Carpe Diem #1797 New Beginnings ... First Snow

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First my excuses for not publishing yesterday. I had some trouble with my PC, but now it has been made, so today I will publish two episodes. This (belated) episode will be short. I will give you only the prompt and a few examples of haiku created by several haiku poets.

Today's prompt is "First Snow", it's a classical kigo for Winter and that means you have to try to create a classical haiku or tanka following the rules as I think you all will known.

The first snow
That the young Hijiri-monk has
The color of the wooden box.

© Basho

Another one by Basho:

The first snow,
When is the pillar set up
For the Great Buddha?





snow's falling!
I see it through a hole
in the shutter...

© Shiki

Well ... it's up to you now to create a haiku or tanka (classical way) themed "first snow".

Here is mine:

a cold moonlit night
just the sound of fresh fallen snow -
wandering over the moors

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 20th at noon (CEST). I will publish our new Tan Renga Wednesday episode later today. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1595 hawk (taka)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the penultimate episode of January 2019. This month we were exploring seasonwords for winter. Seasonwords (or kigo) are words that can be used to place a time-frame into your haiku (or tanka). Seasonwords, as the name already says are words that point to a specific season. In classical Japan there were five seasons, New Year, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. That classical tradition is still in use nowadays, but as you all know New Year season is only something of Japan and few other countries in that same region.

As we talk about classical haiku than the use of a kigo (seasonword) is one of the classical rules next to the 5-7-5 syllables-structure, a cuttingword (kireji), a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water, a deeper meaning (mostly spiritual or Buddhistic) and the interchangeable first and third line. Back in our rich CDHK history we saw several other classical rules, but the ones I mentioned are the most known and common in use.

Today I have a classical kigo for you to work with. It's taken from the section Winter subsection Animals of the Shiki classical saijiki. So today you have to create haiku with "hawk (taka)".

Hawk (Taka)

What a majestic bird this is and what a wonderful spiritual meaning this Hawk has. The hawk symbolizes the ability to use intuition and higher vision in order to complete tasks or make important decisions. ... Hawks represent the messengers of the spirit world, so seeing them definitely means the universe wants you to learn powerful lessons or expand your knowledge and wisdom.

Here is an example of a haiku by Masaoka Shiki with this kigo and a few more other haiku:

toward those short trees

we saw a hawk descending

on a day in spring.

© Masaoka Shiki

by a singular stroke

of luck, I saw a solitary hawk circling

above the promontory of Irago.

© Matsuo Basho

between bare branches

high above the white world

hawks looking for prey

messenger of heaven

circling high above my head -

re-thinking my life

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I think Hawk can give you a lot of inspiration and I am looking forward to all your responses. By the way that brings me to the following. As you have noticed I am not commenting a lot, my excuses for that, because I am far behind with commenting and I hope, I really hope to catch up a.s.a.p.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until February 6th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our last episode of this month later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1593 flowers out of season (kaeribana)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all  have had a wonderful weekend full of inspiration. I had to work this weekend, but nevertheless I had a wonderful weekend. Our youngest grandson (4 yrs) stayed with us and that was a real joy. And today we had two of our older grandkids visiting us. So I had a wonderful weekend.

This month full of classical and modern seasonwords (kigo) for winter is almost over. We have four days to go this month, so four kigo for winter to share with you for inspiration. Today I have chosen a classical kigo ... flowers out of season (kaeribana). Literally this kigo means "returnig flowers", so this one is a kigo for late winter.

Here I have a classical example by Kobayashi Issa:

yama-gawa no ushiro tsumetashi kaeri-bana

by a mountain stream
catching a chill...
out-of-season blooms

© Issa (Tr. David Lanoue)

kaeri-bana (crocus)

The first flowers we can see at the end of winter are "snowdrops", "crocus" and maybe "daffodils" and of course more kinds of flowers.

I think this classical kigo will inspire you to create your masterpieces. So try to create a classical haiku (or tanka) following the classical rules ... and let it be one of your new masterpieces ...

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

Carpe Diem #1591 quilt (futon)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's really winter ... snow and frost are "king" in the Lowlands and temperatures are around 0 degrees Celsius. A moment ago I came into the house after walking the dog and now ... recovering from the winter cold I lay down on the bench cuddling up under a warm quilt. What a joy ... cuddling up under the quitl grandma made me a long time ago. Sweet memories are overwhelming me ...

We are exploring classical and modern kigo for winter and today I have a nice kigo for you ... quilt (or futon). I think this one doesn't need explanation. A quilt is a kind of blanket made of several patches of cotton and stuffed with fuzz or wool. I have sought for a few haiku on this prompt and found these:

Written by Buson:

waga hone no futon ni sawaru shimoyo kana

right to my bones
through the quilt pierces
the frost tonight

Or this one also by Buson:

teshokushite yoki futon dasu yosamu kana

with lantern in hand
taking out a heavy quilt -
a cold night!

And what do you think of this one written by Issa?

korogi no kanshuku to suru fusuma kana

the cricket's
winter residence ...
my quilt

Japanese Quilt (Futon)

There are a lot of other examples I think, but I have to compose my own haiku on 'Quilt (futon)', so here I go:

quilt up to my head
laying beneath the open window
this icy cold night

her old hands
sewing another quilt for me
my grandmother

this cold winter night
laying naked under my quilt
feels like summer

© Chèvrefeuille

What a joyful kigo this is ... it can bring you all wonderful inspiration I think. Stay warm ...

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until January 30th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1589 mandarin ducks (oshidori)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I had a busy day today so I have a reprise episode for you this time. Maybe you can remember that we have had "mandarin ducks" as a prompt several times here at CDHK. "Mandarin Ducks" is a classical kigo for winter and there are nice haiku with this kigo for example:

furu ike no oshidori ni yuki furu yuube kana

at the old pond
snow falls on Mandarin ducks
in twilight

© Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

Or what do you think of this one by Yosa Buson:

oshidoriya ikeni otonaki kashino ame

mandarin duck -
rain falls silently
from an oak

© Yosa Buson (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

Mandarin Ducks

The adult male (sometimes called 'drake' for his colorful feathers) is a striking and unmistakable bird. It has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face and "whiskers". The breast is purple with two vertical white bars, and the flanks ruddy, with two orange "sails" at the back. The female is similar to female Wood Duck, with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye, but is paler below, has a small white flank stripe, and a pale tip to its bill.
The Mandarin ducklings are almost identical in look to Wood ducklings, and appear very similar to Mallard ducklings. The ducklings can be distinguished from Mallard ducklings because the eye-stripe of Mandarin ducklings (and Wood ducklings) stops at the eye, while in Mallard ducklings it reaches all the way to the bill.

Here are a few haiku from my archive themed "Mandarin Ducks":

in the moonlight 
Mandarin Ducks making love
happily together

brilliant colors
reflecting in the old pond
Mandarin drake

© Chèvrefeuille

And here is another one, also from my archive, but more inspired on the beautiful colors of the Mandarin Duck:

without sound

colored leaves dive into

the city park pond

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 28th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1587 Buson's Memorial Day (busonki) (January 17th)

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. Today it's January 17th and that is Buson's Memorial Day (or busonki) and it's also a classical kigo for winter. So according to the meaning of this day ... Buson's Memorial Day ... I have a nice challenge for you all ... create a "fusion-ku" from the two haiku I will give you hereafter ... and create a Troiku with your "fusion-ku".

Here are the two haiku by Buson to use:

someone goes by wearing a hood
in his own darkness
not seeing the harvest moon

the first light snow
then when the bowl of the sky is empty
the moon hanging in the bamboos

© Yosa Buson

Haiga by Buson

Two nice haiku by Buson, but Buson was also a great Haiga painter as you can see above. He illustrated the first bound edition of Basho's "Oku No Hosomichi" (Small Road Into The Deep North).

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 24th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1585 icicles (tsurara)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. The place to be if you like to write and share haiku or other kinds of Japanese poetry. This month we are exploring modern and classical seasonwords for winter. And today I have a nice classical kigo (seasonword) for you.

The prompt for today is Icicles (tsurara) and that's a classical kigo for "late winter", but in my opinion that's not completely true, because Icicles we see through whole winter.

I have found a wonderful haiku on 'icicles' written by Issa:

yûkaze ya yashiro no tsurara hi no utsuru

night wind --
the shrine's icicles
reflect the lights

© Kobayashi Issa

Icicles (image found on Pixabay)

Well ... now it's my turn ...

icicles hanging
at the gutter of the old mansion
sun's reflections

© Chèvrefeuille

I think icicles are the most beautiful thing of winter, they are so fragile and look like crystals.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 22nd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1583 winter seclusion (fuyugomori)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the new week ... I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and that you all have found the inspiration for our tough challenge "Troiku Hineri".

This month we are exploring the kigo for winter, not only classical but also modern kigo are the themes this month. Before the weekend we had a modern kigo by Jane Reichhold so today it's time for a classical kigo.

Today this classical kigo you can use during the whole winter, or as the classical Saijiki all say "All Winter". Winter Seclusion (fuyugomori) is our kigo today. I think it needs no explanation, but I have found a nice haiku with this kigo by Matsuo Basho. He wrote this haiku at the age of 45.

Fuyugomori (Winter Seclusion)

In rural Japan, especially in the Northern areas along the coast of the Sea of Japan, the winter is long and brings enormous amounts of snow. There was nothing much to do that sit back and wait it out. The farmhouses where difficult to heat and the family huddled around the hearth (irori) in the kitchen. It was a tough time to live through with great endurance. This is what we call winter seclusion, really a tough time.

Here is the haiku I mentioned above:

sashikomoru mugura no tomo kabuna uri

winter seclusion
the only friend to rely on
grass stuffed mattres

© Basho (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

A nice classical haiku I think, my translation is a way of free-styling, because "sashikomoru" means actually "staying indoors", but in my opinion that's almost the same as "fuyugomori" (winter seclusion).

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 20th at noon (CET). Tomorrow we will have another nice modern kigo taken from Jane's Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku". For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1581 Setsubun

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This month we are exploring all kigo (seasonwords) for winter not only the classical kigo, but also the  modern kigo as gathered by Jane Reichhold in her Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku". Today I have a wonderful classical kigo for you to work with ... setsubun. This is a not so well known classical kigo and I think I have to give you a small explanation of this classical kigo.

Setsubun: The last day of winter. Features ritualistic chasing of devils out of the house, allowing good luck for the spring (the traditional New Year). Compare the English ritual of opening front and back doors.
Setsubun is an annual Japanese festival on February 3rd. Setsubun is the beginning of Spring according to the old Japanese lunar calendar. It's traditionally believed that the spirit world comes closer to our world at this time of year. Strips of paper with people's wishes inscribed on them are placed over the lanterns. It's thought that wishes may be granted on Setsubun, but they also think that, through the idea of having the spirit world closer by at this event, demons can escape to our world..

Daffodils ... sign of Setsubun

And here is an example of a haiku by myself themed "setsubun":

dispelling the darkness
after the long cold winter
welcoming the light

Or this one with another angle:

covered with snow
winter is coming to an end
Daffodils blooming

© Chèvrefeuille

Two nice haiku (how immodest) in which I have tried to catch "setsubun".

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 16th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

PS.: I am far behind with commenting and I don't know if I can catch up, but of course I will try.

Carpe Diem #1579 bonfire (takibi)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are exploring the modern and classical kigo (seasonwords) for winter. Yesterday we had a nice modern kigo from Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku", the online version. Today I have a nice classical kigo for you to work with. Today our kigo is "bonfire (takibi)". In this time of year, the Holidays, I think there are several bonfires all around the world in this time of year. So no need to explain this kigo ...

To inspire you I have a wonderful "bonfire" video for you. In this video you can see a bonfire, but also hear a sweet children's song from Japan.

I hope you enjoyed this music video and that it has awakened your muse.

I found a nice haiku themed "bonfire" by Mamta Agarwal:

sit around bonfire, 
sparks rise and fly like glow worms; 
charred logs fall with thud. 

© Mamta Agarwal

And here a haiku written by myself:

bonfire

the scent of pine trees overwhelms the senses -

back to school again

© Chèvrefeuille

Bonfire (takibi)

To conclude this episode I have another nice "bonfire" haiku by Kobayashi Issa, one of the five greatest haiku poets:

foot of the mountain--

without a cheer

my New Year's bonfire

© Kobayashi Issa

Well ... I hope I have awakened your muses.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 14th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1575 Fuyukasumi (Winter Mist)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all have had a wonderful New Year's Eve and an awesome start of 2019. I had for sure a wonderful New Year's Eve ...
This month we are finding our inspiration through the kigo (seasonwords) of winter. Yesterday I started with a modern kigo extracted from Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku" and today I have a nice classical kigo for you: Fuyukasumi (or Winter Mist)

I found a nice example of a haiku themed "winter mist" by Chenou Liu:

winter mist
another bowl
of veggie soup

© Chenou Liu

Fuyukasumi (Winter Mist)

 Well ... we are on our way into a new year full of inspiration.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 8th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1463 old bush warbler (oiuguisu)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Good evening fellow Carpe Diem poets. Time again for a new episode in a month full of classical kigo for summer and winter. And today's classical kigo for summer is a nice (and easy) one I think. Today I challenge you to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form with old bush warbler (oiuguisu). And there are several haiku and tanka known with this kigo for example, this tanka:

If not for the call
of the bush warbler coming
out of the valley,
who then would be aware of
the arrival of springtime?

© Ôe no Chisato

Original by Ôe no Chisato, nephew of Ariwara no Narihira and another poet who flourished from the 890s to around 920 but whose birth and death dates are unknown.

Or what do you think of this beautiful haiku by my master Basho:

uguisu ya mochi ni fun suru en no saki

this damned warbler !
it left his droppings on the ricecakes
on the veranda

© Basho (Tr. Gabi Greve)

(old) Bush Warbler (oiuguisu)

Another one also by Basho, however I cannot say with 100% certainty:

uguisu ya yanagi no ushiro yabu no mae

this bush warbler !
behind the willows
in front of the thicket

© Basho (?) (Tr. Gabi Greve)

I also found a more recently written haiku with this kigo. This haiku is from 2013 and is written by Naotaka Uematsu:

guide the old bushwarbler
with your hands, please,
young cuckoos

© Naotaka Uematsu (2013)

To conclude this episode, I have also a haiku by Yosa Buson:

uguisu ya ume fumikobosu nori darai

this bush warbler -
it scatters plum petals
around the glue tub

© Yosa Buson

The (old) bush warbler is a kind of nightingale, so you can also use nightingale in your haiku or tanka.

Okay ... a last one, this time by Issa with an explanation by Chris Drake:

uguisu ya kaki funde mite mo hito koe

a bush warbler
steps carefully on the fence
and sings again

© Kobayashi Issa (Tr. Chris Drake, incl. the explanation)

This hokku is from the third month (April) of 1818, when Issa was in and around his hometown. A bush warbler (Horornis diphone) has been singing in a strong, clear voice. It apparently fell silent when it reached a fence, perhaps made of bamboo or brushwood, but after it cautiously walks along the top of the fence and finds it a safe place, and one strong enough to hold its weight, it sings once more. Perhaps it still isn't used to the strange barriers humans erect in arbitrary places. Issa seems to be praising the energy and powerful voice of the rather shy and wary warbler, which doesn't give up when it meets an obstacle but examines it carefully and finally deals with it.

All beautiful verses inspired on our classical summer kigo for today. I have tried to create one myself with this kigo and this is what I came up with:

hot summer night
only the breeze brings coolness
a nightingale's song

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope I have inspired you with this episode and I am looking forward to all of your beautiful responses.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 4th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our last regular episode of June later on.

Waterfowl (mitzutori)

And for our friends on the Southern Hemisphere I have a nice classical winter kigo: waterfowl (mizutori).