Mistletoe

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Mistletoe (Viscaceae)

***** Location: USA, other countries
***** Season: All Winter
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation


Mistletoe is the common name for various evergreen parasitic plants of the families Loranthaceae andViscaceae, especially "European Mistletoe" Viscum album and "American Mistletoe" Phoradendron flavescens, with waxy white berries and smooth-edged oval leaves in pairs along the woody stem.
http://www.mistletoe.org.uk/mtoenewweb2003/InArtChristmas2003.htm

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Martha Brockenbrough on the plant:

Mistletoe is an interesting plant. It's a parasite; in fact it's the only plant that is actually considered a true parasite because it sometimes kills the hardwood trees it infests. Mistletoe grows slowly in trees, and doesn't put roots in the ground.

This liberation from the earth made the ancient Druids believe mistletoe was sacred. It was even considered bad luck to let any mistletoe touch the ground.

The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe probably got its start with the Druids as well.

According to one explanation, the Norse god Balder was killed with an arrow made of mistletoe. The rest of the gods were sad, so they decided to bring him back to life. The Goddess of Love then dedicated the mistletoe to Balder--and anyone passing under it must receive a kiss to show tribute to this symbol of love.

Others point to the Druid tradition of laying down arms and exchanging greetings under the mistletoe as the origin of the kissing tradition. They credit the English for taking peace one step further by puckering up, then plucking a berry from the bunch and discarding it. The kissing ended when the berries ran out, inspiring people to find hearty bunches.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/columns/?article=questionmistletoe

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National Geographic News
Harvesting Mistletoe: Gunfire Gets The Job Done
by Steven Ginsberg

Plucking, Climbing, Shooting

Here's the ugly truth: Mistletoe digs through tree bark to suck out sap, leeching water and nutrients from its host. Sometimes it kills its host. Hunters have been known to shoot it to save a tree.

The mistletoe Americans are familiar with, Phoradendron serotinum, grows primarily in the Southeast and as far west as Texas and Oklahoma.

In swamps, it can be plucked off low-hanging branches by hand. Elsewhere, it can sometimes be taken by ladder or by climbing a tree.

As mistletoe's popularity surged, it gave rise to commercial growers. But many farmers markets, roadside stands, and nurseries still rely on the old-fashioned method of shooting it down.

Blowing it out of the sky is "the West Virginia way," said Charlie Spencer, a state forestry specialist who's hunted mistletoe for years.

"A shotgun is just the most effective way to get it out."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/12/1219_mistletoe.html

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The mistletoe is a common decoration.
Here is a link to Art Nouveau with some great pieces.
http://www.mistletoe.org.uk/mtoenewweb2003/InArtNouveau2003.htm
Check out more on Art on the link above.

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Worldwide use

Italy

In Italy a special plant for the New Year is the mistletoe. It is considered a plant of good omen. The holly is typical for Christmas time together with the poinsettia.

kiss under the
mistletoe, as long
as the year

Moussia from a frozen Roma, 2006

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North America

In the US, it is a traditional Christmas decoration, while in Europe, it is used to celebrate the New Year.
In Scandinavia, it is a symbol of peace.
Sarah

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Things found on the way

The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens

"From the centre of the ceiling of this kitchen, old Wardle had just suspended with his own hands a huge branch of mistletoe, and this same branch of mistletoe instantaneously gave rise to a scene of general and most delightful struggling and confusion; in the midst of which, Mr. Pickwick, with a gallantry that would have done honour to a descendant of Lady Tollimglower herself, took the old lady by the hand, led her beneath the mystic branch, and saluted her in all courtesy and decorum."
http://www.candlegrove.com/mistletoe.html

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I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath the mistletoe last night
She didn't see me creep
Down the stairs to have a peep
She thought that I was tucked up in my bedroom fast asleep

Then I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
Underneath his beard so snowy white
Oh, what a laugh it would have been
If Daddy had only seen
Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night

http://wilstar.com/xmas/isawmommykissingsantaclaus.htm

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an article on Australian mistletoe
http://www.forests.qld.gov.au/educat/btl/mistle.htm

legends and stories regarding the mistletoe
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/noel/angl/gui.htm

the celtic origins of mistletoe
Allheal or Golden Bough

In Victorian times, kissing under the Mistletoe was a Christmas ritual that old-timers hoped would lead to romance and marriage among the younger generation. Today, the Mistletoe is familiar to us as a Christmas decoration that results in some innocent mischief at the annual Christmas office party. But in ancient times, the Mistletoe was known by the Celts and the Vikings as a healing plant upon which superstition and myth had bestowed miraculous healing powers.

More about other celtic and viking traditions is here:
Mistletoe



WKD : Mistletoe, Its Celtic Origins


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HAIKU

Just below
the mistletoe
A kiss

Sarah

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on the visor
of his cap
mistletoe

Michael Baribeau

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slowing
the French train passes
trees with mistletoe

Alan Summers
Blithe Spirit Vol. 19 No. 1 (March 2009)

WKD Facebook


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Related words

***** World Kigo Database: Poinsettia -

***** Fern and other plants for the New Year in Japan

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

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Migrating Birds (wataridori)

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Migrating Birds (wataridori)

***** Location: Japan, other regions
***** Season: Autumn
***** Category: Animals

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Explanation

migratory birds, birds of passage, wataridori 渡鳥
birds migrate, tori wataru 鳥渡る

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Just to mention, "migratory birds", is an autumn kigo in part because migrating birds arrive in Japan from Siberia to winter. They also depart in the spring, but in the culture of kigo, migrating birds migrate only one way, in one season, as far as the kigo wataridori is concerned.

Quote from A Kigo Essay by Richard Gilbert


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Worldwide use

Chesapeake Bay, USA

Canada geese fly north
Canada geese, like many other birds, winter in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding areas. We are the southern end of the migratory route for these birds, so we have them in reverse. This is one of the things that makes the Chesapeake different from much of the Northern Hemisphere: They arrive in fall and go home in spring!

M. Kei
Chesapeake Bay Saijiki

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Romania
Migrating birds leave, Plecarea păsărilor călătoare
September till early October

Swallows and wild geese are said to leave around “Little St.Mary’s” (Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Sept.8th), storks and cranes somewhat later.

Cristian Mocanu
Romanian Saijiki

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Things found on the way





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HAIKU

. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


叱らるることも馴てや渡り鳥
shikararuru koto mo narete ya watari-dori

birds heading south
unfazed even when they're
getting bawled out
Tr. Chris Drake

This humorous autumn hokku is from the 9th month (October) of 1822.
Various kinds of migrating birds are now heading south for the winter, stopping for a day or two at places along their route. Birds didn't winter in the snowy area in which Issa's hometown was located, so these birds are just passing through. When a flock lands it temporarily takes over a bit of new territory and ignores the local residents. Rice has recently been harvested, so some birds are probably going after all the grains they can eat, while others feed on people's hedges and in their gardens, causing people to greet them with shouts and expletives.

Issa is amused by how cool and nonchalant the birds are. They seem to have experienced so much criticism from humans that they don't respond to it anymore. The word "even" implies the birds are cool and unfazed by everything on their trip, even the tongue-lashings they get from humans. As a fellow migrant bird, the well-traveled Issa seems to sympathize with the birds and understands their need to stay calm and cheerful on their long, hard journey.

There may possibly be a reference here to Issa's treatment by many of his fellow villagers in his hometown. He wasn't bawled out, but he was criticized by some villagers as an outsider selfishly trying to force his way back into a village where he was no longer welcome. He seems impressed and heartened by the lively equanimity shown by the birds.

Chris Drake


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[NOTE: The following sequence was triggered by the publication, in the “National Geographic” magazine, of a map showing the impressive distances covered each year by migrating birds around the world.
Already published in “Haiku Harvest”-].

a stork named “Princess”
flew over seven seas for
three months of sunshine.

the disabled child
tracking the wild geese’s route
on the NG map

“Bon voyage”, old stork!
would you send me some postcards
from South Africa?

8th of September:
Mary’s blue cloak sheltering
the youngest swallows

Cristian Mocanu

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Related words

***** Snow Geese and other geese

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Mermaid Parade

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. Amabie アマビエ .
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Mermaid Parade

***** Location: Coney Island, N.Y., USA
***** Season: Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

The Mermaid Parade is an annual Coney Island event where people dress up as mermaids and other creatures. It happens in late June, and is being threatened by impending gentrification of Coney Island.

Judy Kamilhor

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The Mermaid Parade is a completely original creation that is that nation's largest art parade and one of New York City's greatest summer events.

Founded in 1983 by Coney Island USA, the not-for-profit arts organization that also produces the Coney island Circus Sideshow, the Mermaid Parade pays homage to Coney Island's forgotten Mardi Gras which lasted from 1903 to 1954, and draws from a host of other sources resulting in a wonderful and wacky event that is unique to Coney Island.

The Mermaid Parade celebrates the sand, the sea, the salt air and the beginning of summer, as well as the history and mythology of Coney Island, Coney Island pride, and artistic self-expression. The Parade is characterized by participants dressed in hand-made costumes as Mermaids, Neptunes, various sea creatures, the occasional wandering lighthouse, Coney Island post card or amusement ride, as well as antique cars, marching bands, drill teams, and the odd yacht pulled on flatbed.

Each year, a different celebrity King Neptune and Queen Mermaid rule over the proceedings, riding in the Parade and assisting in the opening of the Ocean for the summer swimming season by marching down the Beach from the Boardwalk, cutting through Ribbons representing the seasons, and tossing fruit into the Atlantic to appease the Sea Gods. In the past, David Byrne, Queen Latifah, Ron Kuby, Curtis Sliwa, Moby and Theo have graced our shores, presiding over the assembled masses.
http://www.coneyisland.com/mermaid.shtml

Read about the 2004 Mermaid Parade

2005 Mermaid Parade

2005 Parade Photo Galleries


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

The Littel Mermaid
by Hans Chritsian Andersen



Far out in the ocean, where the water is as blue as the prettiest cornflower, and as clear as crystal, it is very, very deep; so deep, indeed, that no cable could fathom it: many church steeples, piled one upon another, would not reach from the ground beneath to the surface of the water above. There dwell the Sea King and his subjects. We must not imagine that there is nothing at the bottom of the sea but bare yellow sand. No, indeed; the most singular flowers and plants grow there; the leaves and stems of which are so pliant, that the slightest agitation of the water causes them to stir as if they had life.

Fishes, both large and small, glide between the branches, as birds fly among the trees here upon land. In the deepest spot of all, stands the castle of the Sea King. Its walls are built of coral, and the long, gothic windows are of the clearest amber. The roof is formed of shells, that open and close as the water flows over them. Their appearance is very beautiful, for in each lies a glittering pearl, which would be fit for the diadem of a queen.

Copyright © Zvi Har’El

Read the rest of this long story here:
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

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The Little Mermaid Statue in Copenhagen

The Little Mermaid was a present from brewer Carl Jacobsen (The Carlsberg Breweries) to Copenhagen, and was made by a little known sculptor called Edvard Erichsen. She was unveiled at Langelinje in 1913, as part of a general trend in Copenhagen in those days, which demanded that classical and historic figures be used as decoration in the city's parks and public areas.



In 1909, brewer Carl Jacobsen saw solo dancer Ellen Price dance in Fini Henriques' ballet "The Little Mermaid" at the Royal Theatre. He was so taken with her that he asked her if she would pose for a sculptor. She agreed in principle, but was not very interested in posing in the nude, when she found out just how publicly the statue would be placed. So Edvard Erichsens wife stepped in and modeled for the body. On September 14, 1912, the statue was first test positioned at its location, and on August 23, 1913, it was placed at its permanent location.

Copyright © Hans-Henrik T. Ohlsen

Look at some more photos here:
http://www.copenhagenpictures.dk/mermaid.html

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HAIKU

Coney Island
after the Mermaid Parade:
apocalypse, sequins

Judy Kamilhor, 2005

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mermaid parade!
coney island ushers in
a new summer

Carol Raisfeld


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Related words

***** Manatee North America

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. - yookai, yōkai 妖怪 Yokai monsters - - Introduction .

- quote -
Amabie (アマビエ)
is a legendary Japanese mermaid who allegedly emerges from the sea and prophesies either an abundant harvest or an epidemic. There are other mermaids and mermen known by other names but considered identical. The male amabiko (アマビコ, 天日子) or amahiko (尼彦, あま彦, 天彦), the amahiko-nyūdo (尼彦入道), and the elusive arie (アリエ).


CLICK for more photos !

- Legend
Amabie appeared in Higo Province (Kumamoto Prefecture) according to legend, around the middle of the 4th month, in the year Kōka-3 (mid-May, 1846) in the Edo era. A glowing object had been spotted in the sea, almost on a nightly basis. The town's official went to the coast to investigate, and witnessed the amabie. She had a mouth like bird's bill, and was covered in scales from the neck down. Addressing the official, she identified herself as an amabie and told him that she lived in the open sea. She went on to deliver a prophecy: "Good harvest will continue for six years, if disease spreads show a picture of me to those who fall ill and they will be cured." Afterwards, she returned the sea. The story was printed in the kawaraban (ja) (woodblock-printed bulletins), where her likeness was printed, and this is how the story disseminated in Japan.

- Similar yōkai
A yōkai creature considered identical to Amabie is the merman named Amahiko (尼彦?), which reputedly appeared in the sea of Higo Province. This Amahiko resembled Amabie in that it also made predictions of bountiful harvests or pestilence, and prescribed displaying the picture of his likeness in order to avoid catastrophe. The Amahiko Nyūdo (尼彦入道 "the amahiko monk"?) of Hyuga Province (Miyazaki prefecture) was another creature considered of the same kind, who appeared and pronounced his prophecy.

A similar creature named Arie (アリエ) appeared in "Aoshima-gun" county, Higo Province, according to the Yamanashi Nichinichi Shinbun (ja) newspaper dated 17 June 1876, although this report has been debunked by another paper.[a] The Yūbin Hōchi Shinbun (ja) dated 10 June 1876 also carried an article about Amahiko.

The three creatures share these common characteristics: 1) appearance from the sea, 2) prediction of good harvest and the plague, and 3) a solution of disaster by showing the apparition's picture, and on that account have been considered identical.

The Amahiko no Mikoto (天日子尊 the holly Amahiko) was spotted in a rice paddy in Yuzawa, Niigata, as reported by the Tokyo Nichinichi shinbun (ja) dated 8 August 1875. The yamawarawa (山童 the mountain child- Kappa) in the folklore of Amakusa is believed to haunt the mountains. Although neither of these last two emerge from sea, other similarities such as prophesying indicate they belong to the same kind.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. Amabie アマビエ .

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Mandala

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Mandala, Maze

***** Location: Asia, worldwide
***** Season: Non-seasonal Topics
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Labyrinth, see below

In Tibetan Buddhism, a mandala is an imaginary palace that is contemplated during meditation. Each object in the palace has significance, representing some aspect of wisdom or reminding the meditator of some guiding principle. Tradition dictates the shapes, sizes and colors of these objects. There are many different mandalas, each with different lessons to teach.
Most mandalas contain a host of deities as well as inanimate objects. An excellent overview and glossary of mandala components is available on the web.
http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/online/mandala/

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Mandalas exist since old times in almost all cultures of our earth.
Read more about it here:

My approach to Mandala Therapy
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2004/08/mandala-therapy.html

Gabi Greve

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World Labyrinth Day, May 2
kigo for summer

Reference

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If you are not familiar with the terms and differences between these things, check out here:
The differences are explained well. The site then discusses manadals as the bases for labyrinths. If you follow the link to "sacred geometry," you find that it is the basis for mandalas.
Ed Schwellenbach
www.crystalinks.com/labyrinths.html

Ed has looked into the matter a little more:

Also find an interesting, albeit commercial, site about sacred geometry and madalas at www.charlesgilchrist.com/SGEO/Gal902.html

Another one is
www.familytravelfiles.com/ezine/articles/747.asp

The headline reads "USA/Europe: Corn Mazes Earmark the Season." Contains locations and times for several USA mazes. Use links to find acceptable pictures of mazes at Chattanooga, Tennessee; Portsmouth, Rhode Island; and Bennington, Vermont. It seems that most mazes are
open from about the first of September to the end of October.

This site also contains links to others resources including companies that convince farmers to convert some of their cornfields to mazes for profit.
http://www.cornfieldmase.com/
provides maps to mazes in Canada, US, Mexico, UK, and Italy.

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Worldwide use

Europe
In certain cases, labyrinths could even be seasonal. Belgium and its neighbouring countries have maize labyrinths, cultivated so as to be week-end attractions when the maize has reached a certain height -- I remember my colleagues in the office last autumn showing pictures of their children there.

These pages (from France) give an impression. I found similar references to maize labyrinths in Germany and Switzerland.

http://www.labyrinthus.com/laby_sortileges_1.php
http://www.labyrinthus.com/en_images_2.php

Isabelle Prondzynski

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More than in other countries, Switzerland seems to embrace the appropriateness of labyrinths in public places, of which more than 50 have been established in recent years, in addition to dozens of other on private property.



Look at many more samples here:
http://www.crystalinks.com/labyrinths2.html

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England

There has been a seasonal labyrinth in the summer just a few milesaway from where I live in England. They call it "The Maize Maze" :

walking the maize maze amazed walking
Eryu

(See below for more about the labyrinth.)

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India

Many traditional Indian Mandalas have traditional names associated with the deities.
The Mandalas are associated with a Mantram and sometimes even a Nyaasam [ Meta Elucidations in Mantrams ]

Various Indian Rituals involve making Mandalas of various types with different materials.
Every morning in most Indian[ Hindu Buddhist Jain] houses a Kolam [ a mandala design] is drawn at dawn and even at dusk in some places. Mandalas are also called Chakras [ Wheels]. Mandalas are considered representation of Devi [ Laksmi .Kaali Durga etc. ] in contrast to Linga[shiva] and Saalagrama[ Vishnu]

Actually a Mandala represents a unique Cosmos we may.
Vishnu Mandala ~ Shakthi Mandala ~ Rudra Mandala ~ Vighneswara Mandala ~ Buddha Mandala ~


Rudra Mandala ~
the flame resonates
in fragrant silences


Padma Mandala
rahasyam pratyaksham Padmini
Padma-Sambhavi

The Padma Mandala
mystery manifests lotus faced Devi
abloom on a lotus

Padma ~ Lotus, Lakshmi ~

"Mandala" is a very difficult word to translate from Sanskrit into another language as i see and as you surely must be aware too.

Narayanan, 2005

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Things found on the way

Mandala, a Magazine about Tibetan Art


http://www.mandalamagazine.org/

................................ More Mandala Sites
Center of the Circle (contains many links) Mandala information by Jytte Hansen
Building a Sand Mandala The Rossi Collection of early Tibetan mandalas
Mandala: Buddhist Tantric Diagrams
Houston Chronicle article : The Art of Tibetan Sand Painting
StarWheels (futuristic mandala paintings) Mandala Art
The Mandala Project
The World Mandala Project
The MandalaZone



Some mandala are available as drawings for coloring:
nuri-e, nurie, nuri e ぬりえ【塗（り）絵 / 塗（絵】
Ausmalvorlagen

. nuri-e 塗り絵 - 塗絵 - ぬりえ drawing for coloring .

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Buddhist Mandalas in Japan
Kongookai Mandala, Taizookai Mandala

Mandalas are a type of Buddhist painting especially common in the Esoteric sect of Japanese Buddhism, which has many secret, mystical rituals. According to the beliefs of this sect, truth can not be expressed through just words but requires illustrations such as paintings. One such type of painting is a mandala.
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/mandala1.shtml

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....................... Crop Circles, a sort of Mandala

Very often seen in England
http://www.temporarytemples.co.uk/default.html
http://www.temporarytemples.co.uk/imagelib/A-2001.html

With bizarre references to UFOs, science fiction films and what not.
http://www.circlemakers.org/totc2004.html
http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/index2.html


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HAIKU

............................... autumn mandala -
............................... in my garden
............................... with pure joy



Read many more Nature Mandala Haiku here:
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2004/08/mandala.html

Gabi Greve

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an old mandala
dervish dancers
by night

Geert Verbeke

Look at the picture here
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/ph_detail?photo_sn_in=1537

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floral mandala
has journeyed to her center
tranquil and serene

Look at a beautiful white Water Lily Mandala
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/PH_detail?photo_sn_in=1489

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mandala -
my footsteps' path
fases away

© Gabriela Fleitas, 2005

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From http://www.wonderhaikuworlds.com/index.php
Narayanan Raghunathan

Click at the LINKs to see the mandala !


Sthaanu Datta Mandala

Agni Nyaasa Mandala
http://www.wonderhaikuworlds.com/haikufromphoto.php?image=28


Datta Guru Mandala
http://www.wonderhaikuworlds.com/haikufromphoto.php?image=71


Naaraayaneeyam~
http://www.wonderhaikuworlds.com/viewdetail-haiga.php?post=65


spanda-grham
aadi-madyaantha viheenam
shaashvatham sthiram
[Sanskrit]

the home of spandas
without beginnings middles ends
eternal indestructible

Haiku and Image by Narayanan Raghunathan

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maha-mantra-mandalam
saakshi-saakshaatkaaram
parabrahma tatvam
[Sanskrit]

the great mandala of mantras
the witness in true fullfillment
the knowledge of brahman

Haiku and Image by Narayanan Raghunathan


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Related words

***** Labyrinth .. -non-seasonal topic . Also called maze.
In Europe, many mazes are often made of maize. People walk them in summer and autumn.
Maize as a plant is a kigo for autumn in Japan, when it is ripe and ready to eat. So a Maize Maze could be considered a kigo for Autum, according to the plant.


office show --
wee jack in the labyrinth
become wallpaper

Isabelle Prondzynski

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busy bee -
in the pollen bed
a labyrinth

Carol Raisfeld

Look at the Photo here
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/PH_detail?photo_sn_in=708

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corn maze
from a bird's eye view
no exit

nangini

Look at the Photo and more haiku here
http://home.alc.co.jp/db/owa/PH_detail?photo_sn_in=1517

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green labyrinths
cover the infinite sky ~
twittering birds ~

Narayanan Raghunathan, India Saijiki
Read the full sequence HERE ! 　

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March

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March (sangatsu　三月)

***** Location: Worldwide
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Season

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Explanation


Haiku sangatsu in the Edo period relates to the climate of present-day April,
but some festivals are dated in our present-day March.

. . Names of Japanese months and their meanings . .


. . . . SPRING
the complete SAIJIKI


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March －Human beings as a part of nature
Sangatsu 三月

March is said to be middle spring according to the calendar. As soon as March comes, though being still cold, we feel relieved and relaxed. And also March is the month of the turning of the seasons from cold to warmth. It is traditionally said that the hot and cold weather last until the equinoctial week. The cold days and warm days come alternately. Accordingly the typical seasonal words which express atmosphere of the first half of March is perhaps harumeku (signs of spring) and the latter half, atataka (warmth).

　March 3rd is momo-no-sekku (the Feast of Peach Blossoms, hina-matsuri, the Doll's Festival). This festival which we display dolls, wishing for the girls' happiness of future is a beautiful and graceful celebration, which features historical and regional customs. About March 6th is keichitsu. It is said that the insects such as grubs, snakes and frogs come out of hibernation. The trees come into buds, the grasses sprout up, hills and fields become lively or looks vivid. We have an impression that flowing water gets slight warmer from its color and movement. Yamawarau (mountains smiling) or mizu nurumu (water getting warm) which express these delicate changes.are appropriate seasonal words.

At this time of the year people have turned their eyes more closely on nature. We express the impression of this season by using such seasonal words as tanishi (mud snail), shijimi (shijimi clam), migusaou (grass coming out of water), moroko (minnow), yanagihae (daoe, fish like leaf of willow), haru shiitake (spring shiitake mushroom).
Omizutori is held on March 13th at Nigatsu-do Hall of Todaiji Temple. The day is the climax of Shuni-E. It is the fire festival of telling the arrival of real spring in Kansai.

　Higan (equinoctial week) is believed to start on about March 18th and to last to about 24th. Spring Equinox Day is the middle day of this week. From this day real spring starts. Many kinds of leaf buds and grass buds can be seen in Saijiki (a glossary of seasonal terms for haiku composers) includes a variety of words to express these phenomenon of the buds of leaves and grasses. The life of people also becomes busy farming like tauchi (plowing the fields) or hatauchi (tilling the fields) naedoko (seed bed), tanemaki (seeding).
And also fishermen are busy catching fish that gather to the coast for spawning like sawara (Spanish mackerel), nishin (herring). On a warm and fine day, when heat is waving the air, people are tempted to go out to the field for pleasure. It is referred to as noasobi. When we find the many seasonal words such tsumikusa (gathering herbs) and the names of herbs or wild flowers in Saijiki, we appreciate how the Japanese love nature and live together with nature and find out pleasure in nature.

　It can be said that our ancestors responded to and lived together with nature, though they did not realize that human beings were part of nature. We believe that it is very important for us to recognize and maintain their perception because we live in the time when the destruction of nature is underway.

Inahata Teiko
http://www.kyoshi.or.jp/12month/12month-3.htm

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Japan in March

March 1-14: Todai-ji Temple:Nara-shi , Nara

This is part of the monks training program known as shuni-e. On the night of the 12th the monks light large torches and wave them around from the temple's gallery. Following that a ceremony is performed in which water is drawn from a well.

March 3: Hina Matsuri


This is also referred to as the Doll Festival, Peach Festival or Girl's Festival. People pray for the happiness and healthy growth of girls and families with young daughters set up a display of dolls inside the house.The tradition goes back to the Edo Period (1603-1868).

The dolls wear costumes of the imperial court during the Heian period (794-1192) and are placed on a platform with various tiers of five to seven layers.

The top tier is for the Emperor and Empress. A miniature gilded folding screen is placed behind them as it was in the real court. The second tear has three ladies-in-waiting. The third has five male court musicians; the fourth has ministers sitting on either side of trays of food; the fifth has guards with an orange tree on the left and a cherry tree on the right.

The family celebrates with a special meal of diamond-shaped rick cakes and shirozake which is rice malt with sake.

The dolls are returned to their storage space after the festival is over since there is a superstition that families that are slow in putting the dolls away will have difficulty in marrying off their daughters.


March 6: Utsu-ue Matsuri

At Yatsufusa-jinja Shrine, Kushikino-shi, Kagoshima, a rice-planting festival with a dance performed by men wearing ox masks.

March 12: Water-Drawing Festival (O-Mizutori)

This is held at Todaiji, Nara and is one of the most famous fire festivals in Japan. At midnight priests carry large torches to mark the drawing of the sacred water from the Wakasa well below Nigatsudo.

May 13:Kasuga-taisha Shrine

The Kasuga-taisha Shrine: Nara-shi, Nara holds its spring festival on this date. There is a horse ceremony involving a sacred horse being led into the shrine precincts. There is also a special dance performed called the Yamato-mai.

The shrine itself dates back to the 8th century. Just as a matter of general interest this makes the shrine about seven centuries older than the "discovery" of the U.S.

March 14: White Day (see Valentine’s Day )

This is one of the holidays basically invented by business. A company that made marshmallows started a campaign in 1965 urging men to repay the woman they got valentine's chocolate from with their soft, fluffy marshmallows. The term White Day came from the color of the candy.

Gradually other candy makers got into the act, the marshmallows were dropped, and men were encouraged not to just give candy but also to give gifts like women's handkerchiefs.

March 17: Fujimori-no-Taasobi

This is a special rice-planting festival at Oi Hachimangu Shrine, Oigawa-cho, Shizuoka. It features 27 different dances and dates back to around a thousand years ago.

March 20 or 21: Shunbun no Hi: Vernal Equinox Day

This is the day that the sun crosses the equator and the length of night and day becomes equal. It is basically a day to show affection for all living things.

Higan refers to the period of time three days before the vernal equinox to three days after it. During this time respects are paid to ancestors and visits are made to family graves to clean them and offer flowers and incense to ancestral spirits.

Late March: Graduation Ceremonies

The Japanese school year ends in March so this is a time of graduation ceremonies. Generally the principal opens with an address after which there are speeches from guests. Certificates are given individually to the students. After they receive their certificates the students sing Hotaru no hikari (light of fireflies).

Japanese Festivals of all months
January .. .. February .. .. March .. .. April .. .. May .. .. June .. .. July .. .. August .. .. September .. .. October .. .. November .. .. December
http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/jfestival.html


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Worldwide use


long past midnight
prayer wheels creak
March wind

Sonam Chhoki

. BHUTAN 　


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Southern Hemisphere, Tropics ...
Adjustments for each region must be made.

Calendar reference kigo

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Quotes ... Links ... References ... Chores

Spring - Quotes for Gardeners

Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo
http://www.egreenway.com/months/monmar.htm

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Things found on the way

A short haibun by susan delphine delaney

the hawks circle, essentially floating, on the thermals (upward heat currents caused by the solar heating of dark, dense ground objects like rocks), watching for mice or other small mammals moving in the dead, winter-beaten fields.

at this time of year, mating pairs come together to hunt, as part of their yearly pairing ritual. later in the year, indeed, for most of the year, each hawk will hunt alone.

march thermals
red-tailed hawks
mousing in pairs

published in simply haiku in a renga called 'tailgate party".

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March Photo Collection
http://www.acclaimimages.com/search_terms/march.html

March Calendar & Holidays .. .. worldwide

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March 19 2004 in Baghdad
Photos of a demonstration against the ocupation and for Iraqi unity in Baghdad.


On the day before the anniversary of the US led invasion of Iraq, a demonstration took place in Baghdad in tandem with protests around the world against the violence of the occupation. The protest was also a powerful show of unity between Sunni and Shia muslims. The marches started with the Shia's in Khadamiya, and the Sunni's across the river in Adamiya. The two groups met just as the Shia's came over the bridge, and emotions were high as they merged into one. They then walked for together to a public square where speakers denounced the occupation and called for unity between all Iraqis.

Curtesy to Andrew Stern
http://indybay.org/news/2004/03/1674128.php

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HAIKU

First day of Spring,
clear sky to Mt. Shasta--
emptiness is form.

Michael P. Garofalo, 2000, Cuttings

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March Haiku
by Victor P. Gendrano
http://www.geocities.com/vgendrano/marhaiku.html

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Haiku from March 2003
by Gary Warner
http://www.haikuworld.org/gary/mar2003.gar.html

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Aozora haiku publication : March 2003
Editor : Jasminka Nadaskic Diordievic, and submissions (s)
http://www.tempslibres.org/aozora/en/hpub/pub0303.html

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A Japanese Garden of Verse

in midst of odd new leap-year
finding two full moons of March
while February had none

Haikusmith 03/09/99

http://www.webcom.com/~erique/haiku/haiku399.html

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Related words

***** Calendar reference kigo


. . . . SPRING
the complete SAIJIKI


. WKD : March - KIGO CALENDAR .

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Mackerel Clouds (iwashigumo)

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Mackerel Clouds, Sardine Clouds
(saba-gumo, iwashi-gumo, Japan)

***** Location: Japan, worldwide
***** Season: All Autumn
***** Category: Heavens

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Explanation




sardine clouds, iwashigumo 鰯雲 (the most common name in Japan)
fish-scale clouds , urokogumo 鱗雲
mackerel clouds (literally) sabagumo 鯖雲

This kigo has been used since the Edo period. When you see these spotted clouds in the pale blue sky, it makes you feel like remembering your childhood, when you talked with your friends about phantastic future plans. Or you look back on your own life, things you could not achieve, things you had to give up, things you used to enjoy. Seeing your life moving on like these clouds, for some reason you feel better.
That was one explanation of my haiku sensei.

Of course, fishermen say you expect a good catch of sardins and mackerels, when these clouds appear, hence the name.
Gabi Greve

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True Cirrocumulus is comparatively rare, and is one of the clouds that gives the beautiful "mackerel sky" appearance.
Cirrocumulus generally occurs in more or less extensive sheets, consisting of very small elements in the form of grains, ripples, etc., (Plate 56). These sheets often show one or two systems of undulations. They may have fibrous margins (Plate 57).
Cirrocumulus also occurs in patches in the shape of lenses or almonds, often very elongated and usually with well-defined outlines.

A great link about Clouds.
http://www.mid-c.com/manmar/Cirrocum.htm


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http://www.melma.com/mag/70/m00089270/a00000556.html

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Worldwide use

England
We also call it a Mackerel sky in England. It usually means rain after a clear spell in summer - usually within 12 hours. But then it rains a lot here.
Eryu

USA
a mackarel sky here is a high cirrus cloud that is cut into pieces by windswells. so it looks like it is sliced. it also looks like a mackarel. here it is an almost infallible sign of wind, and that rain will come in three days.
Susan Delaney

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Things found on the way

Haiku no Hakoniwa, My little Garden
Japanese Haiku and Photos
春　　 夏　　 秋　　 冬　　 無季
Spring Summer Autumn Winter Nonseasonal
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Bookend-Kenji/1083/

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Herringbone Clouds



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HAIKU

sardine clouds -
my haiku floating
amongst them

。。。　。。。　。。。　Sardinenwolken -
。。。　。。。　。。。　meine Haiku schweben
。。。　。。。　。。。　zwischen ihnen

In the blue sky today, they are drifting along as I pull my weeds, pull my thoughts ...
Gabi Greve
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/903


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鰯雲日かげは水の音迅く　　　
Iida Ryuuta 飯田龍太

Here is a great picture to go with the haiku.
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Bookend-Kenji/1083/iwasigumo.htm

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鴟尾光る寺屋根高き鰯雲

Mackerel sky
over the temple,
The roof ends glistening.
http://wadaphoto.jp/haiku3.htm


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Related words

***** Cloud, clouds(kumo) worldwide. Various Kigo.


.SAIJIKI ... HEAVEN
Kigo for Autumn 　


. Mackere, Sardine - fish kigo .


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December 2005

nnnnnnnnnnnn TOP nnnnnnnnnnnnn

Latest Additions

..................................................................... December 2005

Erika Schwalm - In Memoriam

Hammock (worldwide)

Sonoran Saijiki, USA

Pottery, Pots and Plates (yakimono) Japan

Meditation (dhyana) India, worldwide

Cow, Oxen (ushi) Japan
Including
Bullfighting, toogyuu; bulls fighting, ushi zumoo; getting the bulls together, ushi awase; getting the horns to clash, ushi no tsuno tsukicooling cows and horses, gyuuba hiyasu; cooling horses, uma hiyasu cool cow, hiyashi ushi; cool horse, hiyashi umawashing cows, ushi arau; washing horses, uma arauBull Ritual, ushi kuyoo; great field planting ritual,　ootaueBull Festival, ushi matsuri; Bull Festival of Uzumasa, God Madara, madara jin

Wattle in Bloom <> KIGO

Moths <> KIGO

Swift, Mauerseegler <> KIGO

Plumbago <> KIGO
(School exams KCSE / KCPE, Kenya )

Crane, Grus japonensis (tsuru) Japan
Including:
Hooded crane, nabezuru; white naped crane, manazuru; crane with a read head, tanchoo; crane with black wings, sodeguro tsuru, black crane, common crane, kurozuru;Demoiselle crane, anehazuru; Sandhill crane, Canada Crane.cranes standing in the cold, itezuru; frost for the cranes, shimo no tsuru; cranes in a frosty night, shimoyo no tsuru.Cranes going back: hikizuru, kaeru tsuru, tsuru saru; cranes staying behing, nokoru tsuru.

Radish (daikon) Japan
Red Radish (hatsuka daikon), Rettich, Radieschen. Includingpickled leaves of radish, kukizuke. pickled radish, takuanzuke. boiled radish, furofuki.to pickle radish, daikon tsukeru. to dry radish, daikon hosu. dried radish, hoshidaikon.cut and dried radish, kiriboshi. radish flowers, daikon no hana.

Baseball Winter Meetings, USA
World AIDS Day December 1, worldwide (Kenya)

Kiyose for Turkey A saijiki under construction.

Salmon (sake) Japan , shake, King salmon, cherry salmon (yamome), shad, steelhead trout, Spring King Salmon Derby, coho (silver) salmon start to run, Golden North Salmon Derby (Alaska)

Mango Blossoms, India

................ Stilll collecting for an entry:
Moose, collecting
Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot) <> Collecting
Whales, Whale watching <> Collecting
Yellow Flames (Peltophorum Pterocarpum) <> Collecting
Kigo from Sweden

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

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

Erika Schwalm

Erika Schwalm - In Memoriam

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Was born in 1941 in Frankfurt. She started writing haiku with the help of Dr. Tadao Araki, Fuyuo Usaki and Tohta Kaneko. In 1988 she founded the "Frankfurt Haiku Circle" and belongs to the board of the German Haiku Society.

She is as well a teacher of Sogetsu Ikebana, which she studied in the course of many travels to Japan. Her original way is connecting ikebana and haiku. She has published two Ikebana books.

Erika is corresponding with ikebana and haiku-groups all over the world.

Copyright (c) 2001 World Haiku Association.

http://www.worldhaiku.net/poetry/de/e.schwalm.htm

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Erika, you will live on in our hearts and haiku!

Representing the Members of WHCworldkigo

Gabi Greve
Director of WHCworldkigo
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WHCworldkigo/

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surrounded by flowers
a life turns back
to earth

Erika, I will miss you so much! We had already made plans for a meeting in Japan !

Gabi

Let me quote a few words from your last letter:

Dear Gabi,
Mit groser Freude verfolge ich Deine Seiten im Netz und die intensive und geduldige Korrespondenz.
Fuer all Deine Muhe mochte ich Dir herzlich danken.
Herzliche Gruesse
Deine Erika.

November 25, 2005

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she visits
her native place
no more roses




Geert Verbeke
http://users.skynet.be/geert.verbeke.bowls

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in the sadly universal way of things, i never told erika how much her presence on this list meant to me.

erika was a haiku buff and an ikebana buff.

so am i.

the two arts are so much the same.

consider this instruction from an ikebana text:

take about eighteen inches from the end of a magnolia branch and trim away most of the leaves, leaving a branch with a few leaves that conveys the essence of what a magnolia is.

is this not what we do with our haiku moments...scribble down the haiku moment and later, write a proto-haiku that captures the moment, then trim, trim trim until it is the essence of that haiku moment.

erika, you live on in our hearts.

and we will pass you on to others.

ooo ooo ooo

Another happy memory with Erika:

a few years back i gave a talk on haiku to the sogetsu ikebana club here in dallas. (erika was sogetsu school).

they told me that they were doing a 'linked form' of ikebana that day. each woman had brought a black 'container'. the leader brought common flowers to be included in each arrangement and each woman had brought some of her own choosing to add to her arrangement.

a woman would make an arrangement and the next was to link to it and shift the next arrangement in another direction.

'why, that is an ikebana renga', i cried.

'what???', they cried.

later i shared this story with erika. erika was the only person on the planet (that i knew) who 'got' what i was talking about. plus she had done many ikebana renga....

it is so wonderful and rare to find someone who understands what you care about.

susan delphine delaney md
plano, texas

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Erika the haijin
butterfly, moves on freely
into another cosmos

Narayanan Raghunathan ~

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snuffed out by a draft
the candle's scent lingers
in the moonlight

Norman Darlington

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Erika, ich werde dich nie vergessen!

Gerd

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ich bin so traurig über die Nachricht von Erikas Tod...

Im Oktober konnte ich sie in einem Seminar ihres Frankfurter Haiku-Kreis noch einmal treffen, sie war so voller Pläne und hat mir zwei Tage vor ihrem Tod sogar von ihrer geplanten Japanreise 2008 gemailt und mich gefragt, ob ich mir nicht überlegen wollte daran teilzunehmen. Unbegreiflich, dass sie uns so kurz darauf verlassen musste. Ich kann es noch gar nicht fassen!

Eine Erinnerungs- und Gedenkseite für sie einzurichten, war eine sehr schöne Idee von dir. Ich habe ihren unermüdlichen Einsatz für das Haiku und die Menschen, die sich mit dieser Art der Dichtung beschäftigen immer bewundert. Sie wird eine sehr große Lücke hinterlassen.

Andrea

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Introducing Erika and her work at the World Kigo Database / Ikebana


Her last contribution to the database



Christmas Tree Ikebana, December 2005

World Kigo Database: Christmas Tree


Advent

Bamboo

Carneval

Emperor's Birthday

Lampionflower




Boys festival, May 2005

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......................... More Contributions for Erika

Auf der Homepage steht ein Satz, der mich ganz besonders anspricht...

Thank you and come back soon !　

Das ist, was sich jetzt viele Menschen wünschen.

Gasshô
Mario

WHCgerman

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my numb hands
in the winter twilight –
a friend is leaving

Sonja Koranter, Slovenia

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Bad Nauheim –
May rain silently
falling into itself

(I met Erika, for the first and the last time, in May 2005, in Bad Nauheim, where the 1st European Haiku Congress was held. Erika was so full of energy, enthusiasm ...)

putting a twig
into the ikebana vase ...
it breaks

a willow tree –
its reflection reaches
the opposite river bank

a blade of grass
under the heavy snow –
still green

Alenka Zorman, Slovenia

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In the winter night
a star shinning within ikebana:
her white-like-snow soul

A fallen petal -
the winter wind carries it
to the Heaven

Vasile Moldovan

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For the Erika,
with a large smile
and her kind eyes,
a friend for ever

From Romania, Laura Vaceanu,
President of Constantza Haiku Society

We miss you so much our dear friend.

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Lampionflowers (hoozuki)

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Lampionflowers (hoozuki)

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

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Explanation




hoozuki 鬼燈 － 鬼灯 - ほうずき Chinese lantern plant
ground cherry, lampion flower, winter cherry, husk tomato
Physalis alkekengi

With its swollen body it carries a lot of good luck (fuku 福）and is thus a good omen, bringing good fortune to its owner.
It is also the protector deity for women, healing ladies illnessen and helps making them pregnant.

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kigo for mid-summer

hoozuki no hana 鬼燈の花 (ほおずきのはな)
flowers of the lampionflower





kigo for late summer

ao hoozuki 青鬼燈 (あおほおずき) green Hoozuki
..... 青酸漿（あおほおずき）

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kigo for all autumn

hoozuki 鬼燈 lampionflower, lampion flower
..... 酸漿（ほおずき) / 鬼灯
“The Demons Lantern”
ground cherry
Physalis alkekengi Linn. var. franchetii (Mast.) Hort



Ikebana by Erika Schwalm


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observance kigo for late summer

hoozuki ichi 鬼燈市 ほおずきいち lampion flower market
..... 酸漿市（ほおずきいち）
shiman rokusen nichi 四万六千日（しまんろくせんにち）
46000 days
rokusen nichi sama 六千日さま（ろくせんにちさま）



The famous market for Demons Lanterns is held at the Asakusa Temple in Tokyo and used to be a speciality already at the Edo period. It is held for two days on July 9/10 and is in itself a kigo for summer. More than 250 stalls sell their plants.

The 10th of the 7th lunar month is also a special day to get some religious merit at the Asakusa temple. If you visit on that day, it is worth the merit of 46000 days (shiman rokusen nichi) or (126 years) of temple visiting.

Why 46000 days, you might ask?
This is supposed to be the number of rice grains in one Japanese measure of rice, Japan being an old rice-growing nation and wasting even one grain of it was a big sin.

. Asakusa Kannon　浅草観音


Hozuki were also made into a powerful medicine and sold at the Hozuki market and the monthly temple prayer days (ennichi) at Asakusa.
If a special hozuki tea was prepared and drunk on the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, it would cure dysenterie and intestinal parasites. This lore dates back to a dream of a man in the Shiba district, who saw the Atago deity in his dream.

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Physalis alkekengi
(Bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese lantern, or Winter cherry; Japanese: hōzuki), is a relative of P. peruviana (Cape Gooseberry), easily identifiable by the larger, bright orange to red papery covering over its fruit, which resemble Chinese lanterns.
It is native from southern Europe east across southern Asia to Japan.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Look at more photos
- Hoozuki ほうずき　-


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way





hoozuki ningyoo 鬼灯人形 Hozuki Dolls



hoozuki asobi ほおずき遊び」 playing with Hozuki


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source :　blogs.yahoo.co.jp/yukio8600



CLICK for more photos !

With its swollen body it carries a lot of good luck (fuku 福）and is thus a good omen, bringing good fortune to its owner.
It is also the protector deity for women, healing ladies illnessen and helps making them pregnant.

. tsurushibina, tsurushi bina つるし雛 / 吊るし雛 small hanging hina dolls .


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HAIKU

hoozuki ya tsumi-nokori tsumu too bakari

Demons Lanterns
Picking the ones left over,
Just ten of them

Ozawa Hekido 小沢碧童


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hoozuki no tasuke o sugishi kaze ni iro

passing the lampionflower
the wind gains
color

Hata san
© Photo and Haiku : Denhata Saijiki

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kago kabau hoozuki-ichi no yoi no ame

Covering up the baskets!
evening downpoor at the
Hozuki-Market

Mizuhara Shuohshi 水原秋櫻子


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- - - - - Playing with lampionflowers and haiku


鬼灯でピエロ人形創りたり　

from the lampionflower
we make the doll
of a pierrot



鬼灯を鳴らすを知らぬ子等ばかり

so many children
do not know how to blow
the lampionflower



鬼灯はさびしき庭の灯となれり

lampionflowers
in a lonely garden
they are the only lanterns

source : 牧陽子 Maki Yooko


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Related words

***** Market selling Morning-Glories, asagao ichi　朝顔市
Market at Iriya in Edo, Iriya asagao ichi 入谷朝顔市

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. Legends from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

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Gifu, 洞戸村 Horado
A local Kappa (gawairo ガワイロ) changes into a Hozuki. If people pick it up, they will become sick and die.

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Miyagi
If you plant Hozuki in the garden of your estate, people will get sick.

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東京都 Tokyo

A boy got an intestinal worm infection （カイチュウ） and had a terrible stomach ache about once a month. Then he got some Hozuki from Jizo お地蔵様 and ate it. This healed his illness.

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Yamagata, 小国町 Oguni
If farmers plant Hozuki and tear grass (hatomugi ハトムギ Coix lacryma-jobi), there will be many sick people in the village.


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