Pine (matsu)

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. Tengu to matsu 天狗と松 / 天狗松 the Tengu pine .
. pine 松と伝説 Legends about the pine tree .
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Pine (matsu)

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

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Explanation

The Pine itself is not connected to any special season, but there are many other words used as kigo, using the pine as a part of it. There also various types of PINE in Japan.

First read this essay by Linda Inoki about the pine in Japan.


©
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/images/photos2005/fe20050106lia.jpg

Matsu (Pine) By LINDA INOKI

From high in the sky,
The snow making its way down
Following the pine.

By Seishi Yamaguchi, quoted in "The Essence of Modern Haiku" by Takashi Kodaira and Alfred H. Marks (Mangajin)

With the onset of winter, many Japanese gardens start to feature strange and ethereal "sculptures" made of string: These are the yukitsuri, or "snow lines." Although their purpose is to protect pine trees from heavy snow, they are so airy and attractive that they seem to invite it to fall from the skies! This practical idea has been turned into a piece of garden artistry, and even in regions where snow rarely falls, gardeners cannot resist adding these graceful touches to the winter scene.

I sketched this small pine tree with its high snow ropes in a Tokyo garden. It is a goyomatsu ( Pinus pentaphylla; Japanese white pine), which you can identify by its silvery bark and pine needles growing in groups of five. White pines are slow-growing and are popular for training into bonsai or specimen trees in the garden. Being tough, long-lived and evergreen, pine trees are important symbols of endurance and eternity in Oriental culture. With their year-round foliage, they also bridge the seasons of winter and spring, and although we live in a material world it is good to see that many people still decorate their gateways with the traditional branches of pine to greet the New Year.
The Japan Times: Jan. 6, 2005
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050106li.htm



Yukitsuri, trees in bondage.
By Alice Gordenker, Japan Times Feb. 2007


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"Three friends of Winter", Pine, Bamboo and Plum
Shoo-chiku-bai 松竹梅
shoochikubai, shochikubai. Sho-Chiku-Bai

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


saikan sanyu 歳寒三友 Three Friends of Winter
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


They are an auspicious assembly used since olden times in Chinese art, later in Japanese art too. The symbolic meaning of the Pine Tree is "Long Life".
Pine trees show abundand green even in the fiercest of winter and hardly dry out, so they have been a symbol of long life in China since old times. They also represent friendship and constancy during times of advertsity. As symbol of good luck and agelessness this tree has stood in veneration and together with the bamboo and plum tree as become an expression of celebration and joy, especialy in the New Year season.

Sometimes the pine tree symbolizes one of the Chinese gods of happiness and long life, Shou Hsing.

In Japan, we have the couple of Joo (尉) and hers is Uba (媼)
"The Pine of Sumi-no-e" (住吉の松) and the Takasago Legend


. . . CLICK here for decorative Photos !


shoochikubai kazaru 松竹梅飾る (しょうちくばいかざる)
decoration of pine, bamboo and plum
kigo for the New Year
WKD : New Year Decorations (o-kazari)


. WASHOKU
Sho-Chiku-Bai on the Menu 　


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New Year Kigo

. kadomatsu 門松と伝説 Legends about pine decorations .

Gate Decoration with Pine, kadomatsu 門松
placed one each at the gate or entrance of a home. Their size reflects the richness of the owner. They are put out on December to welcome the Deities and burnt on January 6 or 14 (matsu osame 松納め) .
..... Pines by the corners, kado no matsu 門の松

Kadomatsu and New Year Decorations ... KIGO List

鎌倉の古き宿屋の松飾り
Kamakura no furuki yadoya no matsukazari

these pine decorations
at the old inns
of Kamakura

Takahama Kyoshi, 1949




Temple Tanjo-Ji, by Gabi Greve



pine decorations, matsu kazari 松飾り
..... kazari matsu 飾り松
bamboo decorations, kazari take

Click HERE to have a look at some more photos !


..... Pulling Pine Seedlings (komatsu hiki)

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. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .

the 5th: cloudy, cold wind blowing, snow from around 4 p.m. -- a foot deep

chiru yuki ni tachiawasekeri kado no matsu

New Year's pines
alone together now
with falling snow
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from 1/5 (Feb. 15) in 1804, when Issa was traveling around in the area just east of Edo. His diary states the situation in a headnote. In the 12th month people stood a pair of New Year's pines in buckets or on stands in front of their doors and gates. People with money used taller pines and also added a third crossbar pine so that it connected the tops of the two vertical pines and created a symbolic gate resembling the wood or stone torii gate at the entrance to the precincts of a Shinto shrine. Sometimes a shamanic rope or the horizontal crossbeam above the gate entrance itself served this purpose.

In Issa's time many people also put various lengths of bamboo and sometimes other kinds of limbs and flowers in with the pines. Pine trees were believed to be the tree that gods favored when they came down from the sky/other world, and these "gate pines" were regarded as invitations to the god of the new year (toshigami) to visit the house and bring good fortune to it during the new year. In fact, the shrine-gate shape of the gate pines suggests that they symbolically turned each house into a temporary shrine for the year's god and for other gods. Many people put the pines up on 12/13 and kept them up until 1/15, when they were burned in sacred bonfires under the first full moon of the new year and sent back to the invisible world of the gods.

In this hokku it has begun to snow hard, and few people walk through the dim, snowy streets, giving the pines and snow some space and time together. The pines and the falling snow somehow seem aware that they are now together with each other. It doesn't snow that much in the Edo/Tokyo area, so this may be the first time. Perhaps it's a bit like two shy teenagers who like each other and suddenly find themselves next to each other. Of course Issa doesn't know exactly how the pines and snow feel, but there is an uncanny resemblance between descending snow and the descent of various gods of good fortune at New Year's. The pines have been put up above all in order to wait for these gods and to welcome their visits, and now something is happening. Perhaps Issa wonders if the pines can sense gods drifting down in the snow. Or perhaps it's more intimate, since the snow may be falling directly onto the pines, lying on their limbs.

A couple of more versions, the first literal and the second a stab, using an aural image, at what Issa might be getting at:

New Year's pines
find themselves together
with falling snow

New Year's pines
overhear
snow falling

Here is a photo of gate pines of the types common in Issa's time:



- Chris Drake -
Translating Haiku Forum



小一尺それも門松にて候
ko-isshaku sore mo kadomatsu nite sooroo

foot-high pines
stand tall by the door
at New Year's
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from the 1st month (February) of 1812, when Issa was staying in the area just east of Edo. It evokes a scene Issa saw at or around New Year's, when people stood a pair of pine trees just outside their doors. One pine was placed on each side of the door, suggesting divine gateposts down which a shamanic god (or a pair of gods) could descend, and at the houses of the rich and powerful a third pine or a string with decorations was often placed horizontally, linking the tops of the two vertical pines, a shape resembling the divine gates or torii at Shinto shrines. Thus the twin pines symbolically made each house or apartment into a temporary small Shinto shrine. Above all, the pines were set up to invite the god of the new year to make a visit to the house and bring good fortune to it during the coming year.

However, Edo and the towns around it were filled almost to bursting with poor immigrants from the country -- such as Issa -- who came to Edo to escape difficult conditions, poverty, or even starvation in their farm villages. Most of these people couldn't afford a pair of pine trees 5 or more feet tall, so they bought cheap one-foot sections of a pine limb and stood these vertically on each side of their doors using stands or small pots, often with decorations placed on them. Issa uses the term "short shaku" (equal to 99.4% of a foot) to evoke the commercial nature of these measured and precisely cut sections that poor people had to make do with at New Year's, probably because he wants to stress just how irrelevant physical length is to the spiritual value of the limbs.

Issa uses a very polite form for the verb "are" to show his admiration for the people who did what they could and stood the pine limbs in front of their door as an expression of respect for the gods and for all who pass by -- and to show his admiration for the pine limbs themselves, which are just as spiritually imposing at New Year's as the tall pine trees standing in front of the gates of large mansions. The polite verb form suggests Issa isn't writing about his own doorway but is expressing his great respect for the poor family that set up the one-foot pines that in their new context seem so tall.

Chris Drake


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shared by Yoshinobu Takemura FB-JOJ

warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru - 笑う門には福来る
Fortune comes in by a merry gate.

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observance kigo for mid-winter

matsu mukae 松迎え (まつむか)
"welcoming the pine decorations"
matsubayashi 松ばやし（まつばやし）"festival music for the pines"
kadomatsu oroshi 門松おろし（かどまつおろし）

On the 13th day of the 12th lunar month, the pine branches were cut in the local forest and brought home to make the decorations. This was accompanied with music on the way and food afterwards.
Nowadays it occurs often on the 8th day of December.
In some temples and shrines, ritual dances were also performed on this day.


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SPRING KIGO

young green, wakamidori 若緑 is a general term for the pines when they start growing.
also called
green of the pine, matsu no midori　松の緑,
first green, hatsu midori 初緑
green starts to stand up, midori tatsu 緑立つ

and finally

松の芯　matsu no shin, center of the pine growing, pine candles:
kigo for late spring

matsu no SHIN can also be interpreted as the strong will of the pine (human) to keep going in adverse situations, so this expression is well loved in Japanese poetry.



© Gabi Greve

松の花 まつのはな matsu no hana, pine flowers


. . . CLICK here for more Photos !


松花粉 まつかふん matsu kafun, pine pollen
This is a growing problem in Japan these days.

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松囃子　matsubayashi, music and dance performance
http://ww7.tiki.ne.jp/~agari/matubayasi-syasinn.html
http://www.city.fukuoka.jp/contents/7d14c213111/7d14c21311110.htm

お松明 おたいまつ o-taimatsu pine torch [used in the ceremony] for O-Mizu Tori ceremony


Read more about this festival here:
http://www.mahoroba.ne.jp/~vrk-nara/omizutori/shunie-e.html

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SUMMER KIGO

Pine needles falling down, matsu ochiba 松落ち葉

松漁 かつお katsuo bonito [kanji literally "pine fish"]

松蝉 [まつぜみ] matsuzemi, pine-tree cicada

松葉牡丹 まつばぼたん matsubabotan portulaca / rose moss
lit. "pine-needle peony"
Portulaca grandiflora
..... hiderigusa 日照草 ひでりぐさ sun plant


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AUTUMN KIGO

matsuba 松葉 pine needles

irokaenu matsu 色変えぬ松 (いろかえぬまつ) pines not changing colors
late autumn

松手入 まつていれ matsu teire,
pruning pines [literally "pine maintenance"]
kigo for late autumn


松ぼくり（まつぼくり）pinecones, pine cones
新松子 (しんちぢり) shinchijiri, new pinecones
..... 松ふぐり（まつふぐり） matsu fuguri
青松毬（青松笠） あおまつかさ aomatsukasa ao matsukasa, green pinecone
late autumn


. Matsutake 松茸 pine mushroom .
Armillaria edodes. VERY expensive.
松茸飯　matsutake meshi, rice with matsutake mushrooms, a very expensive delicacy


松虫 matsumushi, pine bug
lit. "insect in waiting", a symbol for a lady waiting for her lover.
- Matsumushi Haiku -


松虫草 matsumushi-soo, pine, bug grass


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WINTER KIGO

early winter kigo

shiki matsuba 敷松葉 (しきまつば) spreading pine needles
In the garden, to protect other bulbs and moss. This would give the garden an elegant look. Especially used for tea room gardens.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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late winter kigo

yukitsuri 雪吊　（ゆきつり）supporting trees with strings
yukizuri

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late spring kigo

yukitsuri toku 雪吊解く（ゆきづりとく）taking down the support strings


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Worldwide use

Kiefer, Rotkiefer


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Things found on the way



茂岡の神さび立ちて栄えたる
千代松の樹の歳の知らなく

Shigeoka no kamu sabitachite sakaetaru
chiyo matsu no ki no toshi no shiranaku

The pine, the tree that waits for a thousand reigns,
that flourishes and stands godly at Shigeoka, knows no year.

Manyo-Shu Poetry Collection - 紀朝臣鹿人　

Haruo Shirane - Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons
source : books.google.co.jp

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. The Pine Tree Where Yoshitsune Rested .
kurakake matsu 経鞍掛松
Yoshitsune rested at this location and placed his saddle on the pine tree.


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matsu pine of a Noh butai stage - 能舞台 松

. butai hajime 舞台始（ぶたいはじめ）first stage .


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Matsu are a favorite for Bonsai too. Look at some nice pictures.
http://homepage3.nifty.com/plantsandjapan/page033.html

MATSU 待つ　can also mean: to wait for somebody.
Here is a story about Daruma and the Pine, waiting...
http://www.amie.or.jp/daruma/Matsu-2.html

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HAIKU

僧朝顔幾死返る法の松
soo asagao ikushi ni kaeru nori no matsu

Monks and morning glories;
How many have died and returned!
The Dharma pine.

Matsuo Basho

... this verse may be in the form of hokku, but it is not really hokku. It is a religious verse, and when we try to "preach" religion in hokku, the result inevitably fails. Also, this verse requires a kind of prologue just to be understood, which compounds the problem because it cannot "stand on its own feet."

Bashô saw a great and very old pine tree at a temple. It reminded him of the story of the Chinese Daoist Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu) about a tree that survived the years because its wood was useless. That set Bashô off on a train of thought about how many monks had come and gone, like morning glories that bloom in the dawn and die in the evening, and yet the great pine, protected on the temple grounds by the "Dharma," had survived to very old age.
Writing about such things has its place, but it does not fit hokku.

© David Coomler


Hoo no Matsu, nori no matsu, the Pine of the Buddhist Law.


. Basho at temple Taimadera 　



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


門松やおもへば一夜三十年
kadomatsu ya omoeba ichiya sanjuunen

pine decorations -
thinking about it, one night
feels like thirty years

Written in 延宝5年, Basho age 34.
In this year, Basho had decided to become a haikai master in Edo.



幾霜に心ばせをの松飾り
iku shimo ni kokoro Baseo no matsukazari

frost comes and goes
on the pine decoration
of my home
(tr. Gabi Greve)

kokorobase is a word play Basho uses to imply himself (Baseo), someone with a sincere heart.
How often the frost comes on the pine, the green does not change and stands there in endurance.


Written in 1686 貞亨３年, New Year

MORE - - kokoro こころ　－　心　 "heart", mind, soul -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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matsu tatete sora honobono to akuru kado

putting up the pines,
dawn sky breaks,
at the gates

Natsume Sooseki

Read more Haiku here !
University of Virginia Saijiki

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... ... ... ... ... Pine Candles



pine candles
on a sandy beach -
power of life

© Gabi Greve Beachflowers

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pine candles -
day by day
they lengthen

© Linda Papanicolaou

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浜道や砂から松の若みどり　
hamamichi ya suna kara matsu no waka midori

beach raod -
from the sand emerging
young green

Choo Mu 蝶 夢（died 1795）

This haiku captures the same mood as I experienced in Yonago in 2004. This kigo usually discribes a scene of light and warmth and hope.

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The following haiku where kindly suggested by Etsuko Yanagibori.
cherrypoetryclub

ame no ka ni tachimasarikeri matsu no shin

fragrance of rain -
growing up eagerly,
the pine candles

Watanabe Suiha (1882 - 1946)

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Musashino no tori kuru matsu no shin mugen

birds of Musashino plain
coming to the pine candles -
infinity

Hasegawa Kanajo (1887 ~ 1969)

.....

赤松は芯　黒松は花 こぼしけり

Akamatsu wa shin Kuromatsu wa hana koboshikeri

Red pine candles
Black pine flowers
so abundantly

Fujita Akegarasu 藤田あけ烏
http://www.d2.dion.ne.jp/~t_katou/goroku0.html


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Related words

***** komo こも【薦】straw mats around the tree trunks
to prevent insects to hurt the tree during winter time.


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The Pine Tree of Priest Rennyo at Morinomiya
(Morinomiya Rennyo-matsu)
Utagawa Yoshitaki (1841-1899)
- from the series "One Hundred Views of Osaka" (Naniwa hyakkei), 1860.
— Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.


Saint Rennyo 蓮如
(1415-1499) 8th abbot of the Jōdo Shinshū sect. Temple Hongan-Ji
Rennyo-Ki 蓮如忌　（れんにょき）Memorial Day
Yoshizaki moode 吉崎詣（よしざきもうで）Yoshizaki pilgrimage

. WKD : Memorial Days .

. Honganji 本願寺 Hongan-Ji, Hongwanji .
Kyoto

. pine 松と伝説 Legends about the pine tree .

. Tengu to matsu 天狗と松 the Tengu pine .
Legends

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- #matsupine #pinematsu #kadomatsu -
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Phenology

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Phenology

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Explanation

What is phenology?
Phenology is the study of observable and measurable events that tend to occur annually. Types of annual events at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve include:

* the dates that Lake Mendota freezes in the winter and thaws in the spring, or
* the date in early spring when male redwing blackbirds first, begin singing to declare their territories in the vicinity of University Bay.

Phenology can be enjoyed by everyone, no matter how much or how little they know about natural history. Small children can understand its core concepts, and senior scientists still experience wonder at the insights it generates. Phenological observations are also used to understand how our climate is changing.

The science called phenology, which studies natural events—season to season and year to year—in an effort to understand the natural cycles of ecosystems.

Watching the seasonal cycles of its plants, animals, and physical systems is a fascinating way to deepen your appreciation and understanding of a natural area.

Spring phenology
Summer phenology
Fall phenology
Winter phenology

©　University of Wisconsin

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LINKS about Phenology

Nature's Calendar
http://www.phenology.org.uk/

Phenology Software
http://www.sws-wis.com/lifecycles/

Sustainable Agriculture Resource Portal
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/phenology.html


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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Related words

***** Seasons and Categories Learn the Basics of World Kigo.

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Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
worldkigo .....

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

Peony (botan) - Clematis

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Peony (botan)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Summer and others
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

peony, tree peony, botan, bootan
ぼうたん、ぼたん、 牡丹)
Paeonia suffruticosa, Pfingstrose

bootamu ぼうたむ is not used nowadays.
botamu, ぼたむ
It is an old spelling, found by Buson.

shakuyaku 芍薬 (しゃくやく) Shakuyaku peony
"lit. "like a medicine spoon"
Paeonia lactiflora



© PHOTO :　Gabi Greve, June 2010


white peony, hakubotan 白牡丹
red peony, hi-botan (hibotan) 緋牡丹
peony park, botan-en 　牡丹園

Peonies have large, gorgeous flowers, but they last only very short. In haiku, they carry the feeling of permanence and transition, often used as substitute for a beautiful lady.

Their area of origin is North-West China, but they have long been known in Japan. They are also a frequent pattern in Chinese and Japanese art. They were the national flower of T'ang China.

Gabi Greve


Facts in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Famous Peony Parks in Japan are at the temple Hasedera (close to Nara) and the Taimadera.
Hasedera 長谷寺



『立てば芍薬、座れば牡丹、歩く姿は百合の花』
Tateba Shakuyaku
Suwareba Botan Aruku
Sugata wa Yuri no Hana (Otome)

This describes a beautiful woman:

when standing, she is like a a herbaceous peony
(shakuyaku)
when seated, she is like a peony (botan)
when walking, she is like a lily

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Temple Taimadera 当麻寺




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Worldwide use

Pfingstrose

Noteworthy Characteristics:
The tree peony species is a deciduous, woody shrub that typically grows 3-5' tall with a 4' spread. The true species features large flowers (6-8" across) with pink to white petals, each petal having a purple basal patch. Many cultivars of this species have been developed, with a wide range of petal colors including red, pink, purple, white and yellow. Cultivar flower forms range from single to semi-double to double. Blooms in early spring (May in the St. Louis area). Medium green foliage is deeply divided into oval to lance-shaped leaflets and remains attractive throughout the growing season.
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=F110


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Things found on the way


"The Peony Show"
Katsushika Hokusai, about 1799



source : ja.ukiyo-e.org/image
Women Admiring Peonies under a Wisteria Trellis
Hosoda (Chôbunsai) Eishi 細田栄之 (1756-1829)


. Join the Ukiyo-E friends on facebook ! .



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Famous Chinese Opera
"The Peony Pavillion" Botan Tei . . . 牡丹亭

This has been revived in 2008 in a co-performance with Kabuki actor Bando Tamasaburo.
WKD : The Peony Pavillion


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HAIKU

- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -

putting up
with my tumble-down house
...peony-


掃人の尻で散たる牡丹かな
haku hito no shiri de chiritaru botan kana

petals scattered
by the sweeper's butt...
peony
Tr. David Lanoue

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おのづから頭の下たるぼたん哉
onozukara zu no sagaritaru botan kana

I find myself
bowing to a naturally
bowing peony
Tr. Chris Drake

This apparently gratitude-filled hokku is from the 5th month (June) of 1818, soon after the birth of Issa's daughter Sato, whose death is evoked the next year in Year of My Life. The hokku can be read in two different ways, a complexity that Issa seems to have deliberately put into the hokku in order to suggest that the difference between observer and observed is temporarily displaced if you read the hokku in both ways at (about) the same time. Read literally, the verb sagaritaru, '[head] has dropped down; bowing' in the second line modifies the peony in the last line, creating an image of a peony that faces downward in such a natural way it seems to be respectfully bowing its head in awe or admiration of its surroundings, including people who come near it. As opposed to deliberately bowing or lowering your head, the intransitive verb refers to spontaneous or passively experienced action: you are overwhelmed by respect or admiration and naturally bow your head before you know it in response to this deep feeling.

Onozukara, 'spontaneously, naturally,' intensifies this quality of the verb and is often used together with the verb to describe oneself or others unconsciously and sincerely bowing before Amida or another Buddha. The downward-tilting peony has grown naturally into a very long bow without even knowing it, and in response to this totally sincere and total bowing Issa seems to have discovered himself bowing, too, as if the peony has awakened a very natural part of his mind. Since Japanese often omits explicit subjects of verbs, it's possible to read an implicit subject, such as I, being placed before the beginning of the hokku. In this case, the modifying relationship of the verb to the peony in the last line means something like "the peony which impressed and moved me and unintentionally caused me to find myself unconsciously already bowing to it."

It seems possible that Issa regards this relationship of sudden mutual recognition between different forms of being as a version of "other power" or spontaneous and sincere trust in and reliance on Amida Buddha in all aspects of life that is taught by True Pure Land Buddhism, but there is nothing explicitly about this belief in the hokku.

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 Issa in Edo .


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. YOSA BUSON 与謝蕪村 (1716 - 1783) .


方八里雨雲よせぬ牡丹かな
ho hachiri amagumo yosenu botan kana

on all sides,
the peony wards off
rain clouds
Tr. Kimiyo Tanaka - shiki




地車のとどろとひびく牡丹かな
jiguruma no todoro to hibiku botan kana

the noisy rumbeling
of festival floats . . .
these peonies

. Jiguruma - festival floats .



the laden wagon runs
bumbling and creaking
down the road
three peonies tremble
source : Peter Beilenson 1955

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牡丹散て打かさなりぬ二三片
botan chirite uchikasanarinu nisanpen

peonies scatter . . .
two or three petals fall
on top of each other
Tr. Gabi Greve


Peony petals fell
Piling one upon another
In twos and threes.
Tr. ?

Peony having scattered
two or three petals lie
on one another.
Tr. ?




source :　www.rakanneko.jp/buson074

虹を吐て　ひらかんとする　牡丹かな
niji o haite hirakan to suru botan kana

this peony
exhailing a rainbow
while opening up . . .

The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


. . . . .


牡丹百二百三百門一つ
botan hyaku nihyaku sambyaku mon hitotsu


one hundred peonies
two hundred, three hundred ...
and only one gate


Awano Seiho 阿波野青畝 (1899-1992)

Maybe he is visiting one of the famous peony temples of Japan.


. WKD : Numbers used in Haiku


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楊貴妃の寝起顔なる牡丹哉
Yooki-Hi no neoki-gao naru botan kana

like the face of Yang Guifei
when she awakens -
this peony

Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規
Tr. Gabi Greve

source : 俳句例句データベース（季語 )

Yang Guifei (Yang Kuifei, Yang Kuei-Fei, Yang Kwei Fei) (719-756) Yookihi
Famous Beauty of Ancient China
Her Lover, Emperor Gensoo, called her face "so beautiful even if she has not slept enough"
寝起きの楊貴妃を「寝たらず」と言った.


Discussion of this Haiku / Translating Haiku Forum

. Princess Yokihi 楊貴妃 .

............................................


sono kuraki yo o shizuka naru botan kana
Kyorai

English is here : Translating Haiku Forum


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near my birthday
the deep magenta
of mother's peonies

Dietmar Tauchner
(GINYU, No.19, July 2003)

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Pfingstrosen am Weg –
auf rotem Teppich
zum Geliebten

peonies on the wayside -
on a red carpet
to my lover
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Roswitha Erler
http://kulturserver-nds.de/home/haiku-dhg/Archiv/Buchbesprechungen/vjs_buch66.html


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In German, the Peonies are called Pfingstrosen, Pfingsten is the name of Pentecost. The following haiku is a play of words in German.

Ach, am Gartenzaun
verblühen die Pfingstrosen
Tage vor dem Fest.

Oh, near the garden fence
the peonies are blooming their last -
days before pentecost
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Adelheid Treffer
http://www.haiku-heute.de/Galerie/Adelheid_Treffer/body_adelheid_treffer.html


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peonies
in the lattice window
a blaze of colours

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


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Related words


***** Peony in the Cold (kan botan (寒牡丹)
fuyu botan 冬牡丹 (ふゆぼたん) winter peony
kigo for winter

Curtesy to the Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050120li.htm


冬牡丹千鳥よ雪のほととぎす
fuyu botan chidori yo yuki no hototogisu

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


. botan kuyoo 牡丹供養（ぼたんくよう) memorial service for peonies


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......... Winter Peony

By LINDA INOKI
(C) All rights reserved

In the stillness,
Between the arrival of guests,
The peonies.

By Buson (1715-83), quoted in "Haiku" by R.H. Blyth (Hokuseido Press)

At this time of year, you wouldn't expect to see peonies in leaf, let alone in bloom. However, the Japanese so loved this plant that they developed the unusual, winter-flowering kanbotan, which literally means "cold peony." Cultivated peonies were introduced to Japan from China in the Nara Period (710-784). The roots provided a valuable herbal medicine for the relief of fever, pain and bleeding. But people also prized the plant for its exquisite blooms, and during the Genroku Era (1688-1703) there was even a "peony boom": One gardening manual listed nearly 500 types of tree peonies.

Peony fanciers competed, trying to grow the most sensational flowers, and townspeople enjoyed gorgeous displays of red, pink, white and yellow blooms in late spring. When someone discovered a remontant, or twice-flowering peony, people could also admire the "king of flowers" in the auspicious New Year season, too. The sight of a peony braving the cold still inspires admiration, and, in Tokyo, the winter peonies at Hamarikyu Garden near Shiodome in Minato Ward are a sight to behold, followed by another fine display there in April and May.

The Japan Times: Jan. 20, 2005
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050120li.htm

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The famous Winter Peony Park in Kamakura, Hachiman-Gu
鎌倉の八幡宮、寒牡丹


source : isaonaka2.web.infoseek.co.jp



CLICK for more photos !

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***** Peony Snow, botan-yuki
(botanyuki 牡丹雪)
kigo for winter

Snow falling in huge soft flakes like Peony petals.

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***** "Pine-needle Peony", Matsuba Botan
(松葉牡丹), （ポーチュラカ）
kigo for late summer


Rose Moss, Portulaca grandiflora. They flower for a long time and are loved as garden flowers from late summer to autumn.


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***** Peony buds, botan no me 牡丹の芽
kigo for early spring
Paeonia suffruticosa


***** botan no newake 牡丹の根分 (ぼたんのねわけ) dividing the roots of peonies
kigo for mid-autumn


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***** "Peony Stew", wild boar stew,
botan nabe 牡丹鍋
kigo for winter



Peony here is used for the meat of the wild boar, arranged in a way it looks like the red and white petals of a peony. This is a dish we can enjoy only in the winter season. It warms body and soul and is very popular in the mountainous areas on a cold evening.


botan nabe - yutaka na mori no megumi kana
.
botan nabe - hatake arashi no batsu no kana
.
wild boar stew -
the fertile woods bestowing
delicious benefits
.
wild boar stew -
devastating the fields
you end up here!

Gabi Greve, 2004
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/775


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杉山の墨絵ぼかしに牡丹鍋
sugiyama no sumi-e bokashi ni botan nabe

the ink painting
of a cedar forest in all gradations -
wild boar stew

Kiuchi Shooshi 木内彰志 Kiuchi Shoshi
(1935 - 2006）


. Sumie paintings and Haiku .


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***** nobotan 野牡丹 (のぼたん) "wild peony"
hime nobotan 姫野牡丹（ひめのぼたん）
kusa nobotan 草野牡丹（くさのぼたん）
ノボタン - Melastoma candidum

kigo for late summer


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***** kusa botan 草牡丹 (くさぼたん) Clematis stans

kigo for ealry autumn


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Clematis クレマチス (kuremachisu)
is a genus of about 300 species within the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids have been popular among gardeners, beginning with Clematis jackmanii, a garden standby since 1862; more hybrid cultivars are being produced constantly.
They are mainly of Chinese and Japanese origin.
Most species are known as clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller's joy, a name invented for the sole British native, C. vitalba, by the herbalist John Gerard; virgin's bower for C. viticella; old man's beard, applied to several with prominent seedheads; and leather flower or vase vine for the North American Clematis viorna.
The genus name is from Ancient Greek clématis, a climbing plant, most probably a periwinkle. There are approximately over two hundred and fifty species and cultivars, often named for their originators or particular characteristics.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !






your picture -
the heady fragrance
of clematis

- Shared by Rosie Mann -
Joys of Japan, 2012


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. kani botan, kani-botan 蟹牡丹 crab and peony
- kamon 家紋 crest patterns .

[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Pemmican

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Pemmican (Pastramă, Romania)

***** Location: Romania
***** Season: Autumn
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Thicker than the American version and inextricably associated (by cityfolk) with sweet wine, it is eaten in the same locales and atmosphere as described above. Shepherds and peasants eat it all the time during autumn anyway.

Cristian Mocanu
Romanian Saijiki

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

the misanthropist—
sweet wine, pemmican lure him
to a side table

challenging new tunes
sweet wine gives strength and glamour
to merry songs of old

munching pemmican
and lost in contemplation—
the two old shepherds

Cristian Mocanu

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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/

Parang

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Parang Serenaders

***** Location: Trinidad and Tobago
***** Season: Tropical rainy season
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

House to house serenade telling stories about the birth of Christ, sung in a Spanish dialect; using such instruments as:, box bass, shac shacs, guitars quatros and mandolins. Both the music and the songs form the Parang. The singers are called Paranderos (men and women). Traditionally Parang is presented in Three forms: The AGUINALDO which tells the Navitity story, The GUARAPO which cover a wide rang of more secular issues and the DESPENDIDA which is a parting song as the paranderos leave the house. Homes welcomed the paranderos with rum and Christmas delicacies. In olden days it was common for a wife, not to see their husbands for days on end, if he was a parandero.

A newer version now appears, alongside the traditional parang: Soca Parang; sung in the English dialect, and influenced by the calypso rhythm; moving outside of the birth of Christ to inform on happenings, traditions, and life style within the Christmas Season in Trinidad and TobagoToday Parang is sung also in many Competitons at Parang Competition sites.

The "Parang Season" is at its height by November but as early as the last week in September Parang songs are aired on the radio. The late Daisy Voisin, a doyenne of the Parang, always sang holding a bunch of flowers in her hands.

Gillena Cox
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Parang as a word is an interpretation of the word "Parranda" - this means basically "the action of merry-making, group of serenaders". In Spanish this word is used in the form "andar de parranda" or "parrandear" (used in Venezuela), meaning basically "to go Paranging". Originally the "Paranderos" - as the singers and players of instruments are called - went carol singing and playing from house to house in the neighbourhood, serenading family and friends spontaneously. These would in return often serve some food and refreshments such as pastels or other snacks and ponche-a-creme to the merrymakers, and the resulting atmosphere would be that of happy togetherness and the joy of a good Christmas lime that could continue to early hours of the morning.

The usual instruments that were (and are still) used in Parang were mainly string-instruments, such as the Guitar, the Cuatro (a four-stringed small Guitar), the Violin, the Mandolin and the Bandolin, accompanied by some light rhythm-instruments such as the Chac-chac (or Maracas) and possibly some other light rattlers to keep the beat. The rhythm is what can be loosely described as Hispanic or Latin-based, though it is distictively different from other well-known Latin rhythms such as Montuno, Son, Cumbia or Merengue.

HISTORY OF PARANG
There are a few theories about how Parang music came to be in Trinidad. One is that it all started during the Spanish rule (from 1498 to 1797) and the Spanish and French creoles kept the music alive after the British took over. Another commonly supported view states that Parang came to be in Trinidad from Spain but via Venezuela. Without a doubt, interactions with the people of Venezuela (where Parang music is also played) have helped to keep the tradition alive throughout the years.
After Trinidad's independence in 1962, a gradual revival of Parang music (as well as many other local arts) began to take place. Competitions on a national scale started and the National Parang Association was formed in 1971. Parang music also has had it's stars, most notably Daisy Voisin. Though she sadly passed away in 1991, she is still referred to as the queen of Parang by many fans.
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/9089/

Another Link:
http://www.trinicenter.com/historicalviews/parang.htm

Songs about Christmas and Parang
to listen to online

http://www.ecaroh.com/christmas/

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


*****************************
HAIKU

enjoying parang ~
hankering for cooler nights
October musings
2004

rainy night --
parang songs on the radio
late October
2003

parang ... parang parang
on the radio ...Christmas time is here
2002

Gillena Cox
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Related words

Daisy Voisin, Christmas, Paranderos, Auinaldo, Guarapo, Despendida, Rum.

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Proposed by: Gillena Cox

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Additions for March 2006

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..................................................................... March 2006

Weasel (itachi) Japan
Ambedkar Jayanti, Memorial Day India
Tukaram Celebrations India
Dragon, a non-seasonal topic of Eastern Art
Eagle(washi) Japan
..... including other birds of winter, fuyu no toriWater birds (mizudori　水鳥) ; Hawk (taka　鷹), Winter wild goose (fuyu no kari　冬の雁) , Winter skylark (fuyu hibari　冬雲雀), Midwinter sparrow (kan suzume　寒雀) , Midwinter crow (kan garasu　寒烏) Owl (fukuroo　梟) , Duck (kamo　鴨), Plover (Chidori　千鳥) , Hooded gull (miyakodori, yurikamome　ユリカモメ), Winter gull (fuyu kamome　冬鴎), Wren (misosazai　ミソサザイ), Crane (tsuru　鶴)Swan (hakuchou　白鳥) , Grebe (Kaitsuburi　カイツブリ)

Butterbur sprouts (fuki no too) and butterbur (fuki) (Japan)
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), Europa Butterbur Dandelion, fuki tanpopo (Japan)

Grape Hyacinth, Europa muscari, Lampenputzer
Gutsy Radish (dokonjoo daikon) Japan

Kite flying, India and Pakistan
Haiku in Bhutan INDIA SAIJIKI
Daffodil, Narcissus and Jonquils Europa

Spring light, spring shining (shunkoo) Japan
..... wind shining (kaze hikaru) JapanVeronica, field speedwell, Europa inufuguri (Japan)
Girl Scout Cookies USA

Bahati Haiku Club Meeting, March 2006 Kenya
Bahati Haiku Club Records since January 2006 Kenya

Jizobon, Jizoo Bon 地蔵盆
..... including Coming of Age and Fire Rituals, Sagichoo 左義長

O-Mizutori, Omizutori Ceremony, お水取り） Shuni-E Ceremony 修二会 Nara, Japan
..... Including "Sending off Water from Wakasa" Wakasa no O-Mizu Okuri.Hawaiian Spirit
Vailankanni (Velankanni), Festival in Chennai, India
Doll Festival (hina matsuri) Japan Peach Festival, Girl's Festival
Surfer, Surfing, Surf Hawaii, worldwide

Homeland, Hometown (furusato) Japan Heimat, Fatherland, Motherland

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Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
worldkigo .....

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

Oktoberfest

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
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Oktoberfest (Octoberfest)

***** Location: Germany
***** Season: Autumn
***** Category: Observance

*****************************
Explanation

The Oktoberfest in Munich, which usually starts in the middle of September (that is a good reason to call it OCTOBER fest) and runs only until the 3rd of October, is celebrated in many German communities all over the world where people love beer, saussages and companionship.

Next to the Christmas tree, the Oktoberfest is the most popular custom that Germany has ever exported. From Saturday thousands of thirsty tourists will flock to Munich for the world's biggest Oktoberfest.



The Munich Oktoberfest is the largest German Volksfest, or festival. It all began with the marriage celebration of the Bavarian crown prince Ludwig (later to become King Ludwig I.) to Princess Therese from the German kingdom of Saxony-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810.

Over the years, the beer fest has spread to many parts of the world. But not all are as old and traditional as the Munich festival. However, they have similarities: All serve lots of beer and authentic Bavarian meals to traditional Bavarian music played by local or some times exported German brass bands.

Read a lot more here
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1329027,00.html

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The Oktoberfest 2004 has ended!
On the Germans national holiday, October 3rd, the 171st Oktoberfest has ended. In spite of the bad weather, 5.9 Million people visited the worlds biggest fair this year and drank approximately 5.5 million liters of beer. On the 17th of September 2005 the 172nd Oktoberfest will open its gates.


Look at some great highlights from 2004.
http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/10/

Check it out here:
http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/index.php

And another German link
http://www.muenchen.de/Tourismus/Oktoberfest/89552/

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"Oktoberfest is a three-week festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September and early October. It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending
every year."

Many breweries in the USA make special beer at that time of the year and call it Oktoberfest. It is a tradition started by German immigrants many years ago.

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Worldwide use

USA
Fall is the season of Oktoberfests... folk festivals with live music, Bavarian treats, folk dancing, arts and crafts shows, ethnic food chalets, and of course a beer garden (Biergarten).
The background of Oktoberfest! is:
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg1097/oktoberfest.html

Carol Raisfeld

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

Oktoberfest
a sampling of beer from
many kegs

Carol Raisfeld

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Oktoberfest unumgaenglich
von ottonormalverbraucher

De Musi spuid auf
Des Festbier fliesst in Stroemen
Bsuffa gema hoam

http://www.dulzinea.de/forum/haikus/e12782-gedicht.html

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Oktoberfest -
a drunken driver
sleeps in the car

Gabi Greve


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Kodak Moments of Oktoberfest:

two Chinese dressed
in Lederhosen and Dirndls
Munich's blue sky

Italians sing
Bavarian drinking songs
a German girl's smile

Oktoberfest
a sea of human heads
inside the beer tent

House of Horrors
hand in hand an old couple
giggling

slanted sunlight
in my gingerbread heart
her bite mark

a roller coaster
against the sunset sky
Sayonara

Chen-ou Liu
Canada, 2006







The 2012/179th Oktoberfest,
the biggest folk /beer festival in the world, came to end yesterday.
“Oktoberfest party goers glugged 6.9 million litres of beer.”

a line of waitresses
dancing on the table
smell of the Oktoberfest

Chen-ou Liu
Canada, 2012


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Related words

***** Harvest Thanksgiving (Christian communities)
Harvest Festival, Erntedankfest


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October (juugatsu)

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October (juugatsu　十月)

***** Location: Japan. worldwide
***** Season: Late Autumn
***** Category: Season

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Explanation



Haiku juugatsu in the Edo period relates to the climate of present-day November,
but some festivals are dated in our present-day October.

. . Names of Japanese months and their meanings . .

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. . . . AUTUMN
the complete SAIJIKI


nagatsuki,nagazuki 長月 (ながつき) "long month"
ninth lunar month, now 8 Oct – 6 Nov


Kannazuki - 　Month without Gods
tenth lunar month, now 7 Nov – 6 Dec


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October----The Changing Season
Inahata Teiko

October is the late autumn on the calendar. The sky is endlessly blue, hills and fields are covered with red and yellow leaves, plants bear fruit, and the air becomes clearer and colder. This month most distinctly shows the characteristics of autumn in the four seasons. Don’t you think so?

　October is the beautiful and comfortable season, which is blessed with opulent products. However, at the same time, there shows a sign of the degeneration of the creatures, which steals up from behind. Light and shadow contend in power each other. In the meantime, after passing a short period when all the mountains, rivers, trees and plants are filled with deep tranquility, shadow becomes predominant. The temperature goes down, born fruits fall down, red leaves turn to the withered color, and at last the leaves begin to fall gradually.
In a word, October is the changing season.

　Considering what sort of things nature has brought to the human beings through the above changes, we thank for the fact that we are given a lot of gifts.

©　Inahata Teiko : NATURE AND OUR LIFE

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Worldwide use

Southern Hemisphere, Tropics ...

Adjustments for each region must be made.


Germany

Oktober, Goldener Oktober


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

October night
dead leaves rush towards me

©　Martin Gottlieb Cohen, tinywords 2007


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October night
not a leaf flapping
not a sound

October night
flying ants join me
for dinner

October night
the eerie feeling
of aloneness

October night
a napping cat curled
at the doorstep

October night
a cup of hot chocolate
stirs my reverie

Willie Bongcaron, Philippines
October 2009


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October in the desert of Yemen

around the campfire
never felt so content ..
shooting stars

~~~

a few stray camels
the only sign of life –
Milky way

~~~

shortened day at a grave:
the dog kept guarding
his mistress' new tent

~~~

the desert wolf digs
a deep burrow –
sand dunes transform
i)


~~~

together ...
listening to
the wolves howl
ii)


~~~

following the crack
in a mud wall ...
Pegasus' square
iii)

...

i) meaning: daytime, to protect himself from the sun/heat gain


ii) meaning: wolves howl > Arabian or desert wolf is usually alone (due to the fact that food or prey is rare), but not in mating time [mating season from October to December]. They congregate together, than they start to howl.

Arabian wolves do not live in large packs; packs only during mating season, just mating packs.

iii) The autumn sky is dominated by the Great Square of Pegasus, four stars that form a huge square in the sky, which you can see if you look almost straight up.

Heike Gewi, Yemen
Ocotber 2009

YEMEN SAIJIKI


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Related words

*****　Calendar reference kigo


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. . . . AUTUMN
the complete SAIJIKI


. WKD : October - KIGO CALENDAR .

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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February 2006

ARCHIVES

..................................................................... February 2006

Haiku Situation in Nepal

Tiruppavai of Andal Tamizhnadu, Tamil Nadu, India

Shiva Ratri Night, Festival India, Nepal, Hindu Communities

Goa Carnival India

Shivaji's forts India

Panchatantra, a Fable India

Nehru, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Memorial Day, Children's Day India

Maasai Cattle (Masai Cattle) Kenya, Nairobi

Summer in India Kigo Collection

Yoga India

Chittorgarh Fort (Rajasthan) India

Pansy, Pansies Europe, sanshoku sumire (Japan)

Haiku from Bulgaria Collection of the Europa Saijiki
Haiku from Hungary Collection of the Europa Saijiki

Alberta Family Day, Canada

Crocus (Europe, worldwide)

Power Stone, Strenght Stone (chikara ishi, Japan) weight lifting competition

Poetry and Literature of Kenya

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, Writer, Kenya

Caterpillar, Hairy Caterpillar of Kenya

Festivals of India They are all kigo.

Ganesh Chaturthi Festival India

Tiger Dance (Huli Vesha, Puli Vesha) India
.... Including TIGER, the animal as non-seasonal topic.

Serpent Festival (Nag Panchami) India

Snake, serpent, viper, cobra (hebi, mamushi, habu) Japan

Wintersweet (roobai) Japan

..... Bahati Haiku Poetry Club, Second Meeting Kenya


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Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
worldkigo .....

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

November (juuichigatsu)

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November (juuichigatsu)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Winter
***** Category: Season

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Explanation


Haiku juuichigatsu in the Edo period relates to the climate of present-day December,
but some festivals are dated in our present-day November.

. . Names of Japanese months and their meanings . .

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kannazuki 神無月 (かんなづき) "Gods are absent"
(now November)

The tenth lunar month (now November), after the harvest when the Japanese gods had done their duty, they left their local shrines for a bit of a vacation. They would all go for an audience and to celebrate at the great shrine of Izumo, so the rest of Japan was "without gods".
. Gods are absent (kami no rusu) .


kigo for mid-winter

chuutoo 仲冬 (ちゅうとう) middle of winter
..... fuyu monaka 仲冬 冬最中（ふゆもなか）
..... fuyu nakaba 冬半ば（ふゆなかば）

another name for November.
In reality, the middle of winter is now from end of december to mid-January, but customarily these kigo are pointing to November.


The name of the eleventh month according to the Asian lunar calendar:
(now also used for November in haiku)

"frost month", shimotsuki 霜月 (しもつき)
"frost coming down month", shimo furi zuki 霜降月（しもふりづき）
"waiting for snow month", yuki machi zuki 雪待月（ゆきまちづき）
"looking at snow month" yukimi zuki 雪見月（ゆきみづき

"month with Kagura Dance performances", kagura zuki 神楽月（かぐらづき）
"Gods coming back" month, shinki zuki 神帰月（しんきづき）
(they have been away in October to visit the shrine in Izumo, see LINK below.)

"month with a day of the mouse" ne no tsuki 子の月（ねのつき）
(meaning the month with the winter solstice)

. December, juunigatsu .



. . . . WINTER - the complete SAIJIKI



11.Shimotsuki - Frost Month
7 Dec – 4 Jan
The archaic name for November.
. Names of months and lunar seasons .


. Shimotsuki Matsuri　霜月祭り Shimotsuki Festivals .


Shinran ki 親鸞忌 （しんらんき）
Memorial Day for Saint Shinran
and seven days of memorial services for him

. o shimotsuki お霜月（おしもつき）"honorable frost month" .


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Inahata Teiko

November――Feeling of Drizzling

Winter comes after the day of ritto which falls on about November the 8th (the first day of winter in the traditional calendar). This time of the year, which is called early winter, is a good season, because the winter air braces our mind and body and we have Indian summer days during these days. While we still enjoy the feeling of autumn, the nature surely begins to change to winter. There is a clear, quiet and lonely atmosphere in the air of the mountains, rivers, trees and plants, and the sounds of rain and wind. We feel the more when we have the first frost or the first of drizzling rain of winter season.

In the meantime, when red and yellow leaves begin to fall, falling leaves are constantly scattered on the ground and still more a withering blast begins to blow, people become busy preparing for the arrival of real winter. The characters of this season are shown in the seasonal words such as daikon arau (wash the radishes), daikon hosu (dry the radishes under the Sun), kiriboshi (dried strips of the radishes) and takuan tsuku (pickle the radishes). People have lived with poetic feelings in their lives. Furthermore such seasonal words as kitamado fusagu (close the north windows), mebari (tape the windows), kazayoke (guard the house from the wind), fuyugamae (getting ready for coldness) describe the lives in winter.

But we believe that among those seasonal words, shigure (a drizzling shower in early winter) is the most typical seasonal word, which exactly depict the sceneries and atmosphere in early winter. In October in the lunar calendar it often rains on and off, and therefore it is called the month of drizzling rain. Shigure, raining on and off, has been composed in a delicate way in poems from the time of Waka of Shinkokin as a symbol of changeable things, the transience of human life.

This sense of transience, the original idea of shigure , has been inherited to haikai. But in haikai , "the Danrin school (a school of haikai which became popular in the latter half of the 17th century. It opposed the traditional haikai of the Teitoku school and composed haiku with innovative and novel interests and wrote comical idea in light and easy spoken language) made intentionally fun the original purpose and ended in comicality. However, it can be said that their innovative composition was still placed under the restriction of tradition in spite of their attempt.

In the book of "Sarumino" written by Basho, shigure came to be freely composed in haiku apart from the restriction of original meaning of the season. In the book of "Sarumino" there are thirteen poems of haiku composed with a theme of sigure.

When in 1936, Takahama Toshio (the son of Kyoshi) began to read "Sarumino" in turn with Nara Shikaro, Awano Seiho and others, Takahama Kyoshi encouraged them by sending a telegram, which reads:

"Begin with thirteen poems of haiku with a subject of sigure". Maybe he meant that they should study the seasonal word, shigure which was composed freely in "Sarumino" apart from original intention of waka poems.

How is shigure composed in haiku in modern times?

©　Inahata Teiko, Nature and our Life

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

November seven -
the haiku winter
starts today

Gabi Greve

The day of RITTO 立冬, when the Winter Starts, according to the Asian Lunar Calendar.

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on the mirror --
the last mosquito this
November morning

Isabelle Prondzynski, 2007


November wind --
a sparrow rides on
a swaying branch

November is a lovely warm month in Kenya, the month when the short rains peter out, and the sunshine coaxes the young plants up and into strong growth. Not yet hot (that is January), but the most ideal warmth, and an atmosphere full of hope. The jacarandas and many of the other beautiful trees are in flower, and the wind is mostly gentle, with the odd gust now and again.

Read more

Isabelle Prondzynski, Kenya 2007

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White-gold winking through
Black wiry branches half nude:
November streetlights.

Michael Collings, 2007

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November Day

little puffy clouds
float like tropical fish
in clear blue waters

quickly changing to
baby dragons chasing
buzzards on the prowl

butterfly hovers
over flowerless branches
dreaming of summer

blowing leaves entice
playful puppies to give chase
across the yard

winter waits anon
while autumn paints the landscape
in shades of amber

Ruth Nott, USA, November 2007


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first of November
freshly painted tombstones
where candles flicker

first of November
the sun shines mightily
on silent tombs

first of November
the grief of a widow
stored in her kerchief

first of November
tomb of the undertaker
sits at a corner

first of November
a stray black cat crosses
the beggar's path

first of November
the long and scorching trek
to the unmarked graves

November scene
piles of trash at the graveyard's
silent domain

November dusk
the city dresses up
for Christmas

November breeze
early birds buy knick-knacks
for giveaway

November night
the bright sparkles on lanterns
elicit some "ooohhhhs!"

Willie Bongcaron
Philippines, November 2009
Kigo Hotline


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November moon
a smile on my face
as I drive home

Ella Wagemakers
Kigo Hotline, November 2009


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Related words

***** 　All Saints’ Day

***** All Souls' Day


. WKD : November - KIGO CALENDAR .

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