sugi 花過ぎ（はなすぎ）


"Rain on Blossoms" (hana no ame) 花の雨
rain during the time of cherry blossoms, hanadoki no ame
花時の雨（はなどきのあめ）


robes for cherry blossom viewing, hanagoromo 花衣 (はなごろも)
sakuragoromo 桜衣 (さくらごろも)
.. layered robes, sakuragasane 桜重（さくらがさね）
..... hanamigoromo 花見衣（はなみごろも）
kosode robe for cherry blossom viewing,
..... hana no kosode 花の袖（はなのそで）,
..... hanami no kosode 花見小袖（はなみこそで）
..... hanami ishoo 花見衣裳（はなみいしょう）
hana no tamoto, 花の袂（はなのたもと）kimono sleeve for blossom viewing


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cherry blossom, sakura 桜 (さくら)
mountain cherry blossoms, yamazakura 山桜 やまざくら
Yoshino zakura 吉野桜（よしのざくら）Yoshino cherry blossoms

double-petalled cherry blossoms, yaezakura 八重桜 やえざくら
Nara no yaezakura 奈良の八重桜（ならのやえざくら）Nara

late cherry blossoms, osozakura 遅桜 (おそざくら )

falling cherry blossoms, rakka 落花 (らっか)
hana chiru 花散る（はなちる）
sakura chiru 散る桜（ちるさくら）

"blossom blizzard", blossom snowstorm,
hanafubuki 花吹雪（はなふぶき）,
sakurafubuki 桜吹雪（さくらふぶき）
cherry blossoms flying around hika 飛花（ひか）

blossom litter, hanakuzu 花屑（はなくず
blossom dust, blossom dirt, hana no chiri 花の塵（はなのちり）



"blossom float" hana ikada 花筏（はないかだ）
when many blossoms hang together on a lake


zanka 残花 (ざんか) remaining cherry blossoms
..... nokoru hana 残る花（のこるはな）
..... nagori no hana 、名残の花（なごりのはな）
..... nokoru sakura 残る桜（のこるさくら）

sakura shibe furu 桜蘂降る (さくらしべふる) cherry petals fall


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more detailes kigo with the cherry blossoms, cherry blooms

related to SAKURA (..zakura in combinations)

Somei Yoshino 染井吉野（そめいよしの）
Miyamazakura 深山桜（みやまざくら）、
Ooshimazakura 大島桜（おおしまざくら）、Ooyamazakura 大山桜（おおやまざくら）、
Botanzakura 牡丹桜（ぼたんざくら）、satozakura 里桜（さとぞくら）、
chawanzakura 茶碗桜（ちゃわんざくら）、naden 南殿（なでん）、
choojizakura 丁字桜（ちょうじざくら）、
mejirozakura 目白桜（めじろざくら）、 mamezakura 豆桜（まめざくら）
Fujizakura 富士桜（ふじざくら）、hahaka ははか、
Uwamizuzakura 上溝桜（うわみずざくら）、
Kongoozakura 金剛桜（こんごうざくら）、
Inuzakura 犬桜（いぬざくら）、shiorizakura しおり桜（しおりざくら）、
Sakon no sakura 左近の桜（さこんのさくら）
uzuzakura 雲珠桜（うずざくら）Uzu cherry blossoms
Yookihizakura 楊貴妃桜（ようきひざくら）"like Yoki-Hi, the Chinese beauty"
shuushikizakura 秋色桜（しゅうしきざくら） "like autumn colors"

cherry blossoms in the morning, asazakura 朝桜（あさざくら）
cherry blossoms in the evening, yuzakura 夕桜（ゆうざくら）
cherry blossoms at night, yozakura 夜桜（よざくら）
full moon and cherry blossoms, sakurazukiyo
桜月夜（さくらづきよ）


"Cherry blossoms on a mountain top",
minezakura 嶺桜（みねざくら）
The ones Basho describes on this trip around Northern Japan on Mt. Gassan are expecially famous. They flower much later than the ones down in the valley. That is why on Mt. Gassan you can experience the three ingredients of Japanese ascetics, Snow, Moon and Cherry blossoms, (Setsugetsuka, Setsugekka 雪月花) at the same time.
SETSUGEKKA, Japanese Art and the Japanese View of Nature
by Isamu Kurita, MOA


cherry blossoms in the garden, niwazakura 庭桜（にわざくら）
around the house, iezakura家桜（いえざくら）

young cherry blossom tree, wakazakura 若桜（わかざくら）
old cherry blossom tree, ubazakura 姥桜（うばざくら）

park with cherry blossom trees,
sakura no sono 桜の園（さくらのその）



related to HANA
hana 花 (はな) (cherry) blossom
"blossom of spring", haru no hana 春の花（はるのはな）
harubana 春花（はるばな）


. hana no kumo 花の雲（はなのくも）
cloud of cherry blossoms .
- - - with haiku by Matsuo Basho


hanabusa 花房（はなぶさ）tuft of cherry blossoms
hanahira 花片（はなびら）cherry petal

hana no sugata 花の姿（はなのすがた）form of the cherry blossom

fragrance of cherry blossoms, hana no ka 花の香（はなのか）
one single cherry blossom, hana no wa 花の輪（はなのわ）

friend to watch cherry blossoms with,
hana no tomo 花の友（はなのとも）
owner of a great cherry blossom tree,
hana no aruji 花の主（はなのあるじ）

garden with cherry blossoms, hana no niwa 花の庭（はなのにわ）
gate with cherry blossoms, hana no mon 花の門（はなのもん）
Kyoto in cherry blossoms, hana no miyako 花の都（はなのみやこ）

hana akari 花明り（はなあかり）"shining cherry blossoms"
still feeling light even in the evening

cherry blossoms at their best, at their peak
hana zakari 花盛り（はなざかり）

花便り（はなだより）、
花の露（はなのつゆ）、花朧（はなおぼろ）、
花の陰（はなのかげ）、花の奥（はなのおく）、
花の名残（はなのなごり）、花を惜しむ（はなをおしむ）

cherry blossom dust, pollen, hana bokori
花埃（はなぼこり）

"flower brocade", hana no nishiki 花の錦（はなのにしき）

color of cherry blossoms, hana no iro
花の色（はなのいろ）
花の粧（はなのよそおい）



straw hat with cherry blossom decoration,
hanagasa 花笠（はながさ）


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The deity Konohana Sakuyahime 木花開耶姫 lives on Mount Fuji and prevents it from erupting.
Many cherry trees as her symbol have been planted around this mountain.


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Snow, Moon and Blossoms, Setsugekka 雪月花
setsugetsuka
To the Japanese mind, nature is more than just physical scenery.
The Japanese love of the imperfect stems from an acknowledgment of the inherent limitations of human creative powers.

© SETSUGEKKA, by Isamu Kurita, MOA
..... Do not miss to read the full essay .

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HANA, generally meaning FLOWER of any kind, but in spring it is the name for the Cherry Blossom.
Read more about .. Flower and Hana .


hanami 花見　the cherry blossom viewing party
In old times, farmers went out to see the wild cherry trees in the local forest to get a hint at when to start preparing the fields for the rice and how the harvest would be this year. After hanami it was time to tend to the wet rice fields. In many parts of my area, this is still done. In our neighbourhood, where the Daigo Cherry Tree flowers, after the hanami at his feet the farmers look to the forest at a special wild cherry tree to see if its time for the fields.

Since rice farming was essential for surviving in the olden days, HANAMI was the most important festival leading to a good harvest, thus it is not forgotten even today.

The SA from SAKURA is a word leading to the 5. month of the old calender (satsuki) and KURA/GURA comes from KAGURA, the famous dances in Shinto Shrines.
SAKURA is therefore the meaning of a holy dance in May to evoke a good harvest. Now the calender has changed, but the charm of Sakura and flower viewing has stayed with us.

I have written more and introduced some hanami links here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/353

Look at my Cherry Viewing Party in April 2005.

Cherry Blossom Road
Cherry Blossoms <> Sakura

Gabi Greve

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hanami kigo for humanity - late spring
(add .. for cherry blossom viewing ... to most of the kigo in English)

hanami 花見 (はなみ) cherry blossom viewing
..... ohanami, o-hanami お花見（おはなみ）

hanamikyaku 花見客（はなみきゃく）visitor for cherry blossom viewing
..... hana no kyaku, 花の客（はなのきゃく）, hanamishuu 花見衆（はなみしゅう）crowds
hanabito 花人（はなびと）
hana no en 花の宴（はなのえん）party
hana no sake 花の酒（はなのさけ）、hanamizake 花見酒（はなみざけ）ricewine
hanamidaru 花見樽（はなみだる）barrel full of ricewine

hana no yoi 花の宵（はなのよい） "blossom evening"

hana no maku 花の幕（はなのまく）curtain
..... hana shoogi 花床机（はなしょうぎ）

hana no chaya 花の茶屋（はなのちゃや）teahouse
hanamibune 花見船（はなみぶね）boat
hana no odori 花の踊（はなのおどり）dance
hanamo oogi 見扇（はなみおうぎ）fan
hanami tenugui 花見手拭（はなみてぬぐい）thin hand towel

hanamigasa 花見笠（はなみがさ）strawhat
nahami modori 花見戻（はなみもどり
..... hanamodori 、花戻（はなもどり）

sakuragari 桜狩 (さくらがり) hunting for cherry blossoms
hanameguri, hana meguri 花巡り（はなめぐり）
sakuabito 桜人（さくらびと）
sakurami, sakura mi 桜見（さくらみ）
..... kanoou, kan ou 観桜（かんおう）

hanamushiro 花筵 (はなむしろ) straw mat
..... hanami no seki 花見の席（はなみのせき）
hana moosen 花毛氈（はなもうせん）carpet

hanakagari 花篝 (はなかがり) small bonfire
..... hana bonbori 花雪洞（はなぼんぼり）lantern

hanamori 花守 (はなもり) warden
..... hana no nushi 花の主（はなのぬし）
..... hana no aruji 花の主（はなのあるじ）owner
..... sakuramori,sakura mori 桜守（さくらもり）

hana ikusa 花軍 (はないくさ) fighting, competition
..... hanawawase, hana awase 晩春 花合せ（はなあわせ）
..... hanakurabe, hana kurabe 花比べ（はなくらべ）

hanazukare 花疲 (はなづかれ) getting tired (of watching cherry blossoms)
..... hanamizukare 花見疲（はなみづかれ）



.SAIJIKI ... HUMANITY
Kigo for Spring 　


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はらはらと
はらはらはらと
桜かな

harahara to
harahara hara to
sakura kana

fluttering
more fluttering
cherry blossoms

- Shared by Taro Aizu -
Joys of Japan, 2012


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There was also an article by Shigeru Awagi dealing with this connection of cherries and rice growing.
SimplyHaiku/SHv2n4/features/Shigeru_Awagi.html
HE48


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From the Cherry Blossom Digest:

Family: Rosaceae
Japanese name for depicting this group: SAKURA
Habitat: mountain area
Height: 3-20m Blooming season: March-May

Prunus yamasakura: Japanese name is YAMAZAKURA (mountain cherries); most popular species in Japan. Often seen in mountainous areas. Red leaves sprout at the same time as pinkish white flowers. Leaves become red again in autumn.
Prunus pendula: Japanese name is EDOHIGAN; leaves sprout after its pinkish white flower blooms. It blooms earlier than other species.
Prunus lannesiana: Japanese name is OOSHIMAZAKURA; green leaves sprout at the same time with white flowers. Its leaves are utilized as Japanese sweets.
Prunus sargentii: Japanese name is OYAMAZAKURA; red leaves sprout at the same time as pink flowers.
Prunus incisa: Japanese name is MAMEZAKURA. Small tree, the height is 3-8m. Leaves and flowers are small too.
Prunus campanulata: Japanese name is HIGANZAKURA; pendulous red flowers bloom in January-March. This is a Chinese cultivar.

Popular cultivars are:
SOMEIYOSHINO: cultivar bred by Prunus pendula x Prunus lannesiana. This is a most popular cultivar, planted in parks and house gardens all over Japan.

SHIDAREZAKURA: cultivar of Prunus pendula; its branches hang down and show flowers like a cascade.

A famous medieval age monk called SAIGYO wrote the following poem about cherry blossom:
"Could I die under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom
on a full-moon night of spring?" (see below)

This poem is popular in Japan because we can feel like the monk when we stand under cherry blossom trees in spring. It is a heavenly experience, as if we are taking a shower of pink flowers.

SAKURA (cherry blossom) is the national flower of Japan, although the floral symbol of the Japanese royal family is KIKU (chrysanthemum).
HANA means flower in Japanese, but we sometimes use HANA for depicting SAKURA, especially in thetraditional literature world.
The Japanese enjoy parties (drinking, eating, and singing a song) under cherry blossom trees in spring and this is called HANAMI (cherry blossom viewing).

SAKURA is a useful tree. We make crafts from SAKURA wood, the leaves are
used for wrapping foods or sweets, and the flowers are used for making fragrant tea called "SAKURA YU".

- source : homepage3.nifty.com/plantsandjapan/page022 -

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Here is my special story about the
cherry blossoms of the Yoshino Valley.
http://darumapilgrim.blogspot.com/2005/01/yoshino.html


A list of Japanese Cherry Blossom Festivals
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1089


LIST OF CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVALS IN JAPAN 2005
http://www.thejapaneseconnection.com/newsletters/newsletter_3-17-05_destination.htm


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February 2012

“Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of Friendship”
Exhibition at Library of Congress
The Library of Congress will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the gift with an exhibition titled "Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of Friendship," opening on Tuesday, March 20, in the Graphic Arts Galleries on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.
source : Library of Congress

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Worldwide use

Mongolia

. Cherry blossoms “бүйлс” .
Morita san and the Khamar monastery


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USA

Our Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC.
The famous trees, a gift from Japan in 1912, signal the coming of Spring.
The 2005 Cherry Blossom Festival will be March 26-April 10.
Cherry Trees of Washingtonhttp://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/index.htm

Carol Raisfeld


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blossom or blossoms
British English versus American English

In the UK we refer to 'blossoms' as the stuff all over the trees in spring, for example cherry blossom, apple blossom, hawthorn blossom, peach blossom. The only time the plural noun would be used is when referring to the collective of these different 'blossoms'.
Otherwise blossoms is only used as a verb
- "the apple tree blossoms in the spring".

CHECk ... www.websters-online-dictionary.org


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Things found on the way



Sakura Daruma　さくら　だるま　


. sakura さくら / 桜　 cherry blossom art motives .

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Haibun

i grew up in washington, dc. the tidal basin, near the jefferson memorial (the potomac river experiences tides as far north as dc) is surrounded by cherry trees, a gift of the japanese people.

my dad, an early rising recreational fisherman and professional photographer, would wait til the peak of the cherry blossom bloom, then rise early to fresh squeeze orange juice into a thermos. then he would bundle the five of us children, still in pajamas and our blankets, into the car and
drive us down to watch the sun rise thru the backlit cherry blossoms. of course, we would sip his fresh squeezed orange juice during this awesome experience.

this haiku, written 50 years later, during a trip to dc during cherry blossom season, was in the Basho festival anthology this year:

cherry petals
breakdancing
on windswells

susan delphine delaney md
plano, texas

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Paris

As we walked in Paris on Good Friday, we noticed the usual morning-time flood approaching in the gutter alongside the kerb, carrying with it whatever debris the road sweepers had swept up. Only this time, the water carried a flood of pink froth -- we stopped in amazement -- cherry petals far from the trees -- and the flood of water so pretty that morning...

Down in the gutter
look -- a river of petals
-- cherry blossom time.

What joy it was!

Isabelle Prondzynski

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© Photo by Gabi Greve

Take part of my Cherry Blossom Viewing Party (hanami) at the Castel Park in Tsuyama in 2005.
Gabi Photo Album
Check also the Hanami photos in Tsuyama from other years, same album.


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Saigyo Hooshi, maybe the most famous of the SAKURA poets.
Read about
Saigyo Hooshi (西行法師) and the Cherry Blossoms


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sakurafubuki
下り上り　桜吹雪の　道ありて



walking down
and up again -
cherry blossoms scattering

Gabi Greve, Spring 2007


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HAIKU

sensei nakunarite wa tada no sakura kana

the master being dead
just ordinary...
cherry blossoms

sato no ko no tamoto kara chiru sakura kana

trickling from
a village child's sleeve...
cherry blossoms

sawagashiki yo o oshi haratte oso-zakura

the cure for
this raucous world...
late cherry blossoms


花さくや目を縫れたる鳥の鳴
hana saku ya me o nuwaretaru tori no naku

cherry blossoms--
chickens with eyes stitched shut
are clucking

Jean Cholley explains that this is a scene in the poultry market in the Muromachi district of Edo (today's Tokyo). The birds' eyes were sewn shut to keep them immobile while being fattened in their cages; En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 237. Issa's heart goes out to the birds not only because they are not long for this world. They cannot see, and never again will see, the cherry blossoms.


Issa has more than 120 haiku about Sakura.
..... Tr. David Lanoue


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大馬に尻こすらるる桜哉
oouma ni shiri kosuraruru sakura kana

cherry tree
rubbed by the rump
of a big horse

rubbed rubbing
between cherry tree
and big horse rump

This hokku is from the second month (March) of 1818, when Issa was back in his home town or traveling near it. It's a single statement leading up to the cherry tree, and the passive voice puts a lot of emphasis on the tree trunk being rubbed by a large horse. Issa is empathizing with the tree here and imagining how it must feel -- a sense of wonder that isn't hyperbole, since in Japanese Buddhism grasses and trees were believed to be capable of achieving enlightenment (soumoku-joubutsu 草木成仏).

The above is a standard vanilla translation based on the assumption that Issa regarded the rubbing to be instrumental and done in one direction only, from the horse to the tree. However, that way of reading the hokku probably underestimates Issa's multivalent way of viewing the universe. It also overlooks an interesting ambiguity here: shiri, meaning 'rump' when referring to the horse (translation 1), can refer to the tree as well: shiri means not only 'hips, rump' but also 'back or bottom end or part,' and ki-jiri means the lower trunk of a tree. In translation 2 the cherry tree's lower trunk (shiri) is simultaneously being rubbed by the horse's rump (shiri) and rubbing the rump -- or, from the horse's point of view, causing its rump to be rubbed.
Because of the passive voice in the verb, both the tree and the horse are actively passive and passively active. The main focus seems to be on the uncanny mutual passive-active rubbed-rubbing relationship that is briefly shared by two different beings. I wonder if Issa didn't deliberately try to obscure the subject/object relationships here and intend the hokku to be read both ways, back and forth open-endedly like a moebius strip running between two different forms of consciousness. Probably translation 2 should be the first translation.

It's not clear whether any cherry blossoms are falling because of the rubbing. The tree is probably beginning to bloom at this time, but if petals were falling, it would probably be mentioned, since that's a very important image. In any case, Issa may take this kind of tactile blossom viewing/rubbing to be just as meaningful as human blossom-viewing, if not more meaningful in its own intimate way.

Chris Drake

. Revision of the Comment - August 27, 2013 .

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- - - - - Matsuo Basho - - - - -


さまざまのこと思ひ出す桜かな
samazama no koto omoidasu sakura kana

calling to mind
all manner of things
cherry blossoms
source :　Hasegawa Kai


Myriads of things past
Are brought to my mind
These cherry blossoms!
Tr. Ueda
source :　www.squidoo.com/


How many, many things
They bring to mind --
Cherry blossoms!

Basho
www.thejapaneseconnection.com/



so many things
that I remember -
these cherry blossoms
Tr. Gabi Greve




hana no kumo kane wa Ueno ka Asakusa ka
cloud of blossoms
is that the bell from Ueno
or Asakusa?


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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- - - - - Yosa Buson - - - - -

花に暮れて我家遠き野道かな　　　
hana ni kurete waga ie tooki nomichi kana

Among the blossoms, it grows late,
And I am far from home –
This path over the moor.
Tr. Blyth

With cherry blossoms ends the day
My house, distant--
A path through a field.
Tr. Nelson/Saito


Cherry blossoms darkening,
and far away from my home
on a path through fields!
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert


(- Buson in Kyoto near Sanjo Ohashi Bashi bridge 三条大橋 - ）

花にくれぬ我住む京に帰去来（かえりなん）
hana ni kurenu waga sumu kyo ni kaeri nan (kaerinan)

Darkness on the blossoms --
back to Kyoto where I live
now I will return.
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert

With respect to a poem by
. Tao Yuanming 　陶淵明 .
one of Buson's favorite poets.
Yuanming refers to going home where the chrysanthemums are blossoming.



海手より日は照（てり）つけて山ざくら　　　

雲を呑みて花を吐くなるよしの山　　

花の香や嵯峨のともしび消ゆる時　　　
（注）視覚と嗅覚の微妙な関係を詠む。遠くの灯が消えて、桜の香りがした。

花を踏みし草履も見えて朝寝かな　　

月光西にわたれば花影東に歩むかな　



. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .



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天地をわが宿にして桜かな
ame tsuchi o waga yado ni shite sakura kana

heaven and earth
are their home -
these cherry blossoms

Hasegawa Kai


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jinrikisha sakura no namiki toori ni keri

A rikshaw-ride
Along the cherry blossom alley -
What a night!

Mit der Rikshaw
Durch die Kirschbluetenalee -
Was fuer eine Nacht!

Gabi Greve in Kamakura, along the Dankazura Sakura Alley

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Kamakura
http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~takei/kamakura200304/sakura-03.jpg

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the cat
cherry blossoms
on her tail

in her tea
a fallen petal
cherry blossom

Geert Verbeke
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2004/01/friends-geert-verbeke.html

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blossoms swirl . . .
the puppy plays
with a petal

Carol Raisfeld

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© Photo by Gabi Greve

falling petals -
the farmers wife
spraying chemicals

Read more about the rural Sakura of Gabi Greve
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2005/03/cherry-blossoms-sakura.html



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Related words

***** . Autum Cherry Shikizakura (Japan)

***** Daigo Cherry Tree Daigo-zakura, Western Japan

***** Light Charcoal Cherry Blossoms, Usuzumizakura 薄墨桜　and a Kannon Statue

***** himuro no sakura 氷室の桜
cherry blossoms in the ice house


***** late cherry blossoms, lingering cherry blossoms
yoka (よか) 余花
wakaba no hana 若葉の花（わかばのはな）cherry "blossoms among young leaves"
..... aoba no hana 青葉の花（あおばのはな)
natsuzakura 夏桜（なつざくら） summer cherry blossoms

hazakura 葉桜 (はざくら) "leaves and blossoms"
It has a feeling of the quiet after the storm, of time taking its move from one thing to the next.

!! kigo for early summer !!

This kigo refers not to the last blossoms of a tree flowering in spring usually, but to the late blossoms up on the mountains, especially in Yoshino Valley. The blossoms are full of vigour and beauty.

climbing for hours
with sweat on my brow -
late cherry blossoms !

Gabi Greve, Yoshino, 1988





***** cherry, the fruit 桜の実 (さくらのみ) sakura no mi
mizakura 実桜（みざくら）
sakura mi to naru 桜実となる（さくらみとなる） cherry becomes a fruit
sakuranbo　さくらんぼ　


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Yoshino Yama shizuka ni yoka no owarikeri

Mount Yoshino !
quietly the last cherry blossoms
come to an end
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

荒木　春雪子
(NHK Haiku, May 6, 2006)
http://www.nhk.or.jp/tankahaiku/haiku_tokusen/index_week.html

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Cherry Blossom Time ... Food Kigo


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