6/05/2010

Indigo (ai)

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tade - see below
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Indigo plant (ai 藍) and tales

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


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Explanation

CLICK for more photos

ai 藍 Chinese indigo plant
Polygonum tinctorium Lour.
Polygonum tinctorum
tadeai タデアイ dyer's knotweed

This plant belongs to the family of buckwheat. Its leaves are used to produce the blue Indigo dye.
It was already used in China during the Western Zhou period (ca. 1045-771 B.C.).
Until the introduction of Indigofera, this was the most important blue dye in Asia.
It was introduced to Japan in the 4th and 5th century.


Indigofera
is a large genus of about 700 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae. Originally from Pakistan, they have now been transported to much of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with a few species, also the temperate zone of eastern Asia.

Several of them and especially Indigofera tinctoria and Indigofera suffruticosa are used to produce the dye indigo.

The chemical aniline, from which many important dyes are derived, was first synthesized from I. suffruticosa (syn. I. anil, whence the name aniline).
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Before the use of tade ai around the 6th centure, the more wild form of

yama ai 山藍 やまあい "Mountain Indigo" was used in Japan.
Mercurialis leiocarpa
Its roots or leaves were crushed and the liquid used for dyeing.
aizuri no koromo 藍摺衣 robes dyed with mountain indigo
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

akamo no suso 赤裳(あかも)の裾(すそ) hem of the traditional red robes

Yama-ai robes were a kind of blue, called SEI 青.
At this time, the difference between green and blue was not yet made.


Reference

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kigo for early spring

ai maku 藍蒔く (あいまく) sowing indigo plants
ai uu 藍植う(あいうう)planting indigo



kigo for all spring

tade no me 蓼の芽 (たでのめ) indigo buds
..... metade, me tade 芽蓼(めたで)

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kigo for all summer

ai yukata 藍浴衣(あいゆかた)indigo yukata

light cotton robes, yukata 浴衣 ゆかた


- - - - - - - - kigo for late summer

ai karu 藍刈る (あいかる) harvesting indigo
first harvest of indigo, ichiban ai 一番藍(いちばんあい)
second harvest of indigo, niban ia 二番藍(にばんあい)

aidama 藍玉(あいだま)"indigo ball"
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

aitsuki 藍搗(あいつき)pounding indigo

shed for pounding indigo miniature
. Folk Toys from Tokushima .


yama ai 山藍(やまあい)mountain indigo

Ryuukyuu ai 琉球藍(りゅうきゅうあい)indigo from Okinawa
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Indo ai インド藍(いんどあい)Indigo from India

Numbers used in Kigo



iwatade, iwa tade 岩蓼 (いわたで) "rock Tade"
..... ontade おんたで
..... koiwa tade 小岩蓼(こいわたで)
Polygonum weyrichii
Aconogonon weyrichii オンタデ(御蓼) ontade


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kigo for mid-autumn

CLICK for more photos

ai no hana 藍の花 (あいのはな) indigo flowers
..... tadeai no hana 蓼藍の花(たであいのはな)(tade-ai)

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kigo for all autumn

kara-ai no hana 韓藍の花(からあいのはな) cockscomb flowers
(lit. Indigo plant from Korea)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Worldwide use

Oklahoma

Cream Wild Indigo, Baptisia bracteata
Blue Wild Indigo, Baptisia australis
Indigo Bush, Amorpha fruticosa
White Wild Indigo, Baptisia alba

. Oklahoma Saijiki  


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Things found on the way




aizome 藍染 dyeing with indigo

Indigo Ai had been very popular for deep -blue coloring. It can produce amazingly deep indigo blue even though the very material are green leaves.
Aizome is one of the oldest dyeing techniques in Japan and it also has medical effect such as detoxification. Therefore, Aizome cotton was so popular among the ordinary people and they made many types of designing techniques such as Tsutsugaki, Katazome, and Shibori more and more popular.
Their simple beauty is strong and lively compared with luxurious silk and elaborate dye that upper-classed people were fond of.

The basic raw material is the leaf of the Polygonum Tinctorium. The Japanese process differs from that in other parts of the world in that the leaves are fermented to extract the indigo compound.

The plant grows well in the southern part of Japan; nowadays only four main providers manage to maintain their business. Kosoen - located in the western part of Tokyo - directly orders sukumo すくも (fermented Polygonum leaves) from the Tokushima area of Shikoku (one of the 4 main islands of Japan).

Using sukumo - composted leaves - doesn't provide any shortcut to the rest of the dyeing process. Compared with other Indigo dyeing methods, the Japanese way requires more sensitive care throughout the process because they have to keep the bacteria alive through the entire dyeing session!
source : www.kosoen.com

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- quote from Tokushima -
Indigo Dye



Awa Indigo 阿波藍 is a well-known indigo dye produced in the Tokushima region. The indigo is derived from the Polygonaceae plant that is cultivated in the Yoshino river basin. This plant was first cultivated during the Kamakura Era in the Mima-gun region of Tokushima, later shifting to the Oe-gun region. By the Edo Era, the lower river basin of the Yoshino River had become an important centre for indigo production, and with the patronage and protection of the local government, Tokushima became the nation's largest centre for indigo production.

The main ingredient for indigo dying in Tokushima is Awa indigo dye. Its colour emerges during the fermentation process. In this process, finely chopped leaves are fermented to create sukumo, and lye is then added to make the liquid dye. This solution is created in the dyeing house. Cloth is then dipped into this solution and exposed to the air, the colour emerging as a result of oxidisation. This dipping procedure is repeated many times to further deepen the colour.

In 1968, the Awa Indigo dyeing methods were designated as one of Tokushima's intangible cultural assets. This method of dyeing is used in the production of clothes and interior furnishings.
- source : pref.tokushima.jp/english -

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aizome leather purse with Daruma box

CLICK for original LINK


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Daruma Coaster of blue indigo cotton material  



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E132 Indigo carmine, Indigotine
FD&C Blue 2 (food colouring)

. Food Colors and E-Numbers (European Union)


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fukaai, fuka-ai 深藍 dark indigo
almost black,
ai-iro 藍色あいいろ #165e83
koi-ai 濃藍こいあい #0f2350
. Japanese Color Codes


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Baptisia australis, commonly known as
Blue Wild Indigo or Blue False Indigo, is a herbaceous perennial in the pea family. It is native to much of the central and eastern North America and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range.
It is well known in gardens due to its attractive pea-like, deep blue flowers that emerge on spikes in the late spring and early summer.

Additional common names of this plant exist, such as Indigo Weed, Rattleweed, Rattlebush and Horse Fly Weed.
The common name "blue false indigo" is derived from it being used as a substitute for the superior dye producing plant, namely Indigofera tinctoria.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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- quote -
Kurikoma Shoaizome 栗駒正藍染
1.
Produced in Kurikoma City, Miyagi Prefecture.

2. Characteristics: Hemp cloth dyed with indigo which is fermented at a normal temperature in early summer. The method is called "Hiyashi Zome" (cold dyeing ) and the simplest way to dye as additional heating is not applied. In "Shoai Zome ", all the stages of labor of hemp planting, indigo sowing, spinning, weaving and dyeing are all processed independently without relying on others for any part of it.

3. History: The "Hiyashi Zome" technique is said to be originated in the Nara Period. The Federal Government of the Date Family encouraged the planting of indigo in the Edo Period. As the farmers were forbidden to wear silk garments and the climate was not good for cotton planting, they planted hemp. Hemp weaving and indigo dyeing were exclusively engaged by women and the technique was handed down through generations. In 1955, Ayano Chiba was designated as the holder of the "Important Intangible Cultural Property".

Dyeing Method
1. Hemp seeds are sown in April and it harvests in late July or early August. Spinning and weaving are done in winter.

2. Indigo

Seeds are sown in rice nursery in the middle of April. When ripened, the indigo is reaped in early July and in August. The leaves of indigo are taken off from the stems just after they are reaped and they are dried in the sun. The dried leaves are scrubbed with the hands. After this process is repeated 2 or 3 times, they are put into straw bags for keeping. In Feburuary the indigo leaves are cleaned with water and piled up on the "Aidoko" (indigo bed)of straw mat which is put over rice chaff and rice straw. A straw mat and rice straw are put over the indigo leaves. They get fermented and heated in 3 or 4 days. They are watered and put upside down every 1 or 2 weeks. The process is repeated until the leaves have no more heat. Then they are left untouched until April. In April, the indigo leaves are taken out of the bed and put in a mortar to be beaten. The beaten indigo leaves are made into balls 10 centimeter in diameter called "Aidama" and are dried.After drying, the balls are broken into lumps with the size of chestnuts and stored . The indigo lump and burnt charcoal ash are put together in a wood tub in water 35 degrees centigrade. Water is added every day for a week. When foam is formed in the tub after a week, all of it is blended until the color of the foam becomes dark purple. This is how the "Aijiru" is processed and it is called "Aidate"(indigo dye making).

3. Dyeing
Hemp cloths are boiled and then bleached in water. Then the process is repeated 3 times- soaking the cloths in the "Aijiru"(indigo dye) for half an hour and then drying them to get the color. The dyed cloths are cleaned in water and treated with soy-bean juice "Gojiru" and dried in the shade.
- source : kimono.or.jp/dictionary -


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HAIKU


Bodhidharma (Daruma) hand made watches
'Indigo' ladies




Old town revolves around wallet, leather items, using material mind-bending to Japanese traditions and culture based in Kyoto brand "Dharma" (Dharma). Kyoto Yuzen hand-painted jeans "Zen" (ZEN) Of the brother brand too.



In the Dharma logo does not dare put the right eye. Shall be first 'completed' when you came out the facial expressions of your own, this caster is favoured by manufacturing desire aim although are trapped.

-Hand-made watches 'Indigo' Womens,
realized by the collaboration of Araki Hidekazu said and watch artists engaged in hand-made watch brand "ARKRAFT"Bodhidharma (daruma) hand made watches 'Indigo'The women's model. Araki's constant awareness to better fuse can watch history made up of traditional design and created by hand by chance and warm, making them carefully with the warmth and the sense of its own, I feel. Is Japanese clocks can enjoy elegant atmosphere, so according to the TPO.
source : craftcafe rakuten

even Daruma
all clad in blue -
Indigo surprizes


Gabi Greve, October 2015


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Related words

kigo for early autumn

aka no manma 赤のまんま "red as it is"
...... aka no mama 赤のまま
red knotweed/smartweed/jointweed
inutade, inu tade 犬蓼 (いぬたで) "dog smartweed"
hanatade, hana tade 花蓼(はなたで)
Polygonum longisetum

tade no hana 蓼の花 (たでのはな)
flowers of the red knotweed /smartweed /jointweed
hotade 穂蓼(ほたで)ears of knotweed
tade momiji 蓼紅葉(たでもみじ) red leaves of knotweed



source : kokubunji fugetsu-an

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

三径の十歩に尽きて蓼の花
sankei no jippo ni tsukite tade no hana

with ten steps
the three garden paths are done -
smartweed flowers.


"In an utterly neglected garden there are three paths, each is only a ten-step walk ending with tade blooming in the weeds.
The three paths are a path of pine trees, a path of chrysanthemums and a path of willows."
Sasaki Sanmi

Buson makes a reference to a poem by his favorite Chinese poet
. Tao Yuanming  陶淵明 .

Weeds are all over the garden paths
Pine and chrysanthemum are unscathed.


. . . .

ooketade 大毛蓼 (おおけたで) Polygonum orientale
..... benikusa 紅草(べにくさ) "red plant"
kiss me over the garden gate
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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kigo for all summer

tade 蓼 (たで) smartweed, water pepper
Persicaria hydropiper. Bitterling
yanagitade 柳蓼(やなぎたで)
hontade 本蓼(ほんたで)"real smartweed"
..... matade 真蓼(またで)
tade tsumu 蓼摘む(たでつむ)picking smartweed
tade uri 蓼売(たでうり)selling smartweed
tadesu 蓼酢(たです) smartweed vinegar


. TADE ... food with water pepper  
benitade 紅蓼 / tade たで(蓼) water pepper, smartweed
Polygonum hydropiper
aotade アオタデ green water pepper
Wasserpfeffer

蓼食う虫も好き好き tade kuu mushi mo suki suki
There is no accounting for tastes.



. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 - Introduction .

蓼くふや火に入虫も好々に
tade kuu ya hi ni iru mushi mo suki-zuki ni

some eat knotweed
some fly into flames...
a matter of taste


Issa contemplates different insects, different lifestyles: knotweed-eating bugs versus moths. In his original text the word "insect" (mushi) appears, but I think the English version is more effective without this.
Tr. David Lanoue

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kigo for late spring

suiba 酸葉 (すいば) garden (cock) sorrel, sour dock
..... 酸模(すいば)
sukanbo, sukan bo すかんぽ
suisui すいすい, sushi すし

a kind of tade.
Flowers from April to July. The stem is about 30 to 80 cm long.
People used to pick it at the roadside and suck its sour juice.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


gishigishi 羊蹄 (ぎしぎし) Rumex (of the tade and sorrel family)
riku junsai 陸じゅんさい(りくじゅんさい)
Rumex japonicus

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kigo for early autumn

yanonegusa 矢の根草 (やのねぐさ) lit. "arrow head plant"
Polygonum nipponense

A yearly plant that grows in wetlands. The form of the leaves relate to the name.


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. tadejiru, tade-jiru 蓼汁 soup from the water pepper plant .
Polygonum hydropiper. The leaves are squeezed for a pungent hot soup.
and Kappa, the water goblin

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- quote -
Tsutsugaki-aizome 筒描藍染 Tsutsugaki Indigo Blue Dyeing
The furoshiki (wrapping cloths) made in the Izumo, Matsue and Yonago areas of Shimane Prefecture are designated as traditional hometown handicraft.



Before the Meiji period, there were aizome indigo dyers across the nation, however, around 1917 (Meiji 40), chemical dyeing had become popular. By 1950, of the 59 tsutsugaki aizome dyers in Izumo, only 4 remained. Today, only one tsutsugaki aizome dyer remains in Nagata, which is recognized by the prefecture as an intangible cultural asset.

Tsutsugaki aizome with a family crest were used as trousseau items up untilthe Taisho period. Furoshiki wrapping cloths were also included in trousseaus.

Making the tsutsugaki aizome requires repetition in dyeing. During the dyeing process, the patterns on the aizome are protected by paste, which is later washed off in the Takase River.
- source : nippon-kichi.jp -


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. Edo shokunin 江戸職人 craftsmen, artisan, Handwerker .



初染めや藍職人の爪の藍
hatsuzome ya ai-shokunin no tsume no ai

first dyeing -
the blue nails
of an indigo dyer


Kondoo Yooko 近藤陽子 Kondo Yoko




konya 紺屋 artisan making "blue" things, cloth dyers
- aizomeya 藍染め屋 dyeing with indigo

aizome shokunin 染物職人 / konzome 紺染
Indigo-Färber

In Edo they were often called kooya 紺屋(こうや)Koya.



The dyers needed large aigame 藍甕 pots for the liquid. Usually four pots in the ground were one unit, the temperature kept by a hibachi 火鉢 "fire pot" in the middle.
Sometimes they dyes just the threads for weaving, sometimes they dyed the finished pieces of cloth.



After dyeing the bundles of thread were opened and dried,
cloth was fixed with shinshi しんし / 伸子 bamboo poles to spread and dry.

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by 一ノ瀬芳翠

konya no asatte 紺屋の明後日 "the day after tomorrow of an indigo dyer".
Because they were habitually delaying and could often not keep their promises.
jam tomorrow and never jam today
Das Übermorgen des Färbers.
Die Färber stehen ganz besonders im Rufe der Unpünktichkeit.

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Kanda konyachoo, Konyachō 神田紺屋町 Konya-Cho
Konyamachi, district for cloth dyers


- quote -
Kon'ya-cho
This was a town ruled by the dyer 土屋五郎右衛門 Tsuchiya Goroemon who was allowed by Tokugawa Ieyasu to purchase Japanese indigo plants from the Kanto Region and Izu from the Keicho Era (1596-1615), where many indigo dyers lived together.
The river (channel) that flowed nearby was called the Aizome-gawa River 藍染川 (indigo dyed river). The ruins of the small shrine called Otama Inari  お玉稲荷 and the ruins of the Otamagaike お玉ヶ池 reservoir are located in the north of the town and it is associated with the following legend.
During the middle ages, this area was along the highway to Oshu, and there was a beautiful woman named Tama who served tea to travelers near the reservoir. 2 men proposed marriage to Tama, however she could not decide between them and drowned herself in the reservoir. It is said the village people dedicated the small shrine to Tama's spirit.
- source : National Diet Library -

Tsuchiya Goroemon extended the trade from one district to three more in the North, South and West, 北紺屋町, 南紺屋町, 西紺屋町.
When Tsuchiya got an order from a Bakufu government official, he would pass the un-dyed cloth to a craftsman in Konya-Cho. After the dyeing was done, the craftsman brings it back to Tsuchiya, who then forwards it to the government official.
Since all the cloth was washed in a river North of the district, this river was often colored and thus named "Indigo-dyed River" 藍染川.

The print of Hiroshige shows the dyed cloth hanging down to dry from the high eaves of special buildings for this purpose.


. 歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige .

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初雷やはたと風なき紺屋町
hatsurai ya hatato kaze naki konyachoo

first thunder -
the wind suddenly stopped
in Konya-Cho


安斎桜[カイ]子 / 安斎桜磈子 Anzai Okaishi (1886 - 1953)

- - - - -

紺屋町藍の匂ひの溝浚ふ
konyashoo ai no nioi no mizo sarau

at Konya-Cho
cleaning the ditches
smelling of indigo


下里美恵子 Shimosato Mieko

- - - - -

撒水車去りしんかんと紺屋町
正木ゆう子

紺屋町八十八夜の水流す
朝倉和江


shiborizomeshi, shibori some shi 絞染師
craftsman dyeing with Shibori technique


- quote -
..... The Shibori technique is time consuming but it builds up great expectations. There are endless ways to achieve successful tied dyed pieces so there is room for years of exploration.



Usually the technique applied is determined by the type of fabric used, ... the natural indigo dyes better in plant based fibers and the best results are obtained with linen.

- source : tetsukuri.wordpress.com -


- quote -
shiborizome 絞染 Tie dye
A name for a resist-dyeing technique and the fabric made by it.
Shibori 絞 designates a huge variety of resist techniques that include folding, stitching nuishimeshibori 縫締絞, binding kanokoshibori 鹿の子絞, and sheathing, and can be used alone or in combination.
After the bindings are removed, the fabric, which has been partially protected by one of these methods when the cloth is in the dye vat, has hazy patterns that may be radial rasen 螺旋, squarish hitta 匹田, wood grained mokume 杢目, or spider webbed kumo 蜘蛛.
Shiborizome may be combined with such techniques as yuuzenzome 友禅染 or embroidery. Textiles dyed by bound resist *koukechi 纐纈, wax resist roukechi 臈纈, and carved block resist kyoukechi 夾纈 were all imported from China,
In the Heian period, shibori was used for banners and Buddhist ceremonial canopies. It was not until the Edo period that special techniques developed in Kyoto, Narumi 鳴海, Arimatsu 有松 (near present-day Nagoya 名古屋, Aichi prefecture) and other centers of shibori production.



Kanoko shibori, especially the large, squarish variant called hitta shibori 匹田絞 was one of the most popular textile designs in the Edo period.
- source : JAANUS -


- reference : shiborizome -

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Arimatsu shibori 有松絞り tie-dying from Arimatsu
愛知 Aichi



In 1608, Arimatsu succeeded 桶狭間 Okehazama Village, of historical interest for the Battle of Okehazama, and became the main production area of Shibori tie-dyeing.

- quote -
- - - - - Arimatsu Tie Dyeing 
The technique of tie-dye – a process of creating patterns on fabrics by tying them in a variety of ways to prevent the coloring of the tied parts – actually can be found in a number of countries, yet “Arimatsu Shibori” of Aichi Prefecture is a traditional and folksy style of tie-dye which uses simple colors such as deep blue on fabrics like cotton.

The patterns are first “drawn” by making holes in a paper template. Then the paper, which now has countless holes, is placed on a fabric, and a water-erasable dye made from the juice of an Asiatic Dayflower is applied so that it only gets through the parts where the holes are made. Its initial draft set, the fabric is now ready to be tie-dyed, and the ones with the most complicated design are sometimes handled by 4 to 5 shibori artisans. Each applies their own execution of shibori by tying the fabric minutely, with more than 10 major techniques in their repertoire. The tools and time required to complete the work vary as well.

After the shibori is done comes the most complicated step of the process. It is called itonuki, the task of unbinding the string. This requires the expertise of a skillful artisan, who is to pluck the cloth to unbind the countless shibori – the string makes a snapping sound while this happens. A little damage to the cloth would wreck everything that has been done in the process. If shibori is applied to a whole set of kimono, it might take a few days to get its itonuki done.

Because it takes so much time and effort, there were times when the technique of drawing patterns with brushes such as yuzen came to prosper more, yet Arimatsu shibori developed itself with the support of the Owari Domain, turning into one of the biggest fields of production after the 17th century. With its handmade warmth, Arimatsu shibori is used not only for kimono, but in many other products such as handkerchiefs, paper fans, lap robes, ties, scarves, clothing, aprons, table clothes, table center clothes and store curtains, giving us a sense of excitement in the everyday moments of our life.
- source : japan-brand.jnto.go.jp/crafts -

Arimatsu Tie-Dyeing Museum

有松絞りの歴史や資料 - 有松絞商工協同組合
- reference -

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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

- - - - - Two legends about Konya-Cho,
involving a tanuki 狸 badger.


. "O-Tanuki Sama" おたぬき様 .
oyako tanuki 親子狸 parent and child badger


source : tokyochiyoda.blog.shinobi
柳森神社 Yanagimori Jinja

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兵庫県 Hyogo, 洲本市 Sumoto

The 蜂須賀 Hachisuka clan lived for many generations in Sumoto,
The daughter of one of it's retainers who lived in Konya-Cho 洲本町の紺屋町 fell ill and died. The family was very upset but one evening, when the parents were sitting at the veranda they suddenly saw the daughter dancing in the garden, waving a red hand towel.
The mother was overjoyed, but the father knew this must be a ghost-monster, and shot it with his bow and arrow.
When he hit the figure, it suddenly became invisible, but there was a trace of blood, leading to a hole. Inside was a huge bleeding dead Tanuki.
The eldest son of the family was very upset about this event, became a heavy drinker and lost all his senses.


- - - - - Two legends about a
konya (kooya) 紺屋(こうや) indigo cloth dyer


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岡山県 Okayama, 大原町 Ohara

yamabushi 山伏 mountain priest
In the early Edo period there lived an indigo cloth dyer 紺屋 in Midoro 美土路.
Once the cloth dyer wanted to visit his family and on his way, near Hanaoka, he met a strange mountain priest. He soon realized that this was not an ordinary priest and invited him to his home. When the priest left, the wife of the cloth dyer went to the well to get some water, where she suddenly heard the sound of large wings.
The Yamabushi had left, leaving back three volumes of books for the artisan. After that, the craft of the indigo dyer improved even more

. Legends about Japanese Saints - yamabushi .

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兵庫県 Hyogo 加西郡 Kasai

neko no tani 猫の谷 valley of cats
This valley is haunted and people here the calls of cats all the time. Once an express message carrier 飛脚 hit this monster with a metal pot on his head and wounded it with his sword.
It cried out "Go call the old hag at the indigo cloth dyer 紺屋".
紺屋の婆さんを呼んで来い.
So the messenger went to the Konya and wanted to meet the old woman, but she was ill in bed with a wound on her head. The messenger thought that the cat had eaten the old woman and then taken her form, so he exterminated her to bring peace to the valley.

......................................................................
愛知県 Aichi 南知多町 Minami Chita

arakuma no ookami 荒熊の大神 The Deity Arakuma
Once the dyer 大西 Onishi tried many times to make some 藍染 indigo dye but just did not hit it right. So he prayed to the deity 荒熊大神 for help. And indeed, the deity let him know how to prepare just the right indigo color. He could now make wonderful Yukata cloth and his reputation grew far and wide.

Arakuma Shrine in Chita 荒熊神社
- source : japannavi.co.jp/chita-


. Arakuma Jinja 荒熊神社 and Kobo Daishi .

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- source : nichibun yokai database -

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- #shiborizome #dyeing -
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6/02/2010

Hemp (asa)

[ . BACK to Worldkigo . TOP . ]
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Hemp (asa, ooasa) flax (ama)

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


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Explanation

Hemp (from Old English hænep) is the name of the soft, durable fibre that is cultivated from plants of the Cannabis genus, cultivated for industrial and commercial (non-drug) use.

In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, fuel, and medical purposes; with modest commercial success. In the past three years, commercial success of hemp food products has grown considerably.

Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life.
Hemp oil has anti-inflammatory properties.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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source : Japan Hemp Association - facebook

The picture if God named Ame-no-Hiwashi-no-Mikoto
having hemp plant in his hand descending from Devine to the earth, who's believed to be an ancestor of Inbe clan.
Inbe clan is the family who's been dedicating hemp fabric to the emperor for his imperial succession for 1,000 of years, even at for present emperor.


Ame no Hiwashi no Mikoto 天日鷲命 
アメノヒワシノミコト

- quote
Described as the child of Tajikarao, ancestor of the Inbe clan of Awa Province, this deity is said to have planted paper mulberry trees and produced bark-fiber offerings (nigite) from them at the time of Amaterasu's hiding away in the Rock Cave of Heaven, and at the Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild (tenson kōrin). Based on these events, Amenohiwashi is considered an occupational kami with jurisdiction over the production of ritual implements. Kogo shūi also states that Amenohiwashi was a vassal of Futodama no mikoto, ancestral deity (sojin) of the Inbe clan, who were responsible for court ritual.

The descendants of Amenohiwashi crossed over to Awa Province in Shikoku in search of lands to cultivate grains and hemp. As a result, the Awa Inbe clan developed the tradition of offering hemp and paper-mulberry textiles to the emperor on the occasion of the imperial accession ceremony or Daijōsai.
- source : Kadoya Atsushi, Kokugakuin 2005



. Aoso Jinja 青麻神社 "Green Hemp Shrine" .
Miyagi, Sendai

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kigo for mid-spring

. asa maku 麻蒔く (あさまく) sowing hemp  

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kigo for late summer

CLICK for more photos

asa 麻 (あさ) hemp
ooasa 大麻(おおあさ)"big hemp"
asabatake 麻畑(あさばたけ)hemp field
asa no ha 麻の葉(あさのは)hemp leaf

asa no hana 麻の花(あさのはな) hemp flower
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Cannabis sativa, the plant



asa karu 麻刈る (あさかる) harvesting hemp
asakari 麻刈(あさかり)hemp harvest
natsu sobiku 夏麻引く(なつそひく)making hemp yarn
..... natsu sobiki 夏麻引(なつそひき)

Hemp thread is used for many types of summer cloth.


. asajizake, asa jizake 麻地酒 (あさじざけ 朝生酒, 浅茅酒)
"Hemp" local rice wine
  


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kigo for all summer

. asafuku 麻服(あさふく)hemp robes
They are especially light and cool in summer, although nowadays, they are quite expensive.  

asabu 麻布(あさふ)"hemp cloth"
asabaori 麻羽織(あさばおり)hemp coat
asabakama 麻袴(あさばかま)hemp trouser skirt


. asabuton 麻布団(あさぶとん)hemp futon  
asa zabuton 麻座布団(あさざぶとん)zabuton with hemp cover 


. asagaya 麻蚊帳(あさがや)
mosquito net made from hemp
  


. asa noren 麻暖簾(あさのれん)
door curtain made from hemp cloth
  

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Summer Purification Ceremony (nagoshi)
. asa no ha nagasu 麻の葉流す
floating hemp leaves in the river
 


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kigo for late summer

ama hiku 亜麻引く (あまひく) making flax yarn
..... ama hiki 亜麻引(あまひき)
Linum usitatissimum
Especially grown in Hokkaido.


ama no hana 亜麻の花 (あまのはな) flax blossoms
numagome ぬまごめ
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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ichibi karu 莔麻刈る いちびかる harvesting Indian mallow
..... booma 莔麻(ぼうま), kiriasa きりあさ
gpsaiba 五菜葉(ごさいば) "five-lobed leaf"
Abutilonhanf; Chinajute;
Abutilon avicennae, Abutilon theophrasti

Other Japanses names for this plant
キリアサ(桐麻)、クサギリ、ヒナハギリ、アサクサ、ゴサイバ、ホクチガラ(火口殻)


Abutilon theophrasti
(Velvetleaf, China Jute, Buttonweed, Butterprint, Pie-maker or Indian Mallow)
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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kigo for early autumn

asa no mi 麻の実 (あさのみ) hemp seeds
..... o no mi 苧の実(おのみ)

They are used for food and making oil.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !



observance kigo for early autumn

. asagara 麻殻(あさがら) peeled stems of hemp .
ogarabi 苧殻火(おがらび)fire lit with hemp stems

They are used to make a fire at the entrance of the home during the ancester festival (o-bon) to guide and welcome the spirits.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


. Bon Festival, O-Bon, Obon お盆 .


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topic for humanity

taima 大麻 . ハシシ . マリファナ
hashish, marijuana

Indo taima インドタイマ(大麻)"Indian Hemp"

This can be used all year round.

Hashish
lit. "grass", from hashisha "to become dry"; also hash) is a preparation of cannabis composed of the compressed stalked resin glands called trichomes, collected from the cannabis plant.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


*****************************
Worldwide use

USA

The growing of hemp was one of the major issues for the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, hence they were the 1st US colony to break away from England. (Control of the hemp production determined whether or not one could raise a navy since rope was needed to harness wind-power.)

Elaine Andre

*****************************
Things found on the way


. asa no mi あさのみ【麻の実】 hemp seed (gray, grey)  
used for "seven flavors and red pepper" 
shichimi toogarashi しちみとうがらし【七味唐辛子】

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. Tengupedia - 天狗ペディア - Tengu ABC-List.

Tengu no ha-uchiwa 天狗の羽団扇 "feather fan of a Tengu"
in the form of shuro 棕櫚の葉 a leaf of the Shuro hemp-palm

..... the uchiwa resembles the leaf of 麻 asa, the hemp plant. and Tengu is flying . . .
The Spirit of the mushroom Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) in Japan is the long-nosed, red-faced Tengu.
Whoever eats Beni-Tengu-Dake (Red Tengu mushroom) will encounter the lively entity.

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. Oasahiko Shrine 大麻比古神社  
Naruto, Tokushima


Hemp leaf as family crest
麻の葉の家紋
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


asa no ha 麻の葉 hemp leaf pattern


CLICK for more photos !

. Edo komon 江戸小紋 small fine patterns of Edo .

- quote -
A repeating six-sided geometric design that resembles the leaves of the hemp plant, asa 麻. The design has six identical diamonds arranged around a central point. Although used throughout ancient Asia, only in Japan was it said to resemble the hemp plant.
The asa-no-ha is found on the clothing of Buddhist statuary of the Heian through Muromachi periods. This design was particularly popular during the Edo period, when it was promoted by Iwai Hanshiro 岩井半四郎 (1776-1847). Since the hemp plant grows straight, it often was used in children's garments to encourage their healthy growth. The simplicity of the asa-no-ha design allowed for various interpretations, contributing to its continued popularity. In the applied arts it was used in dyeing, weaving, papermaking, and woodworking.
- source : JAANUS -

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. Doing Business in Edo - 江戸の商売 .

asaodana asao-dana 麻苧店 store selling asao hemp thread
asatonya, asadonya 麻問屋 hemp dealer



source : ne.jp/asahi/kuyama/homepage
home of hemp dealer in Tochigi town

- quote -
asao 麻紵
Also written 麻緒, 麻苧, asahimo 麻紐, asa-ito 麻糸.
Cord or thread made from hemp, asa 麻, and Chinese silk plant, karamushi 苧むし.
In historical records, the expressions asao 麻緒, asahimo, and asa-ito tend to refer to threads made only from hemp, although sources generally were not specific about thread composition.
Asao was used in making clay statues *sozou 塑像. Clay modelling was done over a wooden core *shingi 心木, which could be a simple central pole or a complex structure. In the case of a composite wooden core, many small pieces of wood *hegi へぎ, were used to construct a frame, for example in the shape of the figure's robe. These pieces of wood often were bound together with asao. Other statues had a copper wire sandwiched between two thin pieces of cypress to make the inner core of the arms. Again asao was used to wrap the wood and bind it to the wire.
Another important function of asao was to wrap copper or steel wire, which formed the inner support, for detailed features like the sculpted fingers of the hand, earlobes, or upstanding spikes of flame hair *enpatsu 炎髪. Clay modelling then could proceed directly onto the asao layer.
- source : JAANUS -

The strong thread was also used for binding the hair and for amulets to ward off evil influence.


New Year Amulet made from asao


. Asao Fudoo In 麻生不動院 Asao Fudo Temple .
Asao Ward, Kawasaki Town
The name Asao is said to originate from the area's agricultural production of hemp, or "asao" in Japanese. It is said that linen cloth made from hemp of the area was offered as tribute to the Imperial Court in the 8th century.

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CASE 18. TOZAN'S THREE POUNDS OF FLAX - - T'ung Shan

A monk asked Tozan,
"What is the Buddha?"
Tozan answered,
"Three pounds of flax!"


Mumon's Comment:
Tozan's Zen is like a clam. When the two halves of the shell open, you can see the whole inside. However, now tell me, "What is Tozan's real insides?"

Just "Three pounds of flax!" pops up,
His words are close, and yet his heart is closer.
Anyone who explains this or that, yes and no,
is himself the man of yes and no.

source : mumonkan.html

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. Legends and Tales from Japan 伝説 - Introduction .

- source : nichibun yokai database -
麻 152 legends to explore

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HAIKU



あけがたの雨に濡れたる麻を刈る
akegata no ame ni nuretaru asa o kiru

cutting the hemp
damp from the rain
of this morning ...


Machida Katsuhiko 町田勝彦


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麻の中雨すいすいと見ゆるかな
asa no naka ame suisui to muyuri kana

Takahama Kyoshi 高浜虚子



夏山ヤ岩アラハレテ乱麻皴
夏引その乱れや二十八天下


Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規



しののめや露の近江の麻畠
shino no me ya tsuyu no Oomi no asabatake
Buson 蕪村



明易き人の出入や麻暖簾
asa noren
Maeda Shura前田普羅


More Japanese haiku with ASA
source : HAIKUreikuDB


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Related words

kigo for late spring

odamaki no hana 苧環の花 (おだまきのはな) columbine
..... itokuri いとくり
itokurisoo 糸繰草(いとくりそう)plant like a spool of linen (flaxen) thread
Aquilegia

苧 this is another kanji for hemp.




***** . Plants in Spring - SAIJIKI .


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sakura asa, sakura-asa 桜麻 "cherry-blossom hemp"
kigo for late summer
Also called sakura-o さくらお.

Hemp flowers during the seventh and eighth lunar month. The blossoms are slightly pink, like cherry blossoms.
It is sown when the cherry blossoms are out, that is where the name comes from.


source : itoyo/basho

畑打つ音やあらしの桜麻 
hatake utsu oto ya arashi no sakura asa

the sound of
ploughing the fields - (like a) storm
among the cherry-blossom hemp

Tr. Gabi Greve

Written on March 11, Genroku 3 元禄3年3月11日
at shrine Shirahige Jinja 白髭神社 in Iga Ueno.

This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.
Basho compares the noise of the ploughs to a strom, a common usage in waka.
sakurafubuki 桜吹雪 is also a kigo referring the the "storm of the cherry blossoms" as they fall from the trees.
The kigo of this hokku is hatake utsu, lit. "to hit the fields" to prepare for the sowing of seeds.

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



source : kikyou0123
桜麻 Sakura Asa Sweet

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5/25/2010

Wild roses (nobara)

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Wild roses (ibara, nobara)

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


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


CLICK for more photos


kigo for Early Summer

ibara no hana 茨の花 (いばらのはな)
blossoms of wild roses

.... hana ibara 花茨(はないばら)
..... hana ubara 花うばら(はなうばら)
no-ibara no hana 野いばらの花(のいばらのはな)
nobara no hana 野ばらの花(のばらのはな)

bara no hanagaki 茨の花垣(ばらのはながき)
hedge of wild roses


The translation of ibara / nobara is a bit problematic, when trying to be specific.
The Japanese can refer to quite a few bushes and trees with thorns.


a briar, a bramble;



. . . CLICK here for ノバラ nobara Photos !


. . . CLICK here for Photos : Rosa multiflora!


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kigo for late autumn

ibara no mi 茨の実 (いばらのみ) fruit of wild roses
nobara no mi 野茨の実(のいばらのみ)/野ばらの実
Hagebutte




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roosu hippu ローズ‐ヒップ【rose hip】 rosehip
Rosa canina

Hagebutte, Heckenrose

The bush blossoms in Juni and July.


CLICK for more red berries
The red fruit of the European "wild roses".

quote
The rose hip and rose haw, is the pomaceous fruit of the rose plant, Dog Rose, that typically is red-to-orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form in spring, and ripen in late summer through autumn.

Rose hips are used for herbal tea, jam, jelly, syrup, beverages, pies, bread, wine, and marmalade.
A few rose species are sometimes grown for the ornamental value of their hips, such as Rosa moyesii, which has prominent large red bottle-shaped fruits.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


Hagebutten
(auch Hägen, Hiefe, Hiffen, Hiften, Rosenäpfel, Hetscherl, Hiven, Hetschepetsche)
Bezeichnung für die Früchte verschiedener Rosenarten.


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Rosa canina (lit. Dog Rose)
is a variable scrambling rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia.
The plant is high in certain antioxidants. The fruit is noted for its high vitamin C level and is used to make syrup, tea and marmalade.
During World War II in the United States Rosa canina was planted in victory gardens, and can still be found growing throughout the United States, including roadsides, and in wet, sandy areas up and down coastlines.

Other old folk names include rose briar (also spelt brier),
briar rose, dogberry, weet briar, wild briar, witches' briar, and briar hip.

In Russian, its name is шиповник (translit: 'shipovnik'), which translates as "thorn bearer."
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !





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Worldwide use


The Chesapeake Saijiki - SUMMER

briar roses (Rosa multiflora)

The Chesapeake Saijiki - SUMMER


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Germany

Rosa multiflora
Vielblütige Rose; Rispen-Rose
Heidenröslein



kigo for autumn
. Hagebutte (rosehip)   



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kigo for winter in Europe

rose hip tea
ローズヒップティー


Having cold again -
I send my sister out to buy
some dried rose hips.


Zhanna Rader



. Medicine and Haiku



*****************************
Things found on the way


. Ihara Saikaku, (Ibara Saikaku) 井原西鶴 .
1642–1693


Ibara town 井原 in Okayama


. WASHOKU
Local Dishes from Ibaraki (Ibaragi) Prefecture




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HAIKU


路絶て香にせまり咲く茨かな
michi taete ka ni semari saku ibara kana

the road ends
in a strong fragrance -
wild roses in bloom

Tr. Gabi Greve



花いばら故郷の路に似たるかな
hana ibara kokyoo no michi ni nitaru kana

flowers of wild roses
so much like those by the roadside
of my hometown . . .

Tr. Gabi Greve

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




白露や茨の刺にひとつづつ

shiratsuyu ya ibara no toge ni hitotsu-zutsu

White dew on the bramble;
One drop
On each thorn.

trans. Blyth

White Dew and Haiku


. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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いういうと茨のおくの野梅哉
iu-iu to ibara no oku no no ume kana

cool and calm
deep in the thorn thicket...
blooming plum


Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


Onomatopoetic Words and Haiku


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source : 芝滋 さん



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

kigo for late spring

***** sarutori ibara さるとりいばら
gandachi ibara がんだちいばら
karatachi ibara からたちいばら
blossoms of Similax glabra

. WKD : Plants in Spring


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. Briar Berry, briar berries   



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***** . Berry, berries   



***** Rose (bara) Japan

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5/19/2010

air conditioning (reiboo)

[ . BACK to TOP . ]
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Air conditioner (reiboo)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late summer
***** Category: Humanity


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

reiboo 冷房 (れいぼう) air conditioning
to cool a room
..... seiboo soochi 冷房装置(れいぼうそうち)
air conditioning unit
ruumu kuura ルームクーラー room cooler
kuura クーラー cooler

reiboosha 冷房車(れいぼうしゃ) air-conditioned car
a train car or a bus or a taxi





Before the advent of air conditioning, people had to endure the hot summer.
Now many homes have at least one aircon and buildings and department stores are fully cooled.
When you enter a cooled room after spending some time outside, this is indeed a feeling of relief.

The Japanese units for air conditioning have developed quite a bit during many years.
The units do not only cool but have to cope with the great humidity of the Japanese summer.

Some offices are cooled down so much that the office ladies wear sweaters and blankets on the knees to keep from "air conditioning illness" 冷房病.


To save energy, many offices keep the temperature at 27 or 28 degrees centigrade since 2005.

kuuru bizu クールビズ "cool business"
special suits designed to keep you cool in summer.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. Cool Business after the Earthquake May 11, 2011  
Saving Energy.


Natural air conditioning in former times was simple:
a room in the shade where the wind could blow through, so the homes were constructed with many windows and blinds before them.

Thick tiles or roofing to keep the direct sunshine out.

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Air conditioning
is the dehumidification of indoor air for thermal comfort. In a broader sense, the term can refer to any form of cooling, heating, ventilation, or disinfection that modifies the condition of air. An air conditioner (often referred to as AC or air con) is an appliance, system, or machine designed to stabilise the air temperature and humidity within an area (used for cooling as well as heating depending on the air properties at a given time), typically using a refrigeration cycle but sometimes using evaporation, commonly for comfort cooling in buildings and motor vehicles.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


*****************************
Worldwide use

Klimaanlage

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Yemen

It starts mostly for all households early summer - May.
The condense water surprises each time, dripping on the ground.


air con droppings
well, well - a well it is
for sparrows and cats


~~~


neighbor's air con runs
among wet pebbels
at least a plant


Heike Gewi

. YEMEN SAIJIKI  



*****************************
Things found on the way



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



冷房の店に出入りし涼求む
reiboo no mise ni dehairi shi ryoo motomu

I look for shops
with air conditioning ...
trying to find coolness


Horiba Kooichi, Koichi 堀場康一 (1950 - )
Tr. Gabi Greve
http://www.geocities.jp/dabudabo/poetry/haiku1-2.htm


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エアコンの音にまかせて昼寝かな
eakon no oto ni makasete hirune kana

to the gentle sound
of the air conditioner
I take a nap . . .

Nakayama Ishino 中山石野


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source : ichiran
with many reibo haiku


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


morning breeze
airconditioning
indeed here


kenneth daniels (Guyana)


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beginning summer -
the aircon out of order
for another week



It broke down just yesterday and takes a while to replace . . .
The hot summer started quite suddenly this year!

Gabi Greve, July 8, 2013


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Day’s temperature
Hotter than my body’s heat
Air conditioned room


- Shared by Kenne Thomas -
Haiku Culture Magazine, 2013
http://databaseworldkigo.blogspot.jp/2013/01/culture-magazine-haiku.html



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Related words

***** . ventilator (senpuuki 扇風機)electric fan  
and Japanese hand fans of all kinds

***** . Feeling cool in summer .


***** .SAIJIKI ... HUMANITY
Kigo for Summer
 


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4/26/2010

Futon zabuton

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Futon bedding

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


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Explanation

Futon is a typical Japanese way of bedding for the night.

Nowadays, the stuffed mattress (shikibuton) and the blanket (kakebuton) are together called a "futon".

futon

The futon set can easily be stored away in a special oshiire alcove and the room used as a living room.


The people during the Edo period, especially the poor, did not use bed covers as we have them nowadays. They only had a stuffed matress shikubuton 敷き布団 or some kind of woven mats to lie down on. Sometimes the bare planks of wooden floor would have to do, maybe covered with some straw.

And they wore warm night clothes (yogi) to keep the cold out.
Poor people, especially in the colder northern regions, slept near the fire and used anything to keep them warm, even dried seaweed was put into quilts (documented from Akita in 1789, for example). Hemp and straw and hulls were also used for quilts.
Poor people even slept in straw bags, one couple in one bag.
A poor family used to sleep close toghether to use the body heat for warmth.


. . mugura 葎 (むぐら) cleavers     
Since kana mugura カナムグラ(鉄葎) Humulus japonicus is of the hemp family, it might well have been used for stuffing a quilt of the poor.

. Bedtime quilt (yogi) as KIGO  



The shikibuton in the towns ranged from lavish ones to poor ones, called like a thin rice cracker
senbei futon 煎餅布団 "rice cracker matress"
and had only little cotton stuffing.
In Edo, futon usually ment the matress, whereas in Osaka (Kamigata)they began to use kakebuton quilted blanket covers a lot earlier.

There is a famous haiku of a disciple of Basho
Hattori Ransetsu 服部嵐雪:


ふとん着てねたる姿や東山
futon kite netaru sugata ya Higashiyama

looking like a person
covered by a quilt -
Higashiyama


. Higashiyama, District in Kyoto   


. Hattori Ransetsu 服部嵐雪 1654-1707 .


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kigo for all summer

natsubuton 夏蒲団 (なつぶとん) summer futon
natsubusuma 夏衾(なつぶすま)
asabuton 麻布団(あさぶとん)hemp futon


. . . CLICK here for Photos !
natsugake 夏掛(なつがけ)summer cover (blanket)
samaaketto サマーケット summer towel ket blanket
taorukake タオル掛(たおるがけ) towel cover blanket
Thin blankets like a towel, that easily soak off the sweat from the sleeper.

The summer is quite hot and humid in Japan and difficult to sleep, even now with air conditioning.


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kigo for all winter

warm bedding, futon 布団、蒲団 quilted bedding

kakebuton 掛布団(かけぶとん)futon blanket, coverlet, top quilt
shikibuton 敷蒲団(しきぶとん)futon matress, underquilt
hanebuton 羽蒲団(はねぶとん)futon with down feathers

futon hosu 蒲団干す(ふとんほす)
hanging the futon to dry, quilt airing
hoshibuton 干蒲団 (ほしぶとん) matress-drying,, matress airing, quilt-airing

shoulder cover, katabuton 肩蒲団
back cover, senabuton 背蒲団
hip cover, koshibuton 腰蒲団
bed cover with cotton layers, quilt, wataire 綿入

. futon 布団、蒲団 quilted bedding  



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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way





Daruma zabuton だるま座布団


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Reference : History of Futon


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HAIKU


被き伏す蒲団や寒き夜やすごき
kazuki fusu futon ya samuki yo ya sugoki

to lie down
with the futon pulled up - the cold
of this night - dreadful

Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in winter of 1688, 元禄元年冬
The wife of his disciple Rika 李下, who was also one of his haiku students, had died in the autumn of this year. This hokku is in her memory.
How lonely poor Rika must feel now on this cold night without his beloved wife.

This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2,
and another YA in the middle of line 3.
Here the cut markers carry the feeling of "stress and continue".
It helps to emphasize the last word he uses:
sugoki, sugoi 凄い, which is a rather strong emotion.


Rika 李下 is famous for helping Basho plant the bananas (bashoo) at the Fukagawa hermitage.


Lying down,
the futon pulled up:
cold, desolate night

Tr. Barnhill


covered I lie
the qulit: so cold
the night: so drear


Perhaps here YA can be read as the abrupt form of the plain copula rather than the end-stopping exclamatory.
Tr. John Carley



Mourning Rika's wife
even lying covered
with futon, the cold
of night -- extreme

Tr. etext virginia university



MORE - emotions expressed directly by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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行く秋や身に引きまとふ三布蒲団
yuku aki ya mi ni hikimatou mino-buton

autumn comes to an end -
I wrap my body
in a narrow bedding

Tr. Gabi Greve


minobuton 三幅蒲団 - A small futon matress with a width of three NO 幅. This small matress is an expression of his poor living conditions.
lit. I wrap my body in a matress of three NO width.

Three NO of width was the smallest for a futon matress.
The cover futon was wider, about 4 NO or 5 NO.

one NO 幅 of cloth is about 36 cm wide.

Written in 1688 貞亨5年, in the 9th lunar month. Basho had finished his trip "Sarashina Kiko" and is now back in Edo in his own home.


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


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- - - - - Yosa Buson - - - - -


あたまからふとんかぶればなまこかな 
. atama kara futon kabureba namako kana .



大兵のかり寝あはれむ蒲団哉
daihyoo no karine awaremu futon kana

The big man
suffers, napping here--
Too long for the quilt!

Tr. McAuley

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



古郷にひと夜は更るふとんかな
furusato ni


いばりせしふとんほしたり須磨の里
ibariseshi futon hoshitari sumano sato
(1777)

Urine wet futon
Hung out to dry
At a village in Suma.

Tr. Nelson/Saito

Futon, wetted at night,
Is airred out;
The village of Suma.

Tr. Shoji Kumano



皃見せやふとんをまくる東山
顔見世やふとんをまくる東山 
kaomise ya futon o makuru Higashiyama



孝行な子供等に蒲団ひとつづつ 
kookoo na kodomora ni futon hitotsuzutsu
(1768)

To all good children
A futon
One for each.

Tr. Nelson/Saito



都人にたらぬふとんや峰の寺
miyabito ni taranu futon ya mine no tera
(1778)

For the people from the capital
Futon are too thin
At the summit temple.

Tr. Nelson/Saito



嵐雪とふとん引合ふ侘寝かな
ransetsu to futon hiki-au wabine kana

sharing my futon
with Ransetsu
I sleep all alone . . .

Gabi Greve

Buson was thinking of the Poet Ransetsu. It was quite common to share a futon with another person, especially on a cold winter night, to keep warm.
. Hattori Ransetsu 服部嵐雪 1654-1707 .



筋違にふとん敷きたり宵の春
sujikai ni futon shikitari yoi no haru

The slanted way
the sleeping quilts have been placed
at dusk in spring.

Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert




虎の尾を踏みつゝ裙にふとんかな
tora no o fumitsutsu kun ni futon kana



我が骨の布団にさわる霜夜かな
waga hone no futon ni sawaru shimo yo kana

Right to my bones
Through the quilt pierces
The frost tonight.

Tr. McAuley


my bones
feel the futon -
frosty night

Tr. Haldane


My bones keep touching
against the quilts
in the frosty night!

Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert



. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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Related words


sitting cushions (zabuton 座布団)
are used to sit on in the Japanese style, kneeling in seiza 正座.


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kigo for all summer

natsu zabuton 夏座蒲団 (なつざぶとん)
summer seating cushion
square Japanese floor cushion used for sitting

asa zabuton 麻座布団(あさざぶとん)zabuton with hemp cover
izabuton 藺座布団(いざぶとん) zabuton with igusa woven straw cover

CLICK for more photos



kawabuton 革蒲団 (かわぶとん)
seating cushion from leather
A rather luxury item for rich homes and expensive restaurants. It feels cool to sit on a leather cushion in summer. Even if the edges are rubbed off from long use, they are still cherished.



CLICK for more photos
enza 円座 (えんざ ) round sitting cushion

Often uses outside on the veranda or for the tea ceremony.
It is used to sit on, not to kneel in Japanses seiza style.



shikigami 敷紙 ( しきがみ ) paper cushion
They are made from strong Japanese washi paper and soaked in kakishibu extract to make them stronger and resistant to lice. They can be used on tatami to keep the mats clean and hygienic.
Nowadays often vinyl is used instead.



yuton 油団 (ゆとん) "oil cushion"

They are made from strong Japanese washi paper and soaked in oil or covered with laquer. They feel very cool to the touch in summer.



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. makura 枕(まくら)
pillow for sleeping
  
Kopfkissen



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[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]

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4/04/2010

Red plum blossoms (koobai)

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Red plum blossoms (koobai)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Spring
***** Category: Plant


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Explanation



16 pink and red END


koobai 紅梅 (こうばい ) red plum blossoms
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


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06 detail red

Red plum blossoms are quite wonderful in their contrast with the blue sky of spring.

Plum Park in Kume, Okayama, 2009
Photo Gabi Greve


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Michael Dickman's Poetry Month Pick, April 2, 2010


"Having Reddened the Plum Blossoms"
by Yosa Buson (1716-1783)
translated by Robert Hass

Charles Simic says that the short poem "is a match flaring up in the dark universe".

One poem that comes to my mind as a match, or even a book of matches, flaring up in the dark universe is a three-line poem by Yosa Buson:

Having reddened the plum blossoms
the sunset attacks
oaks and pines.


I think this is a small and meditative poem about summer that is also somehow a large and raucous poem about bloody desire. It is, to be sure, a poem that asks us to take in and make sense of a great deal in a very short amount of time. The poem moves slowly. But our minds have to race.
We need to make sense of, among other things, plum blossoms turning a color they don't usually take on— by what we're not sure until the second line. We find out it is due to a sunset, but a sunset that attacks, that has martial qualities, and which turns to redden the oaks and pines next.
In its way it is a very fast and violent poem, leaving the reader to wonder if there will be any end to the "reddening." The poem keeps opening out after its final period along with the sunset. Almost cinematic in its jump cuts, the images move in wide circles inside of the world. They start in the miniscule; a blossom, then move out to the grand sweeping sunset and then back to something that lives in-between the two: trees. Buson does this in three lines. Eleven words.

About the effect of images there is the famous comment made by a student of Tu Fu's: "It's like being alive twice", he said. Part of what I think the student means is that thinking in images renders us alive and present to the actual world. And reading poems like this one will leave us gasping for breath, amazed, and lit up like a match.

About Michael Dickman:

Michael Dickman is the author of The End of the West (Copper Canyon Press, 2009). He was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The American Poetry Review, Field, Tin House, and Narrative Magazine, among others.

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This is not a frequently-translated poem of Buson's. Doing a quick search of various books of translation, I found it in only two places: Hass's Essential Haiku, and Blyth.

Here is Blyth's translation:

紅梅や入日の襲う松かしは
koobai ya irihi no osou matsu kashiwa

Red plum-blossoms:
The setting sun assails
Pines and oak trees.


Here is Blyth's comment:
The level rays of the sun strike on the oaks and pines above the plum-tree, and flood them with a strength and depth of colour that surpasses that of the obscurely red blossoms. There is here no attempt on the part of the poet to unite himself with nature, to live his own life into nature. Buson makes himself a 'tabula rasa' upon which to portray the scene which somehow or other disturbs him.
It is true that we can find subjective elements here, as everywhere, the contrast of the masculine pines and oaks with the feminine plum-tree, the use of the word "assail" which which really expresses the poet's own feeling of being overwhelmed by the rich colour of the rays of the setting sun.

* * * * * *

It appears that Hass mistakenly believes that the plum blossoms are white, and are being reddened by the setting sun, along with the pine and oak.

Larry Bole
Translating Haiku Forum



CLICK for more photos
sunset and red plum blossoms

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Here is another comment based on the translation by HASS,

haiku have no verbs at all,
and so the tense is left ambiguous:


Having reddened the plum blossoms,
the sunset attacks
oaks and pines.


Here, I see a commonly used format of: "after this, this"
Still the speaking of haiku moment is occuring in the present, but directly after something else has happened.
Showing the passage of time, but still in a designated moment in present time.

My Comments copyright 4/6/1999 by Wendy C. Bialek - Shiki Workshop

* * *

Again we are remainded of the weight a translation has for a reader who does not understand the original and is left to speculate on an English version, that might lead him/her to conclusions that are NOT implied in the Japanese at all.

Gabi Greve

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source : www.rakanneko.jp

紅梅の落花燃らむ馬の糞
koobai no rakka moyuramu uma no fun

The red plum's fallen flowers
seem to be burning
on the horse's droppings.

Tr. Sawa and Shiffert


pink petals of the plum
lie on horse dung,
looking ready to flare up

Tr. Ueda


. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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Roja flor de ciruelo :
el sol poniente ataca
pinossss y robles.


source : Tr. Fernanso Rodriguez-Izquierdo y Gavala
Sevilla


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way



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HAIKU





red plum blossom . . .
the little details
that catch my soul


Gabi Greve

Kume Plum Park, Spring 2010


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just one spot
of delicious RED ...
spring snow



32 red plum and snow

Gabi Greve, Spring 2010


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紅梅(こうばい) 初春
Japanese Haiku Samples
http://cgi.geocities.jp/saijiki_09/kigo500a/187.html



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Related words

***** . Plum Blossoms (梅 (うめ) ume)  



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3/28/2010

Naked (hadaka)

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Naked (hadaka)

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


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Explanation


The humidity and heat of Japan is quite something, and in olden times without airconditioning, getting naked was the easiest way to cope with it.

Men and women would just wear a small piece of cloth to cover the private parts, see below, fundoshi.





In many rural hot springs people enjoyed the bath naked and all together (konyoku buro 混浴) but with the advent of Western "civilization" this habit has been almost gone out of practise. The hot bath is still taken while naked, but now men and women are separated in different pools.


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hadaka 裸 (はだか) naked
suhadaka 素裸(すはだか)all naked
maruhadaka, maru hadaka 丸裸(まるはだか)"round naked"
akahadaka, aka hadaka 赤裸(あかはだか)"red naked"
mappadaka 真裸(まっぱだか)
rashin 裸身(らしん)
hadakago 裸子(はだかご) naked child, baby


hadanugi 肌脱ぎ (はだぬぎ) stripped to the waist
..... katahadanugi 晩夏 片肌脱(かたはだぬぎ)
..... morohadanugi 諸肌脱(もろはだぬぎ)


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kigo for all summer

hadashi 跣足 (はだし) barefeet, barefoot
(short for hada-ashi 肌足(はだあし))
..... suashi 素足(すあし)
bare foot, bare-footed




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Worldwide use

Serbia

bare feet Босе ноге


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Things found on the way



. Bussokuseki 仏足石 Buddha's Footprints   



. Naked Jizo 裸地蔵 hadaka Jizoo  



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HAIKU



裸子や涙の顔をあげて這ふ

crying baby -
I lift his tearful face
and soothe it


Nomiyama Asuka 野見山朱鳥 (1917 - 1970)
The poet was quite ill and spend a lot of time in hospital. Here we read about an encounter with a baby.


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素つ裸太平洋を笑ひけり   

suppadaka Taiheiyoo o waraikeri

all naked . . .
I laugh at the
Pacific Ocean


Nakajima Tsuyoshi 中島強(松山中央高校)
Studend from Matsuyama High School

source : 100nenhaiku.marukobo.com



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Related words

***** Naked Festivals of Japan


. fundoshi 褌 loincloth


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