Thunder and lightning

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Thunder (kaminari)

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

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Explanation

lightning as kigo, see below.


source : us6.campaign-archive1.com
The usually fearsome God of Thunder has dropped his drum into the sea that makes a big thunder sound.

Thunder and lightning come together most often, but as kigo they are used in different seasons. Whilst
"thunder"by itself is a kigo for all summer,
"lightning" by itself is a kigo for all autumn.

The word kaminari seems to be derived from the meaning:
the gods are sounding, kami ga naru　神が鳴る.

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

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

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

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

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kigo for all spring

shunrai, spring thunder 春雷 thunder in spring


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kigo for all summer

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

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

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

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


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

thunder out of the blue sky,
higaminari　日雷 （ひがみなり）
. . . . . but
日雷 【ひかみなり】 hikaminari, clear-sky thunder
quote from
http://etext.virginia.edu/japanese/haiku/saijiki/2su-2he.html


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


God of Thunder, raijin 雷神
drum of the God of Thunder、raiko 雷鼓
hatataku はたたく"noisy God"
..... (Look at my story about the Gods of the Elements).


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


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kigo for mid- summer

tsuyu kaminari 梅雨雷 (つゆかみなり)
thunder in the rainy season
..... tsuyu no rai 梅雨の雷（つゆのらい）


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observance kigo for late summer

kannarijin 雷鳴陣 (かんなりじん) "thunder army"
..... kannari no tsubo 雷鳴の壷（かんなりのつぼ）
..... rai no tsubo 雷の壷（らいのつぼ） "thunder jar"

At the time of Daigo Tenno, the imperial palace Seiryoden (seiryooden せいりょうでん【清涼殿】) once burned down after a lightning struck it and many courtiers died in the fire. After this, when in late summer a high-pitched thunder was heared three times, the army came out and had to shoot their arrows toward the sky in order to protect the court.
Thunder Jar was the name of the hall where the emperor had to hide during this ritual.

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kigo for early autumn

aki no rai 秋の雷 (あきのらい) thunder in autumn
..... shuurai 秋雷（しゅうらい）

often together with lightning, inazuma, see below.


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kigo for all winter

fuyu no rai 冬の雷 (ふゆのらい) thunder in winter
kanrai 寒雷（かんらい） thunder in the cold

yukigaminari 雪雷（ゆきがみなり）
snow and thunder
..... yuki no rai 雪の雷（ゆきのらい）snow and thunder
yuki okoshi 雪起し (ゆきおこし) "bringer of snow"
(waking up the snow)
buri okoshi 鰤起し ぶりおこし "bringer of yellowtail fish"
(waking up the yellowtail in winter)


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



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

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

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

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Famous family crests with the lightning as subject.


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

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Worldwide use

Germany

Donner und Blitz.

Thor
by Micha F. Lindemans

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

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

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

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


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


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North America

Thunderclap
A thunderclap is sudden loud thunder as a loud report similar to a canon shot.
It mostly comes unexpectedly more or less out of the blue and is quite startling.
It is close by and can make the air and ground shake.
I think "thunderclap" a candidate for kigo for late spring (western calendar) and early to mid summuer (lunar calendar).
This phenomenon certainly happens with frequency around this time of year especially if the weather is unseasonably hot and wet.

thunderclap -- the frizz* in our hair

*Human hair was/is used in humidity gages because as humidity increased the hair contracts making it an anolog computer for measuring humidity; also, in the case of the loud noise of a thunderclap, it may make ones hair standup from fright!

chibi (pen-name for Dennis M. Holmes)


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Yemen

thunderheads, lightning and rumbling thunder
kigo for all summer

thunderheads --
a sorcerer plants amulets
at the borderline


~~~

rumbling thunder --
on-rushing waters
widen out their beds


~~~

lightning in gray skies
a silver ribbon - casting
Wadi Zabid

Heike Gewi


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Things found on the way


- CLICK for enlargement
流光 雷づくし Ryuko Kaminarizukushi
歌川国芳 Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861)
This print caricatures many Oni demons making various thunders, lightnings and showers.

quote
Yakusanoikazuchi　八雷神（やくさのいかづち）
Yakusa no ikazuchi no kami

The "eight kinds of thunder kami" that festered inside Izanami's corpse as seen by her consort Izanagi in the underworld of Yomi. Suffering mortal injury from giving birth to the fire kami Kagutsuchi, Izanami died and went to the underworld, where she was followed by Izanagi. Disobeying Izanami's warning not to look upon her, Izanagi lit a torch and saw her rotting body swollen and covered with maggots, and inhabited by the "eight thunder kami."

According to Kojiki, in her head was the "great thunder," in her breast was the "fire thunder," in her belly was the "black thunder," in her genitals was the "cleft thunder," in her left hand was the "young thunder," in the right hand was the "earth thunder," in her left leg was the "sounding thunder," and in her right leg was the "reposing thunder."

An "alternate writing" transmitted by Nihongi, however, states that "great thunder" was in her head, "fire thunder" was in her breast, "earth thunder" was in her belly, "young thunder" was in her back, "black thunder" was in her rectum, "mountain thunder" was in her hands, "field thunder" was in her feet, and "cleft thunder" was in her genitals. Of the eight thunders, three have the same name and place in the two accounts, three agree in name only, and the remaining two are different. The fact that eight thunders were produced in Izanami's dead body parallels the fact that eight kami were produced from the dismembered body of the fire kami Kagutsuchi. While eight is considered a sacred number, it is here likely used merely to denote "a great many."

According to the various Kojiki and Nihongi accounts mentioned above, Izanami ordered the "hags of Yomi" and the eight thunder kami to chase Izanagi, who had fled in horror after seeing the corrupted state of Izanami's body.
Izanagi, however, threw down magical peaches at Yomotsuhirasaka (the "Even Pass of Yomi"), and thus dispersed his pursuers.
source : Kobori Keiko, Kokugakuin, 2005

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八雷神社 Shrine of the Eight Thunder Deities
Yagusa Ikazuchi Jinja 八色雷神社(やぐさいかづちじんじゃ)

O-Ikazuchi 大雷（おほいかづち、イザナミの頭にある） head
Hono Ikazuchi 火雷（ほのいかづち、イザナミの胸にある） breast
Kuro Ikazuchi 黒雷（くろいかづち、イザナミの腹にある） stomach
Saku Ikazuchi 折雷（さくいかづち、イザナミの陰部にある） genitals
Waka Ikazuchi 若雷（わかいかづち、イザナミの左手にある） left hand
Tsuchi Ikazuchi 土雷（つちいかづち、イザナミの右手にある） right hand
Naru Ikazuchi 鳴雷（なるいかづち、イザナミの左足にある） left foot
Fusu Ikazuchi 伏雷（ふすいかづち、イザナミの右足にある） right foot




source : kue-biko


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amulet from the shrine Shiba Daimyoojinguu 芝大神宮
Daimyojingu, Shiba Daimyojin Shrine
. chigibako 千木筥 / 千木箱 auspicious box .
..... Each box contains soy beans, so it sounds "karakara korokoro" when shaken.
The ladies used to hang this amulet from the beams of the kitchen. When a strong thunder rattled the home, they would eat some beans to appease the God of Thunder.



. kaminari and miminari　耳鳴り .
Temple Saifujkji 西福寺 at Kuwabara
kuwabara kuwabara is like a spell for lightning not to strike here.


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HAIKU

- - - - - Matsuo Basho and satori　悟り


source :　tadaka/syoun-new 山田昭雲


稲妻にさとらぬ人の貴さよ
inazuma ni satoranu hito no tattosa yo
inazuma ni satoranu hito no tootosa yo

How admirable,
He who thinks not: Life is fleeting
When he sees the lightning!
Tr. Blyth


A virtuous monk once said:
"Superficial Zen is the root of grave flaws", and I appreciate his words.

lightning,
yet unenlightened:
so admirable
Tr. and comment by Barnhill


quote 　　
A wise, virtuous priest said,
"half-baked zen leads to serious injuries."
I feel very grateful for his insight --

how inspiring,
those who have no satori
in a lightning flash　

Basho placed a short note before the hokku. In his time many people were going around saying that after doing a little zen meditation they'd achieved very deep satori enlightenment in a single lightning-like flash, so an unnamed priest, presumably a zen master, spoke out in warning against superficial attempts to do and understand zen. The word I translated as "half-baked" could also be "half-assed, unripe, raw, incomplete, inexperienced."

It's not clear whether hito in the second line refers only to one person, i.e., the wise priest, or to all those impressive people, including the priest, who don't experience lightning-like satori and who don't indulge in hype and boasting. In my opinion Basho is praising all the pure-minded people, including the priest, who don't feel the need to promote themselves or see lightning-flashes after doing a bit of zen.
The same applies to writing haikai, of course.
- - - Tr. and comment by Chris Drake, translating haiku forum



Written in the autun of 1690, Genroku 3. 元禄3年秋
In a letter to Kyokusui 曲水宛書簡.
He complains about his light-hearted, but un-enlightened poetry disciples in Otsu 大津.

MORE hokku about tootoi, tattoi 尊─・貴─ by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .



Sitting silently, doing nothing
And the grass grows by itself.

Sitting quietly, doing nothing,
Spring comes,
and the grass grows, by itself.

attributed to Basho
(trying to find the Japanese)


深き山に 心の月し すみぬれば
鏡に四方の 悟りをぞ見る

fukaki yama ni kokoro no tsuki shi suminureba
kagami ni yomo no satori o zo miru

Deep within the mountains
the mind's moon
shines so bright.
It's light mirrors all things
like the enlightened mind.

. Saigyo Hoshi　西行法師 .


- quote
Satori (悟り)
is a Japanese Buddhist term for awakening, "comprehension; understanding".　It is derived from the verb satoru.

In the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to the experience of kenshō, "seeing into one's true nature". Ken means "seeing," shō means "nature" or "essence."

Satori and kenshō are commonly translated as enlightenment, a word that is also used to translate bodhi, prajna and buddhahood.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


芭蕉の禅修行　The Zen Training of Basho
- source : www.ne.jp/asahi/sindaijou/ohta


- Read: : The Haiku Apprentice - Haiku, Basho and Zen -

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source :　facebook

raisama らいさま "Honorable Thunder Man"

栃木県那須町高久, Ibaragi, Nasu


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- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -

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

one roll of thunder
actually honest --
rainy season starts
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from the sixth month (July) of 1820, when Issa was living in his hometown. The hokku refers back several weeks to the time when the early summer rainy season began, and it uses characters (入梅) for tsuyu in the second line that mean "entering the rainy season," a reference to the 135th day after the beginning of lunar spring, the formal first day of the rainy season. This calendar date was very important for farmers, since they needed to begin planting their rice paddies by then, even if no rain was falling. Usually the date fell on or around June 10 on the Gregorian calendar (in 2014 it falls on June 11), a date which was pretty accurate, since the average rainy season in contemporary Tokyo lasts from June 8 to July 21.

In the hokku, there is some thunder on this presumably warm, humid first day of the official rainy season, and most people in the village probably wish the clouds would stop simply making sounds and actually start raining on their rice paddies and dry fields. Issa expresses this anxious yearning in terms of whether the thunder is faithfully or honestly representing the rainy season or simply making fake noises, and he seems very happy that one roll of thunder on this day was honest and accompanied by actual rain. The rainy season seems to have truly begun, and the chances of a drought and a poor rice crop diminish, at least for the moment.

Another hokku, from the fifth month (June) of 1822, looks at a similar situation as a metaphor for human relations:

ima no yo ya tsuyu kaminari no damashi-ame

the world today --
false rain during
rainy season thunder

The rainy season has begun, and the thunder and dark clouds make people feel as if it must be raining, but when they look outside, nothing's falling. The way the thunder is accompanied only by illusory, trickster rain seems to remind Issa of the way many people in the increasingly commercialized rural society of his day use empty words and casually break promises.

Chris Drake


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雷に焼かれし山よ秋の雨
kaminari ni yakareshi yama yo aki no ame

hey there, mountain
charred by lightning,
it's autumn rain
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from the 8th month (September) of 1818, when Issa is living in his hometown and traveling around to towns near it. In it Issa directly addresses the blackened, lightning-struck mountain, as indicated by the exclamatory particle yo. He expresses his deep sympathy with the mountain and lets the mountain know he shares its happiness as a cool, steady rain falls on it. It seems possible Issa may also be trying to soothe the mountain by stressing that there is less danger of more lightning now that summer has ended.

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


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sleepless night -
man and mountain vibrate
in thunder

schlaflose Nacht -
Mensch und Berg erzittern
im Donner

Gabi Greve, June 2005

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inazuma ya kinoo wa higashi kyoo wa nishi

Enomoto Kikaku

"Summer Lightning"

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

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

.. .. ..

In Portugese

Trovão —
Ontem a leste,
Hoje a oeste.

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


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

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

Tr. Blyth



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

Tr. Gabi Greve


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Gewitterstimmung:
Blitze und Donner
fallen aus allen Wolken.

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

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From the Shiki archives (8/31, 1997)

this second
before the thunder
all the lilies silver

paul m


distant thunder -
the carpenter
gathers his tools

doris k.


above the sunflowers
a lone thunderhead
edged in gold

Hilary Tann

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


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in meditation -
the distant rolling thunder
echoes my restless mind

Mark Snyder (Fayetteville, NC)
WKD . Facebook


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rain sings ---
thunder responds by beating
the drum of heaven

raju samal
India,August 2009


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..... Inazuma, Kigo for All Autumn


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

in the lightning
how he laughs...
Buddha!

Issa

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


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- - - - - Matsuo Basho - - - - -

稲妻や闇の方行く五位の声
. inazuma ya yami no kata yuku goi no koe .

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




いなずまを手にとる闇の紙燭哉
inazuma o te ni toru yami no shisoku kana

Basho wrote this haiku in response to one of his disciples, Rika 李下, comparing his haiku to someone who holds a small torch lamp with a paper shade as if it were a bold of lightning.

a torch lamp
taken in the hand in the dark
(like a) bolt of lightning



These kinds of lamps were used in the Edo period.
Pine turpentine was used and a folded paper to shade the flame.



lightning
clenched in the hand:
torchlight in the dark
Tr. Barnhill


Ces éclairs, les prendre
à la main dans la nuit noire
en faire des torches
source :　www.chichinpuipui.fr


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

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- - - - - Yosa Buson - - - - -

稲妻にこぼるる音や竹 の露
inazuma ni koboruru oto ya take no tsuyu

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

.. .. ..

稲妻や浪もてゆ（結）へる秋津しま
inazuma ya nami moteyueru akitsushima

lightning --
girdled by waves
islands of Japan
Tr. haikupoet.com


lightning -
the Islands of Japan
are surrounded by waves
Tr. Gabi Greve

Akitsushima, the "Islands of the Dragonflies" / Japan


雷に小家は焼かれて瓜の花
kaminari ni koya wa ya yakarete uri no hana

the thunderstorm
burned down the hut -
gourd blossoms

. WKD : uri no hana 瓜の花 gourd flowers, melon flowers .


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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inazuma ya tarai no soko no wasure-mizu

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

Masaoka Shiki

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

Tousha, trans. Blyth



inazuma no ryokushuu o abu no no hate ni

a lightning flash
soaked in green glaze
far beyond the field

Kuroda Momoko, trans. Ueda


Compiled by Larry Bole



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Related words

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

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

***** Monsoon


***** . WKD : uri 瓜 melons and gourds .


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Windgott
(Fuuten, Fuujin; Vaayu: Trägt eine wehende Gebetsfahne in der Hand. Bart, Haare und Gewand flattern im Wind. Alte indische Gottheit, bringt Kindersegen, Glück und Reichtum. Nordwesten.


Windgott, Donnergott (Fuujin, Raijin)
Als Gefolge der Tausendarmigen Kannon. Wohl identisch mit dem bereits beschriebenen Wind- und Donnergott Fuuten und Raiten.
Eine volkstümliche Form sind die "Dämonen-Firstziegel" (onigawara), mit denen man sich der regenspendenden und feuerverhütenden Kraft der Gottheiten versichert.

Ikonografie:
Immer zwei dämonenhafte Gestalten. Oberkörper nackt, Unterkörper mit langem Hüfttuch oder Tigerlederschurz. Stehen in wallenden Wolken. Der eine hält einen großen Windsack hoch über dem Kopf, der andere Trommelschläger, auch "Donnerschläger" (raisho) genannt; um ihn herum befindet sich eine Reihe von kleinen Trommeln (renko), mit denen er den Donner schlägt.

. Buddhastatuen ... Who is Who 　
By Gabi Greve

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source :　rakuten.co.jp/omaturi

hanten 風神雷神　半纏　　festival coat

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. Gods of the Elements .
fuujin raijin　風神　雷神


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Teeth strengthening (hagatame)

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Teeth strengthening Ceremony (hagatame)

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

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Explanation

tooth hardening, teeth hardening
hagatame 歯固 歯がため　はがため

rice cakes for strengthening the teeth
hagatame no mochi 歯固の餅　はがためのもち
These cakes were eaten on the first three days of the new year. The custom goes way back to the court of the Heian period.


Diamond Petal Rice Cakes, hishi hanabira mochi,
菱葩餅 ひしはなびらもち
..... "auspicious hard things" o-iwai kachin お祝いかちん(おいわいかちん)
..... o-iwai okachin お祝いおかちん
Eaten at the Imperial Court.

Look at some rice cakes (hishi hanabira mochi)


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The Kyoto rice cakes express the change of the seasons and also the spirit of the people, living in Kyoto.
For the New Year in Kyoto people made Japanese cakes with a happy color and shape. 'Hanabira-mochi' (flower petal cakes) , also called 'Hishi-hanabira'(Diamond petal cakes), are cakes for celebration, consisting of burdock, soybean powder and bean jam.

It is said that they were used in the New Year's day ceremony of the Imperial court, called 'O-hagatame'(teeth strenghtening). A bright red rice cake in the shape of diamond is placed inside a transparent white rice cake as to be slightly visible, expressing that there is a dignity inside the elegance and grace.

© Kyoto City Web



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Strengthening the teeth, a job for babies !



on the table rice cakes
the smile on a baby's teething ring

© Gillena Cox, T & T, 2006

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. Deities to heal your toothache .



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HAIKU

Haiku from ISSA about hardening the teeth



かたむべき歯は一本も　なかりけり
katamu beki ha ippon mo nakari keri

teeth to harden
this New Year's meal...
not even one


歯固の歯一枚もなかりけり
hagatame no ha ichi mai mo nakari keri

New Year's tooth-hardening
meal...
yet toothless!



台所の爺に歯固勝れけり
daidoko no jiji ni hagatame katare keri

old man in the kitchen--
his New Year's tooth-hardening
beats mine

The sorry state of Issa's teeth is magnified by the fact that an old man has a more complete set.



人真似に歯茎がための豆腐哉
hito mane ni haguki-gatame no tôfu kana

imitating others
hardening their teeth...
tofu for me

The "for me" has been added. Issa is referring to the New Year's tooth-hardening meal. He (or someone) is toothless and so must resort to tofu for the occasion.



かたむべき歯は一本もなかりけり
katamubeki ha wa ippon mo nakari keri

teeth to harden
this New Year's meal...
not even one

Issa has lost his last tooth on June 1811, at the age of 49. The last tooth has been lost at Futtsu. Issa wrote this haiku sneering at himself.
Issa Kinenkan 一茶記念館



歯固は猫に勝れて笑ひけり
hagatame wa neko ni katarete warai keri

New Year's tooth-hardening
meal...the cat wins
and laughs

©　Tr. David Lanoue


the cat wins
the New Year's tooth-hardening -
what a laugh
Tr. Gabi Greve


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歯あらハに筆の氷を噛夜かな
歯豁に筆の氷を噛ム夜哉
ha arawa ni fude no koori o kamu yo kana
(1771)

exposing my teeth
I bite off the ice from the brush
in a freezing night . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve


腹の中へ齒はぬけけらし種ふくべ
hara no naka e ha wa nukekerashi tane fukube

the teeth seems to have fallen out
inside the stomach -
seeds of a gourd
Tr. Herbert Jonsson


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

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. WKD : Body Parts and Haiku .

衰ひや歯に喰ひ当てし海苔の砂
otoroi ya ha ni kuiateshi nori no suna

ebbing strength--
my teeth detect a grain of sand
in the dried seaweed
Tr. Ueda


getting weak
when a tooth bites down
sand in seaweed
Tr. Reichhold


feeling decrepit
biting on a bit of sand
in the dried seaweed
Tr. Larry Bole


becoming feeble -
my teeth grate on
sand in the seaweed
Tr. Addiss


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

(This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 1.)


. Laver seaweed (nori 海苔) .


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Related words

***** . Deantist Haiku .
and the god of toothache


***** WKD: Ceremonies of Japan Nihon no Gyooji　日本の行事


*********** NEW YEAR FOOD SAIJIKI

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Swallows (Material)

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Material for the Swallows Entry

.. .. .. .. .. FLYING IN THE FACE OF HYPOCRISY Swallow tales to silence those who speak with forked tongues By C.W. NICOL quoted from The Japan Times: May 5, 2005 (C) All rights reserved http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20050505cw.htm On the photo it says, Issa no Sato, Hometown of Issa, the famous Haiku Master, at Lake Nojiri-Ko. It was 1969, and I was driving our open-topped Mercedes Unimog to Asmara to get some building supplies and other gear not available in Gondar, the nearest town to the Simien Mountain National Park in Ethiopia where I was then a game warden. With me was the new assistant warden, Mesfin, who had recently graduated from the Mweka Wildlife College in Tanzania. Mesfin was an extremely handsome, intelligent, courageous and gifted young man, who knew his wildlife really well and who read all kinds of books as avidly as I did. His English was perfect, but back at the HQ he was considered a bit of a rebel, which was why he had been assigned to the northern mountains. In the back of the truck were two park rangers -- Zeleka, a much-decorated veteran of the Korean War, and former Imperial Guard, and Tedla, a mountain man who had fought the Italians as a guerrilla in World War II. We stopped for the night at a small hotel along the road. After breakfast, when Mesfin and I went out to the Unimog, I saw a white boy, about 13 years old, shooting with an air rifle at the nests of swallows under the eaves of the hotel. He was not only aiming for the parent swallows as they came to feed their young, but also shooting right into the fragile nests, where lay baby birds. I shouted at him to stop and he gave me the middle finger. Having once been an obnoxious teenager myself, I was not prepared to tolerate this insolence. Mesfin reprimanded him in Italian, and the boy responded with another rude gesture and even ruder words. We were in Eritrea, arguably not my bailiwick, but Eritrea was at the time still under Ethiopian control, and we were Ethiopian wildlife officers. Swallows, like all migratory birds, were supposed to be protected. I used to own an air rifle when I was that boy's age, and I shot quite a few sparrows, starlings and rats, but never would I have dreamt of shooting swallows, or any other kind of fledgling in a nest. It's just wrong. Really cross now, I took the air rifle off the boy and with my trusty Swiss Army knife, I unscrewed bits here and there and extracted the spring. Meanwhile, the boy had gone running into the hotel screaming for his father, who soon came out, waving his fist and shouting and ranting at Mesfin and me. I pointed to the dead birds and ruined nests, but the man just went on shouting. One doesn't shout at a game warden in Africa. I explained that this was a crime, and I told him it was his responsibility to educate his son properly if he was allowing him to use any kind of gun. The father was a rich Italian businessman, based in Addis Ababa. Finally his shouting and gesticulating got me very angry indeed, and I told him that if he went on any further, I'd arrest him and take him to Asmara. He went on yelling and threatening, so I took out my Walther -- never pointed it at him, mind you -- and told him it would be fine with me if I shot him right there and then as a poacher. Rangers Zeleka and Tedla arrived, rifles over their shoulders, while Zeleka -- in his rather rough but very clear army English -- suggested that it would be a waste of a bullet, and that it would be much better if we hanged him. Tedla was reminded of some good old days, and in enthusiastic agreement made this idea clear to the irate businessman in gestures and even rougher Italian. Anyway, I confiscated not only the air rifle spring, but also the sights, and gave both son and father a very strong warning. Swallows would not be shot. Young birds in nests would not be shot. Otherwise, I had 20 very tough mountain rangers and some very high cliffs to throw unwanted offenders off. Hyenas could take care of the funeral arrangements. We were Haile Selassie's lads -- so bugger you and your embassy, mate! Rangers Zeleka and Tedla leered, while Mesfin tried to suppress a grin and then just shook his head as the shouting brought out nearly every guest and all the staff of the hotel eager to enjoy the performance. The Italian businessman eventually complained to Wildlife Headquarters in Addis Ababa, who were generally quite amused, and gave me a mild scolding. They said that I shouldn't have spoken of our famous escarpment like that, because it might discourage tourists. Swallows are very special birds. They fly enormous distances to be with us, and have adapted to humans so well that they even nest in the heart of cities. They have come to trust humans, even more than sparrows, and you can watch them feeding their young just a couple of meters away. Especially when they are rearing their broods, swallows feast on huge numbers of flying insects. When I first came to Japan, and later, when I visited or lived in villages and small towns, folk would welcome the swallows, and put out small trays under their nests if the mess bothered them. Some even hung upside-down umbrellas under the nests for this reason. Swallows not only nested under eaves, but even inside buildings. It was still like that 25 years ago when I first came to Kurohime, here in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture where I live. At that time, swallows nested inside the station and it was a delight to watch them. Then the station was redecorated, and they were discouraged from nesting inside. Lately though, to discourage these lovely little harbingers of summer, the squeamish locals have been spreading ugly plastic sheets all over the place and hanging fake crows outside as well. Some years ago, I heard from a friend that the manager of a golf club house in Karuizawa had 30 or so swallow nests, with young inside, destroyed because a lady complained about a speck of bird dropping on her blouse. I've heard similar stories about a supermarket here where I live. In Canada, where I used to live, disturbing the nests, eggs or young of a migratory bird is a very serious offense. You could get arrested for it, and certainly heavily fined. Increasing selfishness To me this is all a sign of the increasing selfishness and mean-spiritedness of so many contemporary Japanese who seem to either not know of or not care about the beauty of the birds themselves, or the long journeys they have made from distant Southeast Asian countries or faraway India -- let alone their wonderful soaring flight or all the harmful insects they consume. They also miss a chance to educate children about wildlife in harmony with humans, or of the exemplary diligence and courage these little birds display in rearing their young, perhaps -- if they are lucky and survive their improbable odysseys unscathed -- three or four times before their short lives end. Here, in our woods in Kurohime, we try to help children who have had short shrift in life. We try to teach them about the meaning and wonder of being alive on this planet with so many other creatures, and thus to help them believe in themselves and the future. It's hard to do that in the face of hypocrisy, when on one hand Japan pretends to welcome visitors to an environmental event such as the current Aichi Expo -- while at the same time it denies a welcome to other less demanding and more traditional guests. By C.W. NICOL

Lake Nojiri at Sunset 野尻湖



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. WKD : barn swallow, tsubame 燕, 乙鳥

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Summer Purification Ceremony (nagoshi)

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Summer Purification Ceremony (nagoshi)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

The last day of the year (December 31, oomisoka) and the last day of the first half of the year (June 30, misoka) are specially celebrated with rituals of purification in the Shrines and Temples of Japan. The rituals of these two days are also called "Great Purification" ooharae 大祓.
In some areas, the summer ceremonies occur on the last day of July.

Many ceremonies are related to the court of the Tenno in Kyoto, since these rituals reach back to the Heian period.
In some shrines a special tea ceremony for the deities is performed, kencha sai 献茶祭.
Masters of all the tea ceremony schools take turns at holding tea ceremonies as an oblation in the shrine of Kita no Tenmangu, Kyoto.
Click HERE for some photos.

kegare　けがれ、穢れ pollution must be cleansed in an ablution ceremony.
Gradually the Shinto concepts of imi (taboo) and kegare (pollution) became linked to the Buddhist prohibition on taking any life.
. Eta and Burakumin 穢多 to　部落民　.

. imi 忌み / 斎み taboo in Shintoism .



The official ceremony at the shrine Kita no Tenmangu 北の天満宮 starts at six in the evening. People can then walk through the purifying "Ring of Reeds", chi no wa (chinowa). They walk first through the left ring, then through the right ring and then through the left ring again. There is a special prayer for each turn, and on the last circle they repeat the name of "Somin Shorai " (Somin Shoorai) 蘇民将来（そみんしょうらい）.
Somin was a poor man, but he offered food and lodgings to another rather poor-loking man who had come from the North to the South, who was in fact the deity Susano-O. This god gave him a ring of reeds to ward off illness, so Somin and his family lived well through the plagues, pests and diseases of their age.



Further down the road of the shrine there is a sweet shop which sells a special cake only for this day, Minazuki 水無月. The red beans on the white rice cake (symbolizing snow) are good for warding off evil for the coming six months.


In Kyushu, people take a dip in sea water to purify themselves, some even dip their horses and cows.
One prays in thank you for the first half year and asks for protection during the coming half of this year. In summer, diseases spread especially fast, so people thought help and consolation in purification rituals.

This Summer Event comes with many kigo, let us look at them. Detailed explanations are given after the list of kigo.

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Purification Ritual (Ceremony) , harae　祓
Summer Purification, natsu harai, natsu harae 夏祓　なつはらえ
Great Purification Ritual, ooharai, ooharae　大祓　おおはらえ
Summer Passing Purification Ritual, nagoshi no harae　夏越の祓　
。。。。。（名越の祓）なごしのはらへ

June Purification Ritual, minazuki harai 六月祓
..... aranigo no harae 荒和の祓　（あらにごのはらえ）、荒和大祓神事
..... June Purification Ritual at the Imperial Court 宮中の六月祓（きゅうちゅうのみなづきはらい）


Ablutions, misogi　禊　みそぎ



sacred ring, chi no wa 茅の輪 , 芽輪 - ちのわ
purification hoop
ritual of passing through the sacred ring, wagoshi matsuri　輪越祭


.. passing throuhg a woven bamboo ring, suganuki 菅貫
for example at the Shrine Iwaya Jinja in Akashi during the Oshataka Boat Festival おしゃたか舟神事


purification of a river, kawaharae　川祓
small shrine by the river, kawayashiro 川社　かわやしろ
river for ablutions, misogigawa　禊川 みそぎがわ


- quote
Chinowa
Also called suganuki, a large ring made of cogon grass, Imperata cylindrica (chigaya　チガヤ / 茅) and erected on the pathway leading to a shrine on the days of purification (harae) of the last day of the sixth or seventh month (called nagoshi harae or minazuki harae). Worshipers at the shrine pass through the ring as an act of purification from misdeeds (tsumi), impurities (kegare), or bad luck.
The Muromachi-period work Kuji kongen states that as participants passed through the ring, they recited a verse invoking long life to those who "perform the nagoshi no harai in the sixth month."
An extant fragment from the ancient gazetteer of the province of Bingo (Bingo no kuni no fūdoki) relates the legend of Somin Shōrai, a legendary hero who tied a magical ring braided of cogon grass around his waist and thus escaped an epidemic. The legend suggests that in ancient times the ring of woven grass was attached to the waist or hung around the neck. See also nagoshi no harae.
- source : Motosawa Masashi - Kokugakuin 2005

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floating human paper figures in the river,
katashiro nagasu　形代流す
floating hemp leaves in the river, asa no ha nagasu 麻の葉流す
You blow three times on the paper figure to get rid of the evil inside, and then float the paper on a river or hand it to the shrine, where it will be carried throught the purifying ring later.

katashiro ni shirami obusete nagashikeri

sending downstream
papers cut in human shapes
with lice on them

Kobayashi Issa

Translation and Comments by
. WKD : Chris Drake - about Issa .

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purification in the month without water (July)
mizunashizuki harae, minazuki harae 水無月祓




purification against fire, hi shizume no matsuri
chinkasai 鎮火祭



Click HERE for photos about this ceremonies and rituals




. Mizuawase no harai 水合の祓 purification of the court wells
..... mizuawase 水合（みずあわせ）well water purification　
at the court of the Heian Period


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yoori, yo-ori 節折 (よおり)
purification ritual for the emperor and his family

occurs on the last day of the sixth and 12th month every year.

ori 折 refers to the node of a bamboo stalk. Two staks of a round bamboo (arayo あらよ【荒節】 / nikoyo (nigiyo) にこよ【和節】 ) are used to measure the hight of the Emperor's body, then cut to this length and used for the purification rituals.


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Shinto purification ceremonies and rituals

Prayers are offered for the removal of all sin, pollution, and misfortune. The body and mind are purified and restored to a condition worthy of approaching the gods. The traditional pronunciation is harae, but today the word is usually pronounced harai. The origin of harae is described in the Kojiki myth of the god Izanagi no mikoto, who is said to have washed in order to remove pollution after visiting the land of the dead (yomi 黄泉 the yellow springs). Harae is performed at the beginning of all religious ceremonies and whenever a specific need arises.

In ancient times, two types of harae, called yoshi-harae and ashi-harae (literally, purification of good and purification of evil), seem to have been performed, but the meaning of the two terms is not clear. The Ôharae is a major ceremony performed twice a year nationwide and also on other contingent occasions when deemed necessary.

In Shinto, not only are the sins, pollutions, and misfortunes of the individual removed, but also evil and misfortune can be removed from a whole nation, life renewed, and the blessings of the gods brought down. The norito prayers used at the Ôharae is called Ôbarae no kotoba. It was the duty of the Nakatomi clan to recite it, and so it is also called by the name Nakatomi no harae. Ôharae today is performed on the last days of June and December of each year.

Harae is one of the most important ceremonies in Shinto, and various forms have developed, such as nagoshi no harae (purification performed on the last day of the sixth month by the lunar calendar, and marking the middle of the year), and mi no hi no harae (purification performed on days of the snake in the third month of the lunar calendar).

There is also a common practice of reciting alone or in unison, with slight changes, the Ôbarae no kotoba, which is regarded as a sacred liturgy. Shubatsu is a harae ceremony performed by priests before a ceremony or religious rite; the ceremony of temizu (purification of hands and mouth) is performed, the norito for harae is recited, and a wand called a haraigushi is waved.

. temizuya 手水舎　purification font, purification trough .

Harae-do
A building provided in shrines to purify the body and minds of priests and participants before the performance of a religious ceremony. In some shrines there is no separate building, and a certain place is set aside for the purpose.

Misogi　禊
The practice of using water to remove pollution and sin from body and mind. Its origin is found in the myth of the god Izanagi no mikoto, who purified himself by bathing in the sea after a journey to the land of Yomi. There is a widely practiced form of austerity in which misogi is combined with Buddhist cold water ablutions (mizugori).
In Shinto, this is called kessai, and make take the form of a warm bath, splashing cold water over oneself, or washing by the seaside or by a river.

A visitor to a Shinto shrine also performs an act called temizu, the washing of the hands and mouth. In another ceremony called shubatsu, salt is sprinkled. In Japan, people sprinkle salt over themselves after attending a funeral, sprinkle water at the gate of their homes morning and evening, and place small piles of salt at the entrance to restaurants; all these practices stem from misogi. The Japanese customs of washing and bathing are also related to misogi.

Chi no wa, chinowa 茅野輪

http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/200507/01/84/c0069684_3412642.jpg
An instrument for casting out sources of misfortune. People pass through this large sacred ring, made of loosely twisted miscanthus reeds, to obtain its exorcising effects. This ancient ceremony is practiced throughout Japan on the occasion of the Ôharae festival on June 30.
Quoted from "Basic Terms of Shinto"


. chinowa omamori ちのわ守り for summer purification .
Kibune jinja 貴船神社 Kifune Shrine, Kyoto




Chinowa ema 絵馬 votive tablets

Click for more Chinowa amulets !

. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

. . . . .


Great Exorcism of the Last Day of the Sixth Month
Norito Text


Some shrines serve a special rice porridge, chinowagayu, chinowa-gayu 茅の輪粥.
For example the temple Hokkeji in Nara during the Summer Purification Ceremony called
蓮華会（夏祓） Renge-E.

RENGE-E 蓮華会（れんげえ） Lotus Flower Offering
kigo for late summer

Yoshino no kawazutobi 吉野の蛙飛 (よしののかわずとび)
kawazutobi 蛙飛（かわずとび）frog jumping ritual
Zaodoo kawazutobi 蔵王堂蛙飛（ざおうどうかわずとび）
frog jumping ritual at temple Zao-Do

The Lotus Flower Offering at Zao-Do Hall in temple Kinpusen-Ji in Yoshino (Nara) is very famous.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

En-no-Gyoja is said to have received his first baby bath in Benten pond in Okuda, Yamatotakada City. Lotus flowers from this pond are offered to the Zao Gongen as this ceremony is performed.
In July, lotus flowers from Benten pond are offered to the Buddha in Zaodo, and a Kaeru Tobi (frog jumping) Event is held on the temple grounds. Large green frog are placed on a large float starts Chikurin-in at 1:00pm.
Lotus flower offering, Kaeru TobiEvent,Saito Dai Gomaku Fire Ceremony
source : www.pref.nara.jp

WKD
CEREMONIES, FESTIVALS, RITUALS .. SAIJIKI

WKD
Yoshino in Nara


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purification against fire, hi shizume no matsuri
鎮火祭



Fire Extinguishing Festival, Chinkasai

... SEE
Fire Festivals (hi matsuri)



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

August 6, Kyoto: Nagoshi no Shinji
At Shimogamo Shrine (18:30-).
Men in fundoshi jump in the water to grab talismans.


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The sanskrit word for harai　波羅夷 (purification)
is parajika, paaraajika, the pronounciation has changed to harai.

Oharaibako, O-haraibako 御祓箱 . 御払箱 . 御払い箱 . お祓い箱

. O-Haraibako from Ise 伊勢の御はらい箱 .


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HAIKU


source : kotohogiya.shop-pro.jp

吹く風の中を魚飛ぶ御祓かな
fuku kaze no naka o uo tobu misogi kana

The wind gusts
and amidst it jump the fish--
purifying themselves, too, perhaps.
Tr. McAuley

The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
Written around 1684 貞亨年間, Basho age 41 to 44.
This is most probably a text for a painting.

Allusion to a waka by Fujiwara no Ietaka 藤原家隆 (1158 - 1237)
in the collection Shinchoku senshuu 新勅撰集.

風そよぐならの小川の夕暮は御祓ぞ夏のしるしなりける
kaze soyogu Nara no ogawa no yugure wa
misogi zo natsu no shirushi nari keru

To Nara's brook comes
Evening, and the rustling winds
Stir the oak-trees' leaves.
Not a sign of summer left
But the sacred bathing there.
Tr. Kelly and Walsh, 1917

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


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溶けてゆけると形代のおもいけり
tokete yukeru to katashiro no omoikeri

memories
of the paper figures floating
and melting away
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

大坪重治 Ootsubo Shigeharu

現代俳句データベース

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草の戸や畳かへたる夏祓
kusa no to ya tatami kaetaru natsu harae

reed door -
tatami mats changed for the
summer purification
(tr. Gabi Greve)

Tan Taigi 炭　太祇　たん・たいぎ(1738-1791)
http://www.geocities.jp/haikunomori/chuko/taigi2.html

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加茂川に日の衰へし御祓かな　
Kamo-gawa-ni hi-nootoroeshi misogi-kana

In den Fluß Kamo
läßt die Sonne nach;
die rituelle Waschung...
(訳:佐藤　貴白草: SATOH Kihakusoh)

MURAYAMA Kokyoo 村山古郷(1909-1986)

nagoshi-no-harae: die shintoistische Reinigung am Ende Juni
Haiku Romantische Strasse, Kihakusoo Satoh

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針に糸通す水無月祓哉
hari ni ito toosu mizunashizuki harae

filling the thread
through the needle hole -
purification in the month without water
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

しゅーまん２号のお達者倶楽部の定型詩句集
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/schuman2gou/folder/1105198.html

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Related words

***** Year End Purification,
toshikoshi no harae　年越の祓
kigo for mid-winter

..... ooharae, oo harae 大祓（おおはらえ）great purification
onagamono 御贖物（おんあがもの） "Thanks offerings"
..... miagamono

The Year End purification ceremonies at court and many Shinto shrines are the most important in the whole year, leading over to a new start.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


. Samekawa Ablutions (Samekawa misogi ) .
Late winter, in Hokkaido

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. Hatsu harai 初祓（はつはらい） 　　
first purification ceremony

kigo for the New Year


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kigo for late spring

mi no hi no harai 巳の日の祓 (みのひのはらい)
purification on the day of the snake

. Suma no misogi 須磨の御禊 (すまのみそぎ)
purification at Suma
..... Suma no harai 須磨の祓（すまのはらい）

on the day of the snake in the third lunar month
Now March 3.



People prepare paper dolls (hitogata 人形, katashiro 形代 ) and float them on small paper ships to take away bad fortune.

The floating of hina dolls is a later version of this ritual.

. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　


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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Misogi ritual takes place in tsunami-hit Kamaishi

A group of eight men walked into the cold ocean waters off tsunami-hit Kamaishi City in Iwate Prefecture on Saturday as part of a purification ritual.

A shrine in the neighboring town of Otsuchi holds the event on the coldest day of the year according to the traditional Japanese calendar.

But as the breakwater in Otsuchi was damaged by tsunami and is no longer safe, the venue this year was moved to Kamaishi.

The overnight low in Kamaishi City on Saturday morning dropped to minus 0.7 degree Celsius and light snow was falling.
After a priest held a ritual on the beach, 8 scantily-clad men simulated rowing a boat as they sang a song devoted to the god of the sea.
They then entered the water and consoled the souls of the tsunami victims, braving the waves and the cold.



One 55-year-old participant who is in the seafood processing business said, although some people no longer like the ocean because of the devastation caused by the tsunami, it remains his bread and butter.

He said he wants to use the opportunity to put the disaster behind him and work towards rebuilding the town.
source :　NHK news


. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011　.


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***** . Last Day of the Year (oomisoka 大晦日) 　　

***** . Yoshida kiyo harae 吉田清祓 (よしだきよはらえ)
purification ritual at Yoshida Shrine, Kyoto .
Yoshida ooharai 吉田大祓（よしだおおはらい）
great purification ritual at Yoshida

***** . Karasaki no harai 唐崎の祓purification at Karasaki .
Shrine Karasaki Jinja 唐崎神社, Otsu, Shiga



***** Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記　


***** Sweets from Japan, Wagashi

***** minazuki 水無月 (みなずき) Kyoto sweets for June purification

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

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. SAIJIKI
OBSERVANCES, FESTIVALS, RITUALS


[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
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Sweets from Japan (wagashi)

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]

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THIS FILE HAS MOVED !



... WAGASHI ... Sweets of Japan


WASHOKU SAIJIKI


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Blinds, bamboo blind (sudare)

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Blind, blinds (sudare)

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

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Explanation

To open the windows and sit behind a bamboo blind in the breeze is one of the "cool" experiences in Japan in Summer before the advent of air conditioning.

There are a few kigo with this blind.

bamboo blind, take sudare 竹簾 たけすだれ
wooden blind, ita sudare 板簾
reed blind, yoshi sudare 葭簾
..... these reed or rush blinds were often made by hand during winter in the farm houses around lake Biwa.

new (bamboo) blind, aosudare 青簾 (あおすだれ)
..... made from fresh bamboo or reeds
old blind, furu sudare 古簾
..... toward the end of the summer season
elegant blinds for the living room, ozashiki sudare 御座敷すだれ


Click HERE for some photos !


blinds decorated with pictures, e sudare 絵簾
blind from the old Io area in Shikoku, Io sudare 伊予簾
..... they are usually very colorful.
Click HERE for some photos !



sudare uri 簾売（すだれうり）vendor of bamboo blinds
- - - - - see the haiku by Issa below

. Doing Business in Edo .


Making Bamboo Curtains
Katsushika Hokusai 北斎


. Join the Ukiyo-E friends on facebook ! .




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yohsizu 葭簀 (よしず ) reed screen
yoshizu jaya 葭簀茶屋（よしずぢゃや）tea house enclosed with reed screens
yoshizubari 葭簀張（よしずばり）
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


yoshido 葭戸 (よしど) reed screen door
..... sudo 簀戸（すど）
yoshi shooji 葭障子（よししょうじ）reed sliding doors



yoshi byoobu 葭屏風（よしびょうぶ）reed folding screen


葭簀あむ槌にもなれし小てふ哉
yoshizu amu tsuchi ni mo nareshi ko-chookana

a small butterfly
learns even about wooden weights
and weaving reed screens
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku was written on 2/22 (April 2) in 1804, when Issa was in the city of Edo. Issa seems to be visiting or watching someone who is making a translucent reed screen or blind that will placed outside a doorway or room, either to provide shade for a south- or west-facing room or to gain privacy. The blinds are usually placed so they lean against the side of the house, and they can be easily moved. They are made by horizontally weaving together many tall vertical reeds with several strong threads or strings, a process that leaves cracks between the reeds through which air and some light can pass. Today the process is mechanized, but in Issa's time the threads would hang down from a wooden weaving frame (see the second link below), and a wooden weight at the end of each thread kept the threads taut around the reeds until the weaving was completed. These wooden weights used during weaving are called tsuchinoko (槌子) or "mallet children / small mallets" in many rural dialects even today, although in some areas "mallet children" refers to the thread itself. Wooden mallets, however, are not used to weave reed blinds, although they are used to pound and soften plaited straw objects, so Issa may here be calling the thread weights by their short form, tsuchi (槌), mallet or hammer. More research needs to be done before a firm interpretation of this hokku can be made.

In the hokku the butterfly has "gotten used to" or "become quite familiar" with the dangling weights on the weaving frame, so it seems to be interested in them. Is it attracted by their swaying motion? Could it have learned how to light on the weights for a while even while the threads are moving up and down as the operators weave reeds together? Does it sleep on the weights now? In any case, Issa seems impressed by the small butterfly's curiosity about so many things, even about dangling thread weights.

This shows what a reed blind looks like from inside a room. The horizontal threads that hold the reeds together are visible:



This shows children weaving a small reed screen using the traditional method. At the ends of the threads are wooden weights which also act as spools called "mallet children" in many traditional areas of Japan. The screen is now on its side and will stand vertically when finished.



Chris Drake

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moji shooji 綟障子 (もじしょうじ)
sliding doors with hemp cloth cover
moji byoobu 綟屏風（もじびょうぶ） folding screen with hemp cloth

hemp cloth is also used for summer robes and for mosquito netting.


. folding screen and kigo 　



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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way




. Nanjing Tamasudare たますだれ (玉簾／珠簾) 　
performance with small sudare
Nankin Tamasudare 南京玉すだれ street performance toy

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Edo Sudare 江戸簾 Slatted Blinds

■ Traditional Technologies and Techniques
1- When making Edo Sudare (slatted blinds from Edo) from bamboo, the staves are split into slats along the grain using a chopper. After cutting the bamboo into big pieces, its sheath is stripped. A small knife is then used to section the slats into small pieces and shave them down.
2- When making Edo Sudare (slatted blinds) from reeds, Japanese clover, bulrushes, cudweed or Iyo Bamboo, thought is given to the product to be produced. Work is then carried out in matching up the materials based on their thickness, whether they come from the tip, the center or the base of the plants being used.
3- The weaving of materials into blinds is conducted after any individual material traits have been corrected. In order that balance is maintained between the left and right of a blind, materials from the tip and root of the plants (materials of different thicknesses) are alternated and woven in. The methods of weaving used include a single strand weave, a double strand weave, a parallel weave, a tortoiseshell weave and pattern weaves, etc.
編み方は、1本編み、2本編み、もじり編み、組み編み、蛇腹（じゃばら）編み、亀甲編み、こまがえし, 模様編み



■ Traditionally Used Raw Materials
Bamboo, reeds, Japanese clover, bulrushes, cottonweed, Iyo Bamboo
タケ、ヨシ、ハギ、ガマ、ゴギョウ、イヨダケ

■ History and Characteristics
The history of “sudare” (slatted blinds) is very long, there even being a reference in Japan’s oldest collection of poetry called the “Man'yōshū”万葉集 (literally the "Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves"). This is a collection of prose compiled sometime after the year 759.

One literary reference to "sudare" in the "Man'yōshū" was penned by the Princess Nukata as she pined for the Emperor Ōmi 近江天皇 (the Emperor Tenji):
"Kimi matsu to, wa ga koioreba, wa ga yado no sudare ugokashi aki no kaze fuku"
君待つと、吾が恋ひをれば、わが屋戸の簾動かし秋の風吹く
("While I wait in longing for you my lord, there comes the autumn wind that stirs the bamboo blinds").

In a well-known episode in Japanese history, Sei Shonagon, a court lady in the service of the Empress Teishi (in around the year 1000), wrote in her pillow book (her private diary) about reacting to a poem originally written by the Tang poet Bai Juyi.
香炉峰の雪は簾を撥げて看る
This poem was in the Chinese "lushi" style (a composition of eight lines of seven characters each) and it referred to "raising the 'sudare' to see the snowy peak of Xiang Lu Feng mountain." When asked about this poem by the Empress Teishi, Sei Shonagon immediately raised the "sudare" in the imperial palace so that the empress could view the snow-covered garden outside.

High-quality "sudare" bordered with cloth is known as "misu" 御簾. Since the Heian Period (approx. 794 -1185), it has been used as both a room divider and sun screen in palaces, aristocratic mansions, as well as in shrines and temples.

Edo Sudare also made regular appearances in ukiyo-e 浮世絵 (woodblock prints) such as "Coolness in Hyakka-en 百科園涼み," "A Beauty behind a Sudare 簾ごし美人図" and "Fuzoku Sandan Girls 風俗三段娘," these being the works of Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806), one of the most famous artists of the golden age of woodblock prints.

What is distinctive about Edo Sudare is that materials such as bamboo, Japanese clover, cottonweed, bulrushes and reeds, can be experienced in their natural state. The most popular material for making "sudare" is bamboo, with lustrous, mature and hardened staves being harvested between the autumn and spring equinox. Unlike timber, the processing of bamboo does not involve the use of a cutting blade. Rather, because bamboo is thinned down along the grain, and undergoes a whittling process, it is rather difficult to have all the bamboo material a particular width or length.

Furthermore, depending on application, the back of bamboo may be shaved down in a triangular shape or shaped into a barrel. There are also particular cuts of bamboo for specific purposes.
竹の裏を三角に削ったり、かまぼこ形にしたり, 反らないように柾割にする

Thus, even while on first glance it might appear that splitting bamboo is a simple exercise, the handling of it requires many years of experience that are based on understanding bamboo’s qualities and appreciating complex techniques.

Tokyo Slatted Blinds Industry Association
- source : www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.jp


- quote -
NUKATA - • SONGS OF THE SHAMANESS •
"Princess Nukata, one of the finest poets in the first part of the Man'yoshu, lived in the turbulent time of the establishment of the Imperial Clan as the rulers of Japan. She, like Sappho, is half legendary, but is considered to have been a divine messenger, an oracle or shamaness, and a public poet. Her greatness lies in her ability to combine in universal terms the expression of personal passion and powerful collective emotion -- and in the extraordinary beauty of her sonorous poetry, which would seem to show a long period of conscious aesthetic development from the pre-literate poetry gathered in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki."
. . . - source : earlywomenmasters.ne -


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HAIKU


hito wa nusumedo mono wa nusumazu sudare maku

I may have stolen men,
but I have never stolen a thing
winding up the rattan blind
(Tr. Susumu Takiguchi)

Read more here about
Suzuki Masajo

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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

Issa has 9 haiku about the blinds

行春の町やかさ売すだれ売
yuku haru no machi ya kasa uri sudare uri

spring ends in the town--
umbrella-hat, bamboo blind
vendors


青すだれ白衣の美人通ふ見ゆ
ao sudare byakue no bijin kayou miyu

green bamboo blinds--
a pretty woman in white
through the cracks


草そよそよ簾のそよりそより哉
kusa soyo-soyo sudare no soyori soyori kana

soft-blowing grasses
and soft, soft
green bamboo blind


身一ッや死ば簾の青いうち
mi hitotsu ya shinaba sudare no aoi uchi

one life--
for my deathbed, please
green bamboo blinds


- More haiku by Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


byakue no bijin, maybe this is
. Byakue Kannon in white robes .


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Related words

More kigo for all summer

***** light seating mat, goza 茣蓙


They feel rather cool to sit on. Nowadays they are also used as small cushions for cars.
mat with flower pattern, hana goza 花茣蓙
Click HERE for some photos !

rattan mat, too mushiro 籐筵
bamboo mat, takamushiro 簟
..... they are a bit hard but rather cool to sit on.


negoza 寝茣蓙 (ねござ) goza mat to sleep on
..... nemushiro 寝筵（ねむしろ


gamamushiro 蒲筵 (がまむしろ) mat from gama
..... gamagoza 蒲茣蓙（がまござ）
made from gama cattail; reed mace; bulrush

. gama and igusa 藺 rushes .

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. natsu yakata 夏館 (なつやかた) home in summer
.... natsu yashiki 夏邸（なつやしき）
natsu no yado 夏の宿（なつのやど） lodging in summer
living at home in summer, many more KIGO


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***** sitting room in summer, parlor in summer
natsu zashiki 夏座敷



Zashiki 座敷, a room covered with tatami straw mats and a decoration alcove (tokonoma　床の間), used to entertain visitors, a kind of reception room.
Ths SUMMER sitting room is the same room as used in winter when entertaining visitors during the day. But with the summer decoration of bamboo blinds and light seating mats, the summer preparations would make you feel cool in summer. The doors could be kept open to let the fresh air from the garden into the room.
This is of course talking about the Edo period, without air conditioning or electric fans to bring some refreshment.
A wind chime hung in the eves would also enhance the feeling of coolness.


山も庭もうごき入るゝや夏座敷
山も庭も動き入るるや夏座敷
yama mo niwa mo ugokihairuru natsu zashiki

summer sitting room -
the mountains and the garden
seem to move in too
Tr. Gabi Greve





Written on the fourth day of the fourth lunar month
in 1689 元禄2年4月4日
On his travel "Oku no Hosomichi" in Kurobane, as a "greeting poem" to his host Shuuo 秋鴉. This might have been the visit when Basho gave him this "haiku name" 俳号挑雪.
The younger brother of Shuuo has the haiku name 翠桃.


- - - - -

紫陽草や薮を小庭の別座敷
ajisai ya yabu o koniwa no betsu zashiki

hydrangea and a wild
thicket, providing a little garden
for this cottage
Tr. Makoto Ueda


Hydrangea!
in grove, being little garden,
the detached room

Basho was invited to a farewell linked verse party for him before he returned to his hometown of 伊賀上野(Iga Ueno) before he left for his last journey. His host and disciple 子珊(Shisan) held this party at the detached room of his house, where a thicket with hydrangea was used as a rustic garden for the hut.

Basho offered this verse above mentioned as 発句(hokku), an opening and greeting poem, for his host when asked about the style of 軽み(karumi), lightness.
source : Tr. Hidenori Hiruta, Akita


Basho age 51, written in the fifth lunar month
元禄七年　
At a good-bye party at the home of his disciple
Shisan 子珊 （? - 元禄12年1月10日）
Basho gave his disciples a short lecture about how to write hokku and to use karumi, lightness, in their poems.
This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 1.




source :　itoyo basho

these hydrangeas -
a thicket for a small garden
of this detached sitting room
Tr. Gabi Greve



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


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此風の不足いふ也夏さしき
kono kaze no fusoku iu nari natsu zashiki

this wind
isn't enough, they say...
summer room

Issa and more haiku about the sitting room
Tr. David Lanoue


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山霧の通り抜たり大座敷
yamagiri no toorinuketari oozashiki

mountain fog
passes right through
the large room


Tr. and comment by Chris Drake

The hokku is from the 8th month (September) of 1816, and the headnote says Issa is at a mountain temple. He's probably stayed overnight, and early in the morning the sliding side doors of the room are opened, leaving the room partially continuous with the mountain outside. Thick fog comes pouring through the big room, obscuring many of the room's features and turning it into a zone somewhere between human culture and natural mountainside.
The border between inside and outside becomes obscure, and Issa's image may be of virtually unobstructed flow. The rapidly moving fog seems almost unaffected by the temple and flows on as if the physical temple wasn't there. For Issa, too, perhaps for a while it wasn't.


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***** rattan chair, too isu 籐椅子

..... too ne-isu 籐寝椅子（とうねいす) rattan chair to sleep on
Another item to bring some coolness to the living room.




籐椅子にあれば草木花鳥来
tooisu ni areba soomoku kachoo rai

I sit on a rattan chair
grasses, trees, flowers and birds
all come to me

Takahama Kyoshi

"ka cho-fuei (kachoo fuuei 花鳥諷詠)" Kyoshi and shasei in haiku


More Haiku about CHAIRs


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***** take shoogi 竹牀几 たけしょうぎ folding chair from bamboo
..... 竹床几（たけしょうぎ）


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***** Persimmon hanging to dry like blinds (kakisudare) 柿簾, 柿すだれ
kigo for autumn
kaki sudare





***** Wind Chimes (fuurin)
Windbells, wind bells, wind-bells


***** 　aki sudare 秋簾 (あきすだれ) blinds in autumn 　
yoshido shimau 葭戸蔵う (よしどしまう)put away the reed doors
and more


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. HUMANITY and Summer Kigo



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[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
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