Carpe Diem #1625 Kumano Kodo ... a new trail

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What an awesome pilgrimage this Kumano Kodo (ancient road) is. We are on our way through the Kii peninsula and are close to nature ... The Kumano Kodo is one of the most important Shinto pilgrimages and it's not a one trail pilgrimage. As I told you in an earlier episode ... the Kumano Kodo is a pilgrimage created out of five different trails. Until today we walked the Nakahechi Route, and today we will go further on one of the other trails ... the Iseji Route. Let me tell you a little bit more about this Kumano Kodo trail.

Iseji connects Kumano with Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture. Like Ohechi, much of Iseji's coastal trail has been covered by paved roads and towns. Only short, isolated sections remain as stoned or earthen trails today. Among them, the Magose Pass in Owase City and Matsumoto Pass in Kumano City are some of the most picturesque.

Magose Pass

Magose-toge Pass forms the boundary between Miyamacho and Owase City. A moss covered stone path stretches about 2 Km into the beautiful cypress forest covered with ferns.
There are points of historical interest along the path which include a Haiku monument, 5-7-5 syllable poetry created by Karyoen Toitsu, Yonaki-jizo, a stone statue of the guardian deity of children and a Magose Milestone.
There is a hiking trail which leads to Tengura-san Mount overlooking Owase City on the east side of the pass. Magosekoen Park on the way down the pass is renowned for its cherry blossoms.

I ran through our rich history and surfed the WWW to find the haiku by Toitsu, but couldn't find it, but maybe one of you has more luck in finding that haiku. To give a haiku in the same sense I love to share one by myself:

on the mountain slopes
fragile cherry blossom petals fall
it seems to snow

© Chèvrefeuille

I think this one fits, because we are walking the Kumano Kodo straight through the Kii peninsula, a wonderful region in Japan with a lot of mountains.

cherry blossom on the mountain slope

Well ... a wonderful start of our new trail on the Kumano Kodo. I am looking forward to your responses.

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

Carpe Diem #1619 Kumano Kodo ... Nakahechi route (aka the Imperial Route)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are on our way ... yesterday we started our Kumano Kodo pilgrimage ... and I think it will be awesome. I hope you all will enjoy this pilgrimage and I hope it will bring you Inner Peace, Spritual Balance ... and maybe more.

The Kumano Kodo or "ancient road" is one of Japan's most gorgeous pilgrims routes ... it's by the way not just one pilgriage. The Kumano Kodo is a collection of five routes all through the Kii Peninsula. Let me give you some background on this.

climbing the mountain
together with the smiling Buddha
embraced by nature

© Chèvrefeuille

Kii Peninsula

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.

Even before organised religion existed in Japan, locals worshipped nature in the mystical landscape of the Kii Peninsula. Towering trees, the nation's tallest waterfall, and the mountains in between were themselves considered kami (gods), and a walk among them became a sacred act. Emperors and samurai kept detailed diaries of their pilgrimages here; one of the earliest was by Fujiwara-no-Munetada (1062–1141), an aristocrat who travelled to Kumano in 1109.

Over the years Buddhist temples and shrines of Shintō, Japan's native religion, were built, making the route's iconography more familiar for the common folk.

Shinto Shrine along the Kumano Kodo

The Kumano Kodō is actually not one route but a network of trails through the deeply forested mountains, with no official start and end point and no prescribed order for approaching a hike. There are moderate to strenuous hiking options lasting a few hours to several days, taking in some of Japan’s top ‘power spots’ – temples, forests and waterfalls thought to enrich the soul.

Historically, pilgrims would visit the Kumano Sanzan – the three grand shrines of Kumano – which are the cornerstones of the Nakahechi route (aka the Imperial Route), the most action-packed route through the region.

This main trail traverses the peninsula from Takijiri-ōji in the west, 38.5km east through to the first of the three grand shrines, at Hongū. Here, the trails diverge toward the other two shrines, either southeast through the mountains toward the waterfall Nachi-no-taki or eastward along the river Kumano-gawa to the town of Shingū.

five sacred routes
in praise of nature's spirits
Kumano Kodo

© Chèvrefeuille

I can imagine the beauty of nature along this "ancient route" ... and nature is (as you all know) the main theme of our wonderful haiku.

thin mountain air

surrounds this old mountain cabin -

I hear the stream

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 11th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... find your balnce and inspiration.

Carpe Diem Romancing Haiku #2 mountain

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy ... a new episode of our brand new feature "Carpe Diem Romancing Haiku" for you all. As I stated in the first episode of this feature "I think haiku can be a love poem too, as tanka once was meant to be". In our first episode I had chosen the theme "beach" for you. For this episode I have chosen the theme "mountain".

Here at CDHK we have often seen the theme "mountain" so I think it will not a big problem to create love-haiku themed "mountain".

An example by myself:

watching a geisha
monk from high up in the mountains
he's also a man

© Chèvrefeuille

Mount Fuji

Or this one, more a love-poem without bringing love up actually, but in the deeper layer this is also a love-haiku:

drinking tea

on the porch of a mountain hut -

the almost full moon

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... enjoy this challenge to create a "love-haiku" themed "mountain". 

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 29th at noon (CEST). Have fun ...!

Carpe Diem #474, Valley (Aboriginal Legend from Down Under)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joyful day it is today ... I may prepare another wonderful prompt, Valley, for you all. This prompt is referring to a wonderful Aboriginal Legend which I will share later on in this post, but first I will give you a little update for our upcoming month June.
As my plan was I would like to prepare another wonderful list with inspirational music and I will still do that, but first in June I will introduce the young Portugese Composer BrunuhVille in the CD-Specials. BrunuhVille has composed wonderful music and his music is very inspirational. The other prompts of June will be all modern kigo (seasonwords)for summer based on Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku", as we have done in April 2014. I hope you all will not be "angry" with me for changing my plans.

Back to our Aboriginal Story of today. It's about Three Sisters, Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, and the story refers to three Mountain peeks in the "Blue Mountains" ...


Credits: The Three Sisters in the Blue Moutains

Here is the story:

The Three Sisters an Aboriginal Legend of Down Under

Three sisters, Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo had a father who was a witch doctor. His name was Tyawan.
Long ago there was a Bunyip who lived in a deep hole who was feared by all. Passing the hole was considered very dangerous, therefore whenever Tyawan had to pass the hole in search for food, he would leave his daughters safely on the cliff behind a rocky wall.
One fateful day, Tyawan waved goodbye to his daughters and descended down the cliff steps into the valley.
Meanwhile at the top of the cliff, Meenhi was frightened by a large centipede which suddenly appeared before her. Meenhi took a stone and threw it at the centipede. The stone continued on its journey and rolled over the cliff, crashing into the valley below which angered the Bunyip.
The rocky wall behind Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo then began to split open and the three sisters were left stranded on a thin ledge at the top of the cliff. All the birds, animals and fairies stopped still as the Bunyip emerged to see the terrified girls. As the Bunyip began to approach the girls, to protect them from harm, their father Tyawan used his magic bone to turn them into stone. Angered by this, the Bunyip then began to chase Tyawan. Becoming trapped, in order to flee from the Bunyip, Tyawan changed into a magnificent Lyre Bird, yet in the process dropped his magic bone. Tyawan and his three daughters were now safe from the Bunyip.
Once the Bunyip had disappeared, Tyawan returned in search of his magic bone, yet this was never to be found. The Lyre Bird has been searching for this magic bone ever since. Remaining in rock formation, The Three Sisters stand silently overlooking the valley hoping that one day he'll find the bone and turn them back to former selves. 

Credits: View over the Blue Mountains in the left corner the Three Sisters

When visiting The Three Sisters, if you listen carefully you may be able to hear the Lyre Bird, Tyawan, as he continues his quest for his lost magic bone.

What a wonderful story don't you think so too? I like those Aboriginal legends a lot and I cannot wait to tell you another one next day, as our prompt will be, Shallow Water. I hope this legend inspires you to write haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka or haibun and I hope you will share them with us all here at our haiku-family. Here is my haiku inspired on the story of The Three Sisters ...

pillar of salt
"don't look back" Kaïn said.
longing for home

longing for home
the Three Sisters still waiting -
Lyre Bird will come

Lyre Bird will come
freeing his beloved daughters -
the quest will end

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... it's up to you my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers ... I have done my part ... This episode will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until May 25th at noon. I will try to post our new episode, Shallow Water, later on today. For now ... have fun!