Winter drizzle (shigure)

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Winter drizzle, sleet (shigure)

***** Location: Japan, other areas
***** Season: Early Winter
***** Category: Heaven

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Explanation


There are many Japanese kigo related to this kind of early cold rain in the overlapping time from autumn to winter. According to the weather patterns of this season, when cold air masses come down from Siberia, the rains come and go fast, as is represented in the Chinese characters, meaning "rain for a (short) time".
It might hit you unexpectedly on a mountain pass and leave a thin white cover on the peaks. Most common in Northern Japan, these showers come fast and leave fast, so it may rain here and shine there (kata shigure　片時雨).

The short cold drizzle evokes many melancholic feelings for the Japanese haiku poet. It is a symbol of the passing of events in the human life, of the passing of life itself.
It is also something that can be enjoyed hearing, it makes a hushing sound and this kind of sound is reflected in other kigo, for examle the famous cicada shrilling (semi shigure　蝉時雨). I often go to our local shrine and listen to the shigure on the roof, quite an eeerie sound!

These drizzle kigo have mostly been used already since the Heian period and are well loved and full of allusions to famous poems. SHIGURE is a good example to show that kigo are much more than just the weather report.

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rain mixed with snow, cold rain, snowy drizzle, sleet (shigure　時雨）　

winter drizzle in the morning, asa shigure 朝時雨
winter drizzle in the evening, yuushigure 夕時雨
nightly drizzle, sayo shigure 小夜時雨, さよしぐれ

"village shower", passing winter shower, mura shigure　村時雨

first winter shower of the season, hatsushigure　初時雨 はつしぐれ
..... first cold rain after the 8th of November

"shower month" 10th month of the old lunar calendar, shigurezuki 時雨月, しぐれづき

scattered winter showers, kata shigure 片時雨
winter drizzle from the North, kita shigure　北時雨
winter drizzle from the side, yoko shigure 横時雨

winter drizzle in the Kitayama (North Mountain) district of Kyoto
..... Kitayama shigure　北山時雨
"rain in the mountains", yamameguri　山めぐり

soaking cold rain, eki-u 液雨, えきう
..... an old Chinese term for the cold rains, starting from 10 days after the beginning of winter (立冬) as
beginning of the winter drizzle season, nyuueki　入液

autum leaves coloring in a winter drizzle, shigure iro　時雨の色　しぐれのいろ

"sound of the drizzle in a river", kawa oto no shigure 川音の時雨
..... the river sounds like a winter drizzle
"sound of a drizzle in the pines", matsukaze no shigure　松風の時雨
..... the wind in the pines sounds like a winter drizzle
"sound of a drizzle on the autumn leaves", ko no ha no shigure　木の葉の時雨
..... the rustling of leaves sounds like a winter drizzle
.. all expressions known since the Heian period.

clouds of a winter drizzle, shiguregumo 時雨雲

umbrella for a winter drizzle, shiguregasa　時雨傘

"It feels like a drizzle", shigure gokochi 時雨心地　しぐれごこち

drizzling, sleet is falling, shigururu　しぐるる

"tears like a winter drizzle", namida no shigure 涙の時雨
"a sleeve wet from cold tears" tamoto no shigure 袖の時雨
..... expressions used since the Heian period


a famous folk-song called "Sansa Shigure" さんさ時雨



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autumn shower, aki shigure 秋時雨
kigo for autumn

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Read more about "Shigure" in the University of Virginia Saijiki 　


Click HERE to see more items of Japanese Culture with
the name of SHIGURE
Sweets, rice wine, special regional dishes and many more

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way




Shigure-Den 時雨殿　in Kyoto

The two-story Shigure-den (Autumn Shower Palace) in Arashiyama is a museum where people can experience and learn about the Hyakunin Isshu. This building is two storeys high. In the main room, there are many 45-inch, liquid-crystal monitors that display 70 large karuta cards and images of the city of Kyoto on the floor. You can take part in several activities here.
©　Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.


Card Games (karuta) Japanese Poetry and Haiku




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HAIKU




the sound of iced rain
dripping
in the bamboo grove

© Photo and Haiku
Gabi Greve, 2005 　

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音は時雨か
oto wa shigure ka

the sound, oh,
it's sleet !

Santoka (Santooka　山頭火)　
Read a discussion of the Translating Haiku Forum

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初しぐれ猿も小蓑をほしげ也
hatsushigure saru mo komino o hoshigenari

first snow shower -
even the monkeys would want
a straw raincoat
(Tr. Gabi Greve) 　

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霧時雨　富士を見ぬ日ぞおもしろき
kiri-shigure fuji o minu hi zo omoshiroki

misty rain.
the day when I don't see Mt. Fuji:
most fascinating!
(Tr. Susumu Takiguchi)

Matsuo Basho

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hibi hibi ni shigure no fureba hito oinu

day after day after day
only cold drizzle with snow ー
I am getting older　

Ryokan (Ryookan 良寛)　

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More Winter drizzle / shigure / Japanese haiku
時雨：日本語の俳句集

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... when Bashō composes a haiku that is the same as one by Sōgi but for one word

yo ni furu mo/ sara ni Sōgi no/ yadori kana
世にふるも さらに宗祇の やどり哉

yo ni furu mo/ sara ni shigure no/ yadori kana
よにふるも さらにそうぎの やどりかな

his poem is considered an original work, for that one word, that one small change, alters the whole. The new poem thereby establishes roots, and strengthens the roots of its predecessor, in the native tradition.
Translators constantly make such changes; this is unavoidable when one is transferring data from one language into another, for there are no perfect inter-lingual synonyms. Is their work not therefore original?
©　Michael Haldane

Iio Sogi (1421 - 1502)

Passing through the world
Indeed this is just
A shelter from the shower.

Life in this world
is brief as time spent sheltered
from winter showers

The Green Leaf

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Related words

***** cicada shower, cicada chorus, semi shigure 蝉時雨 せみしぐれ
kigo for late summer
..... see Cicada (semi)



***** dew shower, tsuyu shigure 露しぐれ,つゆしぐれ
kigo for autumn
..... see Dew, dewdrops (tsuyu)



***** insect shower, insect chorus, mushi shigure 虫時雨 むししぐれ
kigo for autumn
..... see Insects (mushi)



***** Winter-Drizzle Anniversary, Bashō's (Death) Anniversary / Basho's Memorial Day, shigure ki 時雨忌 しぐれき
kigo for early winter
..... see Basho Memorial Day (Basho-Ki)



***** .. .. .. .. Rain in various KIGO (Japan)

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Please send your contributions to Gabi Greve
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