Long Day Short Night

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Long day, short day, long night, short night

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: various, see below
***** Category: Season

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Explanation

A long day full of work and activities, we all know that,
BUT this is not the kigo in question.

A long work day .. is a non-seasonal haiku topic.

A long night spend in work or worry ... is a non-seasonal haiku topic.


For the Japanese kigo aspect of these words, it is the amout of daylight that conveys the seasonal changes.


In the Southern Hemisphere, there are adjustments to make.
December (and the Star of Bethlehem) comes with a SHORT NIGHT of mid-summer.
LONG NIGHT, on the other hand, is a kigo for mid-winter in June.


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kigo for all spring

long daytime, days getting longer, daylight getting longer
hinaga, eijitsu 日永、ひなが,　えいじつ
nagaki hi 永き日, hi nagashi　日永し
This is haiku-shorthand for
hi ga nagaku naru

In spring we feel the longer days most enjoyable, even if the longest days are in summer. So this is a kigo for the joys of springtime.

..... .....

"Long Day"
referring to the daylight part of a day is a
kigo for summer in tropical areas.
Robert Wilson, SimplyHaiku


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kigo for summer

short night, mijika yo　短夜
night getting shorter, yo no tsumaru 夜のつまる
"dawn hastens", ake isogu 明急ぐ

The shortest night is experienced at the summer equinox.
This feeling of evanescense, ephemeral fleeting of things is expressed here.


"dawn comes readily", dawn comes early,
akeyasushi　明易し, ake hayashi　明早し


. Yosa Buson　与謝蕪村 and his many short night haiku .

..... .....


"Long Day"
referring to the daylight part of a day is a
kigo for summer in tropical areas.

a long day . . .
the sun etching haiku
on laborer's backs

Robert Wilson, SimplyHaiku


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kigo for all autumn

long night, yonaga 夜長、夜永
..... nagaki yo 長き夜 , chooya 長夜
The night is now feeling longer.

yonagashuu 夜長衆（よながしゅう）people in the long night
yonagabito 夜長人（よながびと）person in the long night
yonagazuma 夜長妻（よながづま）wife/husband in the long night

As the nights grow longer and cooler, people stay indoors more and enjoy reading books or other indoor activities. The joy that the long hot summer has come to an end is felt in this kigo.

As the seasons proceede, the shortness of the days becomes more pronounced and a different kigo is used.

More is here !!!


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mijika hi, mijikajitsu
kigo for all winter

short day, days getting shorter, mijika hi, tanjitsu 短日
hi mijika　日短か, tankei　短景
days getting shorter, hi tsumaru 日つまる
dusk comes early, kure hayashi　明早し

The shortest day is experienced at the winter equinox.


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Worldwide use


In the Southern Hemisphere, there are adjustments to make.
December (and the Star of Bethlehem) comes with a SHORT NIGHT of summer.
LONG NIGHT, on the other hand is a kigo for mid-winter.

Haiku below the Southern Cross



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Things found on the way

Comments by Larry Bole
Translating Haiku Forum　

I find this discussion of 'the long day' as a kigo interesting.
Why did the Japanese poets find one aspect or pheonmenon of a season appropriate to that season, and a different-but-related aspect of the same phenomenon more appropriate to another season?
In this regard I am thinking of the fact that 'the long day' is a kigo for spring, whereas 'the short night'--mijikayo--(resulting from a long day) is a kigo for summer.

As a matter of fact, what I have read is that the Japanese poets were struck by the lengthening of the spring day in relation to the length of a winter day. It makes me wonder if a more appropriate translation of 'hinaga' or 'nagaki hi' wouldn't be 'the lengthening day', although 'lengthening' would be a clunkier word to use in a translation than 'long'.

In Blyth's 4-Vol. "Haiku," which is organized along the lines of a saijiki, under the topic "The Long Day" he also includes haiku on the topic 'osoki hi'--the slow day.

Blyth gives three examples of 'slow day' haiku, all by Buson:

osoki hi no tsumorite tooki mukashi kana

Slow days passing, accumulating,--
How distant they are,
The things of the past!


osoki hi ya kodoma kikoyuru kyoo no sumi

The slow day;
Echoes heard
In a corner of Kyoto.


osoki hi ya kiji no oriiru hashi no ue

The slow day;
A pheasant
Settles on the bridge.


Buson is also a master of the summer kigo 'the short night'-- mijikayo. At one point, Blyth contrasts the use of the subject of footprints by Shiki and Buson: one set of footprints used in relation to 'the long day', an one set used in relation to 'the short night':

sunahama ni ashiato nagaki haruhi kana

On the sandy beach,
Footprints:
Long is the spring day.

-- Masaoka Shiki


mijika yo ya ashiato asaki yui-ga-hama

A short night of summer:
Faint footprints
On the shore of Yuigahama.

--Buson

Yuigahama 　由比ガ浜　 is the long sandy beach of Kamakura, Japan.

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HAIKU

Buson 蕪村 :

山鳥の枝ふみかゆる夜長かな
yamadori no eda fumikayuru yonaga kana

a copper pheasant's
feet fidget on the branch--
this long night

. . . . .

みじか夜や毛虫の上に露の玉
mijikayo ya kemushi no ue ni tsuyu no tama

Brief night!
Atop the caterpillar
a dewdrop
Tr. Beichman
quote from
A Poet's Anthology: The Rqnge of Japanese Poetry, by Oooka Makoto (Katydid Books, trans. by Janine Beichman, 1994)
Ooka wrote:
Had [Buson] said ue no instead of ue ni, the weight would have fallen on the last line, tsuyu no tama, emphasizing the dewdrop's concrete physicality and giving rise to a different effect.
A modern haiku poet might in fact be more likely to choose the latter route.


The short night--
on the hairy caterpillar
beads of dew.
trans. Hass


The short night is through:
on the hairy caterpillar,
little beads of dew.
trans. Henderson



The night is brief --
on a hairy caterpillar
jewels of dew.
trans. Sawa & Shiffert



short night--
a dewdrop on
the hairy caterpillar
trans. Yasuhiko Shirota



short night;
pearls of dew
on the butterfly grub
trans. Haldane



This night's so short
The caterpillars' spines
Are beaded with dew.
trans. McAuley




this short night -
drops of dew
on the hairy caterpillar
trans. Gabi Greve



. Yosa Buson and his haiku about the "short night" .


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永き日も 囀たらぬ ひばり哉
長き日を囀たらぬ雲雀哉
nagaki hi mo saezuri taranu hibari kana

all day long
singing and not enough yet -
this lark
(tr. Gabi Greve)

Written in 貞亨４年, Basho age 44

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

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nagaki hi ya yô o tsukutte kanshu yobu

A long day—
I make up an errand and
call the guard.

Itaru Ina 　

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mijikayo ya mihatenu yume no goju-nen

Night grows short:
a dream of fifty years
breaks off before it ends.

Death Poem by Kafu　

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kane no ne no wa o nashite kuru　yonaga kana

sounds of a temple bell
reverberate in a circle
a long night

. . . Masaoka Shiki　正岡子規

and another one by Shiki


船と岸と話してゐる日永かな
fune to kishi to hanashite iru hinaga kana

a boat and the shore
are talking together . . .
days getting longer
Tr. Gabi Greve


a boat and the shore ... Japanese language haiku-shorthand for
(a person on) the boat and (a person on) the shore.
This is not a personification
of the boat and shore doing the talking.

The scene could well be in the evening, when it is still light. Husband on board and the wife on the shore, discussing his homecoming. A lot of fishing is done from a small boat close to the shore to get seewead out of the water, for example, or uni (sea urchin) or abalones. Sometimes the men are out fishing and the whole family is on the shore to process the sea urchins for shipping (they get bad easily). They are well withing talking distance, this is a family scene, talking back and forth, once a year enjoyed by small fishing communities in Japan.

. WKD : Anthropomorphism (personification, gijinka　擬人化) .



fune to kishi to hanashi shite iru hinaga kana

the boat and the shore
conversing all day long in
terms of the water
version by Cid Corman

THF : Discussion of the Corman version


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Five haiku by Masaoka Shiki about mijika yo

短夜の短さ知るや油さし

短夜の祈り験なく明けにけり

短夜の明けて論語を読む子かな

短夜を燈明料のかすりかな

短夜や蓬が宿の恋車
source :　www.webmtabi.jp



餘命いくばくかある夜短し
yomei ikubaku ka aru yo mijikashi

my remaining days,
how many are there still ?
this night is short

written in Meiji 30 (1897)


how much longer
is my life?
a brief night
tr. anonymous


. - Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 - .


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the short day
letting the cat out
letting the cat in

marlene mountain 　

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日短くつくづくいやなふかなさけ　　
hi mijikaku tsukuzu iya na fuka nasake

days getting shorter -
I grow more and more impatient
with gentle people
(English Version : Gabi Greve)

Iida Dakkotsu 飯田　蛇笏　

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dawn comes early -
a cool breeze
on my cheeks

Gabi Greve : akeyasushi 明易し
July 2008


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short night...
dog barks speaking
to dog barks

- Shared by Louis Osofsky -
Joys of Japan, 2012



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Related words

***** Twilight, dusk (kure) a KIGO LIST !



. One day - from morning to night .
and related kigo


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Fish WORLDWIDE SAIJIKI

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FISH WORLDWIDE SAIJIKI

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***** Location: Worldwide
***** Season: See below
***** Category: Animal

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Explanation

The word FISH (sakana　魚 ) just like that is not a kigo.


Japanese FISH and SEAFOOD are here :

JAPANESE FISH AND SEAFOOD - SAIJIKI


Here is a list of fish worldwide used as kigo.


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Please add your fish haiku, haiga and info
in the comments to this BLOG.




fish under water -
the illusion of words
we think we know

http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2005/05/illusions-with-fish.html

© Gabi Greve


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Snapper in Australia (Pagrus auratus)
all spring


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All Winter

Alaska pollack, sukesoodara 助宗鱈 (すけそうだら)
Theragra chalcogramma
..... sukesoo dara 介党鱈（すけとうだら）
"Tara from Sado Island, "Sadodara 佐渡鱈（さどだら）
"fish with roe", mentaigyo 明太魚（めんたいぎょ）
fish roe from Alaska pollack, momijiko 紅葉子（もみじこ）
Alaska-Seelachs, Alaska-Pollack


Whales, kujira 鯨


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eel (capitone) in Italy
The capitone is offered during the Christmas eve dinner which only consists of fish courses.

on the table cloth
the capitone waits
for its turn

Moussia, Italy

Roast Eel, Capitone Arrosto
This is a classic Christmas Eve dish from Altamura, in northwestern Puglia, Italy.
I remember in Germany we also have eel as a favorite winter fish, because of its fat.
In Japan, as we saw above, the eel is eaten in the middle of the summer heat.

Gabi Greve


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NEW YEAR

A lot of fish and seafood is prepared for the special dishes of
the New Year Season, O-Setchi Ryori
(osetchi ryoori おせち料理, 御節料理 )
New Year Food, Neujahrsessen


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Things found on the way


Fish as a non-seasonal topic

Many contributions might even considered senryu.

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Milkfish (Chanos chanos) PHILIPPINES SAIJIKI

Tawilis (Sardinella tawilis) PHILIPPINES SAIJIKI


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fish out of water
groping for newer ideas
of survival

shoma, India

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blue and silver fish --
but for the ferry wait
unnoticed

In Norway last summer, having left the bus and waiting for the ferry across a splendid sunny fjord, I had leisure to look deeply into the clear waters at the landing stage.
Once my eyes had got used to the shadows, I noticed tiny blue and silver fish living their lives below, undisturbed by us and by the occasional traffic.

Photo and Haiku © Isabelle Prondzynski, 2005

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SLEEK DARTING FISHES
a rengay

sleek darting fishes
weave in and out of my dreams
sunlight caresses

three naked children run
from real and imagined crabs

in aquamarine rock-pools
reflections flicker - are gone
seaweed gently swirls

sea breeze
mum on an airbed
floats out with the tide

the horizon tilts;
on-shore fishermen pause

ocean’s edge
teenagers promenade
casting their spells

frances ryan
paul t conneally

started: 7th June 2000
completed: 10th June 2000

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Goldfish approaches
its reflection and returns:
almost Winter.

Kami
http://kamihaiku.blogspot.com

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fish seller . . .
she arranges them
all in a row

Kala Ramesh , India

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how quickly
you move through the shallows
insensitive fish

gerry

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From Zhanna P. Rader

Под тонким ледком
играет краснопёрка –
любопытство пса.

Red-finned fish
plays under a thin ice -
the dog's curiosity.

***

Fighting the currents,
brook trout reach the gravel bed -
their mating dance.

Борясь с течением,
форель достигает мелководья -
её свадебные танцы . . .

***

Scuba-diving...
The fish nibble
at my skin.

В воде с аквалангом. . .
Рыба щиплет мне
кожу.

***

Rippling bay -
striped mullet leap
from the water.

В заливе рябит -
полосатая кефаль
выпрыгивает из воды.

***

Black heron's wings
become an umbrella -
fish seek the shade.

Крылья чёрной цапли
раскрываются зонтами -
рыба спешит в их тень.

***

Lakeside campfire –
the aroma of fish soup
gathers the family.

Костёр на озере -
аромат ухи
собирает всю семью.

***

Office lunch –
a hawk comes to the window
with a fish

(Canadian Zen Haiku canadien, vol. 2, #4, 2004)

Обед на работе –
ястреб прилетает с рыбой
и садится на окно.

***

На ныряльщице
модный купальник -
рыба пучит глаза.

A snappy swimsuit
on the woman diver -
the snappers just stare.

(World Haiku Review, 2005, #1)

***

Night ebbing tide -
a man on the pier fishes
for large snook.

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because you caught it,
I slice the fish's belly;
the sundeck reddens

silver streaked sky --
we surfcast for striped bass
off the Atlantic

hortensia anderson
nyc, ny, usa

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GEERT VERBEKE
http://users.skynet.be/geert.verbeke.bowls


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Tilapia from the Philippines

The tilapia is a freshwater fish that is considered to be one of the healthiest fish to eat. It has soft white meat that is not wild in taste, but delicate. And it has a lot of bones. It is usually baked and eaten with rice. It looks like a cross between a big mouth bass and a blue gill.

those eyes!
a tilapia
stares at me
from the wet slab
with no tomorrow

robert wilson



Hungry tilapia
gamely bites the bait
of the fishing rod.

Willie Bongcaron, Manila, April 2008


These fish are also found in China and Africa.

The Genus Tilapia

is endemic to warm waters throughout the world. The aquaculture, or fish farming, of Tilapia is recorded in human history as far back as ancient Egypt. Tradition holds that the Tilapia was the fish that Jesus used to feed the five-thousand on the Sea of Galilee - thus one of its common names, "St. Peter's Fish." Tilapia is also referred to as "The Wonder Fish" and "Nile Perch."

Read more at the Morning Star Fishermen
http://www.morningstarfishermen.org/fish.html


KENYA
Where Kenya is concerned, Tilapia and Nile Perch are two of the mostcommon fish, both living and fished in Lake Victoria -- and indeed,both exported to Belgium for consumption here. They are bothdelicious!

In Kenya, there would seem to be no particular season linked witheither or both of these fish, as they are available and good to eatall year round. However, they could be a non seasonal topic, sincethey play a major economic role in the lives of the people near LakeVictoria. Indeed, even those frying them in the street stalls of Nairobi, hail from Western Kenya and are "fish" people.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Tilapia in the Philippines

On January 11, 2008, the Cagayan Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) stated that tilapia production grew and Cagayan Valley is now the Philippines’ tilapia capital. Production supply grew 37.25% since 2003, with 14,000 metric tons (MT) in 2007. The recent aquaculture congress found that the growth of tilapia production was due to government interventions:
provision of fast-growing species, accreditation of private hatcheries to ensure supply of quality fingerlings, establishment of demonstration farms, providing free fingerlings to newly constructed fishponds, and the dissemination of tilapia to Nueva Vizcaya (in Diadi town).
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

PHILIPPINES SAIJIKI


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Related words


***** Fish Kigo from Russia

***** Flounder, sole (karei) as food. Japan

***** Octopus (tako) Japan. Also squid (ika)


***** Carp Streamers (koinobori, Japan)

***** Mackerel Clouds (iwashigumo) Japan

***** Mermaid Parade, N.Y., USA

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WASHOKU ... JAPANESE FISH AND SEAFOOD
SAIJIKI


WASHOKU ... Japanese Food SAIJIKI


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

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Kokuseki-Ji Naked Festival

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For a general introduction see:
Hadaka Matsuri, Naked Festivals


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Temple Kokuseki-Ji Naked Man Festival
(Kokusekiji Hadaka Matsuri)

***** Location: Temple Kokuseki-Ji, Japan
***** Season: New Year, February 11
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Also pronounced: Kuroishi Hadaka Matsuri. 黒石裸祭

Some saijiki list this as a spring kigo.

This festival takes plase at a Temple in Mizusawa Town, Iwate prefecture in Northern Japan, during the coldest month of the year. According to the Old Lunar Calendar, it is the night of the Old New Year, from day seven to eight.

Men of unlucky ages (25 and 42) dressed only in loincloths take part in purification rituals throughout the night, climaxing in a vigorous struggle for wooden charms.

It is also called Sominsai 蘇民祭.
Somin is the name of a deity who protects against evil,
Somin Shoorai 蘇民将来.
A talisman is packed in a sack (somin bukuro) and the men hustle to take hold of it.

. Somin Shoorai Fu 蘇民将来符 Somin Shorai amulet .



The Temple Kokuseki-Ji was founded by the priest Gyooki 行基　during the Nara period in 729 and now belongs to the Tendai Sect of Esoteric Buddhism. The festival takes place at the Hall of Yakushi Nyorai.

The festival proceeds in various stages and preparations start already a month ago. It beging with a water purification of the participants, where all men poor icecold water over the naked bodies whilst shouting : Jaaso, Jaaso, Jaasa!



After a fire purification ritual　(hitaki nobori 火たき登ぼり）



the naked men start hustling for the sack with the deity.



Two boys with a mask of the demon (onigo, oniko) on their back are carried around on the shoulders of the men.

Struggeling to grab the sack,



the men are divided in two groups, east and west. They keep wrestling until the sky gets bright in the east.

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The festival is also called Oniｇo Matsuri 鬼子祭り。

Some more Japanese Links:
http://www.bunka.pref.iwate.jp/dentou/maturi/maturi/maturi_027.html


胡四王神社の蘇民祭とは
花巻地方に原因不明の難病が流行したことから蘇民将来の説話譚に基づき慶応元年（1865）より始められた。戦後しばらく途絶えていたが昭和４９年氏子青年会の手により復活し今日に至っている。無病息災・商工繁栄・家内安全・国家安穏・五穀豊穣を願って麓の遥拝殿で行う祈年祭に始まり白鉢巻姿に褌、腰に注連縄（しめなわ）を巻き白足袋に草鞋(わらじ）ばき姿の年男やスポーツ少年団による裸参りに続き山頂拝殿前に松明（たいまつ）を灯し境内内外を清める浄火祭を経て同境内にて勇猛果敢に一つの蘇民袋(写真）をめぐって奪い合いを繰り広げる一大郷土行事である。
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~somin/
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~somin/moti.html
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~somin/hadaka.html


More photos are here in our album, Nr. 01 - 07.
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/worldkigo/album/576460762338483636

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Here is a great link in Japanese with many more pictures, including the ones above.
http://www.omatsuri.com/lib05/106.htm

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The Yakushi Hall of the Temple


More pictures of the Temple Area
http://www.sukima.com/16_hanamaki01_03/03kokusekiji.htm


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Naked Festivals of Japan
Some Theory



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HAIKU

sominsai torihada tatete mite itari

Naked Festival !
With goosebumps
I watch the proceedings

(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Uji-Ie 氏家火芦



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Related words


***** Naked Festivals of Japan . . . . LIST


***** Saijiki for Religious Rituals and Events


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. Somin Shoorai Fu 蘇民将来符 Somin Shorai amulet .


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Kagura Dance

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Kagura Dance (kagura)

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

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Explanation

Kagura Dance and Music are part of the Shinto Rituals for the Gods, relating to ancient legends and were performed by priests and shrine maidens.
Now in some rural areas it is counted as a form of local art (minzoku geinoo) and preformed by the villagers themselves during the annual shrine festival. Some are are more like festive folk-drama. The area of Chichibu is especially known for its local kagura.

Some performances last more than one day. Even children perform in local kagura performances (kodomo kagura 子供神楽).

Masks made from Japanese paper (washi) are used and most old costumes are very precious.

There are various kagura types throughout Japan, read my article here:
Kagura Dance 日本の神楽

Gabi Greve

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http://www.city.hamada.shimane.jp/en/kagura/orochi.htm

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Kagura: Dance to the Gods, by Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers
WKD Library

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kigo for the New Year


hatsu kagura 初神楽 (はつかぐら) first Kagura performance
..... kagura hajime 神楽始（かぐらはじめ）


Shinto music and dancing for the New Year,
dai kagura 太神楽

lion dance, shishi mai 獅子舞
lion's head [worn in the lion dance] shishigashira 獅子頭


hearth-purification, kamadoharai 竈祓


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kigo for mid-summer

natsu kagura 夏神楽 (なつかぐら) summer kagura dance
nagoshi no kagura 名越の神楽（なごしのかぐら）
nagoshi kagura 夏越神楽（なごしかぐら）Kagura to pass over summer
kawayashiro 河社（かわやしろ）"shrine by the river"
..... 川社（かわやしろ）



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kigo for mid-winter

kagurazuki 神楽月（かぐらづき）"month with Kagura"

another name for the lunar eleventh month, now
December (juunigatsu)


. Kagura 神楽 (かぐら) Kagura dance 　
..... kami asobi 神遊び（かみあそび）Gods enjoying themselves
..... kagura uta 神楽歌（かぐらうた）kagura song
mikagura 御神楽（みかぐら） Court-style of kagura
niwabi 庭燎（にわび）Kagura in the garden or park of a palace
sato kagura 里神楽 (さとかぐら) Shinto-style of kagura
yokagura 夜神楽 (よかぐら) Kagura dance at night
..... kagura yado 神楽宿（かぐらやど）place where kagura is performed
..... hosha 祝者（ほしゃ）"person celebrating"


. Takachiho Yokagura 高千穂　夜神楽
Night Kagura Dance of the Takachiho Region .
Miyazaki

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Tooyama no shimotsuki matsuri 遠山の霜月祭
(とおやまのしもつきまつり)
Toyama festival in the shimotsuki month
..... shimotsuki matsuri 霜月祭（しもつきまつり）festival in the shimotsuki month
..... Tooyama matsuri 遠山祭（とおやままつり） Toyama festival

shimotsuki, month with frost, now December
This festival was held from early December till the beginning of the New Year, in the village of Toyama in Nagano.


yudate kagura 湯立て神楽

In yudate kagura water is boiled in a cauldron, around which gods are summoned by means of liturgical dances. Many of these festivals are performed in the winter and continue through an entire night; at daybreak the hot water is scattered over the participants, and those touched by it are cleansed of the year’s pollution and reborn in a purified state.
source : kagurakagura.

. Shoo Hachimanguu 正八幡宮 Sho Hachimangu .
Tooyama no shimotsuki matsuri 遠山の霜月祭



hanamatsuri, hana matsuri 花祭 (はなまつり)
flower festival
Mikawa hanamatsuri 三河花祭（みかわはなまつり）
hana kagura 花神楽（はなかぐら）flower kagura


sakaki oni 榊鬼（さかきおに）Sakaki demon

Yudate kagura are perfomed in other shrines of Japan, as a "flower festival".

. sakaki さかき【榊】 sakaki tree, Cleyera japonica .
and the Sakaki demon

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The torimono of torimono kagura refers to objects held in the hands of dancers. This category includes liturgical dances in which a mask is not worn, such as purification dances, dances for summoning a god and dances for bidding farewell to a god, as well as dances in which a mask is worn to signify that a god has appeared. From the beginning of the 17th century, under the influence of the highly successful Noh theater form, dances on mythical subjects similar in form to masked dramas became popular.

Shishi kagura (lion kagura)
are lion dances that were transmitted from the continent and have undergone changes in Japan. A god is called upon to reside in the lion’s head, and the lion goes through the village, stopping at each house to perform a ritual prayer dance. Even today, the lion dance group “Ise Daikagura” continues to perform around Western Japan in a form that has remained virtually unchanged for 400 years. In the Tohoku region as well, during certain periods of the year, a few remaining shishi kagura groups continue to make their rounds.

MORE
source : kagurakagura.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

天高し　狐も出でしい　村神楽

ten takashi - kitsune mo ideshi mura kagura

bright autumn sky -
even a fox appears at
the local shrine dance

heller Herbsthimmel -
sogar ein Fuchs erscheint
beim Dorf-Shreintanz

in Chichibu, near Tokyo
Gabi Greve


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Related words

***** . SAIJIKI
OBSERVANCES, FESTIVALS, RITUALS



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Jelly strip (tokoroten)

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Jelly Strips, gelidium jelly (tokoroten)

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

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Explanation

Cold Jelly Stripes, gelidium jelly, tokoroten,
心太, 心天 (ところてん)
..... tokoroten 石花菜（ところてん）

"big heart" kokorobuto こころぶと
"heart and heaven", kokoroten こころてん


pushing out the jelly, kokoroten tsuki 心太突き（ところてんつき）

extruding tokoroten jelly


This low-calorie food made of the red seaweed called "tengusa 天草" (Gelidium) is a godsent for dieting people! It is high in vegetable proteins but low in calories. Tengusa is harvested by the womenfolk from rocks along the shorelines of Japan.
After boiling, it gets its jelly-like quality.

Maybe the old Chinese food called "tama abura" was another form of a "seaweed that makes gel". In the Heian period, this was a delicacy for the aristocracy.

Gabi Greve
jello
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'Tokoroten'
is a dish of thin translucent jelly strips. It is served cold and eaten with vinegar-based dressing. It is a snack rather than a meal.

Agar agar, aka Kanten
Tokoroten is made from agar, also known as kanten. Agar contains a substantial amount of dietary fiber and no calories. Unlike gelatin, agar does not contain animal protein.

Tengusa
Agar is made from some species of marine plant. They are called tengusa in Japanese.

'Mitsumame'
is a kind of dessert made of agar cubes instead of strips and eaten with sweet syrup instead of sour vinegar.
© kimoto.cc






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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

tokoroten uri ところてん売り vendors of Tokoroten


source :　www.web-nihongo.com
The hiragana for tokoroten is written on the figure of the vendor.
They carried a shoulder pole with two boxes 荷台, one for the plates and a bottle of soy sauce. Sometimes white sugar (an expensive rarity in Edo) or soy flour was sprinkled on the treat.

They called out their merchandise :
tokoroten ya - tenya ところてんや、てんや

心天売は一本半に呼び
tokoroten uri wa ippon han ni yobi

tokoroten -
the vendor calls one
and a half



ところてんきなこ砂糖は嫁のぷん
tokoroten kinako satoo wa yome no bun

Tokoroten
sprinkled with soy flour and sugar
only for the wife



source :shop.gnavi.co.jp/i-kappa
selling tokoroten by the roadside




tororoten uri ところてん売り vendors had a wooden box with lattice, to provoke a cool feeling.


. Food vendors in Edo .

. senryuu, senryū 川柳　Senryu in Edo .


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HAIKU






清滝の水汲ませてやところてん
Kiyotaki no mizu kumasete ya tokoroten

water drawn up
from Kiyotaki stream -
this Tokoroten jelly
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in 1694 元禄７年, Basho age 51
This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 2.

This is a greeting hokku for his host Yamei to thank him for the refreshment.

Written at the home of Sakai Yamei 坂井野明 in Sagano, Kyoto.
Nearby was the river Kiyotakigawa 清滝川. The Kiyotaki waterfall brings the water from Mount Atagoyama to the gorge in Sagano.

Yamei was a masterless Samurai from Hakata, Kuroda.
His haiku name YAMEI was given to him by Matsuo Basho himself.
He is also called Hoojin 鳳仭.





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

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Kobayashi Issa liked it quite a lot !


小盥や不二の上なる心太
ko-darai ya fuji no ue naru tokoroten

little tub--
on top of Mount Fuji
cold jelly

Tr. David Lanoue



Tokoroten from Izu, with Mt. Fuji


旅人や山に腰かけて心太
tabibito ya yama ni koshi kakete tokoroten

a traveller -
he sits on the mountain
with gelidium jelly
Tr. Gabi Greve


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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 .

ところてん逆しまに銀河三千尺
tokoroten sakashima ni ginga sanzenjaku

Jelly noodles
in a black bowl -- an upside-down
Milky Way


Tr. Allan Persinger

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ところてん煙の如く沈み居り
tokoroten kemuri no gotoku shizumiori

tokoroten -
like smoke
it sinks down

Hino Sojo (Soojoo) 日野草城 （1901-1956）


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tokoroten susutte jimon jitoo kana

Rogetsu
(Tr. Blyth)

Sucking up the gelidium jelly,
I ask myself questions,
And answer them.

Blyth reports that Rogetsu was "greatly respected in the haiku world after the death of Shiki."(Note: p. 150, A History of HAIKU, Volume Two) In the same small section he introduces this tokoroten haiku but does not offer any comments. One can speculate almost anything as to what Rogetsu wished to say in this poem. What is certain is that he would not have used such a phrase as jimon jito without meaning some kind of a metaphor, or hidden meaning. Jimon jito is rather a peculiar phrase to use in haiku, especially in Rogetsu's time. He therefore must have used it deliberately. It can mean several things.

Firstly, Rogetsu may be depicting a kind of his loneliness whereby he had to deal with certain difficult (philosophical) questions all alone as he is not in the company of those with whom he could discuss them. It can mean that he was casting a doubt on the way he was living. The comical juxtaposition of tokoroten and jimon jito indicates a degree of self-mockery and a faint self-pity about it.

The reason why Blyth chose this haiku seems almost self-evident. It is the Zen-like atmosphere and scene which permeate this haiku. It is also the kind of un-expected moment (the act of eating tokoroten) when Rogetsu seemed to tackle some question, when satori may or may not happen. I am always cautious whenever critics, including Blyth, start talking about Zen in relation to haiku.
Comment by Susumu Takiguchi, WHR 2002


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Related words

***** Jelly Bean Cake (mizu-yookan)

***** Seaweed (kaisoo)

***** Food from Japan (washoku)

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. ONI 鬼 the demons of Japan .



Oni making Tokoroten
Nichosai　耳鳥斎


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WASHOKU ... Japanese Food SAIJIKI



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#tokoroten #jellystrip
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June (rokugatsu)

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June (rokugatsu　六月)

***** Location: Japan, worldwide
***** Season: Mid-Summer
***** Category:Season

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Explanation


Haiku rokugatsu in the Edo period relates to the climate of present-day July,
but some festivals are dated in our present-day June.

. . Names of Japanese months and their meanings . .

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rokugatsu 六月 (ろくがつ) sixth month, june
rokugatsu kuru 六月来る（ろくがつくる）june is coming
rokugatsu kaze 六月風（ろくがつかぜ） wind in the sixth month


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June――Blessings of Water
By Inahata Teiko

Rice sprouts begin to be planted in the field, and then the rainy season has come. So June makes a strong impression of water, don't you think so? Thanks to a blessing of water, fields and mountains are covered in fresh greenery, and surrounding scenery gives us a sign of summer. In the seasonal words we can find many seasonal flowers at the water's edge and so do the animals in the water.

Not only we adapt our life to high temperature and high humidity of this season and cope with such a season but also we take a step forward and find out joy under this circumstance, and furthermore enhance our life to enjoy refined tastes. So we feel refined daily life through such seasonal words as sanaeburi (feast after rice-planting), kawagari (fishing with rounding up in the river), yoburi (fishing at night with light), aosudare (a green reed screen), touisu (a ratten chair), fusuma-hazusu (taking off a fusuma, sliding door), misogi (purification ceremony).

I think that our mentality, as well as daily life and events, has a connection with such high temperature and high humidity. For example, we can never talk about the fundamental idea of Buddhism, reincarnation, without knowing the circumstances of high temperature and high humidity of India, where the dead body returns to the earth, in which plants grow thick and under which the animals live. This idea is utterly different from that of Judaism and Christianity, which originate in such a dry land where the dead body is easy to mummify and the dead are promised to ascend to heaven by God through the Last Judgment.

It may be due to blessings of abundant water that we Japanese soon forget everything, saying, "Let's let bygones be bygones", or have an inclination not to pursue the responsibility thoroughly, and that those who should be blamed are purified and forgiven by misogi 御祓（禊） .

© Inahata Teiko
http://www.kyoshi.or.jp/12month/12month-6.htm

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Japan in June

June 1: First day of Ayu (trout) season
Ayu are sweetfish and this is a major day for catching them. Fishing for the ayu is strictly controlled to preserve their numbers so the opportunities for catching them are quite limited. The exact starting date for fishing can vary and the length of the season for catching them can also vary depending on the area of Japan one is in.
The oldest poetry written in Japan- the Manyoshu- from the 8th century has some poems about fishing for ayu.

Catching them is an unusual task. In the U.S. we bait our hooks with worms and related critters or put fish flies on them; in Japan in order to catch an ayu you use an ayu. A live ayu has a ring attached to its nose and a hook to its belly. The ring is attached to the fishing line and the fish is cast into the water. Since the fish has a strong territorial instinct another other ayu will attack the first fish, thinking it is invading its territory. The attacker gets caught on the hook and reeled in.

June 4: Cavity Prevention Day
Various activities are held by the Health and Welfare Ministry to get people, especially young children, to take better care of their teeth. This can even include department stores having dentists come in to give free checkups and consultations.

Mid-June: Peiron-Dragon Boat Race
This is a Chinese custom that was adopted by the city of Nagasaki which housed the Chinese trading missions during the Edo Period (1603-1868). The race is similar to those held in Hong Kong, Thailand and Okinawa.
The boats themselves are long, requiring both skill and strength, and there is a strong sense of competition among the participants.

First Sunday of June
Chiyodacho, Hiroshima. The Mibu-no Hana Taue ceremony with special rice-planting songs.

Mid-June: Sanno Festival
This particular shrine goes back to 1478 (consider; this is some 14 years before North American was "discovered" by Columbus!) when it was built to ensure good fortune during the construction of the Edo castle.
This is another time when portable shrines are used. Originally the shrines were moved through the Edo Castle itself and viewed by the shogun. Today it has become a regular parade through Tokyo with hundreds of people taking place.

June 24: Izawanomiya Otaue Matsuri
Izawanomiya Shrine, Isobecho, Mie rice festival with boys 5 to 6 years of age dressing as women and playing a loud drum.

Third Sunday: Father's Day
This is another holiday imported from the United States. It is not as widely adhered to as Mother's Day, though. Gifts are given to fathers and can include such things as belts, wallets and neckties or things the child or children make themselves.

Misc. items
This general period of time is also noted for other activities, although these do not necessarily occur on any specific date.

1. It is the opening of the pool season. Swimming is an important part of the physical education program of schools and 75% of Japanese middle schools have their own pool. (How many schools of any kind in the U.S. do you know with their own swimming pool?).

2. Rice planting: This is roughly the time that rice is being planted with various rituals and celebrations throughout Japan.

3. This is also roughly the start of Japan's rainy season called tsuyu. It is a time of considerable discomfort as temperatures are rising and the humidity is high. There is little sunshine and children get bored being indoors.

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

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Worldwide use


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

Calendar reference kigo

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

六月や峯に雲置あらし山
rokugatsu ya mine ni kumo oku Arashiyama

the six month -
clouds are laying on the summit
of Mount Arashiyama

Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉


. Arashiyama 嵐山 "Storm Mountain" .


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rokugatsu ya
kigo shuushuu mo
ame no naka

t'is June !
collecting kigo
all in the rain

Gabi Greve, June 2006


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chilly June night ...
the moon disappears
under thick clouds

Catherine Njeri, Kenya
June 2009


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june showers -
keading to pothols on
tarmac, terrific


june drizzle -
woman under leaking roof
with soaked clothes

june showers
green pasteurs blossom
goats satisfied


Gideon Gichamba, Kenya
June 2009



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Related words

***** Calendar reference kigo


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. . . . SUMMER
the complete SAIJIKI


. WKD : June - KIGO CALENDAR .


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Jelly Bean Cake (mizu yookan)

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Jelly Bean Cake (mizu-yookan 水羊羹)

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

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Explanation


http://www.office-takumi.com/shikisaika/07/free.htm

This is a delicacy eaten in the hot summer. Just looking at is supposed to make you feel fresh.
Mizu Yookan (mizuyokan 水羊羹) is made from red bean paste, but there are other types now made with sweet potatoes or other ingredients.
It is served on the green leave of a cherry tree.

It is a traditional sweet, easily made at home too, and just the mention of the name makes you feel fresh again on a hot summer day. Farmers use freshly cut bamboo and stuff it in the tubes, then hang it in the local river for cooling (in times you had no refrigerator...).

Gabi Greve

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History of Mizuyokan
by A. Tara

As the summer gets hotter and hotter, people like to eat chilled and light-tasting sweets such as Mizuyokan (水羊羹). Mizuyokan is a watery version of Yokan, a rectangular bar of sweetened jellied bean paste available in different flavors, and served with tea.

Yokan has a history going back hundreds of years. It was originally brought from China by Zen monks between the years 1192～1573. At that time Yokan was eaten as a vegetarian substitute for the thick mutton soup traditionally served between meals (known as tenshin). Zen monks were forbidden to eat meat, so they made meat substitutes using mashed beans and powdered kuzu root (kuzuko: Japanese arrowroot). With time, the popularity of Yokan gradually spread to the military (samurai) world as well, and it was often served during religious ceremonies and memorial services for the dead.

At that time sugar was a precious ingredient, so Yokan did not have the sweet taste it has now. At ceremonial meals people ate Yokan served with with slices of pear or sashimi (raw fish) which seems unthinkable now.

During the 16th century, Yokan began being used for tea ceremonies. As sugar supplies increased during the Edo period, Yokan started being produced as a dessert rather than food eaten between meals.

In the 18th century Yokan began being produced as merchandise, wrapped in bamboo leaves. The process of Yokan production during that time period is similar to the way that steamed Yokan (Mushiyokan) is made now. Mizuyokan was created by making steamed Yokan using Kuzuko in place of wheat powder and a larger quantity of water, creating a jelly-like texture. It took a while for the recipe to be perfected, so it was not until the 18th century that it caught on in popularity.

In 1789-1801, Neriyokan (Yokan paste), began being made in the Edo region (Tokyo), using kanten (agar- a jelly made from seaweed) to make it firm. This became popular, and spread all over Japan. Neriyokan was more popular than steamed Yokan because it kept well and was better tasting. It thus became the main Yokan product on the market.



Mizuyokan made with kuzuko tastes smoother than the kind made with kanten, but is more difficult for mass production and does not keep as well as the kanten variety, so the latter tended to dominate the market. In modern times, packed and canned Mizuyokan can be easily preserved, but are not as aesthetically pleasing as fresh sliced Mizuyokan placed on real cherry leaves or packed in a real bamboo container complete with bamboo leaves on the top.
Many sweet shops sell original Mizuyokan in a variety of tastes, shapes and colors. So why not give Mizuyokan a try this summer?

http://www.kcif.or.jp/en/newsletter/lik/archives/0308/08_2003.htm

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Mizuyokan (red bean cake) Recipe

Yield: 10 Servings

12 oz Azuki beans - cooked
2 pk Gelatin, unflavored
1 ¼ c Sugar, granulated
pn Salt


1. PREPARE AHEAD: Place the drained, cooked beans in a 4 quart pot. Add 2 quarts of cold water and, over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to its lowest point and cook uncovered for about 3 hours, or until the beans are very soft.

2. Pour the beans into a coarse sieve set over a large bowl and puree them by rubbing them through with the back of a large spoon. Transfer the puree to a very fine sieve set over another bowl, and rub them through again.

3. Wrap the pureed beans in a kitchen towel and twist to squeeze them dry. The beans may be refrigerated, tightly wrapped in the towel, for as long as 4.

TO COOK: In a 1-1/2 to 2 quart saucepan, stir together the gelatin, sugar and salt. Pour in 2 cups of cold water and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly. Add the pureed beans and return to a boil, still stirring. Then pour the beans into an 8" cake pan, cool and refrigerate overnight or until firm. Slice into 2" wedges and serve as dessert or a swee course.

Original recipe from "Recipes - The Cooking of Japan"
by Time-Life Books. Meal-Master conversion by Rick Weissgerber
http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Mizuyokan%20(red%20bean%20cake



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


. Donryuu Yookan 呑龍羊羹 Donryu Yokan sweets .
In Memory of Saint Donryu 呑龍上人
September at temple Horyu-Ji 宝龍寺


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My essay about some Japanese sweets, with Daruma as the main ingredient!


AME, DAGASHI Sweets

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HAIKU

蕉庵へ　途中なれども　水ようかん
shoo-an e tochuu naredomo mizuyookan

even on the way to
Basho’s hut
jelly bean cake

Nakamura Sakuo


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水羊羹喜劇も淡き筋ぞよき
mizu yookan kigeki mo awaki-suji zo yoki

jelly bean cake -
better see a comic play
with a soft plot

Mizuhara Shuoshi 水原秋桜子


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From the NHK Programm 俳句王国
平成14年6月1日


水羊羹旅の車中でゆれゆれと
mizuyookan tabi no shachuu de yureyure to

jelly bean cake
on a trip in the train
wobbeling here and there
(Tr. Gabi Greve)


立ち残る湯気ごと冷す水羊羹

寺普請釘打ち終えて水羊羹

水羊羹今切られしが凛と立つ

切り分けて雫こぼすや水羊羹


http://www.nhk.or.jp/haiku/html/haiku14-6-1.htm


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Related words

***** . WAGASHI - - - Sweets for Summer 　　


. 鍾馗羊羹 Yokan with Shoki, the Demon Queller .


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January 2006

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January (ichigatsu, Japan)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: New Year / Late Winter
***** Category: Season

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Explanation

The following is a list of every day in January 2006 with its kigo.
Quoted from Haiku Alpha (Mainichi Shinbun)
「俳句アルファ」（毎日新聞刊）
Translations: Gabi Greve

Only haiku with food have been selected.

First Buddhist Ceremonies of the year

.................................. Kigo for New Year

January 1

first day of the year, gantan,
first shrine or temple visit, hatsumoode,
First Sun, First Sunrise (hatsuhi, hatsuhi no de, Japan)
mochi mo suki sake mo suke nari kesa no haru

I like mochi
I also like ricewine -
this New Year morning

Takahama Kyoshi

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January 2

first dream, hatsu yume
first luggage, hatsu ni
first calligraphy, kakizome

naganaga to kuchi e nobitaru zooni mochi

longer and longer
they hang out of the mouth -
gooey rice cakes in soup

Takizawa Iyoji

zooni is a special soup for the New Year and the mochi, rice cakes, are like rubber ...

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January 3


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January 4

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January 5


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January 6


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January 7


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January 8


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January 9


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January 10


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January 11


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January 12


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January 13

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January 14


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January 15

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January 16


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January 17

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January 18


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January 19


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January 20


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January 21


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January 22


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January 23


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January 24


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January 25

First Tenjin Ceremony of the year, hatsu Tenjin and other FIRST ceremonies

tara nabe no
fuda odorasete
daikazoku

hodgepot with cod
makes the lid dance -
a big family

Katoo Kenkoo 加藤 憲曠

a large ceramic pot filled with fish (cod), vegetables, tofu and other ingredients, boiled at the table, where all sit and wait to help themselves from the steaming broth.

taranabe, kigo for winter

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January 26

yuzu sutte kureshi
kama-age udon kana

grating citron peel
for the big pot of
hot noodle soup

Ooishi Etsuko 大石悦子

udon noodles eaten from a large pot filled with hot water. You take out each mouthfull, dip the noodles in flavored broth and eat it with pieces of tempura, vegetables or pure noodles. This is a speciality of some areas of Shikoku island.

kama-age udon　釜揚饂飩, kigo for winter

Yuzu (Japan) a ctiron fruit

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January 27


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January 28

First Purification Ceremony and Festival at Koojin Temple, Osaka
Hatsu Harai Koojin Daisai　初はらい荒神大祭

First Fudo Ceremony of the year, hatsu Fudo and other FIRST ceremonies 初不動

koi wa bi no
okoze wa oni no
samusa kana

beautiful like a carp
develish ugly like the devil stinger
--- this cold

Suzuki Masajo

cold, samusa　寒さ, kigo for winter

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January 29

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January 30

sokobie no
yado no kinpira
goboo kana

foot-cold -
the little inn serves
local roots

Tsuda Teiko 津田汀ヶ子

foot-cold, sokobie, imagine a cold little hotel in Hokkaido, where the ground is frozen and the cold seeps through the thin tatami mats to your feet and bottom.

sokobie 底冷え, kigo for winter

comfrey, goboo 牛蒡　 is a vegetable good for your health because of its many fibers. Kinpira goboo is a side dish on every table, sort of the taste of mother and home.

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January 31

sanjuunichi shoogatsu、三十日正月

The first "last day of the year with the number 31", misoka. People celebrate it eating buckwheat noodles (soba).
December 31 is the "Great last day", Last Day of the Year (oomisoka, Japan)

yudoofu ya inochi no hate no usuakari

hot tofu -
at the end of my days,
a faint light

Kubota Mantaroo 久保田万太郎

tofu in hot water, yudoofu　湯豆腐, is a kigo for winter.

Kubota lost his first wife and his son commited suicide. He married again but that did not last. His third wife also died and he spend his old age quite alone. The faint light is shining from the Paradise of the West, where the souls reside after death.
Haiku about Amida Buddha in the Paradise of the West
by Gabi Greve

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Japanese LINK about January day kigo
http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/princesshiromi/5002

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Related words

***** January Worldwide

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

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