Horse (uma)

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Horse, Pony (uma 馬, ポニー)

***** Location: Japan, worldwide
***** Season: various, see below
***** Category: Animal (and others)

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Explanation

The horse has been a friend of the human being for ages. The pony, ponies are also part of this group. PONY in itself refers to a small and sturdy species of the horse family with a shoulder hight of less than 148 cm. "Pony" can refer to babies, young ones and old ones, and the various kigo need an additional adjective, just like horses are specified.

2014 is the Year of the Horse in the Asian calendar.

Let us look at some kigo with this animal.

Gabi Greve, Japan

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The Japanese Horse , by James F. Downs

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Kigo for Spring

plough horse, kooba, kōba 耕馬

foal, baby horse, baby pony, kouma, ko-uma 仔馬,
..... ..... uma no ko 馬の仔
foals are born, uma no ko umaru 馬の仔生まる
pregnant mare, harami uma 孕馬 はらみうま

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colt, young horse, young pony, wakagoma わかごま, 若駒
..... "spring horse", haru no uma 春の馬
..... haru no koma 春の駒, harugoma 春駒
KOMA means newborn horse/pony or young horse/pony. This word has already been used in the poetry anthology "Collection of Myriad Leaves" (manyooshu) of the Heian period.
"Spring horse" refers especially to a young horse that spent the winter in a shed and is now set free for the first time, running around happily.


Clay Bell from the Hida Area, Gifu Prefecture


http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~i-kimoto/hurusato/19gihu.htm


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first Day of the Horse in the lunar New Year,
hatsu uma 初午
first horse, ichi no uma 一の午
Horse Festival, uma matsuri 午祭
..... Usually in the middle of February.
The Asian Zodiac Animals
by Gabi Greve



. Japanese horseradish, wasabi 山葵
Wasabia japonica


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Kigo for Summer

cooling cows and horses, gyuuba hiyasu 牛馬冷す
cooling horses, uma hiyasu 馬冷す
cool horse, hiyashi uma　冷やし馬
washing horses, uma arau 馬洗う


midday nap, siesta, gosui 午睡
The "hour of the horse, uma no koku", noon, is the time to take a rest.

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observance kigo for early summer


komabiki 駒牽 こまびき "selecting horses"
..... natsu no komabiki 夏の駒牽（なつのこまびき）
selecting horses in summer

At the imperial court of the Heian period, there was a ritual on the fifth day of the fifth month (the Boy's Festival) of shooting from horseback.
The horses for this event were selected on the 28 day of the fouth month, brought to a special shed and kept for the Tenno to look at them.
These were 80 imperial horses (tatekai no mi-uma) and 31 regional horses (kunikai no uma) from eight provinces. (their double number was 222.) They were taken to the imperial training ground and the best ones got a name plate.


The horses had to pass one of the three famous barrieres (sankan 三関)
leading out of/into Kyoto、already known since the Heian period.
Oosaka no seki 逢坂の関 Osaka no seki
The Osaka Checkpoint / Barrier
the border between Yamashiro and Omi province.
ausaka 逢坂 / 合坂 "Meeting Slope" (see the haiku by Issa in the comments)
. ausaka, oosaka 逢坂 / 合坂 "Meeting Slope" .


In the eighth month, there was another imperial selection of horses, therefore this one is also called "Summer selecting of horses".
See kigo for mid-autumn.



. kurabeuma, kurabe uma 競べ馬 horse race
At Kami Kamo Shrine, Kyoto 上賀茂神社

and

daabii ダービー Derby
Tookyoo Yuushun Kyoosoo
東京優駿競走（とうきょうゆうしゅんきょうそう）
Horse race in TokyoTokyo Yushun
Nihon daabii
日本ダービー（にほんだーびー） Japan Derby


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- source : 高石神社 流鏑馬 - yabusame

observance kigo for mid-summer

umayumi 騎射 (うまゆみ) "horses and bows"
..... 馬弓（うまゆみ）
..... yabusame 流鏑馬（やぶさめ）Yabusame
inuoumono 犬追物（いぬおうもの）
kasagake 笠懸（かさがけ）
kisha 騎射（きしゃ） shooting from horseback

Finally the great archery contest at the imperial palace takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month.

The horses have been selected in august of the previous year and again in April of this year for training.

more kigo in connection with this imperial Yabusame

sa-ukon no baba no umayumi
左右近の馬場の騎射 (さうこんのばばのうまゆみ)
archery contest of the guards at the imperial archery stadium
hiori no hi ひおりの日（ひおりのひ）"archery contest day"
sakon no aratetsugai 左近の荒手番（さこんのあらてつがい）
ukon no aratetsukgai 右近の荒手番（うこんのあらてつがい）
sakon no matetsugai 左近の真手番（さこんのまてつがい）
ukon no matetsugai 右近の真手番（うこんのまてつがい）

The imperial guards were divided into the left (sakon) and the right (ukon). They had to do take lots (tetsugai) to find out in which order they were to perform at this contest.


- Introduction -
. yabusame 流鏑馬 archery on horseback .

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observance kigo for mid-summer

chaguchagu umakko ちゃぐちゃぐ馬っこ
(ちゃぐちゃぐうまっこ) Chaguchagu horse festival
June 15 or second sunday in June



At Takizawa village 滝沢村 in Iwate prefecture, on June 15
and in Morioka city, at the shrine Hachimangu.

A day of rest for the farmer's horses. They are decorated colerfully and paraded along, with mount Iwakisan in the background. The bells around their head make the sound of "chagu chagu".
They walk to shrine Aomae jinja,(Komagata Jinja　駒形神社) where the protector deity of the local horses in enshrined.

. . . CLICK here for Photos of the festival !


駒形神社 Komagata shrine, partly located at the top of mount Komagata.
. . . CLICK here for Photos of the shrine !

Komagata no ookami (駒形大神) the great gods of Komagata
Composed of six gods:
Amaterasu oomikami (天照大御神)
Amenotokotachi no mikoto (天之常立尊)
Kuninosatsuchi no mikoto (国之狭槌尊)
Wagatsu no mikoto ( 吾勝尊)
Okise no mikoto (置瀬尊)
Hikohohodemi no mikoto (彦火火出見尊)


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observance kigo for late summer

nomaoi, noma oi 野馬追 (のまおい)
chasing wild horses
... nomaoi matsuri 野馬追祭（のまおいまつり）
festival of chasing wild horses
Sooma noma oi 相馬野馬追（そうまのまおい）Soma Nomaoi Festival
horse chasing in Soma

相馬野馬追 Stamp from 1965, July 16

Main event at the shrine Ota Jinja in Haramachi City and two other shrines
相馬太田神社、相馬小高神社, 相馬中村神社.

From July 23 to 25.
(It used to be in the fifth lunar month, on the first day of naka no saru.

quote
Soma-Nomaoi is a festival that recreates a battle scene from more than 1,000 years ago. It is annually held for 4 days from July 22 to 25 in Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, in the eastern part of Japan. In this historical event, 600 mounted samurai in traditional Japanese armor, with long swords at their side and ancestral flagstaffs streaming from their backs, ride across open fields. Soma-Nomaoi has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
...
Soma-Nomaoi has its origins in a military exercise: a general, the ancestor of the later holders of the Soma domain, released wild horses on to the plain for his cavalry to pursue and capture. The horses they caught were presented as offerings to a Shinto deity.
...
Riders dressed in medieval armor take part in contests of equestrian race on July 24. The mounted samurai also compete to capture a banner shot up by fireworks. The events resemble a battle during the Warring States Period.
source : web-japan.org


Soma town has been hit hard by the earthquake and the Fukushima reactor problems.
Yet it has been announced on June 19 that the festival will take place, even on a smaller scale.
. June 19, 2011 .


Sunday, July 24, 2011
Fukushima perseveres with festival
An annual festival that traces its roots to the 10th century opened Saturday in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, featuring dozens of horsemen in full samurai armor and offering prayers for the victims of the March 11 quake and tsunami.
The event was almost canceled because of the Tohoku catastrophe and the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear crisis, but the organizing committee of the Soma Nomaoi (Soma Wild Horse Chase), headed by Minamisoma Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai, decided to carry on the ancient tradition, albeit on a smaller scale. As in previous years, the festival will run from Saturday through Monday.
During a ceremony at Soma Nakamura Shrine to kick off the three-day event, Michitane Soma 相馬行胤(みちたね), 36, the eldest son of the 33rd patriarch of the former Soma clan, offered prayers for the disaster victims. ...
This year, organizers were forced to cancel two of three key events as they are held between 20 km and 30 km from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the zone in which residents must be ready to evacuate or stay indoors in an emergency.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110724a6.html

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a cloud of dust
in horse races ...
grasses of summer

土煙る相馬野馬追い夏の草

- Shared by Taro Aizu -
Joys of Japan, July 2012



. Koma 駒 horse folk toys from Fukushima

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humanity kigo for early summer


takaki uma 田掻馬（たかきうま）horse for light ploughing
..... shiro uma 代馬（しろうま）

Farmers work in Summer


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Kigo for Autumn

horse grows fat, fatten a horse, uma koyuru 馬肥ゆる

horse market, uma ichi　馬市
... uma no ichi, 馬の市
Most areas of Northern Japan, in the Tohoku Region, used to have horse markets after the summer season is finished.

autumn colt, autumn pony, autumn horse
aki no koma 秋の駒


umasage 馬下げ（うまさげ）getting the horses down
maki tozasu 牧閉す (まきとざす) "closing down the open grazing land"
makigaeri 牧帰り（まきがえり） coming home from the grazing land


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observance kigo for early autumn

. Tanabata uma 七夕馬 horse for Tanabata .
makomo no uma 真菰の馬 (まこものうま) horse from Makomo wild rice
kusakari uma 草刈馬（くさかりうま）horse from cut grass
mukae uma 迎馬（むかえうま） welcoming horse


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observance kigo for mid-autumn

aki no komabiki 秋の駒牽 (あきのこまびき)
selecting horses in autumn
koma mukae 駒迎え（こまむかえ）"picking up the horses"
"going to meet the tribute horses"
..... koma mukai こまむかい
hikiwakezukai 引分使（ひきわけづかい）
mochizuki no koma 望月の駒（もちづきのこま）
horses in the full moon month
Kirihara no koma 霧原の駒（きりはらのこま）
horses in the misty plains of Kirihara, Nagano

This is an old custom since the Heian period, on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. An official from the court comes to pick up the horses (mukae, mukai) at Kirihara, from the various horse breeding regions.


餞別に草花添て馬むかへ
senbetsu ni kusabana soute uma mukae

a parting gift
of wildflowers...
seeing off the horse


駒引くよそばの世並はどの位
koma hiku yo soba no yonami wa donokurai

led-away pony --
how has this year's
buckwheat grown?



一袋そばも添けり駒迎
hito fukuro soba mo soe keri koma mukae

a sack of buckwheat
goes with him...
seeing off the pony


Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue

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Kigo for Winter

horses standing in the cold, kandachi, kandatsu 寒立
..... kandachi uma 寒立ち馬


© Impress Corporation, Japan.
http://digitalcamera.impress.co.jp/01_07/contest/

This is a famous breed of Northern Japan, Aomori and the Shimokita and Shiriya Peninsula (Shimokita Hantoo 下北半島, 尻屋崎）. These horses are kept outside even in the winter storms, where they stand still with their noses toward the cold wind and wait for spring ... They have long warm hair and are very sure-footed in the rough terrain. They are a great attraction for tourists. I saw them in summer, a sturdy view in the rugged terrain, against the backdrop of the Hokkaido Mountains over the sea.

Kandachi is also used as kigo for the deer standing in the winter forest.

ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo

bringing the horses to the sheds, uma sage(ru) 馬下げる
To protect them from the coming snow, horses are brought back, usually to the cowsheds, to pass the winter time.


stilts, "bamboo horses", take-uma, takeuma 竹馬



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Kigo for the New Year

"Spring Horse", pronounced harukoma 春駒 はるこま
spring horse dance, harukoma no mai 春駒の舞、harukoma odori 春駒踊り
spring horse performance, harukoma manzai 春駒万歳

Spring Horse, is a performer who makes the rounds on New Year's Day, singing songs at people's gates. He wears a horse head contraption of carries a horse heade made of wood or bamboo. This in one of the many performances of wandering artists in Japan (kadozuke geinoo 門付け芸能). The man with the horse head dances to the tune of a shamisen and drum. It can also be a young man dressed as a girl, holding the horse between her legs, trying to make people laugh. The performers get a little money for their dance and wander off to the next corner.

Issa refers to this custom, which is still alive to our day in many rural communities, especially in Northern Japan and the Sado Island. If you happen to see this Spring Horse, you will be lucky for the rest of the year. A local song in the area goes like this:
"Well, well, well, how lucky!
I saw the Spring Horse in my dream!
That's good enough for this year's good luck!"

In Okinawa, there is a similar custom called
Juri Horse, juriuma　じゅりうま, ジュリ馬 , 尾類馬
a dance on the 25th of January.
JURI is the Okinawa dialect for joroo 女郎, the ladies of redlight districts.
Look at Photos of the Okinawa Performance

Spring Horse Performers in Northern Japan

http://www.manabi.pref.gunma.jp/jigyodan/map/shiryo/harukoma.htm


In English we have "stick horses", in German "Steckenpferd".
http://www.bigblackbear.com/stickhorses.html


Some "Spring Horse" haiku by Issa

「春駒のうたでとかすや門の雪」 　
haru koma no uta de tokasu ya kado no yuki

melting to the tune
of the New Year's singer...
snow at the gate
(Tr. David Lanoue)

... ... ...

The following three are translated by Sakuo Nakamura

「春駒は竹でしてさえいさみけり」
harukoma wa take de shite sae isami keri

even if made of bamboo
the spring horse
looks brave

Issa refers to a toy of this name, made of bamboo looking like a horse head.
Look at a doll with Fukusuke and the Spring Horse


「春駒を人のしてさえいさみけり」
harukoma o hito no shite sae isami keri

if he plays "spring horse"
he looks like
a brave horse



「春駒や人が真似てもいさましき」
harukoma ya hito ga manete mo isamashiki

if he gestures
like the spring horse
he looks brave

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observance kigo for the New Year

uma norizome 馬騎初 (うまのりぞめ) First riding of the horses
..... kiba hajime 騎馬始（きばはじめ）、nori hajime 騎始（のりはじめ）、norizome 騎初（のりぞめ）、hatsu nori 初騎（はつのり）
baba hajime 馬場始（ばばはじめ）"first riding ground"

Imperial Court Ceremony.
During the Muromachi period, it was helt on the second day of the first lunar month.
In the Edo period, on the fifth day.

SAIJIKI – NEW YEAR OBSERVANCES


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. . hakubasai, hakuba sai 白馬祭（はくばさい）
Festival of the White Horse 　
..... hakuba sechi-e 白馬節会
nanuka no sechi-e なぬかのせちえ【七日の節会】
Seasonal Feast on the seventh day (of the New Year)




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Worldwide use

Germany

Pferd, Fohlen, Pony



Horse meat, baniku (ばにく/ 馬肉) basashi, sakuranabe
and Haiku


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North America

Here in California, rodeos and horse backing riding, etc are summer activities.

Robert Wilson


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Things found on the way

源の義経　Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159 - 1189)
. Yoshitsune and his horses 義経の馬 .
太夫黒 Tayuguro, Tayu-guro
Ippondatara, Ippon-datara 一本ダタラ - Ippon tatara
ipponashi 一本足

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Bato Kannon with a horse head

Horse-headed Deities of Japan


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The Kabuki Horse . 歌舞伎の馬



"The Kabuki stage horse is a work of art, a splendid structure of wood and velvet borne by two specialist assistants. These assistants have exercised a monopoly for generations and there is very little about the behavior of horses that they do not know and reproduce. Their beasts toss their heads, paw the ground, back away from obstacles and fret at the bit like any thoroughbred. Trotting is a proud specialty and the authors have even seen a gentle canter.

The actor who rides such horses must give a tip known as "hay money" (kaibaryô) to the artists if he does not wish to risk an undignified fall - the pleasing tradition persists at least, even if present-day stage discipline militates against any such calculated mishaps"
(Aubrey and Giovanna Halford in "The Kabuki Handbook").

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Amulet to hit the target at Yabusame
from OkuniTama Shrine 大国魂神社

. Atariya 当たり矢 arrow to hit good luck .


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HAIKU

- uma　馬 -　koma　駒　 horse, horses -
All haiku and hokku by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


ritt übers moor.
ich lenke das pferd dorthin,
wo der kuckuck ruft.

Matsuo Basho
http://lulus-world.blogspot.com/2006/04/spring-bei-uns-im-engadin-ist-noch.html


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A sudden shower falls -
and naked I am riding
on a naked horse!

Issa
http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/

Issa and the Horse Shit - 馬糞山
with a lovely haiga by Nakamura Sakuo

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竹馬や いろは に ほへと ちりぢりに
take uma ya iroha ni hoheto chirijiri ni

Kubota Mantaroo

bamboo horse -
once we studied the iroha syllabary
now we are scattered in all directions
(Tr. G. Blankestijn)

................................................. American Version

> bamboo stick-horses--
> we who learned our ABC's
> gone our separate ways...
Translation and discussion, by Larry Bole

Old friends from childhood are called Chikuba no Tomo 竹馬の友, friends of the bamboo stilts.

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繋ぎ馬雪一双の鐙かな
tsunagi-uma yuki issoo no abumi kana

a tethered horse
with snow in both
stirrups ...

The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

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Related words

***** Donkey, roba 驢馬、ロバ



exhaust fumes
a donkey crops grass
on the road divider

Johannes Manjrekar, India, August 2006



***** mule

an ghrian os cionn na Himáilithe
ólann mo mhiúil
as an nGainséis

the sun above the Himalayas
my mule is drinking
from the Ganges

Gabriel Rosenstock at
http://ireland.poetryinternational.org/cwolk/view/28470

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***** Cow (ushi)

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***** plowing, tagayashi 耕たがやし
kigo for all spring

spring plowing, shunkoo 春耕（しゅんこう）
man plowing the fields, koojin 耕人（こうじん）
cow for plowing, koogyuu 耕牛（こうぎゅう）
horse for plowing, kooba 耕馬（こうば）、bakoo 馬耕（ばこう）

The Chinese character is made up of a plow and an enclosure.
Plowing represents a joyful time for the farmer and haiku should reflect this.



first plowing -
the waterbuffalo trods
steadily

Gabi Greve, China 1988

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. komakusa 駒草 (こまくさ) "young horse plant" .
Dicentra peregrina


. komatsunagi 駒繫 (こまつなぎ) "binding a horse" plant .
Indigofera pseudo-tinctoria

. Shiro - Japanese Castle Legends　お城と伝説　 .
at Matsumoto Castle, Nagano, there was a famous cherry tree called 八幡太郎駒繋ぎ桜,
Hachimantaro koma tsunagi, where "Hachiman Taro bound his horse", - its stump is still there and now a new tree is blossoming.


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Horse meat, baniku (ばにく/ 馬肉) basashi, sakuranabe


. Koma 駒 Horse as Folk Toys .


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Thunder and lightning

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
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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


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

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）


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

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.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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)


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


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.

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

Famous family crests with the lightning as subject.


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

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


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

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


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.


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


- - - - -


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


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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



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


[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO　　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

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Teeth strengthening (hagatame)

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO　　TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Teeth strengthening Ceremony (hagatame)

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

*****************************
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)


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



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


*****************************
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 .



*****************************
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) .


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