Carpe Diem #1460 heat at zenith (hizakari)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend full of inspiration. My weekend was okay ... I enjoyed being free and it gave me some time to meditate and contemplate about the future of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. What will bring us the future here at CDHK? I hope to create posts for several years, but I hope that you all will stay to participate. Making CDHK takes a lot of time, but I love making it. So I tried to look at CDHK in a new way ... what can I change to bring more haijin, visitors and travelers to our wonderful Kai? First I will create a new kukai next month; second I think I will bring back some features from the past; third I will try to create the possibility for you all to be part of CDHK in another way ... as co-editors. Maybe you can remember our Ghostwriter feature, in that feature I gave participants the possibility to create a post for CDHK and I remember that several of you did a Ghostwriter post here. Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, a warmhearted family of haiku poets, can grow further and can become better ... but I cannot do that without your participation. Well ... maybe you have some ideas to change Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and make it bigger and better than ever. Share your ideas with us all through the comment-field.

Heat at Zenith (hizakari)

Today's classical kigo is taken from the sub-division "The Heavens" and is a kigo for late-summer. Today's kigo is: heat at zenith (hizakari). This kigo points to the heat of the day as the sun is at its highest point. (Say around 12:00 PM). That moment of the day is really the hottest part of the day and, as I look at myself, it's that moment of day in summer that I will avoid as much as I can.
As you can see on the image above, the trees have the shortest shadow and that points towards the moment of the day that is called "zenith".

I found two haiku by Santoka Taneda (1882 - 1940) in which this classical kigo, heat at zenith (hizakari), is used:

Hizakari no O-Jizō-sama no kao ga nikoniko.

In the sunlight
Jizō's face *
Smiles brightly

* Stone statues of Jizō Bosatsu are often placed at crossroads or other places frequented by travelers. Jizō (Ksitigarbha) is the patron of children and travelers and is usually shown standing, holding a pilgrim's staff in his right hand and a pearl in his left. His head is shaven, and he has a compassionate smile.

Hizakari naite mo warōte mo hitori.

In the heat of the day
Crying or laughing--
Only one.

© Santoka Taneda

Jizo, patron of children and travelers

These haiku by Santoka Taneda are exceptional, because Santoka Taneda wasn't a great fan of the required kigo in haiku, but in these two haiku he uses our classical kigo for today, heat at zenith (hizakari).

the heat of the day
walking beneath the leaves of willows
ah! that coolness

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope I have inspired you. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 1st at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our next episode later on.