Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Welcome at a new episode of our TRC Month May 2019. This month is almost over and I am looking forward to June, than we will be challenged to create Troiku, that creative way of haiku-ing I invented back in 2912, but now it's still Tan Renga.
Today I have a beautiful haiku by a classical master, Kikaku, an apprentice and very close friend of Basho. The loved eachother dearly.
Here is the haiku to work with, it's a haiku Kikaku wrote to comfort Basho because he was very ill, a few days later Basho died.
How I wish to call
A white crane from Fukei,
But for this cold rain.
© Kikaku
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| White Crane (Japanese Woodblock Print) |
I have loved these challenges and look forward to what you have for us in June.
ReplyDeleteHello Chèvrefeuille and thank you for the beautiful haiku by Kikaku written to comfort Basho because he was very ill:
ReplyDelete.
How I wish to call
A white crane from Fukei,
But for this cold rain.
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© Kikaku
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I was curious about the word “Fukei” and exploring, came across this link https://www.sfmoma.org/essay/landscape-situation-about-fukei/ written by artist Naoya Hatakeyama, September 2017, in which he discusses the various meanings of the word, and how the meaning has changed over time (quoting from the webpage):
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“I will provide some information about the Japanese word fukei (“landscape”) for the Americans in the audience. The word, of course, was transmitted from China. According to encyclopedias, the term seems to have been first used in the third or fourth century. One point of interest is that this word was created from Chinese characters that are quite beautiful in meaning: “wind” and “light.” The word includes no concept of land or place, as do the Western terms landscape and paysage.
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In China, earth, water, fire, and wind were considered the four elements that constitute all matter, including human beings. The character for “insect,” 虫, forms part of the character for “wind,” 風. It is said that the character for “bird,” 鳥, was originally used in place of “insect.” Wind, as a divine being, was thought to have the shape of a bird. And the second character, kei, means “light.” In fact, there is another word, fuko, 風光, with the same meaning as fukei. Fuko is said to refer to the glistening of grasses and trees as they are moved by the wind. The word is all-inclusive in its focus and at the same time accompanied by movement. This movement of glittering light allows us to experience “the immediate moment,” that is to say, “nature.” A phenomenological recognition of nature is already incorporated into the word fukei. Unlike words created by Europeans with reference to the “shape of the land,” the word fukei is already latent with aesthetic value and poetry.”
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It is a very impressionistic term, evocative of the divine intervention that Kikaku seemingly wished for his friend.