Thunder (kaminari) (05)

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Thunder and Lightening (kaminari, rakurai, Japan)

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

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Explanation

Thunder and lightning come together most often, but as kigo they are used in different seasons. Whilst thunder is a kigo for all summer, lightning (inazuma) by itself is a kigo for all autumn.
The word kaminari seems to be derived from the maning: the gods are sounding, kami ga naru　神が鳴る.

Bill Higginson in his "Haiku World" suspects that the reason for this is the fact that in summer the farmers stayed inside during a thunderstorm, where they heard it only. In autumn during the harvest they were out and would also see it.

雷, if we look at the Chinese character for the word, means to have rain on the fields, so this is an expression for the deity that helps watering the rice paddies.

kami ... can also be interpreted as Kami san, the wife of the farmer, who wakes him up early in the morning and makes him work hard in the fields to feed the family. If she roars with her angry voice (kami ga naru), then the farmer had better work hard!

Let us look at some of the kigo used in Japan.

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thunder, kaminari 雷, rai　雷, raiden　雷電,
..... kan nari かんなり, kamunari かむなり
In Japanese, the voice of this angry deity is represented as
GOROGORO ゴロゴロ.

ikazuchi　いかずち,
voice of thunder, raimei　雷鳴
noisy gods, hatatagami　はたた神、はたたく
gods are sounding, naru kami　鳴神
reverberation of thunder, raikyoo　雷響

thunderbolt, raitei, 雷霆
..... (the one which the Greek god Zeus used, later the Indian god Indra. In Japan it became known through Buddhism as a tool of the esoteric school, the thunderbolt of metal, kongosho 金剛杵) together with a bell representing the male and female element.

http://www.miyagawa.com/syuha/5103.html


thunder and rain, rai-u　雷雨　> Rainy Season (tsuyu)
thunder and flashes of light, raikoo　雷光 > inazuma below
flying thunder, jinrai　迅雷

thunder out of the blue　sky, hikaminari　日雷
thunder heard in the distance, enrai 遠雷

lightning striking the earth, rakurai　落雷
fire after a lightning stroke, raika 雷火


God of Thunder, raijin 雷神
drum of the God of Thunder、raiko 雷鼓
..... (Look at my story about the Gods of the Elements).


http://www.emuseum.jp/cgi/pkihon.cgi?SyoID=2&ID=w307&SubID=s000


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Now let us look at lightning, a kigo for all autumn.



The Japanese farmers of old believed that the lightning was needed to bring the rice plant to fully bear fruit.

lightning, inazuma 稲妻
... (lit. the wife of the rice plant)
いなずま is the correct hiragana, not いなづま
lord of lightning, ine no tono 稲の殿
lightening flash, inabikari　稲光
..... inatsurubi 稲交接 (いなつるび)
..... inatama 稲魂 (いなたま)

If lightning occurs in a different season, we have to mention this extra as
spring lightning, summer lightning, winter lightning.

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Famous family crests with the lightning as subject.


http://e-kamon.net/kamon013.html

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Worldwide use

Germany

Donner und Blitz.

Thor
by Micha F. Lindemans

Thor is the Norse Viking god of thunder. He is a son of Odin and Jord, and one of the most powerful gods. He is married to Sif, a fertility goddess. His mistress is the giantess Jarnsaxa ("iron cutlass"), and their sons are Magni and Modi and his daughter is Thrud. Thor is helped by Thialfi, his servant and the messenger of the gods.

Thor was usually portrayed as a large, powerful man with a red beard and eyes of lighting. Despite his ferocious appearance, he was very popular as the protector of both gods and humans against the forces of evil. He even surpassed his father Odin in popularity because, contrary to Odin, he did not require human sacrifices. In his temple at Uppsala he was shown standing with Odin at his right side. This temple was replaced by a Christian church in 1080.

The Norse believed that during a thunderstorm, Thor rode through the heavens on his chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisni ("gap-tooth") and Tanngnost ("tooth grinder"). Lightning flashed whenever he threw his hammer Mjollnir. Thor wears the belt Megingjard which doubles his already considerable strength. His hall is Bilskirnir, which is located in the region Thrudheim ("place of might"). His greatest enemy is Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. At the day of Ragnarok, Thor will kill this serpent but will die from its poison. His sons will inherit his hammer after his death.

Donar is his Teutonic equivalent, while the Romans see in him their god Jupiter. Thursday is named after him.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/thor.html


http://www.viking-folklore.com/vikingstory-page/thor-god-of-thunder.html

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

正直に入梅雷の一ッかな
shôjiki ni tsuyu kaminari no hitotsu kana

speaking truth
the rainy season's crack
of thunder

Issa
(Tr. David Lanoue)
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/searchissa.php?show_j=T&show_c=T&sorter=date&s_string=speaking+truth&season=&s_date

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sleepless night -
man and mountain vibrate
in thunder

schlaflose Nacht -
Mensch und Berg erzittern
im Donner

Gabi Greve, June 2005

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inazuma ni satoranu hito no toutosa yo

Bashô

How admirable,
He who thinks not: Life is fleeting
When he sees the lightning!
(trans. by R. H. Blyth)

http://www.tempslibres.org/aozora/en/hart/hart10.html

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In Portugese

Venerável
É quem não se ilumina
Ao ver o relâmpago!

http://www.kakinet.com/caqui/antojapo.shtml


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inazuma ya kinô wa higashi kyô wa nishi

Enomoto Kikaku

"Summer Lightning"

Lightning-play --
that yesterday was in the east,
is in the west today.

Tr. and title by Harold Henderson
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/arts/haiku_2.htm

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In Portugese

Trovão —
Ontem a leste,
Hoje a oeste.

From the Antologia de Haicais Clássicos
http://www.kakinet.com/caqui/antojapo.shtml


> Summer lightning!
> Yesterday in the East,
> Today in the West.

"The original does not say 'Summer' lightning, but actually in Japan summer is the season for lightning and storms generally."

Tr. Blyth



> flashes of lightning -
> yesterday in the east
> today in the west

Tr. Gabi Greve


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Gewitterstimmung:
Blitze und Donner
fallen aus allen Wolken.

Ernst Ferstl
http://www.wegzumbuch.de/frame.htm?http://www.wegzumbuch.de/artikel10017.html

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From the Shiki archives (8/31, 1997)

this second
before the thunder
all the lilies silver

paul m


distant thunder -
the carpenter
gathers his tools

doris k.


above the sunflowers
a lone thunderhead
edged in gold

Hilary Tann

Read a lot more haiku about THUNDER here:
http://shiki1.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/kukai/kukai19-1.html

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雷に 小家は焼かれて 瓜のはな
kaminari ni koya wa yakarete uri no hana

the thunderstorm
burned down the hut -
squash blossoms

(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Buson
http://www.takase.com/Haiku/HaikuSource01.htm

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..... Inazuma, Kigo for All Autumn


稲妻にけらけら笑ひ仏哉
inazuma ni kera-kera warai hotoke kana

in the lightning
how he laughs...
Buddha!

Issa

There are about 20 haiku about lightning by Issa, translated by David Lanoue.
http://webusers.xula.edu/dlanoue/issa/search.html

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inazuma ya yami no kata yuku goi no koe

A lightning gleam:
into darkness travels
a night heron’s scream

Matsuo Basho
http://www.uwf.edu/tprewitt/Japan3.htm

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inazuma ni koboruru oto ya take no tsuyu

A flash of lightening!
The sound of drops
Falling among the bamboo.

Buson
http://www.takase.com/Haiku/Haiku.htm

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inazuma ya nami moteyueru akitsushima

lightning --
girdled by waves
islands of Japan

Buson

http://www.haikupoet.com/definitions/beyond_the_haiku_moment.html

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inazuma ya tarai no soko no wasure-mizu

lightning flash —
in the bottom of the basin,
water someone forgot to throw out

Masaoka Shiki

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The Supreme Court also,
Paused for a while,
During the thunder claps.

Tousha, trans. Blyth


inazuma o te ni toru yami no shisoku kana

lightning
clenched in the hand:
torchlight in the dark

Basho, trans. Barnhill



inazuma no ryokushuu o abu no no hate ni

a lightning flash
soaked in green glaze
far beyond the field

Kuroda Momoko, trans. Ueda


Compiled by Larry Bole

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Related words

***** .. .. .. .. RAIN in various kigo

***** .. .. .. .. .. WIND in various kigo

***** Monsoon


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