4/16/2006

Pounding rice (mochi tsuki) and rabbit hare

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Pounding rice (mochi tsuki, mochitsuki)

***** Location: Japan, Philippines, other areas
***** Season: Mid-winter
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation

pounding rice, mochi tsuki (mochitsuki) 餅つき
song for pounding rice, mochi tsuki uta 餅つき歌

having your rice pounded for a fee, chin mochi 賃餅
spreading the pounded rice, noshi mochi 熨斗餅
cutting the spread rice in squares, mochi kiru 餅切る
straw mat to lay the ready dumplings on,
mochi mushiro 餅筵


Pounding rice for small rice dumplings (sometimes translated as "cakes", but they are not sweet at all) is a ubiquious sight all over Japan during the few days before the New Year. It used to be done in a wooden or stone basin with a large wooden mallet, but nowadays many families use an electric appliance, although complaining that the taste is just not the same. The rice dumplings are put in the special soup on the first of January (zooni, see below) and the round rice dumplings are seasonal offerings for the Gods (kagami mochi, see below).

Pounding rice and preparing soup or dumplings and cakes is quite fun and the big local event at our grammar school is a get-together of the whole mountain village community.




People in Edo who could not pound their own mochi used professionals to make
hikizuri mochi 引き摺り餅 with common tools and rice provisions.


source : edococo.exblog.jp
. Doing Business in Edo - 江戸の商売 .


The round mochi were the fore-runners of the money gifts, o-toshidama

. o toshidama お年玉 New Year Treasures.


More kigo are given below.

Gabi Greve

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Mochi is finely ground cooked rice pressed into shapes. This creates soft, chewy shapes which can be used in sweet and savory foods. If kept, they form hard blocks, which can be stored until they are needed. Mochi is also combined with roasted soy bean flour (kinako) or sweet bean paste (anko) to make traditional Japanese sweets.

Traditionally, making mochi is a group activity. Village people sat together, hand-pounding the rice with a wooden mallet (kine). According to Shinto tradition, each grain of rice represents a human soul, so the process was reflective and self-purifying for the whole community.

In the West, when we look at the moon, we see a man on it. The Chinese see a rabbit, pounding magical herbs to make the elixir of eternal life. The Japanese, with their love of obscure wordplays, envision the same rabbit pounding rice to make mochi. The name of the full moon is “mochizuki”, while “mochitsuki” means “making mochi”.

The rice dumplings are extremely sticky and difficult to swallow, and many people choke to death on them every year. The New Year is a particularly dangerous season, because many people eat o-zooni, a traditional soup containing mochi, which is served on New Year’s Day. Newscasts feature an annual “death toll” of all the old or drunk people who bit off more mochi than they could chew. In one case, a 70-year-old man was saved from a glutinous death by his resourceful daughter, who used a vacuum cleaner to remove the hazardous blob he was choking on.
http://ballz.ababa.net/uninvited/mochi.htm

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The Hare (Rabbit) in the Moon

The Universe and Human Life
By Daisaku Ikeda

In recent years, ever since man began launching satellites into space, his ideas about the universe have been undergoing a profound though little noticed change.

The science of astronomy has existed since ancient times, yet when we as children in Japan looked at the full moon, we invariably saw in it the image of a rabbit pounding glutinous rice to make rice cakes because that was what the adults had told us existed in the moon. The adults, we learned later, had told us a lie. But even the adults, when they looked at the full moon, particularly in the Autumn, probably had thoughts almost as stereotyped as ours, thoughts like those expressed as early as the Heian period by the ninth century poet. Oe no Chisato in his famous verse on the full moon:

When I gaze at the moon
All things seem sad
Though I know the Autumn
Comes not to me alone.


Read the rest here:
http://www.buddhistinformation.com/universe_and_human_life.htm

Safety Copy is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Haiku-Essays/message/94



source : us6.campaign-archive1.com
Tomita Keisen (1879-1936)

The poem on the hangning scroll reads:

Clearly I can see -
The sacred rabbit
is pounding tea leaves.


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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way


Japanese Link with detailed story about the Chinese and Japanese version of the Hare in the Moon.



http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~nr8c-ab/afjptukiusagi.htm

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A local wooden toy from Kanazawa 金沢 餅つき兎


CLICK for more photos !


http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QB1T-FJT/mochiu.html

. Ishikawa Folk Art - 石川県 .

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The Real Rabbit in the Moon



"The bunny's two ears point up from New Zealand but point down when seen from England, so many northern people do not recognise our familiar moon rabbit.
However, Maya Indians are supposed to have recognised the moon rabbit.
The Rabbit is made of black moon lava."

© Photo by by John Wattie, NZ

More of his photos are on this LINK
http://nzphoto.tripod.com/astro/#rabbit

There is another moon photo about this on a Japanese page, where you can see the rabbit pounding rice:
http://www2j.biglobe.ne.jp/~hoshino/tsuki%20to%20usagi.htm

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heaven kigo for all autumn

gyokuto 玉兎(ぎょくと)
"treasure hare", treasure rabbit

tsuki no usagi 月の兎(つきのうさぎ)
hare in the moon, rabbit in the moon


. Tamausagi - The Treasure Hare from Gassan, Yamagata



. Lady Chang-O, The Moon Lady .
Jooga 嫦娥 Joga, Chang'e // Kooga 姮娥 Koga, Heng'e
She has the 玉兔 tama usagi pound medicine for her in the moon.


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Mani Moon Hand, gessei manishu
月精摩尼手 (げっせいまにしゅ)

CLICK for original LINK !

Gakko Bosatsu 月光菩薩 (Moonlight Bosatsu)

Gachirin (moon disc) with a rabbit pounding mochi (glutinous rice) drawn inside. In Japan, Gakkō is also associated with a hare. People suffering high temperatures or fevers can purchase such talismans or icons (called Gessei manishu 月精摩尼手), which are said to reduce fever and cool the body.

Nikko (Sunlight Bosatsu) & Gakko (Moonlight Bosatsu)
Mark Schumacher


In India's ancient language Sanskrit,
one of the names for the moon is 'sashi', and rabbit is also called as 'sashi' in Sanskrit.


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Some more worldwide Rabbit Lore
WKD Library



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HAIKU


pounding rice cakes---
a lull between
typhoons

robert wilson (Philippines)

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pounding rice cakes -
midnight temple bells,
New Year guests

Joachim
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WHCworldkigo/message/991

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cha no mochi

green rice cakes:
family chants to the beats
of a mallet

Chibi Dennis Holmes

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pounding mochi
for cakes
instead of wine

shanna

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Issa and Pounding Rice

From a discussion in Translating Haiku Forum, August 2006

犬の餅烏が餅もつかれけり
inu no mochi karasu ga mochi mo tsukare keri

one for the dog
one for the crow...
rice cakes

Tr. Lanoue

by Issa, 1819

From my experience in rural Japan, where the pounding of rice is made outside in the farm yard, I can imagine more than one dog and one crow waiting for the cakes to be ready ...

> > > > pounding rice ...
> > > > rice dumplings for the dogs
> > > > rice dumplings for the crows
Tr. Gabi Greve

Sakuo was wondering if the poor farmers of the Edo period really had enough to pound rice and give some leftovers to the dogs and birds. Farmers mostly ate buckwheat and such grains.

To this worry, Larry Bole had the following answer

I think Issa's emotions in writing this haiku are amusement and empathy. I think he has a humorous appreciation of the expertise in thievery displayed by these opportunistic scavengers. We know in advance that at least a couple of the rice cakes we are laboriously making are going to end up with the dog and crow, but even knowing that, we aren't going to begrudge them their share.

And I think there is an underlying empathy in that, by stealing rice cakes, the dog and crow are celebrating the New Year along with us in their own way.

There is another rice cake haiku by Issa which R. H. Blyth interprets in much the same vein:

mochitsuki ga tonari e kita to iu ko nari

"The rice-cake makers
Have come next door,"
Says the child.

Blyth says about this haiku:

"'Mochi' is made from a special kind of rice, boiled and pounded into a [glutinous] mass. Japanese people all enjoy it very much; it corresponds (in feeling, not in taste) to Christmas pudding in Europe and America. Pounding the rice is hard work and needs a very large mallet etc., and specialists, so to speak, go from house to house making it.
Some are too poor to afford it, and of such is the child who is speaking. He runs in to his mother and tells her that the men who make the mochi have come to the house next door. The mother cannot answer; there is nothing to say. They cannot afford it, and other children must have the happiness forbidden to hers. ..."

David Lanoue, on the other hand, translates it and then says:

"The rice cake man
is next door!"
the child announces.

"The reader need not see it this [Blyth's] way. The child bubbles over with excitement and anticipation--feelings that Issa and his adult readers share, as they remember their own childhoods."

Lanoue's reading is more in the spirit of another of Issa's haiku:

ako ga mochi ako ga mochi tote narabe keri

"This is sonny-boy's rice-cake,
This is sonny-boy's rice-cake too."
Piling them up.

tr. Blyth

my child's rice cakes
my child's rice cakes...
all in a row

tr. Lanoue

It's interesting to me that Blyth's interpretation comes at a time when both England and Japan were suffering post-war food shortages, whereas Lanoue's interpretation comes from someone living in a land of (relative) plenty, in one of its most plentiful times.

From reading through the 'rice cake' haiku on Lanoue's translastion site, it seems that besides the New Year, rice cakes are also associated with the Girl's Doll Festival, and with a 12th day of the ninth month celebration honoring Nichiren.

Issa also has several haiku about rice cakes being stolen by dogs in one way or another.
And what are we to make of left-over rice cakes?

There is Matsuo Basho's justly-famous haiku:

鴬や餅に糞する縁の先
uguisu ya mochi ni fun suru en no saki
uguisu ya mochi ni funsuru en no saki

Ah! the uguisu
Pooped on the rice-cakes
On the verandah.

tr. Blyth


A warbler
excreting on a rice cake
on the veranda.


Through an unconventional haikai image, the bird’s excreting, Bashô’s verse breaks drastically with the convention and discovers poetry in the natural and the low. Concerning this poem, Bashô wrote to one of his disciples, Sanpû:
“This poem shows what I have been working on lately.”
source : Basho-and-the-Dao - Peipei-Qiu


a bush warbler
dropped poop on the cookies
at the edge of the verandah

tr. Jane Reichhold

bush warbler--
a dropping on the rice cake
at the veranda's edge

tr. Ueda

Basho is quoted as saying about this haiku [in a letter to Sampu]:

"This hokku shows the kind of innovation [karumi] I am trying to achieve nowadays."

Yamamoto says:
"This hokku presents a scene of moldy rice cakes placed in the sunlight on the veranda several weeks after the New Year. Suddenly a bush warbler flew in from the garden and let a dropping fall. This is an idyllic scene filled with spring sunshine."

Would old, uneaten holiday rice cakes be put out for the birds and other animals to eat?

This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 1.

All haiku about mochi by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

Mochi no Hosomichi もちの細道 in Memory of Matsuo Basho


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Another Issa Haiku under discussion


草の庵年取餅を買にけり
kusa no io toshitori mochi o kai ni keri

thatched hut--
the year's last rice cakes
are bought


Translated by David Lanoue
More ISSA Haiku about Pounding Rice


The discussion started with another translation of this haiku

thatched hut--
the aged rice cake
is purchased


Translating Haiku Forum Nr. 853 / 855 / 858 / 864

In former times, it was customary in Japan to add one year to one's life on the first of January (toshitori). Individual birthdays were not celebrated.
to get older, toshi o toru 年を取る

thatched hut -
buying rice dumplings
to grow older another year

(Tr. Gabi Greve)

"yellowtail tuna to pass into the New Year" toshitori buri 年取鰤 is a speciality for New Year in Western Japan.


The use of IO, iori, 庵 the thatched hut
Translating Haiku Forum



餅搗のもちがとぶ也犬の口
mochi tsuki no mochi ga tobu nari inu no kuchi

the fresh rice cake
goes flying ...
the dog's mouth


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町並やこんな菴でも餅さはぎ
machinami ya konna io de mo mochi-sawagi

rows of houses --
this house, too, excited
making rice cakes


This hokku is from the eleventh month (December) of 1816, when Issa was away from his hometown on a year-end visit to the greater Edo area, a trip during which he stayed with various haikai poets. The image of rows of houses suggests he was in downtown Edo when he wrote this hokku. The first line also seems to indicate that he's acting just like all the city people in Edo even though he's a visitor now. Issa uses a humble word for "this house," so I take him to mean "the house were I an humbly staying like this." The excitement and energy of getting ready for the new year is intense, so presumably Issa joins in the preparations. On this day the household is making rice cakes of various sizes, including some large ones to be displayed in front of the small house altar to ancestors on New Year's Day before being eaten later. In the small urban backyard some people pound the rice into a soft glutinous mass with a large, heavy wooden mallet while others in the kitchen knead, shape, and smooth the mass into round cakes. People are in an upbeat mood, and sometimes they no doubt shout out encouragement or sing work songs, including songs that invoke the gods and mythical themes as they pound the sticky mass of mashed rice with the big mallet and shape it into cakes.

I don't have a photographic copy of Issa's diary, so I follow the text in Maruyama Kazuhiko, Issa Shichiban-nikki 2.279, which has konna in the second line instead of the donna given in Issa's Complete Works. This reading seems to make more sense, since Issa uses "this humble hut" for the house where he is staying in Edo. This term is reflexive and refers to the speaker in a humble way that is also polite to other people and houses. It is unlikely that Issa would refer to all the houses in Edo as humble huts unless he were literally referring to a very rundown part of the city. Maruyama's text also shows that Issa uses the character 菴 for 'hut,' a character that was commonly used in Issa's time. For those who know Japanese, you can see it has the grass radical at the top, suggesting a classical grass hut. Issa's Complete Works often uses characters that are common in contemporary Japanese instead. In this case, the Complete Works uses the character 庵 for hut, a character that has the house radical at the top.

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


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to my hut too
New Year's arrives...
the zooni vendor

waga io ya ganjitsu mo kuru zooni uri
我庵や元日も来る雑煮売

by Issa, 1817

Zooni, glutinous rice cakes with vegetables, is enjoyed in the New Year's season.
This haiku has the prescript, "In Hatsuchoobori Beggar Quarter, I greet the spring."
Hattchoobori was a district of old Edo (today's Tokyo). See Maruyama Kazuhiko, Issa haiku shuu (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1990; rpt. 1993) 261, note 1394.
Shinji Ogawa offers this translation:

To my hut
even on the New Year's Day
zooni vendors come


He notes that it is a Japanese custom not to work during the first three days of the year, but in the big city of Edo, zooni vendors were busy as bees.

Tr. David Lanoue
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


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Related words

***** New Year's Rice Dumplings
(toshi no mochi 年の餅)

kigo for the New Year

"mirror rice dumplings, kagami mochi 鏡餅
..... a special offering for the gods at New Year. They get very hard, are then split with a hammer and put into soup.
"honorable mirror" rice dumplings, o-kagami 御鏡
"armor plate" rice dumplings, yoroi mochi 鎧餅

"rice sumplings for the ancestors" offered for the ancestors at home
..... gusoku mochi 具足餅

rice dumplings for the new year soup (zooni),
zooni mochi 雑煮餅
Mixed vegetable soup for the new year (zooni, a kigo for the New Year) is eaten on January first in the morning, usually after the first shrine visit and prepared with .. the first well water (wakamizu) .
In Western Japan, it is the custom to add a lot of yellowtail (buri) to the broth of vegetables.
People greet each other on the first of January: What did you eat in your zooni?
After that, no hot food was eaten until January 4, to give the housewive and the kitchen and hearth deities a short holiday.
Click HERE to look at some photos !


New Year's rice dumplings, toshi no mochi, 年の餅
..... made as a gift for neighbours and visitors (we often get our share of these hard presents)

Quote:
..... even the poor cooked pure boiled rice and pounded rice cake from pure glutinous rice for important meals. Pounded rice cakes (mochi), prepared by pounding steamed glutinous rice with a mortar and pestle, have been indispensable food items for Japanese ceremonial feasts. People thought that the essence — the sacred power of rice — was made purer by pounding, and mochi was believed to contain the "spirit of rice."

Naturally this was and is the most celebrated form of rice and therefore the most appropriate food for feasts. Thus, New Year’s day, the principal annual feast in Japan, sees mochi always consumed as a ceremonial food.

Read more:
Food of Japan, by Naomichi Ishige !!!!!


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animal kigo for all winter

usagi 兎 (うさぎ) hare, rabbit
yukiusagi, yuki usagi 雪兎 ゆきうさぎ snow hare

nousagi, no usagi 野兎(のうさぎ)hare
Echigo usagi 、越後兎(えちごうさぎ) hare from Echigo

usagigari 兎狩 (うさぎがり) rabbit-hunting
usagi ami 兎網(うさぎあみ) net for hunting rabbits
usagi wana 兎罠(うさぎわな)trap for hunting rabbits


Rabbits and hares are counted as "ichiwa 一羽, niwa 二羽", like birds with wings, when mentioned in a culinary and literary context. They are eaten by Buddhists, even if they have four legs.
Biologically, they are counted as "ippiki 一匹, nihiki 二匹" one animal, two animals.


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CLICK for more photos

kigo for the New Year

Hatsu U (hatsu-u) 初卯 (はつう)
first day of the rabbit/hare

hatsu-u maitsuri 初卯祭(はつうまつり)first day of the rabbit festival
hatsu u mairi 、初卯詣(はつうまいり)visiting a shrine for the rabbit festival
In Edo to the shrine Kameido Tenmangu, in Kyoto to the shrine Iwashimizu Hachimangu, in Osaka to the shrine Sumiyosh Taisha. Also other Tenmangu-Shrines in Japan.
In the year of the rabbit, this visit was especially popular in the Edo period.

u no fuda 卯の札(うのふだ)"rabbit votive tablet" (for this day)
ni no u 二の卯(にのう)second day of the rabbit
san no u 三の卯(さんのう)third day of the rabbit

Kameido Myoogi mairi 亀戸妙義参(かめいどみょうぎまいり)
the special talisman is used as a hair decoration, at Kameido Tenmangu Shrine, Edo.


Festival at all Tenmangu shrines in memory of Sugawara Michizane, who is said to have died on the day of the rabbit, hour of the rabbit.
People buy special talismans to ward off evil for the coming year. Especially for the Emperor and his ladies in waiting, later it became a common festival for all.

. Sugawara Michizane 菅原道真



u no o-fuda 卯の神札(うのおふだ) votive tablet



uzuchi 卯槌(うづち)uzuchi talisman
It was given as a token to the Imperial palace since the Heian period.
It is made from peach wood and strings in five auspicious colors.
It wards off evil influence.



observance kigo for the New Year

uzue 卯杖 (うづえ) stick talsiman
..... u no tsue 卯の杖(うのつえ)
hatsu uzue 、hatsu uzue 初卯杖(はつうづえ)、 first uzue stick
iwai no tsue 祝の杖(いわいのつえ)auspicious uzue stick
uzue no hogai 卯杖の祝(うづえのほがい)
uzue no kotobuki 卯杖の寿(うづえのことぶき)

It was made from holly wood, peach, plum, willow and others, about 1.6 meters long.
Strings in the five auspicious colors were added.
. . . CLICK here for UZUE Photos !


SAIJIKI – NEW YEAR OBSERVANCES


. Amulets from Edo / Tokyo .

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Otherwise the hare and rabbit are not kigo.
Rabbit and hare ...
Kigo Hotline, November 2008


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*********** NEW YEAR FOOD SAIJIKI


. WKD : New Year Ceremonies


. ANIMALS in all SEASONS  - SAIJIKI


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-- #mochitsuki #poundingrice
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Poinsettia and Weihnachtskaktus

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Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

***** Location: USA, worldwide
***** Season: All Winter
***** Category: Plant


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Explanation

Native to Mexico and Central America, the poinsettia, also known as the Mexican flame leaf or Christmas star (Euphorbia pulcherrima), is a plant known for its striking red displays at Christmas time.
It is often used as a floral Christmas decoration because of its festive colours.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia


Nochebuena, the Mexican name of the flower English-speakers call poinsettia, was discovered in Taxco and the valleys surrounding Cuernavaca. Known by the Aztecs in their native Nahuatl language as cuetlaxochitl, it is believed that they brought the plant from the tropical climate of Cuernavaca to their Aztec highlands for cultivation in special nurseries. Prized in the prehispanic era for the curative properties of the milk that dripped from the leaves, stems and flowers when cut, the pigment from the red leaves was also used to dye cotton fibers.



After the Conquest, the Spanish Franciscan priests posted to the Taxco area used the plants to decorate their Christian nativity scenes, creating its first link to the Christmas season. The nochebuena gained further attention when Hernando Ruiz de Alarcon, a resident of Taxco and the brother of a famous Spanish writer, Juan Ruiz de Alarcon, wrote poetically about the flower and later, when it captured the attention of the Spanish botanist Don Juan Balme.

Its greatest promoter, however, was Joel Roberto Poinsett (1770-1851), who served as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico following Mexicoエs Independence from Spain. Although his record as an ambassador is generally agreed to be mediocre, he cherished Mexico and fell in love with the plant when he first saw it in 1823 adorning the churches of Taxco. He sent plants to decorate his mansion in Charlestonville, South Carolina, one Christmas, and upon his return home several years later he was astonished to find the entire town growing the Christmas flower, or "poinsettia".

Read a lot more interesting facts here:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/mexfact/mexfactnochebuena.html

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history and lore regarding the poinsettia
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/poinsettia/history.html

Legend from Mexico
http://www.christmas.com/pe/1331

Information on National Poinsettia Day



December 12 was set aside as
National Poinsettia Day.

The date marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, who is credited with introducing the native Mexican plant to the United States.
http://www.ecke.com/html/h_corp/corp_pntday.html

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Worldwide use

Germany

"Christmas Star", Weihnachtsstern.


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Japan

kigo for mid-winter

poinsechia ポインセチア Poinsettia
shoojooboku, shoojoo boku 猩々木(しょうじょうぼく)"Tipster Sprite tree"
kurisumasu furawaa クリスマスフラワー "Christmas flower"

Shojo Midare 猩々乱 Noh Play
About a spirit of ancient China


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Things found on the way



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HAIKU


A Christmas tradition
For Grandma
Poinsettias

Sarah

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poincettias
along the path
lost in the mist

Angelee Deodhar

Look at this nice haiga to go with it:
http://www.nhi.clara.net/z82.htm


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Related words

***** Christmas Cactus (Weihnachtskaktus)
(Schlumbergera bridgesii)


shakoba saboten 蝦蛄葉仙人掌 (しゃこばさぼてん)
shako saboten 蝦蛄仙人掌(しゃこさぼてん)
kurisumasu kakutasu クリスマスカクタス


Christmas Cactus is also a seasonal plant that blossoms around Christmas time. Native to Brazil, but now grown all over and sold around the Christmas season in the stores.
Sarah

While the poinsettia remains the most popular of the holiday plants, a healthy Christmas cactus in full bloom is a great gift idea for that special gardener. They are easy to care for and can be grown indoors throughout the year. The flowers range in color from yellow, salmon, pink, fuschia and white or combinations of those colors.

CLICK for more photos

Other types of Holiday Cactus:
Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) and the
Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri).


Alone in the window
a Christmas Cactus
waits

sarah


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Russia

Schlumbergera, also called Zygocactus, also called Christmas cactus in many countries and also called "Dekabrist" (Decemrist) by Russians, because it blooms in December.
It is a house plant not native to Russia.
See this site in Russian:
http://www.soblomov.narod.ru/kaktus/Schlumbergera.html


Передача о декабристах -
вспомнила: надо полить
своего декабриста

TV story of the Decembrists -
remembering to water
my Decembrist


Now, to understand this haiku, one must know that "Decembrists" for Russians are primarily the people of the Russian failed revolt of 1825.

The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising (Russian: Восстание декабристов) was attempted in Imperial Russia by army officers who led about 3,000 Russian soldiers on December 14 (December 26 New Style), 1825. Because these events occurred in December, the rebels were called the Decembrists (Dekabristy, Russian: Декабристы). This uprising took place in the Senate Square in St. Petersburg. In 1925, to mark the centenary of the event, it
was renamed as Decembrist Square (Ploshchad' Dekabristov, Russian: Площадь Декабристов).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decembrist_Revolt

The flowers have nothing to do with the revolutionaries, of course.

Zhanna P. Rader

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her tear waters
the christmas cactus* --
husband's memory


*(orchid cactus)

"chibi" (pen-name for Dennis M. Holmes)
December 2008

Northern Hemisphere kigo for winter




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Pottery (yakimono)

[ . BACK to WKD TOP . ]
. yakimono 焼物 Pottery - Introduction .
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Pottery (yakimono 焼物)

***** Location: Japan, worldwide
***** Season: Non-Seasonal Topic
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation

Everyone uses pottery in the daily life. Pots, Plates, Figurines, Decoration pieces ... and much more.

Let us try and find some haiku with relation to these items.

Check my Haiku and Pottery pages before you carry on.

Gabi Greve


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Bankoyaki 萬古焼 だるま Banko Pottery



- source : banko.or.jp -

- quote -
Banko Pottery Center
Yokkaichi's famed Banko ware pottery
Banko Ware, a pottery art form with hundreds of years of history behind it, thriving in the port town of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.

Banko ware was first created by Nunami Rozan a wealthy merchant who lived in the mid 18th Century. Like many wealthy people of the time, he developed a deep interest in the traditional Way of Tea. Rozan also dabbled in pottery, and the dark colored items he made for his own enjoyment soon caught the eye of other exponents of the Tea Ceremony, and so Banko ware was born. Rozan’s work was stamped with the words bakofueki, or “constant eternity”, in the hopes the pieces would be used and enjoyed well after his death. Interestingly enough, despite the popularity of Banko ware, it wasn’t until well after his death that the art form was revived and reached greater heights These days Banko ware teapots, tea cups, small sake ochoko cups and serving bottles, vases, plates and ornamental ware are in great demand from those with an eye for pottery, made all the rarer as there are just 22 government recognized Banko Master Craftsmen amongst the 1,300 potters working to preserve their art.

Banko ware implements have long been favored among Tea Ceremony practitioners for their refined simplicity and because the oil from people's hands and tannin from the tea leaves gives Banko ware a beautiful sheen the more it is used. For that reason, specialists caution against scrubbing or washing with detergent.

Another reason is due to its light weight. The body, spout, handle and lid are made as finely as possible, by means of thinly rolled clay being stretched over a wooden mold of several interlocking yet easily removable pieces. This unique process in Japanese pottery was developed during a resurgence in Banko ware popularity in the late Edo Period.

The characteristic dark, rusty color of Banko Ware is due to both the specially prepared iron-rich red clay and yellow clay blend, and due to the firing process. Low oxygen levels and incomplete combustion makes the kiln more akin an oven. The end result is color variation according to the kiln temperatures and amount of oxygen. Decorations are simple, and done while the clay is still wet. Often seen patterns include a pine bark like effect, a stamped floral effect and light carvings. Most are fired as is, but some pieces are partially glazed for a different feel and look.

These pieces and the different styles employed can all be seen at the Banko Pottery Center in Yokkaichi, which exhibits and sells quality Banko ware as a representative craft of Mie Prefecture. There is a small studio on the first floor of the center offering fascinating one-day Banko art classes. Reservations are required in advance.

To further your knowledge and appreciation, the Yokaichi City Commerce and Industry Division run “Banko Ware Factory Tour” is also recommended, taking in 13 factories and kilns where visitors can also try their hand at pottery making and painting at certain studios.

Every May, the Banko Pottery Center draws thousands to the two day Yokkaichi Pottery Fair, famous for it’s wide array of traditional and original Japanese pottery. It’s a great opportunity to meet the craftsmen, see the various styles available and get a bargain at the same time.
- source : japantravel.com/mie/banko-pottery-center -


Banko-yaki vs Tokoname-yaki
Banko-yaki, visit to Yokkaichi
- source : japaneseteasommelier -

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The Nun Rengetsu (Rengetsuni 蓮月尼) scraffitoed her poetry onto her pottery. She didn't have a studio, wheel or kiln. She hand built her ware and fired in other potter's kilns.
You can see some of her work here:

Rengetsu and her Pottery

Lee Love
Potter Lee in Mashiko

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Fuji-san's pure white snow
melted in my hand
Hagi sake cup!

Robert Yellin

eYAKIMONO Homepage
Japanese Pottery Information Center, Robert Yellin



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source : facebook

- quote
Kintsugi (金継ぎ) (Japanese: golden joinery) or
Kintsukuroi (金繕い) (Japanese: golden repair)
is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer resin dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum a method similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy it speaks to breakage and repair becoming part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. yakitsugiya, yakitsugi-ya 焼継屋 repairing broken pottery .
In Edo and even now.


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Tea Ceramics from Richard Milgrim (Kyoto)

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Worldwide use

Philippines




a new friend...
from earthen jars
the scent of basi


"Basi" is wine made from sugarcane. The photo of the jars where they are stored in.

-- roh mih

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Things found on the way


Daruma san and Japanese Pottery
Articles by Gabi Greve

. Yakimono 焼物 Daruma in and on pottery .


Arts and Crafts Miwa Jusetsu


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Mingeikan Tokyo, Pottery Gallery


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HAIKU


colors of nature
born out of fire -
autumn on my pot




Text and Photo by Gabi Greve
Click on the photo to see more.
Bizen Pot by my friend, Takagaki Mondo


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Related words

***** Pottery and Haiku / Gabi Greve

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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Mildew, mold (kabi)

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Mildew, mold (kabi)

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


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Explanation

kabi 黴 (かび / カビ) mildew, mold, Schimmel
aokabi, ao-kabi 青黴(あおかび)green mold
kurokabi, kuro-kabi 黒黴(くろかび)black mold
shirokabi, shiro-kabi 白黴(しろかび)white mildew

kekabi 毛黴(けかび)"mold with hairs"
often found on bread, mochi and other food items.

kabi no yado 黴の宿(かびのやど)a home with mildew
kabi no ka 黴の香(かびのか)smell of mildew
kabi kemuri 黴煙(かびけむり)"smoke of mildew"
kabi no hana 黴の花(かびのはな)flowers of mildew

hibiru 黴びる(かびる) get moldy, get mildewy

kabi nuguu 黴拭う(かびぬぐう)wiping, moppin, scrubbing mold




tsuyudake 梅雨茸 (つゆだけ) "bacteria of the rainy season"
tsuyu kinoko 梅雨菌(つゆきのこ)
tsuyu no kinoko 梅雨の茸(つゆのきのこ)



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CLICK for more photos of kabi CLICK for more photos of MOLD


quote
Mildew refers to certain kinds of mold (mould) or fungus. In Old English, it meant honeydew (a substance secreted by aphids on leaves, formerly thought to distill from the air like dew), and later came to mean mildew in the modern senses.

The term mildew is often used generically to refer to mold growth, usually with a flat growth habit. Molds can thrive on any organic matter, including clothing, leather, paper, and the ceilings, walls and floors of homes with moisture management problems. Mildew often lives on shower walls, windowsills, and other places where moisture levels are high. There are many species of molds. In unaired places, such as basements, they can produce a strong musty odor.

What most horticulturalists and gardeners call mildew is more precisely called powdery mildew. It is caused by many different species of fungi in the order Erysiphales. Most species are specific to a narrow range of hosts, and all are obligate parasites of flowering plants. The species that affects roses is Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosa.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Worldwide use

Schimmel, Schimmelpilz
Gammel

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Kenya

safari ants
under the mouldy avocado --
I almost slipped


~ james bundi


rubbish pit --
decayed bread covered
by houseflies

~ eric mwange


source : Kenya Saijiki Forum


July cold --
green moulds sprout on
the granary walls


~ hussein


filthy pit --
moulds form on
rotten coconuts


~ Violet


dust bin --
moulds erupt on
decaying rice


~ Nicodemus


awkward smell--
grey mouldy crumbs
surrounded by flies


~ Nzomo


cold July --
safari ants crawl over
the mouldy bread


~ Khadija


pigs fight for
a piece of mouldy bread --
cold July


~ Duncan

source : Peacocks, more Mold Haiku


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Things found on the way



CLICK for more photos
kabi Daruma カビだるま



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HAIKU






scrubbing tiles -
the mind focused on
mold and haiku


Gabi Greve, June 2009


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. WKD ... on FACEBOOK, July 6.


summer heat-
faucet water
tastes like mold


Claudia Cadwell




30-degree heat
mold on the bricks
turned grey


Ella Wagemakers, Holland


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the long drought
almost wistfully
I remember mold


- Shared by Sandi Pray, North Carolina -
Joys of Japan, July 2012


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Related words

***** Rainy Season (tsuyu) Japan  
This is when mold is at its best in Japan !


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

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4/13/2006

Plum blossoms (ume)

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
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Plum Blossoms (ume)

***** Location: Japan, other countries
***** Season: Early Spring, others see below
***** Category: Plant, others see below


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



Next to the Cherry blossom, the plum blossoms are loved by Japanese poets and where enjoyed even more than the cherry in the Heian peroid.
They are a symbol of refinement, purity and nobility and also a reminder of past love.
Sugawara Michizane was especially known for his love of the plum blossoms shared in many Tanka poems. More about him below.

Ume, Prunus mume, is biologically of the apricot family.
For kigo of other seasons related to the plum fruit, see below.

quote
The plum blossom, which is known as the meihua (梅花), is one of the most beloved flowers in China and has been frequently depicted in Chinese art and poetry for centuries.
The plum blossom is seen as a symbol of winter and a harbinger of spring. The blossoms are so beloved because they are viewed as blooming most vibrantly amidst the winter snow, exuding an ethereal elegance, while their fragrance is noticed to still subtly pervade the air at even the coldest times of the year.
Therefore the plum blossom came to symbolize perseverance and hope, but also beauty, purity, and the transitoriness of life.
In Confucianism, the plum blossom stands for the principles and values of virtue. More recently, it has also been used as a metaphor to symbolize revolutionary struggle since the turn of the 20th century.
Because it blossoms in the cold winter, the plum blossom is regarded as one of the "Three Friends of Winter", along with pine, and bamboo.

poet Lin Bu (林逋) of the Song Dynasty (960–1279)

When everything has faded they alone shine forth,
encroaching on the charms of smaller gardens.
Their scattered shadows fall lightly on clear water,
their subtle scent pervades the moonlit dusk.


Snowbirds look again before they land,
butterflies would faint if they but knew.
Thankfully I can flirt in whispered verse,
I don't need a sounding board or winecup.


As with the literary culture amongst the educated of the time, Lin Bu's poems were discussed in several Song Dynasty era commentaries on poetry.

JAPAN
Japanese tradition holds that the ume functions as a protective charm against evil, so the ume is traditionally planted in the northeast of the garden, the direction from which evil is believed to come.
The eating of the pickled fruit for breakfast is also supposed to stave off misfortune.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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More kigo with the plum blossoms

ume 梅 (うめ) plum (blossom)

white plum blossom, hakubai 白梅 (shira-ume)
wild plum blosoms, yabai 野梅
plum with hanging branches, shidare ume 枝垂れ梅
old plum tree, roobai 老梅



. red plum blossom, koobai 紅梅  
mikai koo 未開紅(みかいこう)not yet open red
usukoobai 薄紅梅(うすこうばい)light red plum


bonbai 盆梅(ぼんばい)bonsai tree of a plum


garyoobai 臥龍梅(がりょうばい)"lying down dragon plum tree"
its blossoms are slightly pink.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

seiryoobai 青龍梅(せいりゅうばい)"green dragon plum tree"
usually an old tree with a gnarled trunk
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

tobiume, tobi-ume 飛梅(とびうめ)"flying plum"
a tree which Michizane planted himself, according to legend, in Dazaifu.


ooshukubai 鶯宿梅(おうしゅくばい)"plum which houses nightingales"
short for "uguisu no yadoru ume" 鶯(うぐいす)の宿る梅
Legend says, it was planted in the home of the daughter of Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 at the time of Murakami Tenno (926 - 967).

. Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 and the Plum .


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plum plantage, plum park, bairin 梅林
plum park, baien bai-en 梅園

plum blossoms in the last snow, zansetsu bai 残雪梅(ざんせつばい)
plum blossoms in the last moon, zangetsu bai 残月梅(ざんげつばい)


village with plum blossoms, ume no sato
梅の里(うめのさと)
home with plum blossoms, ume yashiki 梅屋敷(うめやしき)
lodging with plum blossoms, ume no yado 梅の宿(うめのやど)
owner of a plum blossom grove, ume no aruji 梅の主(うめのあるじ)


Fragrance, smell of plum blossoms (ume ga ka 梅が香(うめがか)


Talking about a white plum blossom the reader will still feel the cold of winter, while a red blossom implies the warmth of spring.
The fragrance of the plum (ume ga ka 梅が香) brings fond memories and an old plum tree refers to old age and loneliness. Just one flower on a tree ume ichirin (梅一輪)or one all white flower (umemasshiro, 梅真っ白)well that seems like a fair maiden. 

The plum blossom viewing (ume-mi, kan-bai 梅見、観梅) is more of an individualistic endeavor, different from the noisy, crowded cherry blossom parties. Many temples and famous estates have a special ground for plum blossom viewing (see below).


plum blossom viewing in the evening, yoru no ume
夜の梅(よるのうめ)

plum blossom viewing in the dark, yami no ume 闇の梅(やみのうめ)


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kigo for late winter


early plum blossoms, soobai 早梅 (そうばい)
..... ume hayashi 梅早し(うめはやし)
..... hayazaki no ume 冬 早咲の梅(はやざきのうめ)
winter plum blossoms, fuyu no ume 冬の梅(ふゆのうめ)

kanbai 寒梅 (かんばい) plum blossoms in the cold
kankoobai 寒紅梅(かんこうばい) red plum blossoms in the cold


. . . . .


toojibai 冬至梅 (とうじばい)
plum blossoms at the winter solstice

kigo for mid-winter


. . . . .


. muro no ume 室の梅(むろのうめ) plum blossoms in the greenhouse  
kigo for all winter




also the name of a sweet set for winter tea ceremony.


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"month for plum blossom viewing", umemizuki
梅見月(うめみづき)

..... umetsusazuki 梅つさ月(うめつさづき)
now march
kigo for mid-spring


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hassakubai, hassaku bai 八朔梅 (はっさくばい)
plum blossom on the first of August

..... karakurenai からくれない
kigo for mid-autumn

This is a kind of red plum which double red blossoms (yae) in autumn, it was introduced from China.



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Famous Plum parks in Japan

The Kairaku-En Park in Mito is the most famous, I guess, for Plum Viewing.
The famous Feudal Lord, Mito Komon loved plums very much (for their medical purposes, I guess). Plum trees have been introduced to Japan via China as a medicine quite a long time ago.

Plum Festival in Mito, Kairaku-En Park 水戸偕楽園



http://www.mitokoumon.com/maturi/ume/ume.htm
http://homepage3.nifty.com/kazu_kawamura/kairakuen.html
http://homepage3.nifty.com/kazu_kawamura/kairakuen2.html

http://ww7.tiki.ne.jp/~inabah/deki0013.htm
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Hollywood-Miyuki/6603/umemi.html
http://www4.zero.ad.jp/ucchy/other/other/kannbai/kanbai.htm





fusuma sliding door at Kobuntei, Kairaku-en

under plum blossoms
and the full moon
sleep paces til dawn


- Shared by Kit Nagamura -
Haiku Culture Magazine, 2013


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Yugawara Plum blossom Festival


http://fine.tok2.com/home/nakae/nikki/2003/20030302/page0001.htm

Atami Plum Festival, Ume-matsuri

梅まつりA → Plum Viewing
梅まつりB → Plum Viewing

More Plum Viewing
With a waterfall at the entrance of the park
http://www2.tokai.or.jp/triangle/atami-ryojyou/a-atamibaien1409/baien1409/b-umeminotaki.htm
http://www2.tokai.or.jp/triangle/atami-ryojyou/a-atamibaien1409/baien1409/samuneiru.html


Look at this Plum Viewing Park in Kume Town,
very near my home.


taking a nose walk
in the plum park -
Kume no Sato


Gabi Greve, 2006

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When the east wind blows,
Send me your perfume,
Blossoms of
the plum:
Though your lord be absent,
Forget not the spring.


- Sugawara Michizane

trs. G. Bownas A. Thwaite
http://www.ahapoetry.com/ahalynx/172bkrv.htm


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Worldwide use

Kenya

Plum Fruit


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Taiwan

Mount Yangming, Yang-ming shan and plum blossoms



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Things found on the way


All about Sugawara Michizane and the Tenmangu Shrines.

observance kigo for early spring,
refering to the PLUM in memory of Michizane

Kitano Baikasai 北野梅花祭(きたのばいかさい)
Plum festival at the Kitano Shrine

baiga goku 梅花御供(ばいかごく)
memorial service in the plum blossom time


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Prune

A prune is a dried fruit of various plum species, mostly Prunus domestica. It is wrinkly in shape, unlike its non-dried counterpart.
 © wikipedia


The German ZWETSCHGE is also a different fruit.


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HAIKU






plum blossoms
and Daruma dolls –
the Joys of Japan



Join the poetry group on FB by clicking on the image.


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even the heavenly gods
crowd' round
plum blossoms


Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


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ume ichi-rin ichirin hodo no atatakasa

..... Hattori Ransetsu (1654-1707)

one plum blossom
brings us just one more
step to the warmth

(Tr: Gabi Greve)

Read more about this famous haiku
and look at one plum blossom.


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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .




白梅に明くる夜ばかりとなりにけり
shira ume ni akuru yo bakari to nari ni keri

The night almost past,
through the white plum blossoms
a glimpse of dawn.

source : Dave Bonta


pure white plum blossoms
slowly begin to turn
the color of dawn

source : online reference

This haiku has the cut marker KERI at the end of line 3.



白梅や誰が昔より垣の外 
shiraume ya taga mukashi yori kaki no soto
(1775)

A white apricot tree--
From whose old days
Outside the fence?

Tr. Nelson/Saito


- - - - -

sooan 草庵 at my grass hut (humble dwelling)

二もとの梅に遅速を愛す哉
futamoto no ume ni chisoku o aisu kana

My two plum trees are so gracious . . .
see, they flower
One now, one later

Tr. Peter Beilenson


Two ume trees in my garden
Bloom at a different time;
How dear the difference!

Tr. Shoji Kumano


Two flower branches of plum,
one early, on late,
oh deeply loved.

Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert

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

This poem might refere to a Chinese poem mentioned in the collection Wakan Roeishu.
Two willow trees are dropping their leaves at different times.

Wakan Rōeishū 和漢朗詠集
Collection of Japanese and Chinese Poems for Singing
- reference : wikipedia -

- - - - -

梅遠近南すべく北すべく 
ume ochikochi minami subeku kita subeku

Plum flowers far and near.
Shall I go to the south?
Shall I go north?

Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert

. Buson and the Four Directions .



白梅や墨芳しき鴻臚館
hakubai ya sumi kanbashiki koorokan

White plum flowers!
The fragrance of an inkstone
in the Chinese guesthouse.
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert

. Koorokan 鴻臚館 Koro-Kan, Chinese Guesthouses .
for embassies from China and for Japanese on their way to China



うぐいすや梅踏みこぼす糊盥
. uguisu ya ume fumikobosu nori darai .
noridarai 糊盥 glue tub

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


- MORE at terebess

hi o okade hito aru sama ya ume no yado
kanbai o taoru hibiki ya oi ga hiji
minomushi no furu su ni soute ume nirin
mizu ni chirite hana nakunarinu kishi no ume
mukutsukeki boku tomo shitaru ume-mi kana
mume no ka no tachinoborite ya tsuki no kasa
shirami toru kojiki no tsuma ya ume ga moto
shiraume ni akuru yo bakari to nari ni keri
shiraume no kareki ni modoru tsukiyo kana
sumizumi ni nokoru samusa ya ume no hana
ume chiru ya raden koboruru taku no ue
ume ga ka ni yugure hayaki fumoto kana
ume ga ka no tachinoborite ya tsuki no kasa
ume orite shiwade ni kakotsu kaori kana - wrinkled hands
ume sakite chiisaku narinu yuki maroge - snowman



青梅に眉あつめたる美人哉
ao ume ni mayu atsumetaru bijin kana

Among green plums trees.....
a lovely beauty gathering
her eyebrows up!!


So, why is this beautiful woman gathering her eyebrows up?
One of the haiku readers I have says that although Masaoka Shiki and Takahama Kyoshi read this action as meaning that the girl had eaten one of the very sour green fruits that the plums grow, Buson probably had the legendary Chinese beauty Xi Shi in mind when he wrote the haiku.
The book '蕪村と漢詩' (Buson and Chinese Poetry) takes the Chinese connection further by arguing that Buson is alluding to a short poem by the poet Li Bai (李白), titled 'Resentment', that has a women roll up the curtain to her window, gather her eyebrows up and start crying. The use of the present participle here brings out the allusion because it describes the woman as being in the act of knitting her eyebrows, which then returns us to Li Bai's poem to fill out the image with the fact that she is about to cry.
The link gives a translation and a reading of the original poem:
http://www.chinesetolearn.com/tang/

- Tr. and comment : James Karkoski / facebook -


Looking at green plums
a beauty pulls a face
as she recalls how sour they are.

Tr. Sasaki, McCabe, Iwasaki
in the book "Chado: The Way of Tea"


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koobai ni miageru sora no aosa kana

between red plum blossoms
looking at the sky
so blue, so blue!


© Photo and Haiku, Gabi Greve



ume ichirin kao ni kakarishi Amida kana

.. .. .. .. .. one plum blossom
.. .. .. .. .. clinging to the face
.. .. .. .. .. of a stone Buddha


..... Gabi, Kamakura Tookei-ji Temple, 1991

For details about Amida Nyorai, check this link
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/amida.shtml


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learning from the plum -
never give up
spring blossoming


The tree in my garden is so crooked and full of greenish moss, so old and fragile during winter

> > > AND YET
> > > come spring
> > > come blossoms


© Photo and Haiku by Gabi Greve


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old plum tree
the road crew unloads
a bulldozer

Laryalee Fraser, WHCworkshop


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Japanese Haiku about the Plum
梅,梅林,白梅 

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Related words

***** green plum, ao-ume, ao ume 青梅 (the fruit),
ume no mi, mi-ume 梅の実、実梅
 

niume, ni ume 煮梅(にうめ)boiled plum
Bungo ume 豊後梅(ぶんごうめ)plum from Bungo
Shinano ume 信濃梅(しなのうめ)plum from Shinano
Kooshuu uma 甲州梅(こうしゅううめ)plum from Koshu

koume 、小梅(こうめ)small plum
miume, mi ume 実梅(みうめ) fruit of the plum tree

kigo for mid summer

. 金剛寺の青梅 Kongo-Ji no Ome .
The name Ome comes from just one plum tree. It had fruit which stayed green until autumn and never changed color.
People thought this very strange and called the tree
"green plum tree" - ao ume 青梅, soon shortened to Ome.
There is a legend linking this strange plum tree to Taira no Masakado.


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CLICK for more photos
dryed plums,ume boshi 梅干 (うめぼし)
..... hoshi ume 干梅(ほしうめ)
kigo for all summer

to dry plums, ume hosu 梅干す(うめほす)
to pickle plums, umezuke 梅漬(うめづけ)
..... ume tsukeru 梅漬ける(うめつける)

mat to spread plums to dry, ume mushiro 梅筵(うめむしろ)


Umeboshi (literally "dried ume") are pickled ume fruits. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a plum but is actually more closely related to the apricot. Umeboshi are a type of tsukemono, or traditional Japanese pickled food, and are very popular in Japan.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. WASHOKU : umeboshi, pickled plums  


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tanbai 探梅 (たんばい) looking for plum blossoms
searching for plum blossoms
..... ume saguru 梅探る(うめさぐる)
tanbaikoo 探梅行 (たんばいこう) excursion to seek plum blossoms
shunshin 春信(しゅんしん)spring is coming soon, signs of spring
haru no tayori 春の便り(はるのたより) message from spring

kigo for late winter


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umemi, ume-mi 梅見 (うめみ) viewing plum blossoms
..... kanbai 観梅(かんばい)


Mizuno Toshikata 水野年方 (1866 - 1908)

umemijaya 梅見茶屋(うめみぢゃや)tea house for watching plum blossoms

Viewing plum blossoms was most popular in olden times, even more popular than viewing cherry blossoms (hanami).

kigo for early spring (humanity)

.SAIJIKI ... HUMANITY
Kigo for Spring
 

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observance kigo for early spring
February 11
baikasetsu 梅花節 / 梅佳節(ばいかせつ)
"plum blossom season"

Kenkoku kinenbi 建国記念日 (けんこくきねんび)
National Foundation Day of Japan
..... kenkoku no hi 建国の日(けんこくのひ)
..... kenkoku sai 建国祭(けんこくさい)
kigensetsu 紀元節(きげんせつ)

This is listed as a kigo under the kidai of kenkoku kinenbi 建国記念日, Memorial day of the foundation of the state, National Foundation Day.
In Japan it refers to February 11, 660 BC (according to the Kojiki) and later in 1889, when the Meiji Constitution 大日本帝国憲法 was written.
Staatsgründungstag

- - - - - not to mix up with

Kenpoo Kinenbi 憲法記念日 (けんぽうきねんび) Constitution Day
May 3



Naitoo Meisetsu 内藤鳴雪 Naito Meisetsu
1847 - 1926, February 20
. "Old Plum Tree Day", Roobai Ki 老梅忌(ろうばいき)  
Memorial Day for Meisetsu



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kigo for late spring (observance)


Nishiyama Soin (Soo-In) 西山宗因
(1605 - May 5, 1682)
. baioo ki 梅翁忌(ばいおうき)
"memorial day of the old man who loved plum blossoms"
 



Umewakamaru (Plum (blossom) Boy 梅若丸)
. Umewaka Memorial Day, umewaka ki 梅若忌  
and more kigo for Umewakamaru


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kigo for late spring

***** yusuraume, yusura ume 梅桜(ゆすらうめ)
"plum and cherry"
Nanking cherry; Prunus tomentosa
yusura ゆすら、英桃(ゆすら)
yusura no hana 山桜桃の花 (ゆすらのはな)blossoms of the Nanking Cherry


. . . CLICK here for Photos !



***** niwaume no hana 郁李の花 (にわうめのはな)
..... 庭梅の花(にわうめのはな)"garden plum blossoms"
kooume no hana こうめの花(こうめのはな)
..... niwazakura にわざくら"garden cherry"
Prunus japonica Thunb

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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***** plum wine, plum liqueur (umeshu 梅酒)
non-seasonal topic

Ume liquor, also known as "plum wine", is popular in both Japan and Korea, and is also produced in China. Umeshu (梅酒, sometimes translated as "plum wine") is a Japanese alcoholic drink made by steeping green ume in shōchū (燒酎, clear liquor).
It is sweet and smooth. The taste and aroma of umeshu can appeal to even those people who normally dislike alcohol.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


a toast to the sun
as it plops in my cup
of plum wine

b'oki


Cheers Plum Wine !
Never too late
to give in....

Gabi
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/208


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***** Sour plum, Prunus spinosa, Spinosa sumomo スピノサスモモ


***** "yellow plum" 黄梅 (おうばい) oobai, winter jasmine
geishunka 迎春花(げいしゅんか)flower to welcome spring
Asminum nudiflorum


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