Carpe Diem Tanka Splendor #28 Teika's Tenth Tanka Writing Technique "Demon-quelling" (prompt: autumn departs)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This is the last Tanka Writing Technique by Teika, it's very specific for that time as I look at the "name" for this Tanka Writing Technique "demon-quelling". It will not be an easy task to explain this Tanka Writing Technique, but I will give it a try together with Jane Reichhold.

Demon-quelling - onihishigitei (or kiratsu no tei), characterized by strong or even vulgar diction and terms

Because its methods are at odds with the classical poetical values of beauty, elegance, and grace, Teika said the style to be "more difficult" and should be attempted only when the student has become proficient in the other methods. One of Teika's examples is taken from the Man'yoshū, #4:503 which is a more violent version than a similar poem in the Shinkokinshū, #10:911:

kamikaze ya / Ise no hamaogi / orishikite / tabine ya suran / araki hamabe ni

divine winds
reeds on the Ise beach
are broken
to make a traveler's bed
on this rough shore

The operative words to demonstrate the demon-quelling style are "divine winds" the breaking off of reeds, and the rough seacoast. Teika taught that even though the poet put these elements into a poem, they should be treated with sensibility and gentleness however, it seems this has been most easy to ignore.

Let me try to explain this idea. As you maybe know in ancient Japan, as in many other ancient cultures, there were stories about demons, devils and ghosts, but in Japan and for example China they made these "oni" look like monstrous creatures.

Oni are a kind of yōkai from Japanese folklore, variously translated as demons, devils, ogres, or trolls. They are popular characters in Japanese art, literature and theater.

Oni (demons) woodblock print

Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic ogre-like creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes. Their skin may be any number of colors, but red and blue are particularly common.

They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs called kanabō. This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club", that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. It can also be used in the sense of "strong beyond strong", or having one's natural quality enhanced or supplemented by the use of some tool. In addition to this, it can mean to go overboard, or be unnecessarily strong or powerful.

It's the looks of these "oni" which Teika uses to describe this "demon-quelling" Tanka Writing Technique.

So the goal is to create a tanka characterized by strong or even vulgar diction and terms. Not easy I would say, because my goal for tanka (and haiku) is elegance and beauty and not anti-beauty or anti-elegance. But I have given it a try:

broken wings a butterfly crushed under my feet fragile beauty gone leaving me with a broken heart

© Chèvrefeuille

Huh ... the idea of this "anti-beauty and anti-elegance" is really not my "cup of tea", but I think this tanka fits the Tenth Tanka Writing Technique. As you can read the prompt for today is "autumn departs", so I have tried to create a tanka with that prompt too:

broken branches

last leaves ripped apart

autumn departs

the first snow starts to fall

cuddling in front of the hearth

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 2nd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, autumn's voice, later on. For now ... have fun!

PS. I had a CD Special Japanese Poetry In The Lowlands planned, but during lack of time I have decided to drop that episode, maybe I will publish it next month.

Carpe Diem Sparkling Stars #22, Basho's "where the hototogisu is singing".

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A new episode of Sparkling Stars is ahead of us and this week I have chosen to share a haiku by Basho, as a way of preparation for our upcoming month. The haiku which I will share here comes from his world wide known haibun Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North).

here is the context of this beauty, this sparkling star:

From here, I went to see the Death Stone. The Deputy sent me there on horseback, and the man who led the horse asked me for a tanzaku (a strip of thin cardboard, on which a verse is to be written). I was moved with admiration at his request, and composed the following verse ...

no wo yoko ni uma hikimuke yo hototogisu

riding over the summer moor, -
"ah! lead the horse that way!"
where the hototogisu is singing

© Basho (Tr. R.H. Blyth)

The pleasant thing about this is the way in which Basho shows indifference to where he is going, an to everything in fact but the cry of the bird. This is the artist and the poet, far above time and place, enduring all things for that moment when the song of the bird breaks out again.

(By the way the hototogisu is looking very similar to the cuckoo).
(For more information on the Death Stone)

Credits: Death Stone

Isn't it a beauty? In this one I see the master hand of Basho .... he catches the essence of the scene in three lines with perfectly chosen words. Basho was in his time a well known poet and he was invited to a lot of houses of the rich and poor, he had never complains. In this scene described above we also see how a haiku poet gives his poem to others. he/she will never do that without asking. And that's the strength of haiku.

The goal of the Sparkling Stars feature is to try to compose another haiku in the same spirit as the one given following the classical rules, as you can find in the CD-Lecture above or in our Haiku Writing Techniques e-book, chapter 10)

I wasn't inspired enough to compose an all new haiku, but maybe I will come up with something later than I will share it with you.

This CD Sparkling Stars episode is open for your submissions at noon (CET) and will remain open until April 25th at noon (CET). Have fun!