7/15/2006

Snow (yuki)

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Snow (yuki)

***** Location: Japan, Germany, other areas
***** Season: Late Winter, others see below
***** Category: Heavens / Earth / Humanity


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Explanation

Snow is a special present from the winter sky. A Japanese way to describe the seasonal feeling is "snow .. moon .. flowers (cherry blossoms)" setsugekka 雪月花.
Winter, Autumn and Spring ...
setsugetsuka
Quote from an essay on Setsugekka

To the Japanese mind, nature is more than just physical scenery.

Snow [setsu] is, of course, a symbol of winter, a white covering that blankets all that is visible in other seasons. At the same time, however, a snowscape, though seemingly devoid of everything, in fact offers a hint of new life, whether it be a single plum blossom coming into bud or a tiny blade of new grass--harbingers of a scene that is soon to unfold.

Snow is a favored backdrop in Japanese drama, especially Noh theater and Kabuki. Employing a snowy landscape heightens the tension of the story through its inherent, vivid contrast: the contrast between a completely white snow cover that buries all life and creates a frigid world of death, and the stalwart portrayal of life in the face of, and even overcoming, death.

Whereas flowers and fall foliage, by their very existence, reveal the life force of nature, snow serves as a symbol of the world of winter, darkness, and death and as a foreshadowing of life to come.

Matsuo Bashô [1644-94], one of the most well-known proponents of the Japanese view of nature, often alluded to the term zôka 造化. Renowned as one of Japan's foremost poets, Bashô declared that the artistically supreme and morally superior way of life was "to keep friends with the four seasons," meaning to live in accord with the workings of nature. He also said that a close rapport with zôka is the continuous thread that binds all of Japan's most famous thinkers and artists down through history--from Saigyô [1118-90] the waka poet, to Sôgi [1421-1 502] of linked-verse fame, to Sesshû [1420-1506] the ink painter, to Sen no Rikyû [1522-91] the great innovator of the tea ceremony.

This 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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Let us look at
snow and the many late WINTER kigo

yuki 雪 snow


yukiguni 雪国(ゆきぐに)"country with snow"
Often used for Hokkaido and Northern Japan.


"snow like crystal sugar", zarameyuki ざらめ雪(ざらめゆき)
Coarse crystal sugar (zarame) 粗目


heavy snowfall, ooyuki 大雪
light snowfall, koyuki 小雪
snow falling thinly, thin snow, sasame yuki 細雪
..... shimari yuki, shimariyuki しまり雪
powder snow, kona yuki, konayuki 粉雪


freshly fallen snow, new snow, shin setsu, shinsetsu 新雪
snow at the foot of trees, neyuki 根雪 ねゆき

cotton snow, watayuki 綿雪
..... quite a pleasant treat in winter
"small rice grains snow", snow with small flakes, kogome yuki 小米雪
"snow like rice cakes" mochiyuki 餅雪 もちゆき

snowflakes, seppen 雪片せっぺん
... rather large ones

thick snow, deep snow, miyuki 深雪
..... MI can also mean "beautiful"

wet snow, shissetsu 湿雪(しっせつ)
..... betoyuki べと雪(べとゆき)
mizuyuki 水雪(みずゆき)"snow like water"


"snow like the eaves", seppi 雪庇(せっぴ)
Hanging down in thick layers.
fusumayuki, fusuma yuki 衾雪(ふすまゆき)blanket of snow
tsutsuyuki 筒雪(つつゆき)snow on bamboo and other poles

"wind and snow", snowstorm, fuusetsu 風雪
..... very common in Hokkaido
blizzard, fubuki 吹雪
jifubuki 地吹雪(じふぶき)snow blowing up from the earth
during a snowstorm
yukikemuri, yuki kemuri 雪煙(ゆきけむり)snow like smoke
..... yukinami 雪浪(ゆきなみ)"wave patterns" in blown snow
Blizzard in Okayama, January 2007
yukishimaki 雪しまき (ゆきしまき) whirlwind with snow
..... yukijimaki 雪じまき(ゆきじまき)
..... shimaki しまき (風巻き)
shimakigumo しまき雲(しまきぐも)windstorm clouds
SHI here means WIND.




flying snow hisetsu 飛雪
snow falling from branches, shizuri yuki しずり雪
snow hanging from branches, yukihimo 雪紐 ゆきひも

"wind flowes", snowflakes, kazahana 風花


"snow flowers", snow crystals, yuki no hana 雪の華
..... blossoms of snow, bloom of snow
"six flowers", snow crystals, mutsu no hana 六花、rikka 六華
"silver flowers", ginka 銀花
"heavenly flowers", tenka 天花



snow landscape, yukikeshiki, yukigeshiki 雪景色
..... especially on a morning after snowing all night
bosetsu 暮雪(ぼせつ)snowfall in the evening
. fine weather after snowfall, yukibare 雪晴(ゆきばれ)
..... miyukibare 深雪晴 (みゆきばれ)
"sky after snowfall", setsugo no ten 雪後の天


. yukizukiyo 雪月夜(ゆきづきよ)night with snow and a full moon


. yuki shigure 雪時雨 (ゆきしぐれ) drizzle with snow



snow drift (fukidamari 吹き溜り (ふきだまり)


"crown of snow" snowcaps on things outside,
..... kamuri yuki 冠雪 かむりゆき
..... yuki kamuri 雪冠


"it looks like snow" yuki moyoi 雪催 ゆきもよい
..... yuki moyoo 雪模様
..... yukige 雪気
..... setsu i 雪意 せつい

"cloudes with snow", yukigumori 雪曇り
..... yukigumo 雪雲(ゆきぐも)
sky with snow, yuki no sora 雪の空, yukizora 雪空(ゆきぞら)

yukigure 雪暗(ゆきぐれ)dark with snow
yukiakari, yuki akari 雪明(ゆきあかり)light with snow



yukikaze 雪風(ゆきかぜ) "snow and wind"
yuki no koe 雪の声(ゆきのこえ)"voice of the snow"



(branches) broken by snow, yuki ore 雪折れ

Photo by Gabi Greve, January 2008


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CLICK for more photos

. yukionna, yuki onna 雪女 (ゆきおんな) "snow woman" .
yuki no sei 雪の精(ゆきのせい)"soul, spirit of the snow"
yukijoroo 雪女郎(ゆきじょろう)"fairy of the snow"
yukioni 雪鬼(ゆきおに)" snow demon "
yukiboozu 雪坊主(ゆきぼうず)"snow priest"
yukiotoko, yuki otoko 雪男(ゆきおとこ)"snow man"

These apparitions often appear to people who got lost in the snow.
Schneefee


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. . . category HUMANITY

supporting trees with strings, yukitsuri 雪吊 (ゆきつり)
CLICK for more photos


protective fence against the snow, yukiyoke 雪除け
Especially in Northern Japan and along the coast of the Japan sea, where wind brings stong snowfall.


shoveling snow from the roof, yuki oroshi 雪下ろし
Especially in Northern Japan and along the coast of the Japan sea, where wind brings stong snowfall. If the snow gets too heavy, the roof structure might break. The roofs sometimes have a special slant to throw the snow down.
CLICK for more photos

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shoveling snow, yukikaki 雪掻 (ゆきかき)
yuki o kaku 雪を掻く(ゆきをかく),
brushing snow away, yuki o haku 雪を掃く(ゆきをはく)
worker who showels snow, yukikaki ninpu
雪掻人夫(ゆきかきにんぷ)、

snow shoveling, josetsu 除雪(じょせつ)
worker to shovel snow, josetsu fu 除雪夫(じょせつふ)
group to shovel snow, josetsu tai 除雪隊(じょせつたい)

worker to shovel snow, haisetsu fu 排雪夫(はいせつふ)

getting rid of snow, yuki sute 雪捨(ゆきすて)
bringing snow away, yuki gaeshi 雪返し(ゆきがえし)

broom to get rid of snow, yuki booki 雪箒(ゆきぼうき)
snow shovel, yukikaki bera 雪掻箆(ゆきかきべら)
snow plough, yuki suki 雪鋤(ゆきすき)


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kigo for late winter

yukizao 雪竿 (ゆきざお) pole to measure the depth of snow
..... yukizao 雪棹(ゆきざお), yukijaku 雪尺(ゆきじゃく), yukipooru スノーポール

sunoo cheen スノーチェーン snow chains (for your car)


yuusetsukoo 融雪溝 (ゆうせつこう) ditch for melted snow
They are especially important in areas with a lot of snow during winter.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


shoosetsu paipu 消雪パイプ (しょうせつぱいぷ) pipes to melt snow
they are usually filled with warm water, sometimes hot spring water is used.
Some come with small opeinings to sprinkle warm water on the icy roads.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




Check the WKD LIST of
. HUMANITY and Winter Kigo


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Snow Kigo in SPRING


kigo for all spring:

haru no yuki 春の雪 (はるのゆき) snow in spring
..... shunsetsu 春雪(しゅんせつ)
haru fubuki 春吹雪(はるふぶき) blizzard in spring



"Peony Snow" snow with large soft flakes, botan yuki 牡丹雪
"flower petal snow" katabira yuki かたびら雪

..... tabirayuki たびら雪(たびらゆき)
..... tanbirayuki だんびら雪(だんびらゆき)
"snow like foam", awayuki 泡雪 / 沫雪(あわゆき
watayuki 綿雪(わたゆき) "cotton snow"



CLICK for more photos
hadare 斑雪 (はだれ) spots of snow, patchy snow
..... hadara はだら、hadara yuki はだら雪(はだらゆき)
..... madarayuki まだら雪(まだらゆき)
hadareno 斑雪野(はだれの)wild fields with spots of snow
hadareyama 斑雪山(はだれやま)mountain with spots of snow
hadarene 斑雪嶺(はだれね)mountain peak with spots of snow
hadara izu 斑雪凍つ(はだらいつ) frozen spots of snow
leicht fallender spärlicher Schnee,
nur noch in Flecken verbliebener Restschnee


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kigo for mid-spring:

yuki no hate 雪の果 (ゆきのはて) end of snow
..... yuki no owari 雪の終(ゆきのおわり)
..... shuusetsu 終雪(しゅうせつ)

nagori no yuki 名残の雪(なごりのゆき)traces of snow
..... yuki no nagori 雪の名残(ゆきのなごり)
yuki no wakare 雪の別れ(ゆきのわかれ)"good bye, snow"
wasureyuki 忘れ雪(わすれゆき)"forgetting snow"

Nehanyuki 涅槃雪(ねはんゆき)snow at the Nehan Festival
..... yuki Nehan 雪涅槃(ゆきねはん)
. Nirvana Ceremony (Nehan-E 涅槃会 ねはんえ )  
February 15



yuki neburi 雪ねぶり (ゆきねぶり)
mist over snow fields or patches of snow

dialect of Echigo and Shinshu, where a lot of snow is falling in winter.


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Snow Kigo, category EARTH

kigo for early spring

katayuki 堅雪 (かたゆき) hard snow
..... yuki aka 雪垢(ゆきあか)dirty snow
yukidoro 雪泥(ゆきどろ) muddy snow



kigo for mid-spring

nadare 雪崩 (なだれ) avalanche, snowslide . Lawine
soko nadare 底雪崩(そこなだれ)
jikosuri 地こすり(じこすり)"scratching the earth"
kaze nadare 風雪崩(かぜなだれ)wind avalanche
yuki nadare 雪なだれ(ゆきなだれ)snow avalanche
yuki kuzure 雪くずれ(ゆきくずれ)snowslide
nadareyuki なだれ雪(なだれゆき)snow in an avalanche



yukidoke 雪解 melting snow
..... yukige 雪解
river with melted water, yukigegawa 雪解川
drops of melted snow, yukige shizuku 雪解雫
snowmelt wind, yukige kaze 雪解風
snowmelt fields, yukigeno 雪解野
shining snowmelt, yukige koo 雪解光
flowing snowmelt water, yuki shiro 雪代, 雪しろ, ゆきしろ
..... yukishiro mizu 雪しろ水
"snow soup", slush, yukijiru 雪汁
muddy snowmelt water, yuki nigori 雪濁り 




zansetsu 残雪 ざんせつ remaining snow
kozo no yuki 去年の雪(こぞのゆき)snow from last year
nokoru yuki 残る雪(のこるゆき)lingering snow
yuki nokoru 雪残る(ゆきのこる)snow remained
kage yuki 陰雪(かげゆき)snow in the shadow
yuki no nagori 雪の名残 (ゆきのなごり) traces of snow


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These are also kigo for mid-summer :

Fuji no yukige 富士の雪解 (ふじのゆきげ)
snow melting on Mount Fuji
..... yukige Fuji 雪解富士(ゆきげふじ)
..... Fuji yukige 富士雪解(ふじゆきげ)


sekkei 雪渓 (せっけい) snow-covered valley
..... kurepasu クレパス, kurebasu クレバス crevasse


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These are also kigo for late autumn :

shuusetsu 秋雪 (しゅうせつ) snow in autumn
..... aki no yuki 晩秋 秋の雪(あきのゆき)
..... aki no hatsuyuki 秋の初雪(あきのはつゆき) first snow in autumn


yuki jitaku 雪支度(ゆきじたく) preparing for snow


Fuji no hatsuyuki 富士の初雪 (ふじのはつゆき)
first snow on Mount Fuji
kigo for mid-autumn


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Snow starts falling at different times in different places in Japan and Hatsuyuki, first snow is a kigo in itself.


Look at the different shades of snow white in this painting by David Armstrong.
http://www.david-armstrong.com/winter.html


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snow as a topic for haiku

mannenyuki まんねんゆき / 万年雪 "eternal snow", snow-capped mountains
They can be seen in any season, especially in summer.



"The Snows of Kilimanjaro"
is a short story by Ernest Hemingway.


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Coral Road
Photo by Michael Baribeau


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Beautiful haiga by Laryalee
http://www.geocities.com/laryalee/haiga/AstarBW2.jpg
Laryalee Haiga

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Scientific explanation about Rain and Snow
http://www.tpub.com/content/aerographer/14312/css/14312_137.htm

snow pellets
(Also called soft hail, graupel, tapioca snow.) Precipitation consisting of white, opaque, approximately round (sometimes conical) ice particles having a snowlike structure, and about 2–5 mm in diameter.
http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/browse?s=s&p=58

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Look at the Snow Ferns by David Armstrong
http://www.david-armstrong.com/images/snow_ferns_lg.jpg

And more of his wonderful paintings.
http://www.david-armstrong.com/gallery.html

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Snow 雪 in Japanese culture
source : www.youtube.com


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HAIKU


磨なをす鏡も清し 雪の花
togi-naosu kagami mo kiyoshi yuki no hana

Polished anew
the holy mirror too is clear–
blossoms of snow

Tr. Shirane

Basho at shrine Atsuta Jingu 熱田神宮:
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .


爺が世や枯木も雪の花の春
jiji ga yo ya kare-gi mo yuki no hana no haru

an old man's world--
flowers of snow on bare trees
spring's blossoms

Tr. David Lanoue

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沙汰なしに大雪とれし御山哉
sata nashi ni ooyuki toreshi o-yama kana

deep snow
on the mountain
suddenly gone

Tr. Chris Drake


This hokku is from the 1st month (Feb.) of 1814, when Issa was back in his hometown. The mountains around his hometown get a lot of snow, but this year very heavy snow must have been followed by a sudden warm spell. Issa's diary shows many fair days and some days with rain in the 1st month. I take this mountain to be a smaller mountain near his village rather than the high peaks a few miles away that sometimes have patches of snow even in summer.
One day people look up and, incredibly, the deep snow on the mountain seems to have simply disappeared. It happened so quickly and without any signs of impending change that Issa seems filled with a feeling of sudden loss, as if a friend had left without saying goodbye.

Chris Drake


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Geert Verbeke, December 2005

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ooyuki o shakushi de tokasu kodomo kana

melting the big snow
with a spoon...
a child

to the rhythm
of the blizzard
washing rice

higashi nishi minami kita yori fubuki kana


from east, west
south, north...
the blizzard
Issa

There are more than 200 haiku with "snow" in the Issa archives of David Lanoue.
ISSA and the Seasons

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Schnee über Nacht;
wo ihr Wagen parkte
noch grünes Gras

snow over night;
where she parked her car
still green grass
(Tr. Gabi)

Dietmar Tauchner
english version in KO, spring-summer 04
http://www.haiku-heute.de/Archiv/Auswahl-2004-03/body_auswahl-2004-03.html

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snow pellets*
pelt the roof top:
echos from bare trees

windchill*
though longsleaves : a bird song
in stutter-chatter

*snow pellets -- upper wind tumbled snow flakes turned into pellets
*windchill -- wind with low temperatures make the "feel" colder

chibi

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writer's block--
the staccato tick
of tapioca snow

Billie Wilson
The Daily Yomiuri, Go-Shichi-Go column (12/16/03)


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snow on my head -
looking east
at blue skies

Schnee auf dem Kopf -
im Osten sehe ich
blauen Himmel

More than half of the valley in a blizzard, but just so, a little speck of hope in the sky too.

tracks in the snow
wild boars must have danced here
last night
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1085

Gabi Greve
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1022

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a quiet night
silky snow
from the dark

Etsuko Yanagibori


a dusting of snow
blends with early plum --
evening twilight
(from a painting by Buson)

Chibi


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First flurries.
Squirrels add last leaves
to their nests.



Erste Schneeflocken.
Eichhörnchen polstern ihr Nest
mit letzten Blättern.

Beate Conrad
WHC German, January 15, 2008


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snowmichael02
Snow Branches
Picture by Michael Baribeau



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Related words


***** snowman, snow Buddha
(yuki Daruma, yuki-botoke)

http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/2006/07/snowman-yukidaruma.html

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***** "Little Snow" (shoosetsu 小雪)
kigo for early winter
One of the 24 season points.
On November 22, it starts to get colder and rain changes to snow. It will rapidly get colde after this day.

shoosetsu ya
morning soup
with you

etsuko yanagibori
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cherrypoetryclub/message/20682

More about the 24 season points
WKD : The Asian Lunar Calendar


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***** First Snow (hatsuyuki 初雪 / はつゆき ) Japan
kigo for early winter



***** Snowdrops Schneeglocken, a flower


***** Snow Geese (hakugan, kari, wataridori) Japan.


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Check the WKD LIST of
. HUMANITY and Winter Kigo



. SAIJIKI - HEAVEN in all seasons  



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Snow melting (yukidoke)

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Snow melting, thawing (yukidoke)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Earth


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Explanation

melting snow, snowmelt, thaw, yukidoke 雪解
..... yukige 雪解 , 雪解け
river with melted water, yukigegawa 雪解川
drops of melted snow, yukige shizuku 雪解雫

snowmelt wind, yukige kaze 雪解風
snowmelt fields, yukigeno 雪解野

shining snowmelt, yukige koo 雪解光

flowing snowmelt water, yuki shiro 雪代, 雪しろ, ゆきしろ
..... yukishiro mizu 雪しろ水
"snow soup", slush, yukijiru 雪汁

muddy snowmelt water, yuki nigori 雪濁り


CLICK for more photos



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Worldwide use

Schneeschmelze


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Things found on the way




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HAIKU




By Soji
http://www.haikupoetshut.com/

The berries are from the Holly Tree, another kigo.


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early thaw
a new heart carved
in the gatepost

Laryalee Fraser
(C) 2005


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spring thaw -
grandma sneeks a peek
at an old valentine

Carole MacRury
2005


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February flood
the ripple effect of
an early thaw

Jim Swift


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spring thaw --
the stream parts to embrace
the stone

Hortensia Anderson New York, NY, USAFirst Prize
mdn.mainichi.co.jp/haiku/03/selection2002


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Related words

***** Snow (yuki)

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Snowman (yukidaruma)

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Snowman (yukidaruma, Japan)

***** Location: Japan, other countries
***** Season: Late Winter
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation

snowman, yukidaruma ゆきだるま,雪だるま、雪達磨
..... sunooman スノーマン
. Yuki Daruma 雪だるま Museum .

To make a snowman, you have to make round balls of snow first.

yuki maruge 雪丸げ (ゆきまろげ) a big round ball of snow
... yukimaruge 雪まるげ(ゆきまるげ) -
yuki maruboshi 、雪まろばし(ゆきまろばし)
yuki korobash 雪ころばし(ゆきころばし)
yuki kokashi 雪こかし(ゆきこかし)

and more

yuki asobi 雪遊び(ゆきあそび)playing with snow
yuki nage 雪投げ (ゆきなげ) throwing snow (balls)
... yuki tsubute 雪礫(ゆきつぶて)
yuki gassen 雪合戦(ゆきがっせん)snowball fight
Schneeballschlacht



Other forms of the Japanese snow figures are

snow rabbit, yuki usagi 雪兎, 雪うさぎ



snow lion, yukijishi 雪獅子
..... Lion Dance, shishimai 獅子舞


snow "Hotei", yuki hotei 雪布袋
..... Hotei, one of the seven gods of good luck
Children in northern China make snowmen modeled after Maitreya, in his incarnation as Pu Tai/Hotei.



setsuzoo 雪像 (せつぞう) snow statue, snow figure
setsuzooten 雪像展(せつぞうてん)exhibition of snow figures

CLICK for more
Sapporo yukimatsuri 札幌雪まつり(さっぽろゆきまつり)
Sapporo snow festival
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Das Schneefest von Sapporo
Anfang Februar zieht dieses Fest immer viele Besucher an, es ist eine wunderbare Art, sich eine kalte Woche im hohen Norden Japans zu verschönern. Hunderte von Schnee- und Eisfiguren zieren den Park Oodori Koen, die 105 Meter „lange Straße“ im Zentrum der Stadt. Ursrpünglich als Niemandsland zur Verhütung von Bränden zwischen den nördlichen und südlichen Stadtteilen geplant, ist dieser Park heute der Mittelpunkt vieler sozialer Aktivitäten. Außer dem Schneefestival findet hier im Sommer auch ein großes Sommerfest statt, bei dem das lokale Bier im Mittelpunkt steht. Im Mai werden die Lilien gefeiert, im Augst das O-Bon-Fest für die Ahnenverehrung.

Manche Schneestatuen sind so groß, dass das Militär anrücken und beim Bau mithelfen muß. Nachts ist alles in bunten Farben beleuchtet und viele Live-Konzerte und andere Veranstaltungen finden statt.
Der Ausstellungsteil in Satoland ist besonders kinderfreundlich, mit Schneelabyrinthen, einer Eisbar und der Möglichkeit zu einer Fahrt mit dem Heißluftbalon.
Im Suskino-Viertel bauen die Künstler ihre indivituellen Schnee- und Eisskulpturen mit Kettensägen und viel Muskelkraft.

Das Schneefest in Sapporo findet seit 1950 statt, nachdem einige Schüler von sechs örtlichen Oberschulen im Park Schneeskulpturen bauten, um die Bürger in den kalten, langen Wintertagen der Nachkriegszeit zu erfreuen. Inzwischen kommen mehr als zwei Millionen Besucher aus ganz Japan zu diesem Fest.


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snowman Daruma -
the kids love you
until you melt


............... Everyone knows a snowman, but
why do the Japanese call it "Snow Daruma"?

. yukidaruma ゆきだるま "Daruma from Snow" .

The word yuki daruma might have come to common use around the same time when the red Daruma dolls became more popular in the town of Edo and the rest of Japan. That was maybe toward the beginning of the Meiji period, when the sericultural industry hit the silk market and many Daruma dolls were used as protective talisman of the silk cocoons.

A Japanese snowman is usually made of two large balls (like a Daruma Doll, without legs), whereas one in Europe and America has three snowballs piled on each other, feet, body and head.

Snow Man, Yuki Otoko, 雪男 is a kind of monstrous man-beast, for example like the Yeti in the Himalayas. He is known in Japan too in areas with a lot of snow.


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Snow Buddha, yuki-botoke, yukibotoke (yuki no hotoke)
ゆきぼとけ、雪仏、雪佛


This word was already used in the Essays in Idleness, Tsurezure Gusa 徒然草 by the monk Yoshida Kenkō around 1330.

"On a spring day, we made a snowman ..." (haru no hi ni yukibotoke o tsukurite 春の日に雪佛を作りて).
Passage 66.

Kobayashi Issa uses this word, which was common at his time, when Daruma was not popular yet.

Snow Buddha, since the figures of two snowballs on each other with a simple face somehow remind the Japanese of the stone statues of Buddhist deities at the roadside.

In Japanese it was a normal way to express what we call "SNOWMAN" in English, so the translation of "snow Buddha" might carry too much religiously tainted weight ... ?
Translating Haiku Forum
How to translate: yukibotoke ?



Other Japanese words with this use of HOTOKE are:
stone Budda, stone stele, ishibotoke 石仏
Buddha statue in the fields, nobotoke 野仏

... ... ...

toru toshi mo anata makase zo yuki-botoke

growing old too
I trust in a Buddha
of snow

Shinji Ogawa paraphrases, "On my growing old too (like anything else) I trust in you... Snow Buddha." He comments, "Issa's object of prayer is the Snow Buddha which is nothing but a snowman made by some kids." See more below.
http://cat.xula.edu/issa Tr. David Lanoue

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うす雪の仏を作る子ども哉
usu yuki no hotoke o tsukuru kodomo kana

he rolls thin snow
into a Buddha...
the child

(Tr. David Lanoue)

children -
they make a snowman
out of thin snow
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Read a discussion of these translations ! 


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Worldwide use

Different names for our SNOWMAN

Czech: sněhulák m.
Danish: snemand c.
Dutch: sneeuwpop
Finnish: lumiukko
French: bonhomme de neige m.
German: Schneemann m.
Icelandic: snjókarl m.
Italian: pupazzo di neve m., fantoccio di neve m.
Korean: 눈사람 (nunsaram)
Latvian: sniegavīrs m.
Polish: bałwan m.
Romanian: om de zapada= man of snow
Slovak: snehuliak m.
Swedish: snögubbe c.

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Lithuania

In Lithuania, a snowman is called "a man without brains". As a sign of protest against their government, in the winter of 2005, Lithuanians made 141 snowmen near their parliament—one for each member of Parliament.

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Russia

Snowwoman
We Russians make snowwomen in winter.

Zhanna Rader

снежная баба (snéžnaja bába) f.
снеговик (snegovík) m.

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Things found on the way


"Snow lady, snow woman", yuki onna 雪女

This is a kind of monster of Japanese legends. It might also be the "fairy of snow", so to speak, the personification of the soul of the snow, for the Japanese reader.

She is often seen on full moon nights and around the New Year.

Some say this expression refers to a particular physical quality of the snow of Northern Japan, when the conditions of humidity, coldness and moonlight are just right.

Lafcadio Hearn also wrote about this "Snow Woman".

Gabi Greve

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A Snowman playing with Water
yukibotoke no mizu asobi 雪仏(ゆきぼとけ)の水遊び

This is a Japanese proverb pointing at a person who behaves in a way dangerous to himself.


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HAIKU



. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .

雪礫投る拍子にころぶかな
yuki-tsubute naguru hyoushi ni korobu kana

he finishes
throwing the snowball
sitting on his behind

Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku was written in the intercalary 11th month (December) in 1813, when Issa was visiting other haikai poets and his students in the area around his hometown in the snow country. The translation add a little to the original, though it may get close to the humorous implication in Issa's words. Of course he could be she.
These versions are more literal:


in one motion
he throws the snowball
and falls down

the moment
he throws the snowball
he's falling down


Issa may have pronounced the verb in the second line nageru, since in his time the classical attributive form, naguru, was beginning to be replaced by the colloquial nageru, the form now used in modern Japanese.

Chris Drake


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o-hiza ni suzume naku nari yuki-botoke

a sparrow chirping
in his lap...
snow Buddha

There are 21 haiku with this kigo in the Issa archives.
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/searchissa.php?a_id=144&show_e=T&colors=T

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


Basho was having a visitor, Sora, on a winter evening. They were good friends by that time, so before Basho went outside, he instructed his friend:


君火を焚けよきもの見せん雪まるげ
きみ火をたけよき物見せん雪丸げ
kimi hi o take yoki mono misen yukimaruge / yuki maruge

well, you make a fire !
then I will show you something nice -
a big snowman


Matsuo Basho, age 42 - 貞享3年- 1686


source : www9.plala.or.jp/juken1/haiku 2

We can imagine the two sipping tea and enjoying the sight afterwards.



. Sora, Kawai Sora 河合曾良 .


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the snowman
on his wrinkled hat
a bread crumb

Geert Verbeke

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


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Related words

***** Snow
http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/2006/07/snow-yuki.html


Enjoying Snow Viewing (yukimi)
and more KIGO


***** (WKD): Dead Body (hotoke)


***** . KIGO with Daruma San


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7/09/2006

Sheperds Winter

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Sheperds Winter Starts
(Iernaticul începe , Romania)

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


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Explanation

Shepherds winter starts

Roughly on St. Demetrius’Day (Sept. 19th ), flocks return to the plains to avoid the harsh highland winter.

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“Sâmbra oilor”. A Maramureş
(Far Northwest) tradition linked to the above: when wool, cheese etc. are divided among the sheep owners and shepherd aides hired on St. George’s Day receive their pay, according to a certain ritual and not without songs and dancing. Originally a very localized tradition, it became widely known because of tourism.

Cristian Mocanu
Romanian Saijiki (05)

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way



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HAIKU


watching his flocks go-
down to the valleys, the old
shepherd stays behind

as if they’re losing
the last connection to us
mountains greet the flocks

Demetrius’Day—
what a feeling of sadness
even for the plains!

... ... ...

Sâmbra oilor:
being a tourist, watching
centuries gone by

a tourist eating
things whose name he cannot spell:
sâmbra oilor

Sâmbra oilor:
even settling old scores can
be a time for joy!


Cristian Mocanu

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Related words

***** . Autumn and farmers work .


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7/08/2006

Shrovetide (Maslenitsa)

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Shrovetide (Maslenitsa)

***** Location: Russia
***** Season: Spring
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

Maslenitsa, or Shrovetide, which came from the pagan times, and is still loved and spread across the whole country, and is willingly celebrated. It is a very ancient tradition that has come down to us from many centuries back when people prayed to trees and the wind, the rain and sun. It is a celebration of happiness that winter has gone and soon it will be warm. According to tradition, those who refuse to celebrate Maslenitsa will live "with bad luck and end worse."

Olga Hooper



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"07 Mar 2005 (Every year, the week before Orthodox Lent starts)
Founded on one of Russia's oldest folk traditions - celebrating theon-coming spring at the end of winter - but also incorporating theChristian tradition of pancakes in advance of Lent, the Maslenitsa(blini or pancake) Festival returns to Moscow's calendar. In 2002 thetradition was refounded, having last been held in Tsarist Russia in 1917.

The festival, which dates back to pagan times, is a week-long carnival which includes riding traditional troikas through the snow-filled streets, parades of Russian fairytale characters, open-air theatre, dancing, fireworks and folk songs. Festivities culminate in the torching of the scarecrow of winter, marking the end of the harshseason and welcoming the long-awaited spring.

The centrepiece to the festival is the Blini pancake - symbolising the sun (round, golden and warm) - eaten with sour cream and caviaror honey and jam and washed down with plenty of vodka. As part of the week's events, there is a contest to create the world's largest Blini, aiming to put the festival into the Guinness Book of Records.

A festival that evokes the world of both Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Petrushka (happening, as that ballet does, at the Shrovetide Fair), each day - from "The Greeting" of the first day to the "Forgiveness Sunday" of the last - has a specific theme: Tuesday -Popular Games; Wednesday - The Sweet Tooth's Day; Thursday - The Lavish Day; Friday - Good Mothers' Evenings and Saturday - Good Daughters' Parties.

Orthodox Lent, otherwise known as "The Great Fast", starts on the following day..."
http://events.skyteam.com/sisp/skyteam/?fx=event&event_id=69534

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There is a very interesting article of an American journalist who once participated in the last day celebration of Maslenitsa in Siberian city Irkutsk (below, I pasted some excerpts from it):

"Festival Type(s): Carnival, Street Parade, Party

The Russian Orthodox calendar includes four Lent-like fasts. The one coming before Easter is called the "Great Fast." Like the Catholic tradition, Russian Orthodoxy respects the need to enjoy oneself before a month of self-denial. In Russian, this week-long festival is called Maslenitsa. The "main" day of Maslenitsa is the last one,

The two signature games of Maslenitsa are the pole-climb and the storming of the snow fort. The pole climb involves a huge smooth wooden pole (maybe 40 or 50 feet high) which men wearing only their underwear attempt to scale. I should point out that February in Irkutsk is cold (-10 to -20 Celsius) and windy. Several prizes are strung up at the top of the pole, so anyone who makes it to the top selects a prize and comes back down (as quickly as possible!).

The snow fort consisted of a tall wall (7-8 feet high) with a small tower; both made igloo-style with blocks of snow and ice. While the stormers tried to scale it, a small group of defenders pushed the attackers off the wall.

By tradition, you must eat blini (Russian pancakes). Other games, wrestling, and blini-eating contests...

There was also the burning of the winter in effigy. The "maslenitsa" itself is a doll that symbolizes winter, as well as your sins of the previous year. You can buy little straw dolls and burn them yourself, but the organizers of the festival also have a life-sized doll for the main event. We marched behind the maslenitsa to the bonfire, where, after a great deal of speech-giving, she was duly burnt to a crisp, officially ending the festivities and the winter both "

http://www.2camels.com/destination364.php3

Photos:
http://www.2camels.com/festival_photos70.php3

More Links about this Event
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0303a.html
http://issues.strana.ru/topics/55/02/03/18/13606.html
http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgrane/holidays/olga.html

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Worldwide use

Shrove Tuesday is, in my experience, very far from worldwide, so perhaps we can try and find those countries where it is known and then look at what happens there -- in Ireland, Pancake Tuesday, in Britain (or is it just England perhaps?) PancakeDay, in Germany Altweiberfastnacht, in Binche (Belgium) the parade of the Gilles with its national and international following, in Kenya a totally normal non-kigo Tuesday which is followed by Ash Wednesday, deserving a (presumably worldwide?) listing in its own right.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Things found on the way



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HAIKU


seeing-off of winter
with pancakes
cheerful festival


Shared by Gennady Nov
Joys of Japan, February 2012



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Related words

***** Shrove Tuesday

Ireland knows "Pancake Tuesday", or "Shrove Tuesday" which is amostly family-based or community-based festivity. We used to have the most delicious pancakes at school!http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/ACalend/ShroveTues.html

Souffleeis rising.
The children come through the door.Slam!
Have a pancake.
http://www.wwrecipes.com/haiku.htm

Isabelle Prondzynski

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It refers to having been to confession, 'shriven' of sin, before lent begins.

shrove tuesday
shriven
we eat pancakes

susan delphine delaney

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thin:
the passover
pancakes*

* Potato Latkes, the classic Jewish potato pancake.

Chibi

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Butter Week
folk holiday
with pancakes


- Shared by Gennady Nov -
Haiku Culture Magazine, 2013

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. WKD : Christian Celebrations in Japanese Kigo .

. - - - Russia Saijiki - Russland - - - .


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7/07/2006

Star Festival (Tanabata) - Amanogawa

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Star Festival (Tanabata 七夕)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Autumn
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation


by Kitagawa Utamaro 歌麿 七夕
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston


Star Festival, "seventh evening"
Festival of the Weaver Girl,
Tanabata 七夕

..... referring to the double-date of the Asian lunar calendar, the 7th day of the 7th month; now celebrated 7 July in some places, on 7 August or even later in others.

It used to be at the change of the season from summer to autumn (yukiai 交合), celebrated on the night of the 6th of August until early morning of August 7, when autumn had started.
It has been celebrated since the Heian period in Japan, with the wish that young girls would become proficient in weaving and keeping a good home.

. kyuu Tanabata 旧七夕 Old Calendar Star Festival .


Before introducing the kigo in more detail,
read the old legend:

Tanabata was inspired by the famous Chinese folklore story,
"The Princess and the Cowherd". Some versions were included in the Man'yōshū, the oldest extant collection of Japanese poetry.

Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess), daughter of the Tentei (天帝, Sky King, or the universe itself), wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Amanogawa (天の川, Milky Way, lit. "heavenly river"). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星, Cow Herder Star) (also referred to as Kengyuu (牽牛)) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa.

When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven.
In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet.

Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter’s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge.

Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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kikooden 乞巧奠(きこうでん)
Festival to plead for skills in weaving
with a special shelf with offerings

.....kikkooten きっこうてん
kikkoodana 乞巧棚(きっこうだな)shelf
kikkobari 乞巧針(きっこうばり) needle



jisei, nisei 二星(じせい)"two stars"
gyuujo 牛女(ぎゅうじょ)"oc and woman"
meotoboshi 女夫星(めおとぼし)"couple stars"

oboshi 男星(おぼし)"Male Star", Altair
kengyuu 牽牛 (けんぎゅう) Altair
kengyuusei 牽牛星(けんぎゅうせい)Altair
ushibikiboshi 牛引星(うしひきぼし)"ox-leading star"
hikoboshi 彦星(ひこぼし)Altair
inukaiboshi 犬飼星(いぬかいぼし)Altair
Otanabata 男七夕(おたなばた)"male tanabata," Altair

meboshi 女星(めぼし)"Female Star", Vega
shokujo 織女 (しょくじょ ) "weaving woman", Vega
shokujosei 織女星(しょくじょせい)Vega
tsumaboshi 妻星(つまぼし)"wife star", Vega
..... hoshi no tsuma 星の妻(ほしのつま)
hataorihime 機織姫(はたおりひめ)"weaving princess"
tanabatahime 棚機姫(たなばたひめ) "tanabata princess"
tanabata tsume 棚機つ女 (たなばたつめ)Tanabata weaver girl
Metanabata 女七夕(めたなばた)"female tanabata", Vega


Star festival, hoshi matsuri 星祭
meeting of the stars, hoshi-ai, hoshi ai 星合 (ほしあい)
hoshiai no hama 星合の浜(ほしあいのはま)beach where the stars meet
hoshiai no sora 星合の空(ほしあいのそら)sky where the stars meet
the stars of tonight, hoshi koyoi 星今宵 (ほしこよい)
welcoming the stars, hoshi mukae 星迎 ほしむかえ)
hoshi no chigiri 星の契(ほしのちぎり)"stars meeting"
hoshi no koi 星の恋(ほしのこい)"stars in love"
hoshi no imose 星の妹背(ほしのいもせ)"a coule of stars"
hoshi no wakare 星の別(ほしのわかれ)parting of the stars
tomoshizuma 乏し妻(ともしづま)"scarce wife"
tomoshibi hime 燈姫(ともしびひめ)"princess in lamplight"
hoshi no neya 星の閨(ほしのねや) "bedroom of the stars"
toshi no watari 年の渡(としのわたり)"coming over once a year"
momiji no hashi 紅葉の橋(もみじのはし) "bridge of red leaves"

Hoshinomiya matsuri 星宮祭 (ほしのみやまつり)
Festival in the Star Palace


bamboo for Tanabata decorations tanabatadake 七夕竹 (たなばただけ)
..... small paper slips (tansaku) with wishes and poems are hung from it
tansakudake 短冊竹(たんざくだけ)bamboo for Tansaku
tanabatagami 七夕紙(たなばたがみ)paper to write a Tanabata wish
tanabata shikishi 七夕色紙(たなばたしきし)Shikishi-paper to write a Tanabata wish


floating Tanabata decorations, sending them off
..... tanabata nagashi 七夕流し (たなばたながし)

..... tanabata okuri 七夕送り(たなばたおくり)
at the end of the festival, the decorations are placed in a small boat and floated in the local river or at the seashore




tanabatadake uri 七夕竹売(たなばただけうり)
vendor of tanabata bamboo poles


tanabatadana 七夕棚(たなばただな)
shelf for Tanabata decorations

tanabata ame 七夕雨(たなばたあめ)
rain on the Tanabata festival day




source : natural123.exblog.jp
kasasagi no hashi 鵲の橋(かささぎのはし)
"magpie bridge"

On the Tanabata night, magpies come togther to build a bridge with their wings to make the stars reach each other.
..... hoshi no hashi 星の橋(ほしのはし)bridge for the stars
yukiai no hashi 行合の橋(ゆきあいのはし)bridge to meet
yoriba no hashi 寄羽の橋(よりばのはし)
ama no sayohashi 天の小夜橋(あまのさよはし)
momiji no hashi 紅葉の橋(もみじのはし)"red leaves bridge"
ujaku no hashi 烏鵲の橋(うじゃくのはし) magpie bridge



seven Tanabata princesses 七姫 (ななひめ) nanahime
kaji no ha 梶の葉 (かじのは ) paper mulberry leaf (for writing poetry)
and
kajinomari, kaji no mari 梶の鞠(かじのまり)paper mulberry kickball
for the Tanabata star festival rituals



. nanako no ike 七箇の池 ななこのいけ "seven ponds" .


tsuma mukaebune 妻迎舟 (つまむかえぶね)
"boat to welcome the wife"

..... tsumakoshibune 妻越し舟(つまこしぶね)
tsuma okuribune 妻送り舟(つまおくりぶね)
tsuma yobufune 妻呼ぶ舟(つまよぶふね)
shichiju no fune 七種の舟(しちしゅのふね)
..... nanakusa no fune ななくさ の 舟
boat with seven pieces of luggage


niwa no tategoto 庭の立琴 (にわのたてごと)
koto standing in the garden

..... tategoto 立琴(たてごと)
kyuushitoo 九枝燈(きゅうしとう)lamp with 9 arms
hitorikoo 火取香(ひとりこう)Tanabata incense
momiji no tobari 紅葉の帳(もみじのとばり)
"one red leaf as a book"
At the Imperial Palace, in the garden before the Kikko-decorations, a koto with 13 strings was placed standing.

hoshi no takimono 星の薫物 (ほしのたきもの)
incense for the stars

hoshi no kaori 星の薫(ほしのかおり)
fragrance for the stars
hitorikoo 火取香(ひとりこう)Tanabata incense
Offering incense at the Imperial Palace in the Tanabata night.


kashi kosode 貸小袖 (かしこそで) lending a robe
hoshi no kashimono 星の貸物(ほしのかしもの)
If you lend some yarn and a kosode robe to the Weaver Princess, your own ability in weaving would increase. So robes and yarn was put on the Kikoden-shelf.


. Tanabata uma 七夕馬 horse for Tanabata .
makomo no uma 真菰の馬 (まこものうま) horse from Makomo wild rice
kusakari uma 草刈馬(くさかりうま)horse from cut grass
mukae uma 迎馬(むかえうま) welcoming horse

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tanabatazuki 七夕月(たなばたづき)
month with the tanabata star festival

old name for the seventh lunar month


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negai no ito 願の糸 (ねがいのいと) "string for wishes"
..... ganshi 願糸(がんし )
goshiki no ito 五色の糸(ごしきのいと)string of five colors
kigo for early autumn



This five-colored string is used during the tanabata Star Festival to bind it to the bamboo pole.
Weavers use this to make a wish to become as skilfull as the "Weaver Girl" in the sky. Later it coincided with a wish for long life, wealth and having many children.
Later the tansaku paper slips with written wishes were used.

The five colors are white, black, yellow, red and blue.


. Gankake 願掛け wish-prayer, to make a wish .

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For more kigo related to Tanabata, check
Stars and Haiku


Rendering TANABATA into English, in a wider sense, you could write

"night of the two stars"
(referring to these two special stars meeting)

. . . . .


August 6, 2011,
is the "real" Tanabata night, with a half-moon in the Asian lunar calendar . . .

. August 6, 2011 - Hiroshima .



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http://www.geocities.jp/senribb/FestD2.jpg

According to the old Chinese calendar, this festival is placed in the “Autumn” category of the Haiku Saijiki.
Now it takes place on one of these double-days, the seventh day of the seventh month. In Sendai, it is celebrated at the beginning of August.
Qixi in China, Chilseok in Korea and That Tich in Vietnam.

The origin of this Tanabata Festival goes back to a legend in China.Two stars, Orihime (Vega, as a weaving girl) and Kengyu (Altair, as a cowherd) who loved each other were separated by another star's jealousy, could meet only once a year in The Milky Way on July 7. According to the Kodansha encyclopedia, the legend was believed and observed by women who prayed to the Weaver Star (Vega) for success in love and proficiency in such skills as sewing and calligraphy in ancient China.
http://leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/~jclub/festival/tanabata.htm

It is the custom to write some wish on a small and long slip of colored paper and hang it on a large bamboo pole for the gods to see and take care of your wish. Writing a Tanabata slip is very popular in kindergardens and schools. This year, 2004, many children were writing a wish to the effect that peace should come to the world and the war in Iraq end soon.
Some say that the name Tanabata is a compound word of Tana and Hata. Tana means shelf or trellis, and hata means weaving. In ancient times, a maiden serving the god of weaving had to weave a cloth for the god of weaving to drape on a shelf or trellis near a river or lake.
http://home.att.ne.jp/gold/aosara/articles/tanabata.htm



In Sendai it is customary for the Tanabata star festival to make a crane from folded paper with a Tanabata wish in it. This is hung to the bamboo.
. 大崎八幡宮 Osaki Hachiman Shrine Sendai .
orizuru negai mamori 折鶴ねがい守り
folded crane amulet for making a wish


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The Tanabata Festivals of Hiratsuka (July) and Sendai (August) are the most famous in Japan.

At the Tanabata festival in Shonan Hiratsuka, the bamboo decorations which are beautiful and being very big are made throughout the town and a lot of stalls stand in a row.At noon, a parade and a dance attraction and so on are unveil at the main street in Hiratsuka city. Also, at night, the bamboo decorations are lit up beautifully with lights, making the Tanabata festival more luxurious.



On this link you can see all the pictures and listen to some music.
http://www.geocities.jp/senribb/
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Sendai
"Tanabata Matsuri" is considered one of the three major festivals in Northern area Tohoku along with Nebuta Matsuri in Aomori and Kanto Matsuri in Akita. The festival attracts more than 2 million tourists every year. Over a thousand beautifully decorated bamboo ornaments line 2 km of shopping arcades. In the eve, 12,000 individual fireworks color the sky. During the festival, an elaborate Tanabata parade consisting of 2,000 people marches through the city.
[Period]August 6 through 8 every year.
[Location] Aoba-dori and Jozenji-dori
http://www.ikoisouryokan.co.jp/english/e_guide.html




Look at the colorful decorations.
http://www.reggie.net/album.php?albid=856
http://www.reggie.net/photo.php?albid=856&ph=4393958
http://www.reggie.net/photo.php?albid=856&ph=4383842

The Tanabata Parade

http://www.reggie.net/album.php?albid=857


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Worldwide use

Many haiku poets worldwide feel that the MILKY WAY should be a kigo for summer, if at all.
But the milky way is strongly related to the Tanabata festival according to the Asian lunar calendar, so even in Japan, where TANABATA is mostly celebrated in July, it is still a kigo for early autumn.

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USA

In Seatle there was a Tanabata Festival in a Japanese Garden.
There was even a Tanabata Haiku Contest. The following links are from this page.
http://www.napost.com/tanabata.html



Decorated Bamboo Branch


http://www.interq.or.jp/www1/moon2/wahoo/events/tanabata.htm


The Tale of Tanabata -
The Sad Love Story of Orihime and Kengyu
(and other Japanese folk tales)
WKD Library


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Die drei großen Feste von Nordjapan, Tanabata (in Sendai), Kantoo (in Akita) und Nebuta (in Aomori), gehören in eine weitere Gruppe von Festen. Diese haben sich aus den Zeremonien des buddhistischen Totenfests Obon entwickelt.

Tanabata, das Fest der Sternennacht, ist das Fest der Liebenden und basiert auf der chinesischen Legende von einem einfachen Schafhirten und einer Prinzessin ... aber ach, die armen Liebenden durften sich nur einmal im Jahr treffen, wenn die Sterne richtig standen. Das ist der 7. Tag im 7. Monat, wenn die Weberin Vega und der Hirt Altair sich auf der Milchstraße treffen. Für junge Leute ist dieses Fest natürlich besonders wichtig; viele Mädchen kleiden sich in bunte Baumwoll-Sommerkimonos yukata auf der Suche nach einem Hirten.

Jung und Alt schreibt Wünsche auf lange bunte Zettel, die an einen Bambuszweig gebunden werden: je ein Wunsch auf einen Zettel. Diese Bambuszweige sind der Ursprung der modernen Straßendekorationen. Noch heute wird in den Dörfern Bambus aus dem nahegelegenen Wald geschlagen und z. B. im Kindergarten oder auf dem Dorfplatz aufgestellt. Viele Familien machen sich auch ihren eigenen Bambuszweig und stellen ihn im Garten auf.

Das Tanabata-Fest in Sendai wird vom 6. bis 8. August gefeiert, einen Monat später als in den meisten anderen Orten Japans. Nach dem alten asiatischen Mondkalender sei dies der bessere Tag für das Sternentreffen.

Die Dekorationen entlang der Haupteinkaufsstraßen von Sendai sind riesig und bunt, ursprünglich waren es lange Bambusstangen mit Zetteln aus Japanpapier dekoriert, heutzutage sieht man aber immer häufiger Plastik und Fantastik.
Bei der großen Parade ziehen die Bewohner der Stadtviertel in bunten Kostümen mit Gesang und Tanz durch die Straßen von Sendai. Zum donnernden Abschluss wird am Abend ein Feuerwerk veranstaltet.

Gabi Greve
August 2001


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Things found on the way


Have a look at a nice pair of Tanabata papermachee dolls, made by the Arai store in Hiratsuka.
Tanabata Daruma 七夕だるま


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HAIKU


. Sadogashima 佐渡島 Sado Island - Introduction .




A famous haiku by Basho

荒海や佐渡によこたふ天河 
araumi ya Sado ni yokotau amanogawa

This must be the masterpiece of three-dimensional haiku with bipolar structure. That is, Sado connects the wild sea (Earth) and the Milky Way (outer space) to demonstrate an extensive perspective, or three-dimensional field.

The Milky Way (according to an ancient legend associated with Star Festival) excites pity for the Altair-Vega couple. They can meet only once a year at the time of the Star Festival called Tanabata in East Asia. Sado recalls the sadness of noble people who were exiled there, such as the famous Noh-dancer Zeami or Saint Nichiren (Buddhist). The violent sound of wind-whipped sea arouses great fear in readers.  

The images of the Milky Way, Sado and wild sea work in synergy to induce readers to feel hopeless sorrow. Those who are familiar with European history may recall Saint Helena, and the exiled Napoléon Bonaparte, to strengthen their interpretation. The haiku can be interpreted adequately without knowledge of the Star Festival of Tanabata.

Araumi ya: ... wild sea
Sado ni yokotau: ... stretching to Sado Isle
Amanogawa: ... the River in the Sky (Milky Way (literally)

source : Susumu Takiguchi



quote
Bashō left a prose piece about Sado island,
twenty or so miles off the Japan Sea Coast in Niigata:

From the place called Izumozaki in Echigo, Sado Island is eighteen li away on the sea. With cragginess of its valleys and peaks clearly visible, it lies on the side in the sea, thirty-odd li from east to west. Light mists of early fall not rising yet, and the waves not high, I feel as if I could touch it with my hand. ... from past to present, a place of exile for felons and traitors, [Sado Island] has become a distressing name.
As the evening moon sets, the surface of the sea becomes quite dark. The shapes of the mountains are still visible through the clouds, and the sound of waves is saddening.
source : Utamakura: Storied Places - Dennis Kawaharada


The translation of Amanogawa, ama no kawa, (river of heaven) might lead to the notion that Basho used a self-made metaphor to discribe this heavenly phenomenon, but he did in fact not, he just used the common and normal Japanese word for "Milky Way".

With the introduction of the milky way in a haiku about this day of this festival, Basho also might have built a bridge to the next festival of the souls, O-Bon.
Kigo can thus work like the pearls of a rosary to bind together the associations of a Japanese reader.

Calendar Systems, Asian Lunar Calendar


荒海や佐渡によこたふ天の川
araumi ya Sado ni yokotau amanogawa

O'er wild ocean spray,
All the way to Sado Isle
Spreads the Milky Way

Tr. Dorothy Britton


How rough the sea!
And, stretching off to Sado Isle,
The Galaxy . . .

Tr. Henderson


rough sea/ over Sado Island/ milky way
http://www.worldhaikureview.org/3-1/vintage_tsubaki.shtml


a wild sea -
stretching to Sado Isle
the Milky Way

Tr. Haruo Shirane
By drawing on Sado's historical associations, Basho was able to infuse the landscape (kei) with a particular emotion or sentiment (joo), to view the landscape through the eyes of the past, as he did at utamakura. Sado, an island across the water from Izumosaki (Izumo Point) was known for its long history of political exiles: Emperor Juntoku, Nichiren, Mongaku, Zeami and others.
source : books.google.co.jp


Turbulent the sea—
across to Sado stretches
the Milky Way

http://carlsensei.com/classical/index.php/author/view/1


More translations :
- Reference - amanogawa -


araumi ya Sado ni yokotau amanogawa

This haiku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 1.
With the reverse structure of Japanese language, lines 2 and 3 can be translated as

the Milky Way
stretches to Sado

The scene seems to be pure shasei, Basho just telling us what he has seen from the beach. And yet . .


quote   
"Basho was standing on the western shores of Japan looking out upon the night sea . . . Miles away, lay Sado Island . . . a place where numerous people endured the enforced solitude of exile. Stretching out across the sky was the Milky Way (Heaven's River).
"As a metaphorical river, it flows in internal tranquility above the storms of the sea and of human life, sparkling with a scattered brightness, more pure than gold.
Basho, the island, and everything on earth seem to be alone yet together under the stream of stars. Over the storm is silence; above the movement is a stillness that somehow suggests the flow of the river and of time; and piercing the darkness is the shimmering but faint light of stars."

Basho's Haiku: Selected Poems of Matsuo Basho,
source : David Landis Barnhill

. . . . .



photo by "I fucking love science", facebook


taking a look
at the Milky Way -
Happy Mars ! .



Curiosity, a Mars rover, landed in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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source : tanabata/timetravel


七夕の逢はぬ心や雨中天
Tanabata no awanu kokoro ya uchuuten

at Tanabata
the hearts can't meet -
Rain in Heaven

Tr. Gabi Greve

uchuuten - this is a pun with uchooten 有頂天 extasy (sanskrit: bhavagra).
This kind of punning was favored by the Teimon school of haikai.

Written in 寛文7年, Basho age 24

THIS might be the translation of Yuasa, but I am not sure:

Unable to meet
At their annual rendezvous,
The two stars fret
In the fretful sky of July.

source : terebess.hu/english



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


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Tanabata ya Nozomi o noseru Sasa no fune

Wishes riding
A bamboo boat
To the stars

Steve McCarty
http://www.childresearch.net/RR/POSTER/WAOE.HTM


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ama no gawa shibaraku soba de yume no tsuri

river of stars
close by for a while
fishing for dreams


charlie smith
raleigh, nc, July 2009


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the evening we meet
Tanabata is endless
Tomorrow starts another year


Manyoo-shuu (Manyshu) Collection of Poems
http://www.aosara.com/articles/tanabata.htm


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日暮れては何処も地の果て天の川
higurete wa doko mo chi no hate amanogawa

after sunset
the earth seems endless -
"River of Heaven"


Nomiyama Asuka 野見山朱鳥, 1977
Tr. Gabi Greve


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Tanabata night...
two silhouettes appear
and merge as one


tracing our names
carved in the tree trunk
tanabata stars


Published on the Asahi Haikuist Network (July 29, 2011)



tanabata stars
a lock of her hair
in Love, Poetry


Chen-ou Liu
Canada

(note:
Love, Poetry is written by Paul Eluard,
who is widely considered to be one of France's most important poets.)


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two star crossed lovers
counting up the wise wise words
hanging on a tree


- Shared by Paul Conneally -
Joys of Japan, September 2012


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Matsunaga Teitoku 松永貞徳 (1571-1653)
Tanabata Haiku


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. Welcome to the Kappapedia !
河童 / かっぱ / カッパ - Kappa, the Water Goblin of Japan! .







CLICK for more photos !


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Related words


. WKD : Washing the Inkstone before Tanabata
suzuri arai 硯洗 (すずりあらい)
tsukue arau 机あらう washing the table 
imo no ha no tsuyu 芋の葉の露(いものはのつゆ)
dew from a leaf of sweet potatoes
the dew was used to prepare the ink instead of water.


***** Leonid Meteor Shower .. .. Geminid Meteor Shower


***** Bon Festival, O-Bon (Japan)


***** Stars and Haiku


CLICK for more photos
Click for more photos from Japan!

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. Magpie, kasasagi 鵲 (かささぎ) .

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
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