Poacher's Moon

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Poacher's Moon, Poachers Moon

***** Location: England
***** Season: Autumn
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

The full moon of November is called the Poacher’s Moon in England because it follows on after the great hunting season in October. The full moon extending into the quiet hours, especially when it coincides with clear skies, affords the poacher ideal conditions to mop up the luckless survivors for the winter game pot.

A poacher is someone who hunts game illegally, usually on other people’s private land. It is a long held tradition of the countryside in England, where poor peasants and agricultural workers supplemented their meat supplies at the expense of their rich neighbours. So this kigo has the flavour of something illicit but, from the poacher’s point of view, not immoral, more a necessary means of survival and provision for family in an unequal and inequitable society.

A larder full of free meet to last the cold winter would often make the difference between starvation and survival for many families. There is an element of class conflict in this and also of good-natured competition in outwitting the gamekeeper. From the Landowner’s point of view it would usually be about law/power enforcement and control of verminous theft. Foxes and poachers are mutual metaphors. Whilst there is some admiration for the wilyness of the fox, Landowners often go to great lengths to protect their exclusive access to the wild game on their property. Whilst ‘poaching’ happens all year around, the ‘Poacher’s moon’ is a specifically autumn/November kigo.

Eryu



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

the Gamekeeper’s fire
feathers the cold larder floor
with Poacher’s moonlight

Eryu

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Related words

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