Summer (natsu)

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Summer (natsu　夏 - なつ)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Summer
***** Category: Heavens and others

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Explanation

The Summer season in Japanese Haiku
is fixed according to the Asian lunar calendar from the beginning of summer around the sixth of May until the eighth of August. In reality the summer in Central Japan lasts roughly from June to the end of August. There are many kigo with relation to "Summer", see


. . . . SUMMER
the complete SAIJIKI .. Introduction and list



the reading of GE for the kanji 夏（げ） refers to the
. natsu ango 夏安吾（げあんご）summer retreat for monks .
..... gegomori 夏籠（げごもり）, gekomori, gegyoo 夏行（げぎょう）
ge-iri 夏入（げいり）beginning the summer retreat
ge no hajime 夏の始め（げのはじめ）beginning of the summer retreat


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kigo for late summer

banka 晩夏 ばんか late summer
. . . kika 季夏（きか）(name for the 6th lunar month)
bankakoo 晩夏光（ばんかこう） sunshine in late summer

Nachsommer

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reika 冷夏 (れいか ) cold summer
natsu samushi 夏寒し（なつさむし）cold in summer
midori no fuyu みどりの冬（みどりのふゆ）winter in the green season
reigai 冷害（れいがい）damage by coldness
kyoorai 凶冷（きょうれい） unfortunate cold


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seika 盛夏 (せいか) midsummer
..... manatsu 真夏（まなつ）
natsu sakan 夏旺ん（なつさかん）
The rainy season is now over and summer comes with all its might, daily temperatures well over 30 degrees centigrade, which are called "midsummer days" (manatsubi真夏日) in the weather forecast. Sometimes they last for about 50 days in Kyushu.


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natsu fukashi 夏深し (なつふかし) "summer is deep"
..... natsu fukamu 晩夏 夏深む（なつふかむ） summer deepens
..... natsu sabu 夏さぶ（なつさぶ）
natsu takenawa 夏闌（なつたけなわ） summer at its best


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summer holidays, natsuyasumi 夏休み
mostly to describe the school holidays
.....shochuu kyuuka 暑中休暇（しょちゅうきゅうか）
break during the strongest heat
..... shochuu yasumi 暑中休（しょちゅうやすみ）

. to return home in summer, kisei 帰省
during the summer holidays or O-Bon


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humanity kigo for late summer

As sommer lasts, people get tired and worn out by the heat. They try with many thinks, like medicine or alcohol like plum wine, to get over the hot days ...


shokibarai 暑気払 (しょきばらい) warding off the heat
..... shokikudashi 暑気下し（しょきくだし）


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koojusan 香薷散 (こうじゅさん)
pulver medicine against summer weariness
made from naginata kooju ナギナタコウジュ
Elsholtzia ciliata
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


香薷散犬がねぶって雲の峰
koojusan inu ga nebutte kumo no mine

Kikaku 其角

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hiyake 日焼 (ひやけ) sunburn
hiyakedome 日焼止め（ひやけどめ）sunscreen, cream against sunburn
shioyake 潮焼（しおやけ）sunburn on the beach
Sonnenbrand


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humanity kigo for mid-summer


soojutsu o yaku 蒼朮を焼く (そうじゅつをやく)
burning Okera
..... ukera yaku うけら焼く（うけらやく）
..... okera yaku おけら焼く（おけらやく）
soojutsu o taku 蒼朮を焚く（そうじゅつをたく）
A plant of the Chrysanthemum family, Atractylodes japonica Koidz. et Kitam. is dried and burned to ward off heat and sweat.
The roots are also used in Chinese Medicine.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



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tooyootoo 桃葉湯 (とうようとう)
bath with (dried) leaves of the peach tree
Said to help with too much sweating in summer and rashes because of sweat.



biwayootoo 枇杷葉湯 (びわようとう)
drink from dried loquat leaves
This is also sold in powder-form, and the vendor is also a kigo

biwayootoo uri 琵琶葉湯売（びわようとううり)
vendor of loquat leaf medicine


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humanity kigo for all summer


nomitoriko 蚤取粉 (のみとりこ) powder against lice
Traditionally made from ジョチュウギク Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium Boccone
jochuugiku じょちゅうぎく【除虫菊】 insect powder plant, pyrethrum


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tenkafun 天瓜粉 (てんかふん)
yellow snake gourd powder
..... tenkafun 天花粉（てんかふん）
ase shirazu 汗しらず（あせしらず） "without sweat"
Made from the roots of キカラスウリ, 黄烏瓜 Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim. var. japonica, one of the essential plants used in Chinese Medicine.
"yellow snake gourd"
A white fine powder. Put on the skin when rashes from sweat start to appear. Especially used for small children.


天瓜粉ところきらはず打たれけり
tenkafun tokoro kira hazu utarekeri

Hino Soojo 日野草城
Hino Sojo (1901-1956)



. MORE medicine-related kigo 　


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Worldwide use

The Summer in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
This is the season that trees are verdant.The trees newly in leaf are getting more verdant.Then branches and leaves are growing up toward the sky.Flowers are blooming getting warm sunlight.Dragonflies are flying above the lawn and cicadae are singing in chorus, they are all bustling.The summer in Shinjuku Gyoen comes with a breath of nature.

source : Shinjuku Gyoen


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Things found on the way

Pages of summer haiku, although the word SUMMER is not mentioned specially.
http://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/wlhaiku/summerhaiku.html
http://www.womenfolk.com/anne/haiku.htm


http://vallance22.tripod.com/canadianzenhaikuvol1no42003/id4.html

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HAIKU

Natukusa ya Tuwamonodomo ga Yume no ato
(Matsuo Basho)

Where summer grasses now
grow thick once soldiers fought,
the shadow of a dream

http://vallance22.tripod.com/canadianzenhaikuvol1no42003/id4.html

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waking to sunshine
summer like weather today
humid clouds roll in

Anne Johnson
http://www.womenfolk.com/anne/haiku.htm

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dry brushes -
summer's portrait
almost done

summer's flight
the brief wing-stretch
of memory

Laryalee Fraser

Look at the beautiful haiga by Ashe to go with these:
http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/HP/Duets/Lary/10larybrushes.htm
http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/HP/Duets/Lary/03arymemory.htm

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Related words

***** heat, hot, atsushi, atsusa 暑し (あつし)

category of humanity
atsusa 暑さ（あつさ）heat (feeling hot)


hisho 避暑 (ひしょ) summering,
pass the summer in a cool region
hishoki 避暑期（ひしょき）time for summering
hishochi 避暑地（ひしょち）region for summering
hisho nagori 避暑名残（ひしょなごり）
hisho no tabi 避暑の旅（ひしょのたび）travelling for summering
..... hisho ryokoo 避暑旅行（ひしょりょこう
hisho no yado 避暑の宿（ひしょのやど）lodging for summering
hisho kyaku 避暑客（ひしょきゃく）guest for summering
..... hisho no kyaku 避暑の客（ひしょのきゃく）

hisho sanpo 避暑散歩（ひしょさんぽ）walk for summering
hishodayori 避暑便り（ひしょだより）news about summering

shooka 銷夏（しょうか）"getting rid of summer"
..... shooka 消夏（しょうか）

Sommerfrische

. . . . .


邪鬼が踏む大和盆地の暑さかな
jaki ga fumu Yamato bonchi no atsusa kana

as if the demons
tread on the Yamado plains -
this heat

Kadokawa Haruki 角川春樹 (1942 - )



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category of season
atsushi 暑し (あつし) heat
sweltering, atsukurushi 暑苦し（あつくるし）
heat, sho 暑（しょ）, feeling hot, shoki 暑気（しょき）
hot month, shogetsu 暑月（しょげつ）
summer heat, shonetsu 暑熱（しょねつ）


atsuki hi 暑き日 (あつきひ) hot day
atsuki yo 暑き夜（あつきよ）hot night



kigo for late summer

taisho (大暑 / たいしょ): July 23—Large heat

taisho kuru 大暑来る（たいしょくる）great heat is coming
taisho no hi 大暑の日（たいしょのひ）day of the great heat
gokusho 極暑 (ごくしょ) extremely hot
..... gokusho 酷暑（こくしょ）
jokusho 溽暑 (じょくしょ) humid and hot
..... mushiatsushi, mushi-atsushi 蒸暑し（むしあつし）
..... shitsusho 湿暑（しつしょ）
ensho 炎暑 (えんしょ) intense heat

ennetsu 炎熱（えんねつ）burning heat
moyuru 炎ゆる (もゆる) burning (whith heat)
..... yakuru 灼くる (やくる)

nessa 熱砂（ねっさ）burning hot sand
hiyake hama 日焼浜（ひやけはま）burning hot beach

yakeiwa 灼岩（やけいわ）burning hot rock
..... hiyake iwa 日焼岩（ひやけいわ）



. Feeling COOL in SUMMER 　



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strange heat -
a week to my birthday
the red ferrari passes again

Alan Summers, UK
1. Raku Teapot: Haiku Book and CD pub. Raku Teapot Press 2003 in association with White Owl Publishing Book: ISBN 1-891691-03-1 CD: ISBN 1-891691-04-X
2. haijinx http://www.haijinx.com/I-1/haiku/pageh12.html haijinx volume I, issue 1
3. Bristol Evening Post 2002


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Recently I was at a poetry reading in Bryant Park, behind the New York Public Library building (the one with the lions in front).

Bryant Park is ringed by many London Plane trees, which are very tall. Bored with the poetry, I was looking up, and high overhead were myriad leaves--so many, that the bits of blue sky showing through were like blue leaves interspersed with the green ones.

The first thing that popped into my head was how it was like being inside of a George Seurat painting.

summer in the park:
pointillist leaves dotting
a pointillist sky

--Larry Bole
Happy Haiku Forum, June 2011


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this heat
after the first beer
even worse ...

Tomislav Maretic
- WKD - facebook -

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the slow turn
of a barber's pole -
afternoon heat

- Shared by John Wisdom -
Joys of Japan, August 2012






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***** Spring (haru, Japan)

****** Autumn (aki, Japan)

***** Winter (fuyu, Japan)

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. . . . SUMMER
the complete SAIJIKI


.SAIJIKI ... HUMANITY
Kigo for Summer 　



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Strawberries

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Strawberries (ichigo)

***** Location: Japan, USA, other countries
***** Season: Early Summer
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

ichigo イチゴ、苺 strawberry
ichigo 覆盆子（いちご）
kusa ichigo 草苺（くさいちご） Rubus hirsutus
ichigo tsumi 苺摘み（いちごつみ) picking strawberries
ichigobatake 苺畑（いちごばたけ） field with strawberries
Fam. Fragaria

Strawberries have been introduced to Japan by the Dutch merchands during the Edo period, at that time they were called "Holland Strawberries" (oranda ichigo). The season started in early summer, so they became a kigo of that period. Later they were grown in large hothouses, along many costal areas in Japan. Now the strawberry season starts before the New Year, since they are used as a decoration for the whipped cream Christmas Cake. They are also used as Birthdy Cake decorations. I tried to grow them in the garden, but the strong weeds are no match for these delicate plants, you need a hothouse indeed.
Gabi Greve


http://www.toonippo.co.jp/news_too/nto2004/1119/nto1119_2.asp

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kigo for early summer

hebi ichigo, kuchinawa ichigo 蛇苺 (へびいちご) "snake strawberry"
Duchesnea chrysantha


nawashiro ichigo 苗代苺 (なわしろいちご) native raspberry, or small-leaf bramble
Rubus parvifolius
mitsuba ichigo 三葉苺（みつばいちご）"three leaves strawberry"
satsuki ichigo 五月苺（さつきいちご）
saotome ichigo 早乙女苺（さおとめいちご）



ki ichigo, ki-ichigo 木苺 "tree strawberries", bramble
Rubus family, Rubus idaeus


©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !
a kind similar to raspberry or blackberry

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kigo for late summer

suna ichigo 砂苺（すないちご）"sand strawberry"
Epigaea asiatica
iwanashi 岩梨 (いわなし) "rock pear"
Etsukitsu 越橘（えつきつ）
. kokemomo 苔桃 (こけもも) bilberry, Preiselbeere .


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kigo for all winter

fuyu ichigo　冬苺　winter strawberries
kan ichigo 寒苺　"strawberries in the cold"
Rubus buergeri


©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

They grow and have flowers in summer in the mountains and bring red fruit in winter.
They are not the one's grown in hot houses.


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Find the word "Strawberry" in any language here:
http://www.jamm.com/strawberry/speaking.html#Letter%20J

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The Complete Strawberry Page

Strawberry Historical Facts
Strawberries are thought to have been cultivated in ancient Rome.

The strawberry, as we know it, was originally grown in northern Europe, but species are also found in Russia, Chile, and the United States.

The berries seem to be strewn among the leaves of the plant. The plant first had the name strewberry, which later was changed to strawberry.

In France strawberries were cultivated in the 13th Century for useas a medicinal herb.

Historical Medicinal Uses of Fragaria Vesca (Alpine Strawberry):
It is said that the leaves, roots and fruits of this variety of strawberry were used for a digestive or skin tonic. Internally, the berry was used for diarrhoea and digestive upset, while the leaves and the roots were used for gout. Externally, it was used for sunburn and skin blemishes, and the fruit juice was used for discoloured teeth.

The first American species of strawberries was cultivated about 1835.
The first important American variety, the Hoveg, was grown in 1834, in Massachusetts. The hybrid variety was developed in France.

The strawberry is considered one of the most important small fruits grown in the Western Hemisphere. Today every state in the United States and every province in Canada grows the strawberry plant.

Strawberry Horticultural Facts
Gardening Hints & Tips
Commercial Sources for the Strawberry Plant
General Horticultural Data & Information
Strawberry Diseases and Pests Information
Commercial Sources of the Strawberry Plant
http://www.jamm.com/strawberry/harvests.html

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The First Strawberries
Retold by Barbara Shining Woman Warren

In the beginning of the world, ga lv la di e hi created First Man and First Woman. Together they built a lodge at the edge of a dense forest. They were very happy together; but like all humans do at times, they began to argue.

Finally First Woman became so angry she said she was leaving and never coming back. At that moment First Man really didn't care. First Woman started walking eastward down the path through the forest. She never looked back.

As the day grew later, First Man began to worry. At last he started down the same path in search of his wife. The Sun looked down on First Man and took pity on him. The Sun asked First Man if he was still angry with First Woman. First Man said he was not angry any more. The Sun asked if he would like to have First Woman back. Fist Man readily agreed he did.

Read the rest of the stroy here:
http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/articles/strwbry.htm

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Worldwide use

Germany
Erdbeere. Berry of the earth.
I have fond memories of the strawberries in our garden in summer and grandmother's strawberry jam. The strong smell of these berries is somehow a reminder of childhood.
Gabi Greve

USA
Although available year round now, I think of Strawberries as a summer kigo. As a child I couldn't wait for 'strawberry season', especially when I had my own patch that threatened to take over our yard.
Kate Steere

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Things found on the way





source :　xxx

Ichigo and Daruma

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HAIKU

火のように苺ならべて食べにけり
hi no yoo ni ichigo narabete tabe-ni-keri

like flames
I arrange the strawberries
and eat them . . .

Gotoo Takashi 五島高資 (1968 - )


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strawberry picking-
my basket
and stomach filled

sharing a strawberry-
the argument
forgotten*

*see the story above

Kate Steere

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wind swept path
hikers hunched against rain
wild strawberries

verwehter Pfad
Wanderer stemmt sich gegen Regen
wilde Erdbeeren

sentier balayé par le vent
marcheurs courbés sous la pluie
fraises sauvages

© Copyright Angelee Deodhar, 2000
German translation : Andreas Brauers
http://www.tempslibres.org/sites/ang/hku/ang05.html

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buxom lady
the scent of strawberries
on your hot lips

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

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Related Words

***** Cranberries : kigo for early winter (> Thanksgiving )

thanksgiving grace ~
cranberries holding
the shape of the can

Mark Alan Osterhaus
http://my.execpc.com/~ohaus/pubhaiku.htm

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cranberry frost
the crackle of ice
before the canoe

Jim Kacian Winchester, VA, USA
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/haiku/03/selection2002.html

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wiping a splash
from the tattered recipe
cranberry relish

Marlene Egger
http://haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/shiki.archive/html/0011/0888.html

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but I love you ...
a gentle fight for
the last strawberry

© Gabi Greve, June 2008
with more STRAWBERRY HAIKU of my friends


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. WASHOKU
amaou あまおう / 甘王　Amao strawberries 　
Lit. "Sweet King".　


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Snowdrops

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Snowdrops, Schneeglöckchen

***** Location: Europe, America
***** Season: Early Spring
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Galanthus family.
Common Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis

These early flowers of spring have always been my joy in our German garden. I planted some here in Japan and most of them grow now since 10 years, sometimes as early as February.
They are not native to Japan and therefore not mentioned in the traditional saijiki.
In German we call them "snow bells".

After Adam and Eve had been thrown out of paradise and were suffering from the first snow in their life, a merciful angel turned the snow to these nice flowers, the snowdrops. (Maybe the name of the angel was Gabriel???)
Gabi Greve (Gabi is short for Gabriele)

In Japanese they are also called
"Plant waiting for Snow"matsu-yuki-soo 待雪草 ... or
"Snow Flowers" yuki no hana 雪の花.




A Snowdrop plant looks like three drops of milk hanging from a stem. This accounts for the Latin name Galanthus which means
"milk-white flowers".
http://www.theplantexpert.com/springbulbs/Snowdrop.html

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These are hardy bulbs, originally from Europe and Asia Minor. Two or three straplike leaves, dark green in color, grow from each bulb. The white flowers are usually borne singly, mostly in early spring but sometimes in mid to late winter, which makes them the earliest flowering bulb. In the south they may bloom from late fall through winter. The three inner petals have green tips and overlap the outer petals to form a tube.
http://www.gardenguides.com/flowers/bulbs/snowdrop.htm


SPECIES & VARIETIES
G. nivalis & var. 'Scharlockii', 'Sam Arnotti', 'Flore Pleno'; G. elwesii; G. plicatus; G. byzantinus (This species is the one most likely to survive in southern gardens, being a native of western Turkey.)
http://www.botany.com/galanthus.html

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Snowdrop, "Sunoodoroppu" スノードロップ　



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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

Struggeling with a snowdrop haiku
http://haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/shiki.archive/html/9801/0539.html



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HAIKU

white dots on the ground -
they are not snow
they are first snowbells !

Gabi Greve

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Erste Schneeglöckchen –
die Witwe trägt nun
kein Schwarz mehr

first snowdrops -
the widow does not wear
black any more
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Andrea D`Alessandro
http://www.haiku-heute.de/Galerie/Andrea_DAlessandro/body_andrea_dalessandro.html

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morning light ~
among gathered leaves
one snowdrop

Don
http://haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/shiki.archive/html/0003/0096.html

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new snowdrop
Hangs it's head almost as if
Ashamed to be here.

Paul Cotton
http://www.thecomma.co.uk/haiku/?action=arch&yr=2004

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cowpat
lifted up --
first snowdrops

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Related words

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Spider Lilies (higanbana)

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Spider Lilies (higanbana, manjushage)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Mid-Autumn
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation


http://www.city.narita.chiba.jp/DAT/LIB/WEB/1/9_2.jpg

Quote:

This flower is native to Japan. In Japanese, it is called "higanbana" which translates roughly to "the flower that blooms during the (fall) equinox". In English it is called the "red spider lily," or the "hurricane lily". (The latter name because it blooms following the rains brought by Gulf Coast hurricanes in August and September). Its Latin (botanical) name is "Lycoris radiata". It is a beautiful flower in any language.
http://www.zanthan.com/japan/nihongo/archives/000767.html

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This hauntigly beautiful flower is native to China and has been introduced to Japan early, since we know of poems about it in the famous Manyoo-shuu poetry collection.

The stem contains some eatable proteins, therefore it was planted in great numbers on the narrow paths between the rice fields (aze-michi) to be used as an emergency food in case the rice harvest was not as bountiful as expected. It also contains a toxic agent against the mice, so it was planted to protect the rice fields.

In autumn, when our rice fields are all golden, it makes a most spectacular sight as a red border contrast between the fields. After the flowers on their single stems grow up to about 40 cm, the red flowers open up over night, clustering together in lavish red spots. Once the flowers are all gone, thick green lancet-like leaves appear and can be seen until spring.

This flower has many names in Japanes, some say more than nine hundred. Here are just a few of them.

The word “Manjushage”　曼珠沙華　is taken from a line in the Buddhist Lotus sutra, refering to a red flower in Sanskrit prononciation.

manjusage まんじゅさげ

“higan-bana” 彼岸花、flower of the autumn equinox.

“doku-bana” 毒花, poisonous flower (as we have seen above, it contains poison)

kitsunebana 狐花（きつねばな）"fox flower"

“shibito-bana” 死人花, the flower of the dead.

sanmaibana 三昧花（さんまいばな) "samadhi flower"

shitamagari したまがり

sutegobana 捨子花（すてごばな）"abandoned child flower"

“yuurei-bana” 幽霊花, flower that looks like a ghost, a phantom.

“tengai-bana” 天蓋花、flower that looks like the ceiling decoration (tengai) of a Buddhist inner sanctuary.

“yome no kanzashi” , flower that looks like a gourgeous hairpin decoration of a bride.

In haiku, this surprising grow of a dark-red passion should be expressed with this kigo. Also the Buddhist connotation from the Lotus sutra and the co-incidence of the autumn equinox, when they grow around the private graves of the family ancestors of rural areas is expressed. It is customary to visit the family ancestors grave during spring and autumn equinox, as well as during the Bon festival in August, to pray for the protection of the family. In autumn, enjoying the higan-bana, the equinox flowers, is a great joy during these trips.

Gabi Greve


http://imaginatorium.org/sano/pics/b04305.jpg

ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo

Some more pictures of this flower.
http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/forum/29-6/photo.html

Various colors of spider lilies.
White: http://www.kumamotokokufu-h.ed.jp/kumamoto/sizen/image/00higan1.jpg
Yellow: http://www.kumamotokokufu-h.ed.jp/kumamoto/sizen/image/higany.jpg
Look at some more here:
http://www.kumamotokokufu-h.ed.jp/kumamoto/sizen/higanban.html

Beautiful rural scenes around Hinata Yakushi Temple in Isegahara,Kanagawa pref.
http://www.geocities.jp/takeshifumio/higanbana2.jpg

Look at all these beautiful pictures here:
http://www.geocities.jp/takeshifumio/higanbana_1.htm

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Koma Shrine 高麗神社、巾着田の彼岸花
is famous for a large field of Spider Lilies (higanbana). They grow in a light forest, like a red carpet when they are all in full bloom
http://www.komakusa.net/photo/auto/images/DSCF0036.jpg

Check the changing photos on this page.
http://www.komakusa.net/photo/auto/


Another great picture



and many more
http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~shinithi/higannbana-3/kintyak.html


Look at the forest with the red carpet
http://www.nextftp.com/oume-hotaru/zarigani/mannju/DSCF0005.jpg


Another page with beautiful photos
http://www.nextftp.com/oume-hotaru/zarigani/mannju/mannju.htm



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Worldwide use

It comes in bright red, white or light yellow. Also called “storm lily” or “cluster amaryllis”.
On the following LINK you can read a lot more and enjoy more pictures.
Brian Chandler even has a little photo gallery here.
http://imaginatorium.org/sano/higanb.htm


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Things found on the way


Spider Lily is the common name for a number of different plant species within the family Amaryllidaceae which belong to the following genera:

Crinum, a genus of about 180 species of perennial plants found along the sides of streams and lakes in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide, including South Africa
Hymenocallis, a genus of plants in the family Amaryllidaceae
Lycoris (plant), a genus of 13–20 species of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, formerly often treated in the family Liliaceae

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. . . CLICK here for Photos of crinum lilies !

. . . CLICK here for Photos of Hymenocallis !


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HAIKU




as many spider lilies
as many people:
along the river

Photo and Haiku by Chibi
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/945

red lace
of the spider lilies:
crowds admire

Daruma's color
shows

Chibi
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Darumasan-Japan/message/612

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tsukinukete tenjoo no kon manjushage
つきぬけて天上の紺曼珠沙華　　　　

山口　誓子 Yamaguchi Seishi

up into the sky
a penetrating azure--
red spider lily

(tr. T. Kodaira & H. Marks)
http://home.att.ne.jp/star/biling-haiku/top-haiku-archive.htm

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竹林を出れば白雲曼珠沙華
chikurin o dereba haku-un manjushage

out of the bamboo grove
there are white clouds
there are spiderer lilies

. Kaneko Tohta, Kaneko Tota 金子兜太 .


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曼珠沙華孤立無援は好きですか
manjushage koritsu mu-en wa suki desu ka?

oh amaryllis,
so lonely and isolate,
are you there by choice?
(translated by Christpher Dale)

Looking askance at the bustle of the world, drinking deeply of the morning dew, in the corner quietly loitering, there is a definite air of satori about the solitary flower, "so lonely and isolate", in this scene.
"Manjushage" is one of many names for "higan-bana", the cluster amaryllis, so-called because it flowers around "aki no higan", the autumnal eqinox. As if by volition, it always sprouts in the same place every year, be it from amidst a bunch of weeds, or in the shade of a tombstone, and so the author wonders if, in this case, the isolation from the world is self imposed.

Quoted from this bilingual haiku page
http://www.guy5.com/haiku1208b/world-5.html

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autumn shower
cooled flame of fire,
passed away

World Tempos Jounal
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/PH_DIARY?stage=show&diary_sn_in=269

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yellow rice-fields -
cluster amaryllis paint
red borders

Gabi Greve

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歩き続ける 彼岸花 咲き続ける　
aruki-tsuzukeru higanbana saki-tsuzukeru

I keep walking
the spider lilies
keep blooming 　

. Santooka 種田山頭火 Taneda Santoka . 　


From a discussion at the Translating Haiku Forum

utsuri kite/ o-higanbana no/ hana zakari
Taneda Santoka (Taneda Santooka 種田山頭火（たねだ さんとうか）

Having moved in and settled down,
I'm surrounded by flowers of the opposite shore/
flowers of the autumnal equinox.*

*opposite shore (Higan)--Buddhistic term.
autumnal equinox (Higan/Shuubun-no-hi)--day on the calendar.

Tr. Takashi Nonin at Terebess Asia Online

................................. Comment by Larry Bole

This translation seems way too wordy to me. The problem is in deciding what to include in the translation, and what to consign to an explanatory footnote.

The flower in question is lycoris radiata, commonly known as red spider lily; but since it is part of the amaryllis family, I have also seen it called amaryllis.

Here are a couple of attempts at translation I have made:

settled in among
flowers of the other shore...
autumn equinox

settled in and surrounded
by red spider lilies--
autumn equinox


There is another translation of this haiku I have found:

(First days in the Gochuu-an)

moving in
higan lilies
at their best

tr. Burton Watson

Is Mr. Watson's translation too minimalist?

I have also come across a couple of nicknames for the red spider lily, as found in the following exerpt:

"Japanese people had long loathed higanbana because it grows in cemeteries, blooms in autumn (a season when, according to Buddhist teachings, people enter a world of death from the world of life), and its bulbs contain a toxin that affects the nerve system. In fact, higanbana has been nicknamed shibitobana (dead person's flower) and jigokubana (flower of the hell). Legend goes that people who eat higanbana in hunger are destined to die due to the toxin."

Kansai in Focus

... ... ...


> moving in -
> spider lilies by the graves
> at their best
>
"by the graves" gives a bit of the actual association the Japanese have about this flower.
Gabi Greve

... ... ...

Les herbes folles
se couvrent d'automne
je m'assieds

from the Atlan/Bianu 2002 anthology
http://epha-ta.hautetfort.com/


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trying to catch
all of the sunshine
all at once


Gabi Greve, September 2009


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Related words

***** . Autumn Equinox

***** Spring equinox, vernal equinox


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. Lilies and Kigo .


... ... The World Kigo Database

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Spring peace (nodoka)

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Spring peace, mild spring weather (nodoka)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: All Spring
***** Category: Season

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Explanation

The Japanese word NODOKA 長閑 and its derivates comes in many translations. It denotes a calm, mild, tranquil, serene, peaceful day of spring.

nodokeshi 長閑し / のどけし (adjective form)
nodoka hi 長閑日a peaceful spring day

nodokesa のどけさ
nodokasa 長閑さ
nodoyaka のどやか
nodoraka のどらか
nodoroka のどろ
taitoo 駘蕩（たいとう）


It goes back to a poem in the Kokinshu 古今集 (古今和歌集 kokin waka shuu) waka poetry collection :




久方の光のどけき春の日にしづ心なく花の散るらむ
hisakata no hikari nodokeki haru no hi ni
shizu kokoro naku hana chiruramu (ran)

"In these spring days,
when tranquil light encompasses
the four directions,
why do the blossoms scatter
with such uneasy hearts?

Ki no Tomonori 紀友則

"When the august reign is tranquil like this,
why are the flowers uneasy?"
source :　Joshua S. Mostow


Nodoka has long been used in Japanese poetry and is usually uttered even the non-haiku writing population on a fine day,

nodoka na fuukei desu nee,
this is such a peaceful landscape.


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のどけしや弥勒の指を皆真似て
nodokeshi ya Miroku no yubi o mina manete

how calm and peaceful . . .
everybody tries to imitate
the fingers of Maitreya

Saeki Keiko 佐伯啓子


. Miroku Bosatsu 弥勒菩薩 and Haiku 　


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Worldwide use

Frühlingsstille


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Things found on the way

Nodoka as the Personal Name

Rainbow colors -
Is it really Seven colors?
A Child's mind

Nodoka

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Problems with the Translation of Haiku
(a little detour from our topic at hand)

shijin ju-nin nodoka ni ikou

quiet all about them
at rest, ten poets

The Japanese translation contains a cliché for spring that means calm and implies the poets were all basking comfortably in the sun after their labors. The tenth poet was the translator himself who had been absent temporarily when the American penned his poem.
...
During the past decade a new growth of haiku written in English by non-native speakers of English has taken bud.
...
Haikuists may have grown too comfortable thinking that American and British forms of English haiku should serve as world standards for translation and original compositions.
...
There is something mysterious about the way the stream of haiku flows through the languages, countries and cultures of the world.
...
Haiku can take new directions depending on the language and culture it is created in and through the borrowing of phrases from other languages, or the coining of new words.
...
The English language has divided into many Englishes - American English, British English, Australian English, Indian English, Singlish, Taglish, Japlish, and so on. This has created a new diversity in the world's languages. English haiku will naturally flow in this manner too.

David McMurray
.worldhaikureview.org/2-1/


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HAIKU

長閑さや鼠のなめる角田川
nodokasa ya nezumi no nameru Sumidagawa



peaceful spring day -
a rat licks water from
Sumida River
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Kobayashi Issa
source : www.longtail.co.jp/

The Sumida River is nowadays spelled 隅田川.
It used to be quite a clear river flowing through old Edo. Whilst taking a walk along its riverside in spring, Issa noticed the tiny thirsty rat.
The picture is a sceene from an Old Edo Screen 国立歴史民俗博物館所蔵の江戸屏風絵. It seems to represent the "nodokasa" on the banks of the great river quiet well.


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長閑さや垣間を覗く山の僧
nodokasa ya kakima o nozoku yama no soo

spring peace--
a mountain monk peeks
through the hedge

Kobayashi Issa

Kaki 垣 can be translated as "fence" or "hedge."
Shinji Ogawa feels that this is a humorous reference to a scene from The Tale of Genji (Chapter 5), wherein Prince Genji peers through a brushwood hedge and catches sight of ten-year old Murasaki. Shinji notes,
"In spring, even a mountain monk becomes a Peeping Tom."
Issa plays with this same image in another comic haiku, but in this case a cat takes the place of the famous prince; search the archive for "Genji."

More of Issa translated by David Lanoue
More peaceful mild spring days haiku by ISSA !

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Contribution from Christopher Drake:

how peaceful!
a monk who loves men
peeps through a hedge

nodokasa ya - tranquility, peacefulness, pleasant feeling
kakima o nozoku - peeps through a gap in a hedge or low fence
yama no sou - mountain monk
yama, "mountain," may be o-yama:
1) a kabuki actor of female roles,
2) a gay man -- the prefix o- could be omitted in either case

It is a mild, peaceful, tranquil day in spring, and a monk (sou) is peeping through a hedge fence around a house, probably in the country. Issa also has a hokku about a tomcat acting like a modern Prince Genji, but, unlike that hokku, the present hokku doesn't mention Genji, and there's no special reason for it be an allusion to Genji, though that's not impossible. The most problematic word is yama or "mountain." Strictly speaking, mountain monks (yamabushi) were semi-shamanic, semi-Buddhist ascetics who did austerities in the mountains and didn't belong to any one temple.
But Issa doesn't use the word yamabushi. With regard to ordinary Buddhist monks (sou), the term yama usually referred to Mt. Hiei, a mountain near Kyoto with many monasteries, or to one of several other famous mountains with monasteries on them. If the hedge belongs to a house in a village or town at the foot of one of these mountains, then "mountain monk" may mean "monk from a temple on the mountain nearby." Or perhaps the hedge belongs to the small house of a forester or the hermitage of a man who is doing meditation on the mountain without being affiliated with a temple.

However, peeping suggests that this is probably a love verse. For the peeping monk, love seems to be a normal activity, and his desire matches the natural peacefulness of the spring day. His natural, peacefully flowing love feelings may imply that the monk is watching a man, since the monk is presumably experienced in the male same-sex love that is widely practiced in Buddhist temples. In the Edo period same-sex love was not considered strange or sinful, and, like heterosexual love, it was generally censured only if it contradicted the social duties one had as a monk or samurai or whatever.
Jealousies and fights between lovers of any sexual orientation were strictly forbidden for samurai, since loyalty to one's lord transcended one's personal loves. And in Buddhism (except for the suppressed Tachikawa left-handed Tantric sect), sexuality was not praised, yet for most monks it was thought to be inevitable, and the most common type was same-sex love.

Therefore, to interpret Issa's hokku as "even" a monk giving in to spring madness and peeping may be looking at the situation through the wrong end of the telescope. As a group, monks were mostly quite experienced in the "Way" of male love, and many were bisexual as well, and it is probably not the weather which causes the monk in this hokku to peep. In fact, in the Reformed Pure Land sect of Buddhism to which Issa belonged, sexuality was believed to be an inescapable part of the human condition, and monks were allowed to marry if they were hetero- or bisexual. It's rather doubtful that Issa regards the monk in the hokku to be giving in to a temporary spring giddiness.

Moreover, the word o-yama or "honorable mountain" also means a male kabuki actor of female roles, and the word was also used for gay men in general. It was sometimes simplified and pronounced without the o-, but even without the prefix yama remained a polite and respectful way of referring to gay men that did not have any derogatory overtones. In this hokku Issa may be using "mountain" explicitly in the sense of a monk who loves other men, although it is impossible to be certain.
Whether the monk is peeping at a man or a woman or both, I think the main point of this hokku is that peeping and sexuality are natural and peaceful and do not deserve to be treated with sarcasm or disrespect. In my translation, I envision a gay monk, because I think this may be closest to the reality Issa is dealing with. I also think "mountain monk" is too vague in English to be used without a hefty footnote. Obviously this hokku can be translated in many different ways.


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Related words

***** Bright Spring Weather
(urara、uraraka うららか麗らか)

This again can be translated in many ways as an adjective. Bright, splendid, clear weather.



uraraka 麗か うららか bright and clear spring day
urara うらら、urarakeshi うららけし、urara ni うららに
uraura うらうら

hi urara 日うらうら（ひうらら）bright and clear day
..... reijitsu 麗日（れいじつ）splendid day



see also:

. shunkoo 春光 bright scenery of spring

. . . . .


A famour race horse in Japan was named
"Haru Urara" (Fine Spring Day).
She is certainly not Seabiscuit, but a seven-year-old thoroughbred mare named Haru Urara is being heralded as a potential savior for the racing industry in Japan.
Haru Urara, which is loosely translated as a comfortable spring day, with sunshine, warm wind and blue sky, has become a Japanese cult hero.
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/trot/iss1203/tr1203worsthorse.html


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kigo for all AUTUMN

aki urara 秋麗 (あきうらら ) bright autumn weather
..... shuurei 秋麗（しゅうれい）



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Sprinkling Water (uchimizu)

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Sprinkling Water (uchimizu)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: All Summer
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

sprinkling water, uchimizu 打水
..... watering the street to cool it down and cover the dust.
An old cutsom during the Edo period
..... mizu o utsu, 水を打つ
..... mizumaki 水撒き



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News from the Japan Times of August 18, 19, 2004.
Some Tokyoites are also turning to a more traditional way of cooling down.
Last August, citizens' groups coordinated an event in several parts of Tokyo to pour water on the streets, a practice called "uchimizu."

Tadahiro Katsuta, a member of the nonprofit group Peaceful Energy and one of the organizers, claimed about 340,000 people took part. He explained that sprinkling water on the streets was an old way to ease the summer heat, as the water absorbs ground heat when it evaporates. Temperatures measured at four event sites were down about 1 degree on average, he said.

Organizers will hold the same event for one week starting Wednesday in Tokyo and other cities, with hopes of getting 1 million people to participate. They are asking participants to use rainwater or recycled water. "It's a way of cooling cities down that anyone can do without spending a lot of money," Katsuta said.
The Japan Times: Aug. 18, 2004
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040818f1.htm

Cool Tokyo campaign
Under the scorching sun, crowds clad in traditional "yukata" cotton robes gathered Wednesday in the Odaiba waterfront area to kick off a weeklong campaign of sprinkling water on asphalt and concrete to cool down Tokyo.
With buckets of water recycled from a nearby hot spring facility and the Ariake Waste Water Treatment Plant, about 250 people splashed water on the pavement in a tradition called "uchimizu," practiced since the Edo Period.

Tokyo has been sizzling through a heat wave over the past two months, with the mercury shooting up to 39.5 on July 20 during a record-breaking streak of 40 straight days of temperatures over 30 through last Saturday.
The Japan Times: Aug. 19, 2004
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040819a6.htm

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Read an explanation of the Japanese KIGO for the hot summer month of July
by Teiko Inahata.
Here is just a short quote:

The people have not only put up with heat in a passive way, grasping for breath, but also they have made ways for standing it by using their brains. Their ideas could be seen in such seasonal words as nooryoo (enjoying the cool of the evening), hashii (sitting on the outdoor bench for getting cool), uchimizu (sprinkling water outside the house), and fuurin (a wind bell Wind Chimes ).
These ideas have been developed in the culture deeply related to the spirit of the Japanese.
http://www.kyoshi.or.jp/12month/12month-7.htm

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Let's UCHIMIZU to cool down summer heat !

Since 2004, the habit of sprinkling water has become very popular in Japan.
There is a homepage all for this habit.

The old custom of sprinkling water with a ladle on streets and gardens, called "UCHIMIZU", is a more well-known example of the use of water in Japan's daily living. People sprinkle water, especially in the summer time, in their house entrances and gardens or in front of their shops to lay the dust or to ease the heat. In this example, people use water to feel its coolness.



Go outside in the sun and splash water with ladle.
You may also use your hands or pour directly from watering cans or PET bottles.

Japan Water Forum
http://www.uchimizu.jp/eng.html


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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

shukuchoku no kinmu aketaru mizu o utsu

night duty
just over
watering

Hidetaka
http://www.kyoshi.or.jp/inv-haiku/season1.htm

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水打てや蝉も雀もぬるゝほど(其角)
mizu utte ya semi mo suzume mo nururu hodo

sprinkling water
just enough to wet
cicadas and sparrows

Kikaku (Tr. Gabi Greve)
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/kareki/saiziki/sansaku/utimizu/utimizu.html

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地につばさ与ふるごとく水打てり
tsuchi ni tsubasa azukaru gotoku mizu uteri

like giving wings
to mother earth -
springling water

http://homepage3.nifty.com/a-un/za/koza/kiroku2004a.html

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打ち水や　蝶の飲み場となりにけり
uchimizu ya choo no nomiba to nari ni keri

sprinkling water -
all the pretty butterflies
come for a drink

Gabi Greve, August 2006
looking at the stone floor of my garden

*****************************
Related words

***** Summer (natsu, Japan)


. WATER ... a KIGO colletion



.SAIJIKI ... HUMANITY
Kigo for Summer 　


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Spring (haru)

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Spring (haru) 春

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Spring
***** Category: Heavens

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Explanation

The spring season in Japanese Haiku
is fixed according to the Asian lunar calendar from the beginning of spring around the fourth of February until the fifth of May. In reality the spring in Central Japan lasts roughly from March to May.

Early spring : February 4 to March 5
Mid-spring : March 6 to April 4
Late spring : April 5 to May 5

There are many kigo with relation to "Spring", see :

. . . . SPRING - the complete SAIJIKI

. Seasons ending - kigo collection .

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© Origa Olga Hooper

early spring
the squirrel still running
upside down

Owen Burkhart, WHCjapan

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sleepy in spring, spring slug-abed 春眠 shunmin

frost in spring, haru no shimo　春の霜
sleet in spring, haru no arare　春の霰　はるのあられ
snow in spring, haru no yuki 春の雪

earth in spring, haru no tsuchi 春の土
. water in spring, haru no mizu 春の水; shunsui 春水 .


first spring, shoshun 初春
..... haru hajime 春初（はるはじめ）, mooshun 孟春（もうしゅん）, jooshun上春（じょうしゅん）

early spring, sooshun 早春
..... haru hayashi 春早し（はるはやし）, "thin spring" haru awashi 春淡し（はるあわし）
thin spring 春浅し (はるあさし) haru asashi
..... asaki haru 浅き春（あさきはる）, senshuun 浅春（せんしゅん）


signs of spring, haru meku 春めく
In early spring, when it looks like spring, but still some cold days and chilly winds are here. Still there are many signs of spring arriving and we feel great joy about it.
"spring is moving in", haru ugoku 春動く（はるうごく）
"feeling spring", haru kizasu 春きざす（はるきざす）


late spring, banshun 晩春
spring is leaving, yuku haru 行く春
..... haru no nagori 春の名残（はるのなごり）, haru yuku 春行く（はるゆく）, haru no katami 春のかたみ, haru no yuku-e 春の行方（はるのゆくえ）, haru no wakare 春の別れ, haru no kagiri 春の限り（はるのかぎり）, haru no hate 春の果て（はるのはて）, haru no minato, 春の湊（はるのみなと）, haru no tomari 春の泊（はるのとまり）,
naru nozotataru 春ぞ隔たる（はるぞへだたる）, haru tsuku 春尽く（はるつく）, shunjin春尽（しゅんじん）, soshun 徂春（そしゅん）, "sending off the spring" haru o okuru 春を送る（はるをおくる）


spring begins, risshun 立春
usually February 4.
..... haru tatsu 春立つ（はるたつ）, haru kuru 春来る（はるくる）, haru saru 春さる（はるさる）, haru ni naru 春になる（はるになる）
..... "Great Luck in Beginning Spring" risshun daikichi 立春大吉（りっしゅんだいきち）


"Spring Shrine" shunsha 春社
..... "day of the shrine" shanichi 社日）、shanichi sama 社日様（しゃにちさま）
..... visiting the shrine day, shanichi moode 社日詣（しゃにちもうで）
..... rain on the old man of the shrine, shaoo no ame 社翁の雨（しゃおうのあめ）
..... swallows of the shrine, sha en 社燕（しゃえん）
. 社日様 Shajitsu Sama，田の神様 Tanokami Sama .


night in spring, haru no yo 春の夜
..... yowa no haru 夜半の春（よわのはる）
..... haru no yoi 春の宵, shunshoo 春宵（しゅんしょう）, yoi no haru宵の春（よいのはる）
..... evening in spring, haru no kure 春の暮, haru no yu 春の夕, haru no yuube 春の夕（はるのゆうべ）, haru yuube 春夕（はるゆうべ）, shunseki 春夕（しゅんせき）
..... spring twilight, haru hakuba 春薄暮（はるはくぼ）

cold in early spring, haru samushi 春寒し　（はるさむし）


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kigo for late spring

haru atsushi 春暑し ( はるあつし) spring is warm
atsuki haru 暑き春（あつきはる）warm spring
haru no asusa 春の暑さ（はるのあつさ）warmness in spring
haru no ase 春の汗（はるのあせ） sweat in spring



haru fukashi 春深し (はるふかし) "spring is deep"
haru fukamu 春深む（はるふかむ） spring deepens
haru takenawa 春闌（はるたけなわ）spring at its best
..... harutaku 春闌（はるたく）
haru fuku 春更（はるふく）


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kigo for all spring

暖か あたたか warm,warmth
shundan 春暖（しゅんだん）warmth in spring
atatakeshiあたたけし、nukushi ぬくし feeling warm



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Worldwide use

The Spring in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

This is the season that flowers of various colours begin to bloom all at once.As it is getting warmer, trees and herbs begin to swell their flower buds.Let's keep our minds clear and listen carefully the sound of spring whispering here and there.
Link with many flower pictures, names in Japanese and English.
http://www.shinjukugyoen.go.jp/season/english-springflower.html

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Things found on the way



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HAIKU

春立つや新年ふるき米五升
haru tatsu ya shinnen furuki kome goshoo

spring begins--
in a new year,
ten quarts of old rice
Tr. Barnhill


spring arises
ten quarts of old rice
in the new year
Tr. Reichhold


spring begins--
new year, old rice
ten quarts
Tr. Ueda

Written in 1684 貞亨元年. Basho age 41.
Basho used a dry hollow gourd as a box to keep his rice grains 米櫃の瓢, which could only hold five sho of rice. It was a kind of symbol for a poor man.
It was famous and called 四山の瓢, a name given by Yamaguchi Sodoo 素堂 Sodo.

1 shoo しょう【升】ca. 1.8 litres

Rice grains are called "kome, mai　米".
On the table and cooked, it is called "Gohan" ご飯 or "meshi" 飯　めし.

. Rice in various kigo .




. Masu 升 measuring cup .
and another haiku by Basho !

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


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a cool spring breeze . . .
flowers swaying side to side
in the meadow

Jake S.
http://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/wlhaiku/springhaiku.html

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a spring breeze
parts the curtains -
an empty crib

ruminating
on a spring meadow
heartbeats

Laryalee Fraser

Look at the beautiful haiga by Ashe to go with these:
http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/HP/Duets/Lary/08laryegg.htm
http://thegreenleaf.co.uk/HP/Duets/Lary/07laryheartbeats.htm

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春寒し殻の硬きを踏み砕く
harusamushi kara no kataki o fumikudaku

a shell's solidity
crushed under my foot
early spring

©　Emiko Miyashita
Read a good discussion of this translation on this LINK.


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 spring rain
 even death valley
 is alive with flowers

Victor P. Gendrano, March 2005

Due to the unusually hard and long rain in California this year, vegetation and flowers not seen in a hundred years are blooming even in Death Valley desert. Botanists and laymen flock there to study, enjoy, and photograph them. This is the time of the year when observing wildflowers alongside freeways is a pleasant pastime especially for city-bred people. Even writers, poets, and haikugroups join in the field day.

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snowflakes
on my pretzel---
Spring in New York

© JJ April 2, 2005
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cherrypoetryclub/message/22523

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Related words


***** Kite, flying a kite (tako, takoage) Japan.

***** Cold weather in autumn, winter and spring . . KIGO LIST




立春や 池の鏡に あれ雲がs
quiet spring day -
the lake a mirror
but aaaa, the clouds !

©　Haiku and Photo by Gabi Greve
Look at more photos here:
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2005/03/late-spring-lake.html



***** Beginning of Spring (risshun) 立春：
early Spring
risshun, beginning of spring [one of the 24 Seasonal Essences (fortnightly periods);
the next day after Setsubun, February 2 or 3.
春立つ haru tatsu, spring begins
春来る haru kuru, spring comes
春きざす　haru kizasu, spring to be felt, sign of spring



. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .

春立といふより見ゆる壁の穴
haru tatsu to iu yori miyuru kabe no ana

a new year?
I'm still staring at
that hole in the wall
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from New Year's Day (Jan. 28th) in 1808, when Issa is in Edo. Issa literally mentions spring coming, but in his time the coming of lunar spring was a synonym for New Year's. Actually, the first day of spring is usually a few days before New Year's Day -- in 2013, for example, lunar spring starts on Feb. 4th, and the new lunar year begins on Feb. 10th -- but the exact dates vary year by year. Issa often uses spring to mean the new year, and his haibun work about events in 1819 has the title Oraga haru (My Spring), that is, My Year or Year of My Life. In this hokku, too, he is writing about the new year.

Most of the hokku Issa wrote on this New Year's Day in his diary are ironic, if not dark, and Issa was clearly feeling frustrated and depressed about his cold treatment back in his home village as well as his poverty. At this time he was also writing his recollections about his father's death. The present hokku, too, is grim. This year New Year's is just an abstraction to Issa, and he doesn't feel anything has really changed. People say a new year has come (haru tatsu), yet Issa can't feel it (to iu yori).

Most people have many New Year's decorations up and eat special food, but Issa writes that he is the only one in his neighborhood not to have any small New Year's pine trees standing in front of his door. The most prominent thing in his rundown room is a highly visible hole in the wall which lets in wind and cold air. The hole no doubt also refers to a gap he feels at the center of his life.

Chris Drake


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a sign of spring
an eagle flys circular
in blue sky

Etsuko Yanagibori

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risshun ya tanuki no koi no nioi kana

.. .. .. .. .. First Spring Day !
.. .. .. .. .. the smell of badger's love
.. .. .. .. .. in the fields

Fruehlingsbeginn !
der Geruch von liebestollen Dachsen
in den Feldern

Gabi Greve
Read a little explanation here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/1161

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spring twilight-
two backhoes side by side
on the bank

David Bacharach

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***** Cold coming back (kan modori 寒戻り)

kan modori -
let the world be
and take a rest



Gabi Greve (C) 2005
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2005/03/cold-coming-back.html


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地震に堪え 津波にも堪え 春の土　
nai ni tae
tsunami ni mo tae
haru no tsuchi

it survived the earthquake
it survived even the tsunami -
earth in spring 　

Toriyabe Kazuo 鳥谷部一雄
NHK Haiku March 2012


After the BIG earthquake of March 11, 2011
. Poetry for March 11 .


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Spring (haru, Japan) Spring begins .. Japan. Many related kigo
Spring comes to an end .. Japan. Many related kigo
Spring activities, verbs used in SPRING kigo A list....
Spring at the beach (haru no umi) Japan. Related kigo:cherryblossom shrimp, sakura ebi.crabs of spring, shiomaneki. firefly squid, hotaru ika. gathering shellfish at low tide, shiohigari. poles for growing seaweed, norisoda
.... Spring equinox, vernal equinox Japan
.... Spring at the Zoo , also Bird's Nest
..... Spring Cleaning ... North America, Europe.
.... Spring Food ... a KIGO list.
Spring pickles (tsukemono) ... a KIGO list.Including namasu dressing, dengaku, wasabizuke and many more
... Spring orchids (shunran) Japan.
.. Spring Peace Mild spring weather (nodoka, Japan)
... Spring light, spring shining (shunkoo) Japan
..... wind shining (kaze hikaru) Japan

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. . . . SPRING - the complete SAIJIKI


[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
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