Buddha's Seat - nettles

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Buddha's Seat (hotoke no za 仏の座)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: New Year
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

This is a confusing name, since it is used for two completely different flowers.

Many Buddha statues show the statue seated or standing on a lotus seat (rengeza 蓮華座).



This photo is from a great Japanese page about the classificatin of Buddha Statues.
http://www.geocities.jp/butsuzo1220/buddha/html/bkihon.html

The translation "Buddha's cushion" does not seem correct, since he never sits on a cushion.


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Now let us look at the plants with that name.
First the one more often referenced in English literature.

This plant with the violet flowers is NOT one of the seven herbs of spring (see LINK below).
Lamium amplexicaule.

Other Japanese names are
Buddha's cushion, hotoke no za　仏の座
kawarakesoo かわらけ草
herb of the Three Buddhist Realms, sangaigusa 三界草

The leaves under the flowers look like the lotus flower seat of Buddha, hence the name.
It belongs to the mint family and lives two years. It blooms from March to June and is quite a common weed in my parts of the world.
In English it is called Henbit, Dead Nettle or Giraffe head.

Gabi Greve


仏の座 （ホトケノザ）
www.hana300.com/hotoke.html

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More photos are here
http://pro.tok2.com/~tokyonature/around/y03/y030216/hotokenoza.htm

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The Seat of Buddha



More photos are here:
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/mbierner/bio406d/images/pics/lam/lamium_amplexicaule.htm

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Buddha's seat of the seven herbs
Japanese nipplewort

flat on the fields, tabirako　田平子 たびらこ
small demon, ko oni tabirako 小鬼田平子
Lapsana apogonoides

It grows wild along the borders of fields and wet rice fields of Japan and China. Its leaves are low like a rosette on the ground, hence the name "flat on the fields". The fresh leaves are used for the rice porridge with seven herbs of spring. The leaves were eaten by poor farmers during famine in want of better food.

This plant is very rare in other areas apart from East Asia.

Seven Herbs of Spring. Haru no Nanakusa 春の七草



http://www.hana300.com/tabira.html

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Worldwide use

North America

This aggressive little plant, henbit, has spread throughout Missouri and nearly all of North America. The plant is tolerant of sun or shade, heat or cold. In cultivated areas that get tilled regularly, the plant can form large "seas of pink" in the spring.
The plant can grow from small pieces of its stem so chopping the plant only helps it spread. It also grows well from seed.
http://www.missouriplants.com/Pinkopp/Lamium_amplexicaule_page.html

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


hotoke no za -
I see a Buddha
in every blossom

Look at it HERE
Gabi Greve, January 2010


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白壁の割れ一筋に仏の座
shirakabe no warete hitosuji ni hotoke no za

Buddha's Seat -
at the foot of the white wall
in one line
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Furuya Muraki
http://furansudo.com/n200503.html


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仏の座苗代までを一さかり　　　
hotoke no sa naeshiro made o hitosakari

Buddha's Seat -
up to the rice seedlings
in full bloom　
(Tr. Gabi Greve)　　

五　洲
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Hollywood-Kouen/9280/shikiku/shikiku2.htm

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Related words

kigo for early summer

***** odorikosoo 踊子草 (おどりこそう) "dancing girl plant"
..... odorisoo 踊草（おどりそう）"dancing plant"
white nettle or white dead-nettle
..... odoribana 踊花（おどりばな）
komusoobana 虚無僧花（こむそうばな）"komuso monk flower"
Lamium album



It grows abundantly by the roadside and at the foot of hedges. The flowers look like the hat word by traditional dance girls or flute-playing monks.


梢からはやす蛙やをどり花
kozue kara hayasu kawazu ya odoribana

from the treetop
a frog cheers on -
dancing girl plant

Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶



source :　sikinosyokubutu



***** . Komusoo 虚無僧 flute-playing monk .


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***** tachinamisoo 立浪草 (たつなみそう) "standing waves plant"
scullcap, helmet flower
Scutellaria indica
It grows in Mainland Japan, Shikoku and Kyushu. The flowers look like high waves.




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***** utsubogusa 靱草 (うつぼぐさ) "Kidako eel plant"
kakosoo 夏枯草（かこそう）
Prunella vulgaris




. utsubo 靱 Kidako eel .
Gymnothorax kidako

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kigo for late summer

shiogamagiku 塩竈菊 (しおがまぎく)
"chrysanthemum like a pot to boil salt"
Pedicularis resupinata




Ezo shiogama 蝦夷塩竈（えぞしおがま）
Pedicularis yezoensis

yotsuba shiogama 四葉塩竈（よつばしおがま）
Pedicularis chamissonis

miyama shiogama 深山塩竈（みやましおがま）
Pedicularis apodochila

takane shiogama 高嶺塩竈（たかねしおがま）
Pedicularis verticillata

hankai shiogama 樊噲塩竈（はんかいしおがま）
Pedicularis gloriosa

koshiogama 小塩竈（こしおがま）
Phtheirospermum japonicum


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***** Fern and the Seven Herbs of Spring (haru no nanakusa) (Japan)



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Bon Stove (bongama)

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Bon Stove (bongama)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Autumn
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Read the general explanation about the kigo Bon Festival (o-bon)

Druing the bon holidays, elder girls constructed a stove (kamado 竈) outside and prepared some simple rice dishes for the younger girls. The elder ones, 14 and older, would do the cooking while the younger ones would chase away the nosy young boys.

The girls of exactly 14 years of age (being now available for marriage) did not use any underwear (koshimaki) on that day, so it was a kind of "Coming of age" ceremony. After the festival they got their own waist belt (koshimaki) and were considered a woman.

The girls cooked rice with red beans, lily roots or mixed vegetables.

In some areas, the stove and a little hut were built at a crossroads, where the children would later eat (tsujimeshi). Souls of people who had died without anyone coming to get them for this o-bon festival could be lingering at the crossroads and were invited to participate in the meal.

Since children were considered close to the deities, the hungry ghosts did not harm them. The young girls connected this world 此岸 with the next 彼岸 world of the gods.

Gabi Greve

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Other expressions with this kigo:

bon stove bongama 盆竈
cooking rice at the crossroads, tsujimeshi　辻飯
..... bon no mamagoto 盆のままごと

bon rice, bon mama 盆まま
..... (O-mama is a children's word for rice.)
..... bon meshi 盆飯
rice for the hungry ghosts, gaki meshi 餓鬼飯
rice for the souls, shooryoo meshi 精霊飯

bon hut, bongoya　盆小屋

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A bon stove at the side of the river in a mountain village



http://blog.kakinet.ne.jp/


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

盆竈に水汲み置きし桶一荷

carrying water
for the bon stove -
one heavy bucket
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

井上康明 Inoue Yasuakira
http://sendan.kaisya.co.jp/ikkubak_0802.html


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Related words

***** Bon Festival (o-bon)



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Bon Flowers (bonbana)

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Bon Flowers (bonbana)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Autumn
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Before the beginning of the Bon Festival (o-bon) ,
in the morning of August 13 (according to the lunar calendar, it was the 11th of July), people would go outside in the nearby fields and woods to collect flowers as decorations for the Bon Shelf. Since the souls of the ancestors are believed to live in the mountains, this was a way of leading the sould on the way home. The flowers served as some kind of anchor for the souls.

These flowers varied from region to region in Japan, they included
bushclover (hagi), lilies (yuri), mountain pink (nadeshiko), lantern flowes (hoozuki), baloon flowers (kikyoo) and others.

The floweres were cut and arranged on the Bon shelf for the souls, to welcome the souls with flowers, bonbana mukae 盆花迎え.

When people started to live in big cities, it was difficult to go to a local mountain and soon markets appeared in town for these flowers. Nowadays, you can even get some plastic varieties.





bonbana 盆花 (ぼんばな) flowers for O-Bon

flowers for the shelf of the souls, shooryoobana 精霊花
welcoming with Bon-flowers, bonbana mukae 盆花迎え

breaking the bon flowers, bonbana ori 盆花折

sellilng bon flowers, bonbana uri 盆花売


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Artificial Bon Flowers



http://www.takayamashoji.co.jp/bon/ar5-7.html
赤二輪　赤三輪　赤五輪　赤七輪
金二輪　金三輪　金五輪　金七輪
銀二輪　銀三輪　銀五輪　銀七輪


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


盆花売亡き母のことたづねけり
bonbana uri naki haha no koto tazunekeri

selling bon flowers -
asking for
my dead mother

西浦昭美 Nishiura Akemi
http://www2.famille.ne.jp/~haiku/sho-kansai40.html


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　盆花や駅は電車の止まる処
bonbana ya eki wa densha no tomaru tokoro

bon flowers -
the train station a place
where trains stop

麻里伊 Marii
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~xl4o-endu/mizu.htm


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Related words

***** Lampionflower (hoozuki, Japan)

***** Bon Festival (o-bon)

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Bon Boats for Souls (shooryoobune)

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Ships for the Souls (shooryoobune)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early August
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

One of the customs of the Bon Festival (o-bon) .

On the last day of the festival, on August 15 (in some areas on the 16th), people preapare little boats of wheat straw (mugigara 麦殻） or reeds and load the offered figures of horses made of eggplants and cucumbers (nasu no uma　茄子の馬 uri no uma　瓜の馬、oxen of eggplants 茄子の牛, oxen of cucumbers 胡瓜の牛、uri no ushi 瓜の牛) from the Bon shelf (bondana), together with the Bon Flowers (bonbana) and some rice cakes on them.
See also : Eggplant Horse decorations

These little boats are then set afloat on a local river, lake or the seashore. A small candle burns for the whole family on the shore to watch their boat. It is quite a sorrowful moment, when the ship falls over or the candle burns out and the souls of the ancestors are on their way to the other world again.

In some areas like Nagasaki really big boats are send off on these days.

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Other kigo for this event:

ships for the blessed souls
..... shooryoobune (shoryobune)　精霊船

Bon-Ship, bonbune 盆舟
sending-off ship, okuribune 送船
Lantern-Ship, tooroobune 燈篭船
straw ship, mugigarabune 麦殻船

Gabi Greve

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Lafcadio Hearn about this custom

Though during a week the sky has remained unclouded, the sea has for several days been growing angrier; and now the muttering of its surf sounds far into the land. They say that it always roughens thus during the period of the Festival of the Dead--the three days of the Bon, which are the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of the seventh month by the ancient calendar.
And on the sixteenth day, after the shoryobune, which are the Ships of Souls, have been launched, no one dares to enter it: no boats can then be hired; all the fishermen remain at home. For on that day the sea is the highway of the dead, who must pass back over its waters to their mysterious home; and therefore upon that day is it called Hotoke-umi--the Buddha-Flood--the Tide of the Returning Ghosts.

And ever upon the night of that sixteenth day--whether the sea be calm or tumultuous--all its surface shimmers with faint lights gliding out to the open,--the dim fires of the dead; and there is heard a murmuring of voices, like the murmur of a city far-off,--the indistinguishable speech
of souls.

Read more of this book here:
http://library.thefreebookshop.com/works.php?a=163&t=503&p=22

Read Gabi Greve about Lafcadio Hearn

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Nagasaki



Almost a real boat ! August 15.
http://www1.cncm.ne.jp/~maiguma/obon/ohaka_shouroubune.html

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Nagasaki Event with Fireworks
seireinagashi　精霊流し
http://www.hanabistore.com/syouroubune.htm


..................... More Links

Tottori, shaurabune 精霊船（しゃうらぶね）


http://www.town.kotoura.tottori.jp/p/sightseeing/shisetsu/syaurabune/

With some music
http://stephan.mods.jp/guest/syourou.html

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

A Soul Boat for a lost Pet Dog



On sale here:
http://www.y-iwai.com/season/bon/shourou/pet.html

And a link about a cat boat
http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Kaede/3264/neko_ship/neko_ship.html

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HAIKU

長崎で　色とりどりの　精霊船　
Nagasaki de iro toridori no shooryoobune

at Nagasaki
made of all colors,
the boats for the dead
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Nishidomari Middle School
http://www.nagasaki-city.ed.jp/nishidomari-j/haiku/hitokoto_1608.htm

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精霊船より島の子の泳ぎ出す
shooryoobune yori shima no ko no oyogidasu

from the boat for the souls
children of the island
start swimming back
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

須藤靖子Tottori, Sufuji Yasuko
http://www.oki-ama.ne.jp/daisuki/simauta/jyusyosakuhin.htm

In some areas it is custom to have small children on the boat, while it drifts off to a nearby island. When the light boat starts to sink, the kids hop into the water and swim back to the shore, where their parents and villagers are waiting and cheering.

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Related words

***** Bon Festival (o-bon)

***** Eggplant Horse decorations (nasu no uma　茄子の馬）



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Bon of Wind (kaze no bon)

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Bon of Wind (kaze no bon　風の盆)

***** Location: Japan, Toyama Pref.
***** Season: Early Autumn
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

This is a special festival in the town of Yatsuo in Toyama prefecture, Japan, held each year from September 1 to 3.

Other kigo versions are:

Owara festival, Owara matsuri　おわら祭
Round Bon Dance in Yatsuo,
..... Yatsuo no mawari bon　八尾の廻り盆

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Yatsuo, a small and quiet mountain village, is decorated with thousands of paper lanterns as it brings much dancing and music, featuring the nostalgia of the traditional stringed instruments of Japan, shamisen　三味線, and Chinese fiddle, kokyuu　胡弓.
Etchuu Owara has a 300-year-long history. Its song and dance is tender and elegant, and creates a graceful atmosphere with its melancholic melody.

Dancers dressed in identical Happi coats (male) or Yukatas (female) wearing a straw hat dance from sloped street to street in the town that retains a remnant of the old days with its lattice-doors and old warehouses, which looks like a wave of straw hats passing before spectators. At the theater in the Yatsuo Elementary School playground, each Owara preservation society performs its dance.

http://www8.city.toyama.toyama.jp/kanko/english/e_event/e_07.html

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A page with photos of this festival
Owara Kaze no Bon



http://www.bonodori.net/E/egallerry/photoe/photoeowara.htm

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Kaze-no-Bon
Written by Matsuoka Satoshi
Photos by Yamada Sanzo



From September 1 to 3 each year, tourists come from all over Japan to Yatsuo, a small town nestled at the foot of the mountains in Nei County, Toyama Prefecture.

The attraction is Kaze-no-Bon, a festival that goes back 300 years. Young men and women wind their way through the streets of their town, dressed in happi (simple, short jackets like kimono) and cotton yukata, dancing to traditional folk songs called owara. The music comes from the three-stringed shamisen, taiko drums and kokyu lutes. The dancers' elegant movements match the slow, lilting sound of the music and song, creating a unique sense of beauty that makes this Bon dance one of the most interesting in Japan.

When the festival first started in the Edo period (1603-1868), dancers wore whatever they wanted and had a good time. The dance was performed around September 1, an "unlucky" day when typhoons were likely to strike. As the festival began to represent the people's prayer for protection from typhoons, the dance and music became soft and gentle, beautiful in appearance and sound. And the name of the festival became Kaze-no-Bon (kaze means "wind," while Bon is the Buddhist All Souls' Day).

Actually, there are three types of Bon dance here - one for men, one for women, and one to pray for a good harvest. The dancers hide their faces under braided straw hats in the hope that the spirits will not become overly attached to them.
Dance techniques are passed down from the older generation to the younger. Each step, each movement down to the fingertips, is clearly and precisely defined, so there's a lot to learn during the year before the young people are ready for the festival. In Yatsuo, the Kaze-no-Bon dance is the culmination of an entire year's effort.

One elderly person puts it this way. "We were brought up with the songs and music in our ears. Owara is more than just an art that some people like and others don't - it is a part of us, and we are a part of it." Late at night, after the tourists have gone to bed, the town folk keep singing and dancing. They won't stop until dawn.

The men's dance is slow but full of vigor.
The Scarecrow Dance depicts work on the farm.
Teams from the town's 11 districts compete with each other in a dance.
In the women's dance, all dancers are unmarried, between the ages of 15 and 25. No hats are worn during the day. The town of Yatsuo spreads out behind them.
ー source : eb-japan.org/nipponia

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Dancer Dolls made from Washi Paper


http://www.tesukiwashi.jp/image/ecchu/ecchu_kazenobon.jpg

Read Gabi Greve about
Washi, Japanese Paper and its Art 和紙の芸術品
http://darumasan.blogspot.com/2005/03/washi-japanese-paper_31.html

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Owara kaze no bon おわら風の盆 souvenirs from Owara
- source and more photos : gokayama_mura003 -


. Toyama Folk Art - 富山県 .


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HAIKU

The 4th WHA Haiga Contest （05/2003)



tsuyoki chichi yasashiki haha ni kaze no bon

for a strong father
and a gentle mother -
Bon of the Wind
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Haiga by E.Tokuyama
http://www.worldhaiku.net/haiga/haiga004.htm

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ぼんぼりに胡弓とけゆく風の盆
bonbori ni kokyuu to yukata kaze no bon

Bon lanterns,
old lute and summer kimonos -
Bon of Wind
(Tr. Gabi Greve)


風の盆あぶらとり紙買ひにけり
kaze no bon aburatori kami kai ni keri

Bon of Wind Dance -
buying paper to
wipe off the sweat
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

風の盆果てて水音するばかり

Internet Haiku Kukai
http://www.arase.com/cgi-bin/haiku.cgi

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Related words

***** Bon Festival (o-bon)


. SAIJIKI ... OBSERVANCES, FESTIVALS
Kigo for Autumn

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Bon Festival (o-bon, obon)

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Bon Festival, O-Bon, Obon

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Early Autumn
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

. O-Bon 2011 - After the Earthquake .

O-bon Festival in Japan お盆 by Shizuko Mishima, About Japan 2005 The 13th through 16th of August is called o-bon in Japan. O-bon is a Buddhist event and one of the most important traditions for Japanese people. It is the period of praying for the repose of the souls of one's ancestors. People believe that their ancestors' spirits come back to their homes to be reunited with their family during o-bon. People clean their houses and offer a variety of food such as vegetables and fruits to the spirits of ancestors in front of a butsudan (Buddhist families altar). The butsudan is decorated with flower and CHOOCHIN, lanterns . On the 13th, chouchins are lit inside houses, and people go to their family's o-haka (graves) to call their ancestors' spirits back home. In some regions, fires called mukaebi are lit at the entrances to homes to guide the ancestor's spirits. On the 16th, people bring the ancestor's spirits back to o-haka, hanging chouchins painted with the family crest to guide the ancestors' spirits. In some regions, fires called okuribi are lit at entrances of homes to send the ancestors' spirits. The air in houses and cemeteries are full of smoke and the smell of incense called senko at this time. Bon Dance During o-bon, bon odori (folk dances) are held all over Japan. The kind of dance varies from area to area. People wearing yukata (summer kimono) go to the neighborhood shrine, temple, or park and dance around a yagura (stage) set up there. Anyone can participate in the dance. Join the circle and imitate what others are doing. Awa odori of Tokushima and bon odori at Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo are very famous. Also, Toro Nagashi (floating paper lanterns) are held in some areas. On the evening of the 15th, people send off ancestor's spirits with a paper lantern, lit by a candle inside and floated down a river to the ocean. Firework Displays (hanabi-taikai) are often held during o-bon. It is a typical Japanese summer scene to see hanabi. Since o-bon is an important family gathering time, many people return to their hometowns during o-bon. Most businesses are closed during this time. Although it is crowded everywhere, it is common for many people take trips during o-bon, too. The beginning and end of o-bon are marked with terrible traffic jams. Airports, train stations, and highways are jammed with travelers. I recommend you do not travel around o-bon! © About Japan http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/obonfestival.htm http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/obonfestival_2.htm

. sorei 祖霊 ancestral spirits - details .



More about the light offeringst

Light offerings afloat (tooroo nagashi　燈籠流) 　
more kigo in the database

Koya San in Wakayama　高野山


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Next to the New Year celebrations, O-Bon (Obon) is one of the most important festivals to unite the family. It comes with many local customs and all of these can be used as kigo in haiku.
I will try and introduce some of them here.


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source :　teramusume.blogspot.jp

kamabuta tsuitachi 釜蓋朔日 (かまぶたついたち)
opening the chauldron on the first day
tonboo tsuitachi 蜻蛉朔日（とんぼついたち）
first day of the dragonflies
On the first day of the seventh lunar month (now August 1) the chauldron of hell was opened to let the souls out for their visit to the family graves.
From this day on, the Urabon ceremonies were started.


. all about the 釜蓋 Kamabuta pot lid .
Kamafuta Jinja 釜蓋神社 "Kamafuta Shrine" , Kagoshima

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. Bon no ichi 盆の市（ぼんのいち) Bon Market .

A market that sells all the things necessary for the Bon celebrations.
It used to start on the evening of the 12th.

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visiting the ancestor's graves in preparation for O-Bon
... hakamairi, haka mairi 墓参 (墓参り)
visiting graves, bonsan　盆参
cleaning the grave, especially the weeds
....tenboo 展墓
scrubbing off the moss from the graves, sootai 掃苔
washing the grave stones, haka arau 墓洗う
..... These preparations are done a few days ahead of the Bon festival.



welcoming fire at the gates, mukaebi 迎え火
Festival for the souls, tama matsuri 魂祭


Bon Festival, O-Bon, Obon お盆、盆
Lantern Festival, Festival of the Dead, Ancestor's Festival
..... Urabon, Ura-Bon 盂蘭盆, urabon-e 盂蘭盆会
..... boni ぼに
..... Bon-e 盆会 Bon celebration
August 13 - 15


Bon Lantern, bonjoochin, bon choochin 盆提灯

Bon Dance, bon odori　盆踊り
including - Bon Dance in Awa, Awa odori 阿波踊り



Tower for the Bon Dance, bon yagura 盆櫓


okuribon 送り盆 (おくりぼん) last day of O-Bon
..... shimai bon, shimaibon しまい盆（しまいぼん）、
urabon 裏盆（うらぼん）"Back of O-Bon"
bongu nagashi 盆供流し（ぼんぐながし）floating the Bon offerings




sending-off fire, okuribi 送り火
sending off the souls, tama okuri 霊送り/ 魂送

Eggplant Horse and other vegetable BON decorations
nasu uma　茄子馬



shelf for Bon offerings, bondana 盆棚
shelf for the souls, shooryoodana 精霊棚
shelf for the ancestors, sensodana 先祖棚
tamadana, tama-dana 玉棚 "decoration shelf"
empty shelf, karadana 空棚
shelf for the sutras, tanagyoo 棚経



first bon ceremony, hatsubon, hatsu bon 初盆, shinbon 新盆, niibon
..... for a person who died since the last O-Bon. There are many special rituals for the family to perform, which are different in many areas of Japan.
..... mizu no ko, mizuko　水の子、水子（みずのこ）unborn child
..... mizu no mi 水の実（みずのみ）
aratana 荒棚（あらたな） provisional shelf
arabon あら盆（あらぼん）provisional Bon
niijooro 新精霊 "new soul"
shinbon mimai 新盆見舞（しんぼんみまい）visiting a home with a new Bon
shooryoo matsuri, shooryoomatsuri 精霊祭 Festival of the Souls

. mizuko kuyoo　水子供養　service for unborn children .


preparations for o-bon, bonjitaku 盆仕度 （ぼんじたく）
..... bonyooi 盆用意 (ぼんようい)
before o-bon, bon mae 盆前
holidays during o-bon, bon yasumi 盆休み (ぼんやすみ)
..... usually three days, when people travel home to visit the graves of the ancestors
after o-bon, bon sugi 盆過ぎ （ぼんすぎ）


. hasu no meshi 蓮の飯 (はすのめし) rice with lotus .


. nanukabon 七日盆（なぬかぼん）
O-Bon preparations beginning on the 7th of August .
including cleaning of ponds, wells and graves


bonsekki 盆節季 (ぼんせっき) Bon season
bon no kakegoi 盆の掛乞（ぼんのかけごい）payment at O-Bon
..... bonbarai 盆払（ぼんばらい）
..... bon kanjoo 盆勘定（ぼんかんじょう）

During the Edo period, many people bought on loan and payed their debts twice a year, at O-bon and before the New Year holidays.

. kakegoi 掛乞 last payment of the year .


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In the Buddhist Saijiki of our database you can find many more kigo related to O-Bon.
WKD : Saijiki of Buddhist, Shinto and other Ceremonies


Graves (haka)

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.. .. .. .. .. Links about O-Bon

The O-Bon ABC. The most detailed explanations.
http://www.bonodori.net/E/sekai/bonabc1.HTML

Safekeep copy without photos is here:
O-Bon / ABC


Japanese haiku about O-Bon
盂蘭盆チャット句会２００３
Suien Obon Chat Taikai

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Worldwide use

Hawaii

The Obon in Hawai'i

This Buddhist observance honoring the ancestors came to Hawai`i in the late 19th century with a large wave of Japanese immigrants. Obon is observed in Hawai`i during the summer months, when family members place flowers and food on the graves of ancestors and friends and recite the nembutsu, an expression of appreciation, before the family altar.


© Photo: Melvin M. Takahashi

The centerpiece of the ceremony is the bon dance.
It is believed that the first bon dances were performed in the fields where the immigrants labored, and in between houses on the plantation. Later dances were held in temple courtyards. As work schedules began to conform to the Western five-day week, bon dances began to be scheduled for weekends. The bon dance is a way of expressing gratitude to ancestors and loved ones no longer here. It is a way of reflecting upon the preciousness and fragility of this life. Even though the sense of loss of family and loved ones is strong, a festive mood prevails at the dance.

Although the dance nearly died out with the onslaught of anti-Japanese fervor that swept Hawai`i during the '40s, a post WW II event spurred its revival in 1951 when four Japanese-American veterans' groups sponsored a bon dance to honor the war dead from Hawaii. That revival was also powered by tourism and the convergence of several island traditions: interfaith services, interracial marriages, racial harmony, and bon dance clubs.

Today the bon dancers are not only Japanese Buddhists, but Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese and native Hawaiian, Protestant and Catholic. Bon dance clubs in recent years have enlivened the bon dance tradition. Each bon dance club specializes in the music and dance of one of the prefectures of Hawaii's immigrants. Some clubs provide musicians and group of dancers to lead the dancing, while others provide only the music.

Over the years, the ceremony and the practice of Buddhism itself underwent significant change to adapt to the islands' multicultural society. The 23-page essay submitted as part of the project explores the history of that transformation and the present place of the Obon in Hawaiian culture.

© by Local Legacies Hawaii
http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial/propage/HI/hi_s_akaka4.html

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Things found on the way

senzo matsuri 先祖まつり festival of the ancestors

On the island Mikurajima 御蔵島 there is no temple any more, only a shrine 祖霊社 to celebrate during O-Bon, O-Higan and other festivals.
So now they celebrate this festival twice a year during the equinox. During the rituals, girls of the age of 15 are allowed to wear a long-sleeve kimono for the first time, to present them to the ancestors as "little women".
After a ceremony at the shrine, people eat mochi ricecakes and sweets in white and red auspicious colors.

source : satoyumi


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HAIKU

okuribi ya
jiisan baasan no
kami shiroki

sending-off fires -
Grandfather and Grandmother
their hair so white



Nobody had come this year from the neighbour's family for the celebrations. So the two of them where all alone in the apple orchard in the Western part of the estate, symbolizing the Paradise of the West, where the graves are located, to send off the ancestor's souls.

I have written a bit more on the rural family graves here:
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2004/10/lonely-graves-in-mist.html

Gabi Greve, 2005

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家はみな杖に白髪の墓参り
ie wa mina tsue ni shiragami no hakamairi

all family members
with canes and white hair
visiting graves

Matsuo Basho　松尾芭蕉, 1656 明暦２
at the local shrine of his village at Iga Ueno



The whole family--
All with white hair and canes
visiting graves
Tr. Jane Reichhold

- - - - -


数ならぬ身とな思ひそ玉祭り　
. kazu naranu mi to na omoi so tama matsuri .
for his wife, Jutei-Ni 寿貞尼 Juteini, the Nun Jutei


MORE - hokku about the tsue - walking stick by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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12 Bon Lantern Haiku by Kobayashi Issa

同じ年の顔の皺見ゆる灯篭哉
onaji toshi no kao no shiwa miyuru tôro kana

a wrinkled face
he's my age...
lanterns for the dead

.. .. .. .. ..

よそ事と思へ思へど灯篭哉
yoso-goto to omoe omoedo tôro kana

someone else's affair
you think...
lanterns for the dead

... //cat.xula.edu/issa/

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13 Haiku by Issa about the Bon Festival Dance

山かげの一軒家さへおどり哉
yama kage no ikken-ya sae odori kana

an isolated house
in mountain shade
but a festival dance!

.. .. .. .. ..

踊から直に朝草かりにけり
odori kara sugu ni asa kusa kari ni keri

after the dance
right away, cutting
the morning grass

.. http://haikuguy.com/issa/

Cutting the grass and weeds in the morning, when it is still cool, is a way of doing things even nowadays. My husband also is on weed cutting duty most mornings...
Gabi Greve, Japan 2005

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Issa on the seeing-off fire


送り火や今に我等もあの通り
okuribi ya ima ni warera mo ano tôri

fires for the dead
soon enough they'll burn
for us
http://haikuguy.com/issa/

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Issa on the Buddhist Shelf for the Souls

魂棚や上座して鳴くきりぎりす
tama-dana ya jooza shite naku kirigirisu

Buddhist shelf--
in the seat of honor
a katydid chirrs

Sakuo Nakamura notes that the katydid singing in the honored place of the altar takes on the role of Issa's ancestor. The Buddhist shelf (tama-dana) is an altar for the spirits of the dead used during the Bon Festival. The Bon Festival of the Dead takes place in Eighth Month in the old lunar calendar. At this time, people light lanterns to guide their ancestors' spirits back home.

A katydid (kirigirisu) is a green or light brown insect, a cousin of crickets and grasshoppers. The males possess special organs on the wings with which they produce shrill calls. Although katydid is the closest English equivalent, many translators (such as R. H. Blyth) use the more familiar "grasshopper" and "cricket." See Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 4.1068-69.


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玉棚に必風の吹といふ
tama-dana ni kanarazu kaze no fuku to iu

on the ancestors' altar
without fail
a lucky wind blows
Tr. David Lanoue



on the Bon offering shelf
there is usually a wind
blowing
Tr. Gabi Greve

It can be interpreted as a play with words, kaze no fuku, FUKU meaning good luck or just blowing of the wind.

It could simply mean that during the O-Bon season there is often a wind blowing (often even a typhoon coming).


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迎え火や山から続く村の道
mukaebi ya yama kara tsuzuku mura no michi

wellcoming fire -
from the mountain down
a road to the village
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

© 能生町・矢沢龍蔵 Yazawa Ryuuzoo
http://www.lib.itoigawa.niigata.jp/np/2003-9.htm

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水色を軒端に吊るす盆提灯　　
mizu-iro o nokiba ni tsurusu bon choochin

water-colored
hanging down from the eves -
bon lantern
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

© Keiji けいじ
http://www.suien.ne.jp/0001/chat/bon03a.htm

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少年の野太き声や盆仕度
shoonenn no nobutoki koe ya bon jitaku

the loud wild voice
of a young boy -
preparing for o-bon
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

茜由の俳句　Senyuu no haiku 　
http://homepage2.nifty.com/senyuu/haiku-2003.htm

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Related words

***** Saijiki for Buddhist Ceremonies and Events

***** Awaodori Dance Japan, Bon-Odori, Bon-Dance

Bon Festival (o-bon お盆) and Autumn festivals Japan
(contains all the O-Bon kigo)
..... Bon Boats for Souls (shooryoobune) Japan
..... Bon Flowers (bonbana) Japan
..... Bon Stove (bongama) Japan
..... Bon of Wind (kaze no bon) Japan
..... Jizobon, Jizoo Bon Japan
..... Tug of war (Bon Tsunahiki 盆綱引) Japan

Bon Lanterns (bonchoochin) and other lanterns

Light offerings afloat (tooroo nagashi) 　

ikegaebon, ikekae bon 池替え盆（いけかえぼん）cleaning the pond "for O-Bon"


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. Hungry Ghost Festival .
Celebrated on the 15th day of the 7th Lunar month in Asia.


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Blackthorn sumomo

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Blackthorn flower

***** Location: Europe
***** Season: Mid- Spring
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

There are many types of fruit trees in the
Soure Plum SUMOMO group.

Here we are concerned with

Prunus spinosa, Spinosa sumomo スピノサスモモ

This is one of the parent trees of the plum, the European Sumomo（ヨーロッパスモモ、セイヨウスモモ）.


http://www.ne.jp/asahi/plant/stamps/stamps/rosaceae.htm

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Blackthorn is apparently the parent species of all the blossoming plums of Eurasia. Like most wild, uncultivated varieties, it is a bit smaller and more showy than its cultivated offspring, and perhaps less commonly seen by city folks, but country folks in the British Isles know it well.
It blooms with some variation, from March into April, and is thus appropriate for mid spring.

As the plant apparently originated in central Europe, and has spread pretty much throughout the wilds of temperate Eurasia, it seems well known to many.
Some names for it in other languages

German, "der Swartzdorn" or "der Schlehdorn";
French, "Epine noire" [f] or "prunellier" [m] .

It is so striking when the flowers emerge from the otherwise deeply black and lifeless stems and branches, like the earliest cherries, but even more striking is their black-and-pale-pinkish-white contrast. "Petals on a wet, black bough" indeed!

William J. Higginson

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.. .. .. Some Links:

GAELIC NAMES : DRAIGHEAN, DRAIGHEÁN.
USES :
A tea made from blackthorn leaves is a mild purgative, it also helps bladder problems, catarrh and bronchial problems. Juice of fresh berries helps inflammations of the throat, although is very astringent/drying. A jam made from the fruit makes a palatable laxative. A decoction of the roots is said to cure fever.
Read more here:
http://www.shee-eire.com/Herbs,Trees&Fungi/Trees/Blackthorn/Factsheet1.htm



Blackthorn blossom in a country lane near Tiptree in mid April


copyright © of Barry Samuels
http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/blackthorn02big.html

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Revered by the Druids, who thought it magical, the dense foliage shelters many species of wildlife, provides nest sites for birds and hibernation places for butterflies, and is the larval food plant of a number of insects vital to the overall health of the countryside.
And still we treat it as if it were some alien invader.
http://tinyurl.com/7vz5r

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

.. .. .. .. .. Sloe Gin

Ingredients:
1 lb. (450 g) sloes
3 cups (710 ml) gin or vodka
1 1/2 cup (350 g) sugar

Sloes are the fruit of blackthorn and are actually a wild type of plums. The flavor of the fruit is bitter, so the small plums are not suitable for eating. However, the effect of frost makes them milder. The bitter flavor is lost when making liqueurs.

Sloe gin is traditionally made in Ireland and Britain. Sloe liqueur is also made in Scandinavia, Germany, France and Spain. This delicious liqueur has a flavor similar to plum liqueur and the color is dark red. It is best served in small amounts as an after-dinner drink with or without ice.

Read the recipe here
http://www.liqueurweb.com/sloe.htm


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March snow -
blackthorn flowers wait
for the sun

- Shared by John Byrne, Ireland -
Haiku Culture Magazine, 2013




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HAIKU

.. .. .. Morning Sedoka

Blackthorn cloaked in frost,
undresses in the morning,
as the sun peeps through the trees.

Andrew Hide
http://www.thepeoplespoet.com/pages/poeticforms.htm


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almost autumn
the blackthorn's shadow
both sides of the wall

paul conneally
http://www.charnwood-arts.org.uk/webworks/webworkshaiku.php?imageid=1489


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Related words

***** (Sour) Plum flower, Sumomo flower 李花　
kigo for late spring in Japan.

sumomo no hana 李の花 (すもものはな) Sumomo blossoms
flower of the plum, rika 李花
Sumomo plum flowers falling, sumomo chiru 李散る

The origin of this tree is in China, but it was introduced to Japan around 500. In April small flowers begin to be visible.

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sumomo 李 (すもも) "sour plum"
..... 李子（すもも）、yonemomo 米桃（よねもも）
botankyoo 牡丹杏（ぼたんきょう）

Prunus salicina - スモモ

The fruit are ripe in June and July and are a
kigo for early summer.

reines-claude in French
Reneclaude in German

Do not mix this PLUM with the prune, which is also a kind of plum.

And to not mix it with this plum, ume, Prunus mume, of the apricot family.

Plum blossom (ume) Japan


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observance kigo for late summer

***** sumomo matsuri すもも祭 (すももまつり)
Sumomo plum festival
..... 李祭（すももまつり）
sumomo ichi すもも市（すももいち）Sumomo market
karasu uchiwa 烏団扇（からすうちわ）"craw fan"



July 20 at the shrine Ookunitama 大国魂神社 Okunitama Jinja

A market for sweet-smelling sour plums where Japanese "black crow" fans (known to ward off evil and bring divine happiness) are be distributed.



quote
The sumomo matsuri
is a festival held on July 20 at Ōkunitama Jinja in Fuchū City, Tokyo Prefecture, in which special offerings (shinsen) of plums and rice with chestnuts (kurimeshi) are offered to the kami. Eating the plums on the day of the festival is believed to exorcise evil spirits and prevent summer maladies.
Fans painted with drawings of crows are distributed to the worshipers with the belief that waving the fans at the fields prevents insects from attacking the crops. Before the mid-Edo period, this festival was considerably larger, eclipsing the same shrine's kurayami matsuri in size.
source : Mogi Sakae, Kokugakuin, 2006





Look at the kagura dance here
source : www.youtube.com


. OBSERVANCES – SUMMER SAIJIKI .


. Fan (oogi 扇　- uchiwa　団扇） .


. Fuchuu matsuri 府中祭 (ふちゅうまつり)
Fuchu Festival .
May 5 at the shrine Ookunitama 大国魂神社 Okunitama Jinja


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Binzuru Ceremonies

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Ceremony for Binzuru (Binzuru mawashi)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: New Year, January 6
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Ceremony for Binzuru, Binzuru mawashi 賓頭盧廻
びんづるまはし, ひんつるまはし, びんずるまわし
Zenkooji 善光寺おびんずる回し、at Temple Zenko-Ji
賓頭盧回し

Binzuru (Pinzuru) is one of the 16 arhats of Buddhism. His statue is usually outside beside the temple and people come to rub a part of it to heal the aching part of their own body. This type of statue is called "rubbing Buddha statue", nadebotoke　(see below).


- shared by Thomas Carnacki, facebook

This special ceremony occurs on the sixth of January, one day before the "Seven Herbs" ceremony.

On this day at the temple Zenkoo-Ji 善光寺 in Nagano, the statue of Binzuru is dressed with a straw rope around his head. While the believers touch him with bamboo ladles (shamoji 杓), he is carried around the outer shrine and then back to his original place. People pray for health and good luck for the coming year.



長野市の国宝善光寺本堂で１月６日の夜に行われる「びんずる回し」は、新年恒例の行事。釈迦（しゃか）の弟子で、触った場所の痛みや病気が治るとされる「びんずる尊者」の木像を大勢の参拝者が引き回し、無病息災などを祈ります。
浄土宗一山の住職の読経の後、参拝者が交代で像が置かれた木製の台座から伸びる２本の綱を引っ張り、本堂内を右回りにゆっくりと周回。住職から配られたしゃもじなどでびんずる像に触れ、思い思いに願いを託します。
　©　信州歳時記.冬

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Bindora Baradaja
賓度羅跋羅惰闍

Also called Binzuru (J). Pindola Bharadraja (Skt).
West; resides with 1,000 disciples in Saikudani-shi (Skt. Aparagodani); the most widely revered of the Arhats in Japan; all the others are less known to Japanese lay worshippers, and they rarely serve as the central objects of devotion.
Pindola, however, according to the Flammarion Iconographic Guide on Buddhism, is the Arhat par excellence in Japan, and is mainly worshipped by lay people.

Quote: "In Japan, Pindola is represented as an old man seated on a high-backed chair, with white hair and bushy eyebrows. Statues of him, in painted wood or stone, are usually well worn, since the faithful follow the custom of rubbing a part of the effigy corresponding to the sick parts of their bodies, as he is reputed to have the gift of healing.

He is also very frequently offered red and white bibs and children's caps to watch over the health of babies, so that his statue is often decked in rags. He is represented in painting as an old man seated on a rock, holding in his hand a sort of sceptre (Japanese shaku), or a sutra box and a feather fan.

All the other Arahants are usually worshipped in Japan in his person. In some cases, his efficgy is placed in monastery refectories, as at the Jikido (Shakudo) in Todai-ji Temple (Nara), and in Hieizan."

Bindora Baradaja 賓度羅跋羅惰闍
by Mark Schumacher

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Binzuru Dance (Binzuru odori) in Nagano
長野びんずる 踊り


http://wisteria-ts.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/binzuru/binzuru_11.JPG

... ... ...


Dance with Us at the Binzuru Festival!

www.osk.3web.ne.jp/logos/shinshu/binzuru.html


Click HERE to see some more of the famous Binzuru statues.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Buddha Statues to rub for good luck
nadebotoke　撫で仏, 撫仏, なでぼとけ　

Binzuru, O-Binzuru sama, is the most famous of them all. His statues are in front of many temples.

Statue of Standing Daruma :
You can touch any part of his body which hurts on your own body and pray for good health. Daruma san is especially known for his strong legs, after all he walked quite a way if legend is true...
Usually we have a statue of Binzuru-sama ビンズルさま　as a healer to touch. You rub him on the spot where your own body hurts, but here our Daruma takes the part of the healer.

Daruma-ji - A Temple in Nishi Izu
by Gabi Greve

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Jizo as a rubbing healer in Asakusa, Tokyo
A healer to touch.



© 白い香り

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Fudo Myo-O at Tempel Yokoyamadera横山寺, 島根県隠岐郡隠岐の島町

“痛いところを撫でてお祈りすると治ります”
If you touch the part that hurts you, you will be healed.



© Nihon no Minwa


Read more about Fudo Myo-O 不動明王 in my BLOG

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Here is a badger to be rubbed for good luck, fukutanuki　福狸.
We found him in front of a ricewine store in Kurayoshi, 2006. His breast was quite worn out, he/she must be a helper for mothers with small babies.



More about the Tanuki and Daruma
狸だるま

...................

Once I visited a small temple way back in the North of Japan. The touching Buddha was a Kannon Bosatsu in a female incarnation, with rather large breasts. She was seated on a lotus throne on a high podest. Mothers would come to her to touch the breast and pray for milk while breastfeeding.
BUT
The statue was so high up, many mothers could not reach the breasts at all. So it was customary in this temple to touch one of her knees instead. And believe me, the knees where all worn out and shiny!

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Click HERE to see a few more of these touching healers !

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nadeusagi, nade-usagi なでうさぎ rabbit to rub



大神神社 Omiwa Shrine
- reference : nadeusagi omiwa -



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HAIKU

Binzuru-mawashi sentoo ayumu to to narinu

I became
the head of the party
for the Binzuru ceremony

((Rikukawa Naonori))

Binzuru is the wooden statue at Zenko-ji temple . The divine grace is to cure illness, and its annual ceremony is held on January sixth. People hit its head by rice spoons with their familiarity to Binzuru to thank for its works for them for a year.

Shiraobi Haiku Magazine, January 2006
http://homepage2.nifty.com/shirawobi/06.01shuukuEnglish.html#label2

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Binzuru in Nara, Temple Todaiji


- Photo : Nicolas Delerue -


Issa and his Haiku about Binzuru Sama

びんずるを一なでなでて木の芽哉
binzuru o hito nade-nadete ki no me kana

giving Saint Binzuru
a rub...
the budding tree

Here, a tree's budding branch (ki no me) is doing the lucky rubbing.



びんづるは撫なくさるる紅葉哉
binzuru wa nade nakusaruru momiji kana

keeping Saint Binzuru
from being rubbed...
a red leaf


Haiga by Nakamura Sakuo

In this comic haiku, an autumn leaf has fallen onto the statue's holy head.
Sakuo Nakamura notes that Binzuru-sama is famous for his bald head, which people rub in hopes of recovering from sickness. Here, a leaf is doing the rubbing, "like a baby's palm."



びんずるの御膝に寝たる雉哉
binzuru no o-hiza ni netaru kigisu kana

in Saint Binzuru's lap
sound asleep...
a pheasant



びんづるの目ばかり光るけさの雪
binzuru no me bakari hikaru kesa no yuki

Saint Binzuru's
eyes glittering...
this morning's snow

Yoshida Miwako sheds further light on this haiku: in a dark temple, votive lamps darken Binzuru's image with soot, but his glass eyes still glitter. It's a pitiful feeling, Yoshida adds, the glittering eyes in the gloom. On this gray winter day, the first big snow of the year twinkles like Binzuru's eyes. See Issa burai (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1996) 186.



びんずるの御鼻をなでる小蝶哉
binzuru no o-hana o naderu kochô kana

rubbing St. Binzuru's
holy nose...
little butterfly

In the haiku, a butterfly also strokes the saint for good health.

Tr. David Lanoue

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梅さくや手垢に光るなで仏
ume saku ya teaka ni hikaru nade-botoke

plums are blossoming -
the rubbed Buddha shines
from the dirt of hands
Tr. Gabi Greve

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .



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Related words

***** WKD: Ceremonies and Festivals of Japan


. Binzuru sama ema 絵馬　 .
Temple Jako-In (Jakoin) at Inuyama 寂光院 犬山


Introducing Japanese Deities



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Binzuru Sama (Pindola)

Einer von Shakyamunis Jüngern. Der Erste der 16 Arhats, der erste mit übernatürlichen Kräften.

In Japan bald als Gottheit verehrt, die körperliche Leiden und Gebrechen heilt. Daher finden sich seine Statuen oft in den Vorhallen der Tempel, so daß die Gläubigen darum herum laufen können und dabei diejenigen Stellen der Statue berühren, die an ihrem eigenen Körper erkrankt sind. Die Statuen sind entsprechend blank und abgerieben. Besonders bei Holzfiguren sind die Augen und die Nase fast ganz abgerieben.
Oft auch im Refektorium eines Klosters aufgestellt.

Sitzende Figur eines alten Mönchs mit kahlem Kopf, der Oberkörper nackt mit sichtbaren Rippenknochen, mit einem Tuch über den Schultern. Häufig aus Metall gefertigt.



. Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who 　　

Ein Wegweiser zur Ikonografie
von japanischen Buddhastatuen
Gabi Greve, 1994


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Shoohooji 正法寺 Shoho-Ji
Temple 10 of the Bando Pilgrimage
source : facebook


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. komainu 狛犬 / 高麗犬 / 胡麻犬 "Korean Dog" .

nade komainu なでこまいぬ a Komainu to rub


by 加藤藤四郎 Kato Toshiro (Kamakura period)

at the shrine Suehiko Sha 陶彦社
in the compound of 深川神社 Fukagawa Jinja, Aichi



The small figures are sold with the intention to have a wish granted
o-negai Komainu お願い狛犬



- quote -
Fukagawa and Suehiko Shrines
The two adjacent shrines are both extremely old. Fukagawa Shrine is believed to be around 1,200 years old, dating back to the Nara Period of Japanese history, and the shrine's treasure house, has a pair of guardian dogs, komainu, made by the legendary potter Toshiro Kato, the founder of Seto's ceramic industry.
The roof of Fukagawa Shrine
is covered with glazed, green, ceramic tiles called oribeyaki. Look out for the replica statue of a dog in the shrine's grounds near the main hall. Legend has it that during a dream a dog told Toshiro where to dig to find the high quality clay he was searching for. As a sign of thanks Toshiro crafted an image of a guardian dog (komainu) for the shrine. The originals are kept in the treasure house (see below for hours and admission fee).
Suehiko Shrine,
next door, enshrines the spirit of master potter Toshiro Kato, who was active here in Seto in the 13th century.
- source : japanvisitor.blogspot.jp -


Suehiko Jinja 陶彦神社

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