Carpe Diem June 2018 One Sunny Day summer kigo


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new month of challenging prompts at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry and especially haiku  and tanka. This month on the Northern Hemisphere summer will start (and on the Southern Hemisphere winter), therefore I have chosen a wonderful theme this month:

One Sunny Day, classical summer kigo.

As you maybe know Japanese poetry knows a lot of rules, but one of those rules we don't use very often in the western world ... that rule is the use of kigo or seasonwords. In Japanese poetry you can always find a reference to the season in which the haiku or tanka was written. For example "tulips" is a kigo (seasonword) for spring. Another example "sunbathing" is typical for summer and can be seen as a kigo for summer.

This month we will explore the classical kigo of summer as gathered in a so called Saijiki, a collection of kigo. (As e.g. Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku")


This month we will also have our traditional Carpe Diem Weekend-meditation and sometimes I will publish a new (or renewed) feature just to awaken your muses. And I hope to publish a new episode of our feuilleton "Wandering Spirit" about Yozakura, the Unknown Haiku poet and contemporary of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).

Here is our prompt-list for June 2018:

1. barley autumn (mugi no aki)
2. Weekend-meditation 35 (Troiku challenge)
4. cooling on the porch (hashi-i)
5. mandarin orange blossoms (hana tachibana)
6. new tea (shincha)
7. afterglow (yuuyake)
8. river frog (kajika)
9. Weekend-meditation 36 (like Basho)

Moonflower Yuugao)
11. Moonflower (yuugao)
12. young maple-leaves (waka kaeda)
13. cool (suzushi)
14. dripping spring-water (shitatari)
15. swimming (oyogi)
16. Weekend-meditation 37
18. half-year's end festival (nagoshi)
19. sweetfish (ayu)
20. luxurance (shigeri)
21. short night (mijikayo)
22. evening lull (yuunagi)
23. Weekend-meditation 38

Bush Warbler
25. heat at zenith (hizakari)
26. waterfall (taki)
27. thin clothes (usumono)
28. old bush warbler (oiuguisu)
29. wind in the verdure (aoarashi)
30. Weekend-meditation 39

I hope to publish also our special feature "Crossroads" and I have created a few new features as you already have seen last week "The Sparkle of Joy" and "Deep Within Self". And sometimes there will be a Carpe Diem Extra episode to make announcements or give you all previews of upcoming months here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

I hope you all will like this month full of classical kigo for summer (and winter).

Namastè,

Chèvrefeuille, your host

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