Carpe Diem #1617 The start of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, the first day of spring

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first episode of a new and exciting month at our wonderful Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry. Carpe Diem Haiku Kai (CDHK) is a loving family of haiku poets and I am grateful for your love and participation. I never could have imagined that CDHK is alive and kicking after almost seven years.
It makes me humble and proud, but without you, my dear Haijin, I couldn't have done it. Thank You!

Every day again I love to create CDHK and ... ofcourse it isn't always easy to come up with a new theme every month, but this month ... well we will see what the Kumano Kodo will bring us. Ofcourse I will try to tell you about the background of the Kumano Kodo, but the most important thing this month is to enjoy the journey.

For this first episode I have chosen to tell you some background on the first day of spring, because in meteorology spring starts on the first day of March as is today.
Spring the season of new life, the start of the light part of the year according to Paganism and other nature religions. Autumn and winter are in those religions the dark part of the year and spring and summer the light part of the year.
It is a common use in Paganism to not marry in the dark part of the year, but in the light part of the year. We can see that in several rituals in spring and festivities. For example: Dancing around the May pole is such a ritual.

According to the classical Shiki Saijiki, an anthology of classical kigo, the first day of spring is a classical kigo for spring. So today as we start our Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, we will start with "the first day of spring". I think we have had this classical kigo earlier here at CDHK, but I also think you all are wonderful haiku poets and I know that you can come up with a new haiku (or tanka) about the first day of spring.

I found a nice haiku by Den Sutejo (1633-1698) a contemporary of Basho, about the first day of spring. I don't know if they knew each other, but in a way I saw a touch of Basho in the following haiku by Sutejo:

natsu matade baika no yuki ya shiroi harugi butsu

not waiting on summer
the plum blossoms in snow -
white spring kimono

© Den Sutejo

Den Sutejo (1633-1698)

Let me tell you a little bit more about this female haiku poet, she isn't as renown as Chiyo-Ni, but she has written wonderful haiku (as you can read above). Born in the province of Tanba as daughter of the samurai Den Rishige. She married and had five sons and one daughter. When she was 42, her husband died. Very soon after, she became a nun.
She became a student of Bankei Eitaku, a Zen master (1622 - 1693). She built her temple Futai An beside his temple Ryuumon, where she lived with about 30 other ladies. Her grave is at the temple Ryuumon-Ji.

I am looking forward to this month and I hope you all will enjoy our pilgrimage along the Kumano Kodo (the "ancient road"). Let's go on a new pilgrimage ... and start with our new month here at CDHK. Our goal for this first episode of March is to create a haiku (or tanka) following the classical rules (see our CD Lecture One, above in the menu) of haiku with the kigo "first day of spring".

fragile plum blossoms open

I have tried to follow the classical rules and I even tried to translate it into romaji:

koware yasui umeno hanawo yoake no hikarino nakade hikaku haruno saisho no hi

the first day of springtime
fragile plum blossoms open
in the light of daybreak

© Chèvrefeuille

With this "first day of spring" haiku our journey, our pilgrimage, along the Kumano Kodo has started. I hope you all will like this pilgrimage, one of the most holiest of Shinto.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 7th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1616 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (20) Buddha Clouds

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a wonderful CDHK month this was. We were all challenged to create Tan Renga or Tan Renga Hineri inspired on given haiku. As we started this month I challenged you to create a Tan Renga with a haiku by Jane Reichhold (1937-2016) and for closure, for this last regular episode of our TRC Month I have another beauty by Jane Reichhold. The haiku to work with I have extracted from her "A Dictionary Of Haiku, Section Spring subsection Celestial.
As you all know Jane was once a co-host of our wonderful Kai and I have only warm memories of her. She was an awesome sensei, haiku and tanka poet, an awesome co-host and a close friend. I still miss her, but I believe that her spirit is dwelling here at CDHK. So this last regular episode is a tribute to her.

Buddha

Here is the haiku to work with:

changing forms
all around the Buddha
clouds in a blue sky

© Jane Reichhold

A wonderful haiku I think. Really Jane was the Queen of Haiku and Tanka. What a beauty this is.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 6th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our first new episode of March later on. As you already know ... in March we will go on a pilgrimage again. We will walk the Kumano Kodo together it will bring us to one of the holiest places of Shinto religion straight through the mountains, but that's next month.

Carpe Diem #1615 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (19) Morning Glory

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

February is running towards its end and there are only two days left. So today is our penultimate episode of our Tan Renga Challenge Month. I have chosen a beautiful haiku by a not so well known haiku poet, Kyoroku. Kyoroku was a disciple of Basho. Maybe you can remember that special feature "A Leafless Tree" here at CDHK. In one of the episodes of that feature I shared a few haiku by Kyoroku. One of those haiku I will share here again to create a Tan Renga Hineri with.

The goal of today is to first create the 2nd stanza followed by a three lined stanza and a two lined stanza. Here is the haiku to work with:

ah! morning glories
are at their best while I chant
my morning prayers

© Kyoroku

Morning Glory

An awesome haiku to work with I think. So have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 5th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1614 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (18) free styling

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

My apologies for being late, but I had visitors. Today I thought to give you another way of the Tan Renga Challenge ... that's why this episode is called "free-styling". Today I love to challenge you to use a haiku of your own choice, that can be a haiku written by a classical or non-classical haiku poet, but not one of yourself, and create a Tan Renga with the haiku of your choice.

Of course I love to hear why you did choose the haiku you are using, but that's not neccessary. To give you an idea I will give you my choice:

I have chosen a haiku by my master, Basho, it's not a well known haiku but I think it's a beauty. He wrote this haiku halfway his life and maybe you know it:

fragile twigs
breaking off the scarlet papers
autumn winds

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

And here is my second stanza to complete this Tan Renga:

finally the darkness has gone
cherry blossoms bloom again

© Chèvrefeuille

As I tie these two stanza together it will give a wonderful Tan Renga. By the way this haiku was one of the first haiku which I tried to revisit ... it's something I love doing. I try to create a haiku inspired on a haiku trying to catch the same tone and sense as in the original.

fragile twigs
breaking off the scarlet papers
autumn winds                                © Basho
finally the darkness has gone
cherry blossoms bloom again        © Chèvrefeuille

Well ... into free styling? Than go for it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 4th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on (and on time I hope).

Carpe Diem Extra February 25th 2019: Kumano Kodo ... a new pilgrimage

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you all know I love to go on a virtual trip somewhere on our planet. I think it's time again to go on a new virtual journey. So next month we will go on a pilgrimage through the "motherland" of haiku, Japan. I have found a wonderful pilgrimage to go on together.

In March we will be pilgrims on the Kumano Kodo: One of Japan's most remote and rewarding journeys, the Kumano Kodō (hiking route) weaves through the mountainous Kii Peninsula, south of Osaka. Once a sacred pilgrimage reserved for emperors and samurai, the ‘Kumano Old Road’ is today open to all modern-day seekers and wanderers.

So we are following the trail of Emperors and Samourai on the "Kumano Old Road" (Kumano Kodo) and I am looking forward to it. I hope you all will go with me on this pilgrimage in March.

Logo CDHK March 2019 "Kumano Kodo pilgrimage"

We have still a few days in February ahead of us ... so be patient.

Have an awesome week.

Namasté,

Chèvrefeuille, your host

Carpe Diem #1613 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (17) grieving

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. I had a busy weekend (had the evening-shift) and couldn't enjoy the nice spring weather this weekend. This month we are creating Tan Renga, a small chained verse of two stanza written by two poets. Today I have a not so well known haiku for you to work with by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).

Here is the haiku to work with:

hige kaze wo fuite  boshu tanzuru wa  tare ga ko zo

who is it that grieves,
the wind blowing through his beard,
for late autumn?

(C) Matsuo Basho (Tr. R.H.Blyth)

I think this haiku (or maybe more a senryu) isn't really easy to work with, so this will be a "real" challenge to make the Tan Renga complete.

Willow In Autumn

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 3rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #73 Renga With Basho ...

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday February 24th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

February is an awesome month it's wonderful to read all of your responses in our Tan Renga Challenge Month. This month it's all about Tan Renga, but this weekend meditation I have another nice way of creating Renga.

For this weekend I have chosen for a new "Renga With Basho ..." episode that special feature in which I give you the opportunity to create a Renga together with Basho. For this episode of "Renga With Basho ..." I have chosen six (6) beautiful haiku created by Basho. All the haiku I extracted from Jane Reichhold's "Basho, The Complete Haiku", so all the haiku are translated by Jane Reichhold.

Basho wrote around 1000 haiku during his lifetime and the haiku for this "Renga With Basho ..." he wrote in the last 10 years of his life. In these haiku you can see Basho's "Karumi" (or lightness) his Haiku Writing Technique. (More about Karumi HERE).

Here are the haiku I have chosen for you to work with. You can choose your own "line-up" and add your two-lined stanza to create the Renga With Basho. Try to create a "closed chain" by referring towards your "hokku" (starting verse) in your last stanza "ageku" (closing verse).

first frost
when mums start to feel chilly
I get a cotton waist warmer

moon and flowers
the stupidity pricked by a needle
entering the colder season

slowly spring
is making an appearance
moon and plum

Chinquapin flowers

crane and feathers
in a black robe
clouds of flowers

a traveler's heart
it also should look like
chinquapin flowers

moon past full
the beginning of a little more
darkness

(C) Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold. Extracted from "Basho, The Complete Haiku".

A wonderful series of haiku to work with I think. Have a great weekend!

This Weekend Meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday February 24th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 2nd at noon (CET). Enjoy creating a Renga with the Master of All Times ... Matsuo Basho.

Carpe Diem #1612 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (16) plumegrass

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this new episode of our wonderful Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 here at CDHK, the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry. Today I thought to do something else ... it did take me some time, but I have found the most ancient haiku ever. The haiku I have for you to work with is created somewhere in the 8th century (to be precise around 711).
In that time haiku wasn't the name of it, it was something like waka, but not as we know waka (5 lines), but as a three lined waka. It was a real joy to go on this quest and I am glad that I found it. It's a beauty written by O no Yasumaro (circa 711)

Plumegrass In The Mountains

Here is the haiku to work with:

While you decline to cry,
high on the mountainside
a single stalk of plumegrass wilts.

© Ō no Yasumaro (circa 711), (Tr. Michael R. Burch)

Isn't it a beauty? Almost 1000 years before Basho created the "modern haiku", haiku was already a poetry form. Awesome! Now it's up to you to add your 2nd stanza (two lines) and make the Tan Renga complete or continue the scene.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 28th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend-meditation later on.

Carpe Diem #1611 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (15) Full Snow Moon

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai were we are creating Tan Renga this month. I have read wonderful continuations and completions and I hope to see that again with our challenge for today.

Today I have another Tan Renga Challenge Hineri episode for you all. As you all know Hineri means with a twist, so today's challenge is to create not only the 2nd (two-lined) stanza, but also the 3rd (three-lined) stanza and 4th (two-lined) stanza through association. For today's Hineri Tan Renga Challenge I have chosen a haiku by one of our longtime members of our haiku family, Hamish Managua Gunn. Hamish is not only a wonderful haiku poet, but also a wonderful author. He was my co-host for a while and I have warm memories of him.

Full Snow Moon (Supermoon February 2019)

Here is the haiku to work with:

full snow moon
stirs the ladybug
on cold bare branches

© Hamish

A wonderful haiku that Hamish created back in 2016. This one is a beauty and I think it's a nice haiku to work with ... so I am looking forward to your responses.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 27th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1610 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (14) changing of the robes

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our CDHK Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019. Today I have a nice haiku by another classical haiku poet for you to work with. By the way this will be a short episode just because of lack of time. So I will give you only the haiku to work with.
Today I will give you a haiku created by Shiba Sonome (1664-1726) Shiba Sonome was a Japanese zen poet. She was an acquaintance and friend of Matsuo Bashō, and their correspondence is a treasure of zen and haiku history.

Sonome was known for her poetry, which possessed a frank and immediate sense of purpose.

Shiba Sonome

Here is the haiku by Sonome to work with:

changing of the robes -
deliberately I go to the neighbour
to hold her child

© Shiba Sonome (Tr. Gabi Greve)

(By the way: the caption brings you to an older episode of CDHK about Sonome)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 26th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1609 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (13) water reflection

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. This month we are busy with creating Tan Renga, a short chained verse written by two poets. The Tan Renga looks similar with the tanka, but the tanka is written by one poet.
Today I have a haiku by a disciple of Matsuo Basho, Takarai Kikaku. Kikaku was one of the most renown disciples of Basho and he had a very warm relation with his master. Let me tell you a little bit more about Takarai Kikaku.

Takarai Kikaku (image found on Pinterest)

Takarai Kikaku was a Japanese haikai poet and among the most accomplished disciples of Matsuo Bashō. His father was an Edo doctor, but Kikaku chose to become a professional haikai poet rather than follow in his footsteps. Kikaku’s poetry is known for its wit and its difficulty. Whereas Basho, especially in his later years, focused on the countryside and espoused an aesthetic of simplicity, Kikaku preferred the city and the opportunities it provided for extravagant play. He also preferred a more demanding form of poetry, one laced with wordplay, allusions, and juxtapositions of images that defy easy explanation. At the time of his death, he was perhaps the leading poet in Edo (today’s Tokyo), which then had a population of around one million, making it perhaps the largest city in the world at the time.

And here is the haiku to work with:

water reflection–
a flying squirrel across
the wisteria’s mantle

© Takarai Kikaku (Tr. unknown)

In this haiku Kikaku describes a wonderful scene ... and you can easily see his talent and you can even sense the master, Matsuo Basho, in it.

Vintage Japanese Shin Hanga Woodblock Print by Toshi Yoshida - Wisteria at Ushijima

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 25th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1608 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (12) Spring is in the air

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. I was on the nightshift so my weekend was spend mostly at work and in my bed. This weekend was a nice weekend it felt like spring, but ... well I haven't experienced it.

Last weekend I introduced a new feature to you "Poetry Archive" and today's Tan Renga Challenge is one with a haiku by Kim. This new haiku she created last weekend ... Her haiku is a beauty and it describes this last weekend in a certain way. Spring is in the air ...

Spring Is In The Air

Here is the haiku to work with:

the sky is bluer
birds are singing once again
caressed by sunshine

(C) Kim M. Russell

A wonderful (masterpiece) haiku I would say. It's up to you now ... have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 24th at noon (CET). Enjoy it ...

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #72 Introducing a new feature: Poetry Archive (1)

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday 17th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's weekend again and that means time for a new weekend meditation. I have given it a thought and I decided to create a new feature for you all. No themes or prompts ... just your own free will, your own free choice for your poetry.

This new feature I have titled "Poetry Archive" and I think you all know what this new feature is about? Yes ... that's correct ... I invite you to dive into your poetry archive and share haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form that mean a lot to you. Please share with us why you did made the choice and try to create a new haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on the poem you have chosen.

Poetry Archive (credits for this image I have used)

In our daily episodes I use often haiku (sometimes tanka) taken from my archive just because I love them and I don't have enough inspiration to create new ones. So I think you all will have sometimes a period of less inspiration ... and maybe you even have shared poetry from your archive.

For this new feature "Poetry Archive" I challenge you to pick a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form from your "Poetry Archive" and share it, together with the background on your choice, with us all and create a new one inspired on your own.

Of course I have chosen a haiku from my archive. It's a haiku that I love very much and I think you will know it too.

Here is my choice from my archive:

This one I wrote several years ago and I used it a few times here at our wonderful Kai. It was inspired on one of the haiku by Matsuo Basho, my sensei. With this haiku I gave tribute to him, honoring him as my sensei. So this haiku is very dear to me.

ancient warriors ghosts
mists over the foreign highlands -
waiting for the full moon

© Chèvrefeuille

Ancient Warrior's Ghost (image found on Pinterest)

And here is a new haiku inspired on this haiku from my archive:

entering the dreamworld
I find myself on an ancient battlefield
red poppies bloom

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I think you will need the weekend as much as I do, and I hope you all will have a wonderful weekend.

This weekend meditation "Poetry Archive" is open for your submissions next Sunday February 17th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until February 24th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new regular episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1607 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (11) an open window

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 ... this month we are only busy with creating Tan Renga and I can see that you all enjoy it. Today I have a new Hineri episode for you. Hineri means "with a twist" and for today's Tan Renga Challenge this means that you not only have to write the second stanza, but also a third and fourth stanza ... so it is a four verse Renga to create (3 lines; 2 lines; 3 lines and 2 lines).

Back in 2018 I started with a new feature "crossroads" in which I challenged you to create a "fusion-ku" from two given haiku. Somewhere in April 2018 I created a "fusion-ku" and that "fusion-ku" is the haiku to start with.

Butterfly (photo © Chèvrefeuille)

Here is that haiku:

the sound of the surf
enters my home through the open window
and a butterfly

© Chèvrefeuille (2018)

And now it is up to you to create the 2nd stanza (2-lines), the 3rd stanza (3-lines) and the 4th stanza (2lines) inspired / associated on the given haiku.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 21st at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1606 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (10) White Bush Clover

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new (somewhat belated) episode of our wonderful Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019. This month all the themes / prompts are haiku by modern and non-modern haikupoets. The goal this month is to create a Tan Renga with the given haiku by adding your second stanza of approximately 14 syllables associated on images and scenes in the given haiku.

Today I have a wonderful haiku by one of my favorite haiku poets, Masaoka Shiki, the haiku poet who brought haiku into the 20th century. He has written a lot of haiku and I think his haiku are wonderful.

White Bush Clover

Here is the haiku to work with:

the white bush clovers
drop the dewdrops
frequently

(c) Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 20th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1605 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (9) first day of spring

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our beautiful Haiku Kai. This month it's Tan Renga Challenge Month so all our regular episodes are Tan Renga to complete (or to continue). For today's episode I have chosen a nice (renown) haiku by Basho, my master, one of the most famous haiku poets.

First day of spring--
I keep thinking about
the end of autumn.

© Matsuo Basho (Tr Robert Hass)

First Day Of Spring

What a nice haiku to work with ... here is my hummble attempt:

First day of spring--
I keep thinking about
the end of autumn.                                                 © Basho

sweet memories to cherish
cherry blossom viewing with my love                   © Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... I like this continuation (how immodest) of the haiku by Basho.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 19th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1604 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (8) sunday morning

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another new Tan Renga Challenge to start ... this time I have chosen a beauty by Jane Reichhold (1937-2016) to work with. As you all know Jane was a co-host here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and she once said: "Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is best website on haiku, tanka and other Japanese poetry on the Internet". Of course I was (and still am) proud that she said that about our wonderful CDHK Family. I believe that her spirit is still dwelling here at our Kai. She will always be part of CDHK and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to know her and have her as a friend.

So today I hope you will create a Tan Renga in honor of Jane, a tribute to her wonderful spirit.

white waves kneeling

sunday morning 
all the waves in white
kneeling on the beach

© Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)

A wonderful haiku to work with ... this episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 18th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1603 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (7) phoenix

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I have to apologise to you for bein glate with publishing our new regular episode. My excuses for being late, but that said ... time to go on with a new Tan Renga Challenge, because that's what we are doing this whole month ... Tan Renga Challenges.

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and that your weekend was one of inspiration and joy. Today I have chosen a wonderful haiku to work with created by one of our family members. I haven't ask her yet, but I think she will not have a problem with using her haiku here at our wonderful Kai. I have chosen a haiku created by Dolores of Ada's Poetry Alcove. She wrote this haiku in response on the "rebirth" of our Time Glass feature last week.

rebirth
tendrils of love spread
through poetry

© Dolores

The Phoenix by Evolvana (DevianArt; image found on Pinterest)

A wonderful haiku to work with I think, I hadn't inspiration to create the 2nd stanza to this Tan Renga, but I love to share a haiku from my archives:

phoenix spreads its wings
after the dark cold winter night
finally spring

© Chèvrefeuille (2015)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 17th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... be inspired!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #71 Crossroads Hineri ... cherry blossom

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday February 10th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new weekend meditation episode here at our wonderful Haiku Kai. I created this special feature a few years ago to give me some time off ... and I am glad I have created it, because it's a joy to have a few days off.

This weekend I love to challenge you with a Crossroads Hineri episode. As you know Crossroads is the feature to create a fusion-ku from two given haiku. This weekend it's a Crossroads Hineri episode and that means that you not only have to create a fusion-ku, but also a Troiku with your fusion-ku.

Yesterday I read a Japanese news paper and in that paper was the first cherry blossom forecast. The cherry blossom forecast gives the Japanese people the opportunity to go cherry blossom viewing, because for the Japanese that is a wonderful event.

Cherry Blossom

So the theme for this weekend meditation is Cherry Blossom (viewing). I have chosen two haiku created by myself to work with. I have taken those haiku from one of our exclusive CDHK E-books titled "fragile beauty".

standing naked
in awe of the first cherry blossom
dancing in the garden

on winter's edge
the first Cherry blossom blooms
rain falls softly

© Chèvrefeuille

Two haiku from my archives taken from "fragile beauty" (you can find the complete E-book in our CDHK Library) to work with. You all know I love Cherry Blossoms and to me it's always a joy to see the first cherry blossom in my Sakura in the backyard.

Goal for this weekend meditation is to create a "fusion-ku" with / from the given haiku and to create a Troiku (more on Troiku you can find in the menu) with your "fusion-ku".

This episode is open for your submissions next Sunday February 10th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until February 17th at noon (CET). Have a great weekend!

Carpe Diem #1602 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (6) the night of firefly

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019. My apologies for being late with publishing I was on the evening shift and hadn't the opportunity to create a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai.

This month it's Tan Renga Challenge Month and that means every regular episode the task is to complete a Tan Renga (chained verse created by two poets) with a given haiku. Today I love to challenge you a little bit more. Today the Tan Renga Challenge is a Hineri (with a twist) challenge and that means you have to create a Tan Renga and two other stanza, so you have to create not only the second stanza of two lines, but also a third stanza (three lines) and a fourth stanza (two lines).

To start this Tan Renga Challenge Hineri I have a wonderful haiku by Katsura Nobuko (1914-2004) a female haiku poet. I had never heard from her, but she has written nice haiku. The haiku I have chosen is a love-haiku and a nice one I think to create your Tan Renga Hineri.

Katsura Nobuko (1914-2004)

Let me first tell you a litte bit more about her:

Nobuko Katsura was born Nobuko Niwa in Osaka on 1 November 1914. After graduating from High School, she began writing haiku under the direction of the poet Sojo Hino, editor of the 'Kikan' (The flagship). Later she founded the Marumero (Quince) haiku group with Kenkichi Kusumoto. In March 1945 during the WWII when the American planes bombed Osaka, Nobuko's house caught fire and she was just able to gather her haiku manuscripts before fleeing from the fire. The rescued manuscripts were later published in her first volume, 'Gekkoo shoo’ (Beams of the moon 1949).

In 1954 she helped Katoo Chiyoko edit the magazine 'Josei haiku' (Women's haiku). After 'Gekkoo shoo', she published 'Nyoshin' (The female body) in 1955, 'Banshun' (Late spring) in 1967, 'Shinroku' (Young leaves) in 1974, and several other collections. In 1970 she founded the magazine 'Sooen' (The grass garden), which is still publishing today. She has also been a vice-president of the Modern Haiku Association of Japan. Her ninth collection of haiku 'Kaei' (The shadows of flowers) came out in 1998. Nobuko’s style of writing developed through the years – from the slightly erotic notions in her early poems to the calmer yet full of emotions and sensuality haiku of her later career. (Source: The Living Haiku Anthology)

Firefly

Here is the haiku to start with:

I wear loosely
and meet the man
at the night of firefly

© Katsura Nobuko (1914-2004)

A wonderful haiku in which we can easily see the theme ... love. Really a nice haiku to start our Tan Renga Challenge Hineri with.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 14th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1601 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (5) the weight of a butterfly

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month it's Tan Renga Challenge month so every theme / prompt is a haiku by a modern or classical haiku poet and the goal is to create a Tan Renga with it by adding your two-lined second stanza of approximately 14 syllables. The second stanza you can create through association on the scene(s) in the given haiku.

Today I have a wonderful, not so well known haiku by female haiku master Chiyo-Ni. I think you all know her at least from her wonderful Morning Glory haiku. That Morning Glory haiku however is not the haiku to work with today.

Here is the haiku to work with:

waterweed
floating away, despite 
the butterfly's weight on it

© Chiyo-Ni (Tr. Ueda)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 13th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1600 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (4) cold wintry wind

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new milestone here at CDHK. Today I have the 1600th regular episode for you and I think that's awesome. As I started CDHK back in 2012 I couldn't have dreamed that there would be 1600 regular episodes of our wonderful Kai, but we did it. It is not only my milestone it's also your milestone. Without you I couldn't make CDHK. Thank you all for being part of CDHK's haiku loving family.

Arigatou (Thank You)

This month it is Tan Renga Challenge Month and I love creating this minth, because Tan Renga we make together, as we do all the time here at CDHK, but Tan Renga is a real nice way to create together.

Yesterday I had a wonderful haiku by Ken Gierke and I hope it inspired you in an awesome way. Today I have chosen to challenge you with a classical haiku by Natsume Soseki:

the cold wintry wind
is blowing so hard that
the sun sinks into the ocean

© Soseki

More about him you can find in our CDHK library. I created an exclusive CDHK E-book about him titled "Magnolia Blossom" back in 2016 (?).

the sun sinks into the ocean (image found on Pinterest)

The above haiku is a real beauty in my opinion and I think it can become a nice Tan Renga. Here is my attempt:

the cold wintry wind
is blowing so hard that
the sun sinks into the ocean                © Soseki

awakens the silvery moon
to give light to the world                     © Chèvrefeuille

Wow ... I think this Tan Renga is a beauty (how immodest). I like it very much. And now it is up to you to create your Tan Renga by adding your two lined stanza.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 12th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.