Light offerings afloat (tooroo nagashi)

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Light offerings afloat (tooroo nagashi)

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

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Explanation

Lantern offerings, lantern offerings on the water, lantern drifting, lantern floating, lantern festival

tooroo nagashi 燈籠流 (とうろうながし)
..... shooryoo nagashi 精霊流し（しょうりょうながし）
ryuutoo 流燈（りゅうとう) ryuutoo e 流燈会（りゅうとうえ）


The Japanese festival for the souls usually takes place at O-Bon in August. It has many traditional acitvities which are all kigo for this season. We will explore those in a different entry.
Here we are concerned with the light offerings during this season.

To send an offering off to the sea, most auspiciously toward the west where the Paradise of the West with the souls of thouse passed away were residing, is an old custom in Japan. In olden times it could happen in Shikoku and other areas to send off boats with living people, mostly monks, and food for three days... on a tour straight to paradise.


One of the popular light offerings is the floating of lanterns, a form of a light offering to the souls. The lanterns represent the souls of the depassed ondes. Usually it is accompanied by a firework display.



Offerings of Light、toomyoo kuyoo 灯明供養

© Photo Gabi Greve

Read more about it here:
. Koyasan Light Offerings - Wakayama .



Other words related to the fire ceremonies during the O-Bon season.

welcome fire, mukaebi, mukae-bi 迎え火
fire at the house corner, gate-fire, kadobi 門火
tama mukae, tamamukae 魂迎え（たまむかえ） welcoming the soul
..... shooryoo mukae 精霊迎え（しょうりょうむかえ）
ogara 苧殻 (おがら) string made from hemp (to light the mukaebi)
..... asagara 麻殻（あさがら）、asagi あさぎ
ogarabi 苧殻火（おがらび）fire lit with hemp string
kababi 樺火（かばび）fire lit with beech wood
tama matsu 魂待つ（たままつ） waiting for the souls
bonbi 盆火（ぼんび） Bon-fire
shooryoobi 精霊火 (しょうろうび) fire for the souls

This is lit on the first day of O-Bon at the entrance of each home to welcome the souls of the ancestors back. In many rural areas it is lit in the middle of the main access road to the farm estate. When a person of the household had died within the last year the ceremonies for the first O-Bon (hatsu-bon) are especially rich and the welcome fire is most important to show him how he is missed.

(Some Internet and other sources quote "okuribi" as "welcome fire", but this is not correct, see below.)

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daimonji 大文字 (だいもんじ) Daimonji fire
..... daimonji no hi 大文字の火（だいもんじのひ)
Myoohoo no ni 妙法の火（みょうほうのひ）
funagata no hi 船形の火（ふながたのひ）
toriigata no hi 鳥居形の火（とりいがたのひ）
sebi 施火（せび）

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fire for seeing off the souls, send-off fire, okuribi 送り火

This takes place on the last day as a ritual for the family at home and at some places it developed to big festivals, the mosts famous is possibly the

Great seeing-off fire in Kyoto, Daimonji-Yaki　大文字焼き
August 16, at Higashiyama Kyoto
Kyoto Gozan Okuribi 京都五山送り火


http://www.dicube.co.jp/e-kyoto/gozan_okuri/
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Gozan no Okuribi (五山送り火), more commonly known as Daimonji (大文字), is one of the iconic festivals of Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the O-Bon festival on August 16th, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased family members, who have been visiting this world during O-Bon, are believed to be returning to the spirit world — thus the name Okuribi (送り火) (roughly, "send-off fire").

The origins of the festival are obscure, but it is believed to be ancient. Specific families have the hereditary duty of organizing all the logistics of the bonfires, and they spend many hours annually providing volunteer labor to maintain this tradition.

Starting at 8PM, the giant bonfires are lit, each with a distinctive shape. Three of the fires form giant Japanese characters, and two form familiar shapes.

©　Read more in the WIKIPEDIA !

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This ceremony is also called according to the various forms of the fires. On the below illustration, you can look at them with the Gate on the left, Dai 大　on the right and the others inbetween. They are spread on five mountains (gozan　五山).


http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/en/01/01-04-04.html

Great Left Dai Fire, Sadai 左大　
Fire of the Great Law, Myoohoo no hi 妙法の火
Fire in the form of a gate, toriigata no hi 鳥居形の火
Fire in the form of a boat 舟形の火

This fire is now the bringer of autumn to the Kyoto population. In special parts of the forest large fires are lit, in the form of DAI 大, maybe representing the gread deity Dainichi Nyorai, there are 75 large piles of firewood lit at the same time.
Another fire takes the form of the letter MYOO 妙　(125 piles of wood) and HOO　法 (75 piles), representing the Buddhist teaching. Fires in form of a boat for sending off the souls are also common when these fires offerings are performed in other cities, for example.
The form of a gate (torii)in Kyoto is made of 108 bonfires, where people run up and down the mountain to place the piles of firewood, so it is a kind of "running fire".


Hakone Daimonji-yaki
Nara no Daimonji Okuribi (with 108 piles of firewood) which is now the largest in Japan.

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Ceremony of ten thousand lights (mandoo-e　万灯会, 万燈会)
at the Temple Toodai-ji on August 15,
also
Sentoo Kuyoo 千燈供養

Light Offerings : Koya San in Wakayama

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hootooe, hootoo e 奉燈会 (ほうとうえ) light offerings
mandoo e 万燈会（まんどうえ）
yoi Kooboo 宵弘法（よいこうぼう）
at temple Daikaku-ji in Saga, Kyoto 大覚寺
August 20

This is the night before the monthly memorial day of Kobo Daishi.
The lights from the hall reflect beautifully in the great pond before the temple.


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108 Fires, hyakuhattai, hyakuhatchitoo 百八燈
On August 15, at Nambu Town, Yamanashi Prefecture


http://www.town.nanbu.yamanashi.jp/kankou/himatsuri/himatsuri-tourou.htm

Also called
Fire Festival of Nambu, Nambu no himatsuri 南部の火祭り
108 Pine Torches, hyakuhachi kyoomyoo 百八松明
hyakuhachi tai 百八たい （ひゃくはちたい）
nagetaimatsu 投松明（なげたいまつ）"throwing torches"
nagendei なげんでい

This festival is held as a seeing off for the souls and also to pray for the protection of the rice fields from insects, a form of seeing off the beetles, mushi okuri.
. mushi oi 虫追い（むしおい）seeing off the insects, bugs and beetles 　
mushiokuri 虫送り (むしおくり) seing off the bugs
Sanemori matsuri 実盛祭 Sanemori festival
and more KIGO



108 (hyakuhachi) is a symbolic number in Buddhism, representing the 108 illusions (bonnoo　煩悩) of the human mind.

Bonnoo, the worldly desires, a haiku topic 　　　　　　　　　　

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Worldwide use

Hawaii

Two girls watch one of about a thousand lanterns set afloat in the waters off of Ala Moana Beach near Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii May 30, 2005.
The annual paper lantern floating ceremony called 'Toro Nagashi' is held yearly to honor the dead. The paper lanterns float on a wood or bamboo base and each lantern carries the name of the person being remembered and can also include a special message for the spirit. The lanterns are set afloat to guide the spirits on a safe journey over the ocean to their spiritual home.


http://tinyurl.com/8qrfc


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Mongolia





in candle light
the path for enlightenment
appears

Bulgan mountain is in Tsetserleg city, where I live. On the 15th of each month by lunar calendar people from Tsetserleg light candles on this mountain.

- Shared　by Zaya Nergui -
Joys of Japan, 2012



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Things found on the way

Japanese Links with many pictures about the floating lights.
http://www.dicube.co.jp/e-kyoto/gozan_okuri/ !!!
http://www2.nkansai.ne.jp/org/kasumi-kanko/html/infomation/touro-.html
http://home.att.ne.jp/gamma/shimada/new_page_14.htm

Daimonji
http://www.kansaidoyukai.or.jp/yakei/100kei/matsuri/html/931p-e.html
http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/en/01/01-04-04.html

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English essay about O-Bon and the Hina Festival.
http://ml.hss.cmu.edu/courses/Japanese/sm00/culture%20project/culture.smith.html

Safekeep copy is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Haiku-Essays/message/109

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English essay about Okuribi Fires.
There are 3 views about history of Gozan-okuribi. First, Kukai started it in the Heian period. Second, Asikaga Yoshimasa started it in the Muromachi period. Lastly, Konoe Nobutada started it in the Edo period.
Third view is the most popular because it says in a book “annaisha” written in 1662 that Konoe Nobutada started okuribi of daimonji. Anyway it was started in the early modern century. The oldest book about Gozan-okuribi was written in 1603. In 1983 it became an intangible cultural asset. It is a mysterious festival.

Gozan-okuribi is the Bon Festival. Bon is traditional event to pray for the spirits of ancestor. Every year August 16, five mountains are lighted various shapes at night, so this festival is called Gozan-okuribi. Gazan means five mountains. First mountain is Daimonnjiyama part of Higashiyama Nyoigatake in Sakyo ward. Shape of “大” is lighted there. This okuribi is the most famous.

Second, shape of “大” is lighted at Kinkakuji Daimonnjiyama in Kita ward. It is called Hidaridaimonnji. Third, shapes of “妙” and “法” are lighted at Matsugasakinishiyama and Higashiyama in Sakyo ward. Fourth, a picture of gateway at the entrance to a Shinto shrine is lighted at Mandarazan in Ukyo ward. Lastly, a picture of boat is lighted at Nishigamosenzan in Kita ward. This festival is held to see sprits of ancestor the other side. Its beauty　make us move of course. It is a religious event and also artistic event.
http://www1.tcue.ac.jp/home1/english/students04/class21/104503/

Japanese Link 日本語:
http://www.kyotokanko.co.jp/kyotosummer/daimomji.html

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HAIKU

大文字背伸びする娘の背中越し
daimonji senobi suru ko no senaka koshi

Daimonji Fire -
I look over the streched back
of my growing daughter


大文字ノの字の早く絶えにけり
daimonji no ji no hayaku kie ni keri

Daimonji Fire -
the letter DAI
fades so fast

圭子
http://park6.wakwak.com/~zakkayasan/haikuk2.htm

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人去って万灯きへて鹿の声
hito satte mandô kiete shika no koe

people depart
ten thousand lanterns dying...
the cry of a deer



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



草蔓もわざとさらざる灯ろ哉
kusa tsuru mo waza to sarazaru tooroo kana

even grass and vines
don't part willingly...
lantern for the dead

Kobayashi Issa
(Tr. David Lanoue)
http://tinyurl.com/d4kc7





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tooroo o mizu ni oku te o nobashikeri

putting the lantern
to water -
I stretch my arms

Suzuki Masajo



ryuutoo ya futatsu no hashi no kakaru machi

lanterns floating -
in this town
there are two bridges

長沼 紫紅


hyakuhachi koomyoo kieshi makkuro no ame no oto

108 pine torches -
they go out and in the dark
the sound of rain

佐野妙子

Saijiki for Buddhist Events

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送り火をこえてショパンの流れけり　　波郷
okuribi o koete shopan no nagare keri

above the sending-off fire
the music of Chopin
floats along

Ishida Hakyo

More haiku about the Bon season are here:
http://www.buzan.or.jp/koumyou/144/shuchou.html

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Related words

***** Star Festival (Tanabata, Japan)
There is also a floating of lights during this festival, 七夕流し,tanabata nagashi.

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humanity kigo for all summer



soomatoo 走馬燈 (そうまとう)
revolving lamp, revolving lantern
..... mawaridooroo 回り燈籠（まわりどうろう）

They are beautifully decorated and provide a play of light and shade on the wall. They were quite a hobby in the Edo period.


... Light offerings at Koya San in Wakayama




走馬燈月のひかりをやどしけり
soomatoo tsuki no hikari o yadoshi-keri

revolving lanters
seem to have caught
the moonlight

Kubota Mantaro (Mantaroo) 久保田万太郎
(1889 - 1963)


十二支みな闇に逃げ込む走馬燈 　
juunishi mina yami ni nigekomu somatoo

twelve zodiac animals
all escape to darkness
of the revolving lantern

Kuroda Momoko 黒田杏子
. Tr. Fay Aoyagi


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suikajoochin 西瓜提燈 (すいかぢょうちん / 西瓜提灯)
watermelon lanterns
Similar to the pumpkin lanterns for Haloween.


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- Lichtopfer　-
Deutsch

. . . . . TEXT
Buddhistische Kultgegenstände Japans



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. tooroo uri 燈籠売（vendor for Bon-lanterns .


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Ladybird (tentoomushi)

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Ladybug, Ladybird Beetle (tentomushi)

***** Location: Japan, worldwide
***** Season: All Summer
***** Category: Animal

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Explanation

Ladybird, tentoomushi 天道虫, 瓢虫 （てんとうむし）
Coccinellidae family
Gourd Beetle, tentoomushi 瓢虫
..... tentomushi てんとむし
..... hisgomushi ひさごむし "gourd beetle"

Tentoomushi literally means the
Beetle of the Heaven's Way in Japan.



Look at more pictures here:
http://www.critterzone.com/gallery/bug_ladybug_seven-spot_gallery.htm

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In Europe we have the following legend about the animal:

... and when you plant your Mary Garden, let's hope some of "Our Lady's Birds" -- ladybugs, named for Mary when, according to medieval legend, they miraculously came to save crops from aphids -- come to protect your plants!
The red color of the "Lady Beetle's" body is symbolic of her red cloak, and the 7 black spots found on some species in Europe represent her 7 Sorrows. Lady Bugs are almost universally considered symbols of "good luck" because of the benefits they bring to man.
You might want to pray to St. Fiacre, patron of gardeners, for God to send some of these critters your way...

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children all gone.
All except one whose name is Anne
Who hid herself under the frying pan.

http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/marygardens.html

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source : facebook


The Ladybug is actually a ladybird beetle. These common beetles have a very distinctive oval shape and bright coloring. The head is partly or completely concealed by its pronotum or top shell. Both adults and larva of most species are predaceous. Feeding chiefly on aphids, but also seeking out scale insects, mites and other injurous forms in insects. Ladybird beetles are often quite numerous where these pests occur. They may eat up to 1000 aphids a day.

Some species have been used commercially to combat scale insects injurious to the citrus orchards of California. Adults frequently overwinter in large groups under leaves or in debris. There are only two species of ladybird beetles that are phytophagous, which means feeding on plants. These can be serious garden pests.
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sellers/bug/97/ub96/bug3.html


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How to say "Ladybug" Around the World

Austria ~ Glückskäfer
Czechoslovakia ~ Slunécko
Denmark ~ Mariehøne
England ~ LadyBird
Finland ~ Leppäkerttu
France ~ Coccinelle
Germany ~ Marienkafer
Greece ~ Paskalitsa
Holland ~ Lieveheersbeestje
Hungary ~ Katicabogár
Italy ~ Coccinella
Japan ~ Tentou Mushi
Jordan ~ Da'asouqah
Korea ~ Mudangbule
Latvia ~ Mara
Malaysia ~ Kumbang
Poland ~ Biedronka
Portugal ~ Joaninha
Romania ~ Buburuzã
Russia ~ Bosya Kopovka
Slovania ~ Pikapolonica
Spain ~ Mariquita
Sweden ~ Nykelpiga
Turkey ~ Ugurböcegi
ladybuglore


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Worldwide use

Australia

a classic old nursery rhyme :

Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home.
Your house is on fire. And your children all gone.
All except one, and that's little Ann,
For she crept under the baking pan.

- Shared by Chris Loft -

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Bulgaria

kalinka, kalinka-malinka

It showes the right way or the direction where one young girl may look for her huseband.

Ginka Biliarska
Bulgarian haiku club

http://europasaijiki.blogspot.com/

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Germany

We call this animal the Beetle of Good Luck, Glückskäfer. Or Beetles of Mary, Marienkäfer.
It id of course as its name says a symbol of good luck.

Gabi Greve

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Jordan



A ladybird rests on a flower at a public park in the centre of the Jordanian capital Amman May 17, 2005. Ladybirds, which are flooding gardens and parks at the start of summer, are considered a symbol of good fortune in Jordan.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/photo/050517/ids_photos_wl/r4195010106.jpg



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Mongolia

There is Mongolian children song:

ladybug, ladybug
fly right, fly left
fulfill my, fulfill my desire

Children call the ladybug as "golden camel" in Mongolian
If a ladybug flies, the desire will be fulfilled.


flying over my son
to fulfill his desire
a ladybug

Tavanbayar Lkhagvaa

- Shared by Zaya Nergui -
Joys of Japan, 2012


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Things found on the way

The Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) was in the series of stamps of the Isle of Man in February 2001, Series 1. Bugs and Bees.
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~jollian/NIIslman.html



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HAIKU




March ladybird--
glinting on her carapacea
tiny silver sun

John Ower, Spring Contest of Haiga Online 2004
http://www.haigaonline.com/2004springcontestthirdjohn.html

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天道虫天の密書を翅裏に
tentomushi ten no missho o hane ura ni

this ladybird
(it carries) a secret letter from the sky
under its wings

. Mitsuhashi Takajo 三橋鷹女 .

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てんと虫 一兵われの 死なざりし　　安住　敦
tentomushi ippei ware no shi nazarishi

Oh, ladybird--
serving as a private soldier,
alas, I survived!

Azumi Atsushi

More of his haiku are here:
http://home.att.ne.jp/blue/alpha-club/2-modern-azumi_a.htm

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dookefuku nugazu tentoomushi no shi yo (1982)

still wearing
its clown's costume,
the ladybird has died

Haiku written, selected and commented by TAKAHA Shugyo
http://www.haiku-hia.com/kongetsu_en06.html


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Painting from Diethelm Kaminski, Sevilla

gleich zwei Glückskäfer
nebeneinander gemalt –
doppelte Freude

two ladybirds
painted side by side -
double enjoyment
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Marlies Matz, 29.04.2005

There are many more haiku for this painting on this page:
http://www.fotohaiku.com/machmit.htm

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A nice page on our ladybird friends. I gladly add this contribution:



watching
a ladybug
through tempered glass

Shane Gilreath

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harbour entrance
a ladybird lands
on my wrist

Copenhagen, by Gerald England, 2006　 　　　


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sunheat -
also parted in death
a ladybird's wings

Alan Summers
1. Blithe Spirit September 1998
2. Birdsong - a haiku sequence Together They Stood pub.
Poetry Now 2004 ISBN 1844607852



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Related words

***** . ANIMALS in SUMMER - - SAIJIKI



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Grafitti

[ . BACK to worldkigo TOP . ]
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Grafitti / Graffiti / Graffitti / グラフィティ

***** Location: Worldwide
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation



quote
Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

In modern times, spray paint, normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism, which is punishable by law. Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism.

Graffiti has since evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music and b-boying creating a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Berlin Wall Art and Graffiti


source : planetware.com


In 1976 East German Border Troops begun to erect a new typ of Wall in Berlin, the so-called 'Border Wall 75'. This concrete Wall was 3.60 meter (11.81 ft) high and white painted. Although painting was not allowed, the complete Wall system was on the territory of East Berlin, many artists begun to paint on the Western side of the Wall in the beginning of the 80s.

Artists like Thierry Noir and Keith Haring discovered the Berlin Wall as the world's longest canvas which had to be painted.
Many known and unknown artists painted on the Wall in the following years and the paintings were often painted over within hours or days. The Wall art was not protected, everybody could paint on the Wall. On the Western side of the Berlin Wall the Wall was colorful whereas the Eastern side was white or grey.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the Eastern side of the Wall was also painted by artists.

source and much more information
http://www.dailysoft.com/berlinwall/art/index.htm



. WKD : Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer ) 　


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Alcatraz Island
is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California. Often referred to as The Rock, the small island early-on served as a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a federal prison until 1963.
Due to its isolation from the outside by the cold, strong, hazardous currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz was used to house Civil War prisoners as early as 1861.
During World War I the prison held conscientious objectors, including Philip Grosser, who wrote a pamphlet entitled 'Uncle Sam's Devil's Island' about his experiences.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !





Photo Gallery about Alcatraz Graftiti
http://www.pbase.com/jamartini/convictgraffiti



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Worldwide use

Japan - グラフィティ



. . . CLICK here for Photos !



グラフィティ　だるま Daruma Grafitti

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Things found on the way

Street-art in Japan



- Photo Collection
- source : www.fatcap.com

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- - - - - Books - - - - -

Graffiti Japan
by Remo Camerota

Japan has long been a breeding ground for innovative appropriation of Western traditions, as with cinema and baseball. But the fanatical embrace with which Japanese artists have welcomed graffiti has made for a street-art scene wholly apart from its Western origins. As the first English-language book dedicated to Japanese graffiti, Graffiti Japan is an obvious choice for a paperback edition, featuring all the same great photographs and artist interviews with KRESS, BELX2, FATE, TENGA, EMAR, SUIKO, QP, and many more.

The graffiti featured in Graffiti Japan replicates the calligraphic intricacies of the Japanese language with spray paint, depicting how anime and manga characters, national pride, as well as foreign influences, are integral parts of the country's scene. From sprawling, legally sanctioned murals to illegal throw-ups hidden in alleyways, this work could not exist in any other country.
- source : www.amazon.com

- rakugaki　落書き -


RackGaki: Japanese Graffiti
by Ryo Sanada



Badges, buttons and pins have been around for over a century. Today they're everywhere: on lapels and bags all over the world and in the sketchbooks and on the screens of some of the hottest graphic designers, artists and illustrators. A badge can be a cheap and easy way to display political or cultural affiliations or it can simply be a fashion accessory. Cheap to produce and easy to make at home, the humble badge is the new Tshirt.
A guide to the best and most beautiful badges being produced right now be they graphic, textual or plain illustrative this book explores the rich variety of uses of the badge since the year 2000 whether it be promotion, revenue-raising or simply decorative. It will appeal to graphic designers, illustrators, fashion designers, artists, music lovers and badge enthusiasts of all ages.
- source : www.amazon.co.uk



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source : geno-web.jugem.jp

. 河童 / 合羽　/ かっぱ / カッパ - Kappa, the Water Goblin of Japan! . 　　

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HAIKU




first swallows -
they leave grafitti
on my roof





first swallows -
my roof turned canvas
for modern art

Gabi Greve
Birds in our Paradise, December 2005

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

落書に恋しき君が名もありて
rakugaki no koishiki kimi ga na mo arite

among these graffiti
is the name of someone
I love

Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages
Hiroaki Sato
- reference source : google books -

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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

落書の壁をおはれむ今日の雪
rakugaki no kabe o oharemu kyoo no yuki

the graffitti
all over the wall -
snow of today
Tr. Gabi Greve




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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

近づきのらく書見へて秋の暮
chikazuki no rakugaki miete aki no kure

friends of mine
scrawled on this wall...
autumn dusk

Rakugaki is scribbling in public places. People have scrawled messages signed with names that Issa recognizes. Chikazuki is a word that denotes an intimate, friendly relationship; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1040.

This verse appears in a short haibun (a prose piece with haiku), describing a visit to Zenkôji, where Issa found graffiti signed, just the previous day, by people from Nagasaki whom he hadn't seen in years;
Makoto Ueda, Dew on the Grass: The Life and Poetry of Kobayashi Issa.
It is a revision of the following haiku, written the same year:

shitta na no rakugaki miete aki no kure

I know this wall scribbler's
name...
autumn dusk

- Tr. and comment : David Lanoue -


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Grafitti Haiku

A splash of colour;
Sudden reprieve from the pall –
Writings on the wall.

Danielle Moffat
source : www.poemhunter.com


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Freeway overpass--
Blossoms in grafitti on
fog-wrapped June mornings

Michael R. Collings
source : www.toyomasu.com


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I love hip hop and doing graffiti . . .

hip hop--
dust particles on the fast-drying
graffiti


For the graffiti artist...

graffiti--
he steps from a dusty stand
for a far view


While his audience and fans did the exact opposite . . .

graffiti--
they step on the dusty stand
for a photo pose

Caleb Mutua, Kenya


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Related words

***** HAIKU TOPICS - - -Grafitti


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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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Long Day Short Night

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
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Long day, short day, long night, short night

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

*****************************
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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