Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry forms like haiku and tanka. It’s a warmhearted family of haiku poets created by Chèvrefeuille, a Dutch haiku poet. Japanese poetry is the poetry of nature and it gives an impression of a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water. ++ ALL WORKS PUBLISHED ARE COPYRIGHTED AND THE RIGHTS BELONG TO THE AUTHORS ++ !!! Anonymous comments will be seen as SPAM !!!
Yesterday we had that beautiful "hokku" by Ryokan Taigu, a classical haiku poet, and today I have another beauty, but this time created by one our CDHK family members.
Today I love to challenge you to create a Tan Renga with a "hokku" by Sara McNulty. Sara is a long term member of our CDHK family and she has managed to create her own specific style of haiku writing. In this haiku that's also true.
Here is the "hokku" by Sara to work with:
taste of nature– sweet blackberry bushes sing to child and bees
Today I have a beautiful "hokku" by a not so well known classical haiku poet, Ryokan Taigu (1758-1831). Let me tell you a little bit more about him to introduce him to you.
Ryōkan was born as Eizō Yamamoto (Yamamoto Eizō?) in the village of Izumozaki in Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture) in Japan to the village headman. He renounced the world at an early age to train at nearby Sōtō Zen temple Kōshō-ji, refusing to meet with or accept charity from his family. Once the Zen master Kokusen visited the temple, and Ryōkan was deeply impressed with his demeanor. He solicited permission to become Kokusen's disciple. Kokusen accepted, and the two returned to Entsū-ji monastery in Tamashima (now Okayama Prefecture).
It was at Entsū-ji that Ryōkan attained satori and was presented with an Inka by Kokusen. Kokusen died the following year, and Ryōkan left Entsū-ji to embark on a long pilgrimage. He lived much of the rest of his monastic life as a hermit. His decision to leave Entsū-ji may have been influenced by Gentō Sokuchū, the abbot of the temple. At the time, Gentō was aggressively reforming the Sōtō school to remove perceived 'foreign' elements, including kōan.
He was originally ordained as Ryōkan Taigu. Ryō means "good", kan means "broad", and Taigu means "great fool"; Ryōkan Taigu would thus translate as "broad-hearted generous fool", referring to qualities that Ryōkan's work and life embodies.
Ryōkan spent much of his time writing poetry, doing calligraphy, and communing with nature. His poetry is often very simple and inspired by nature. He loved children, and sometimes forgot to beg for food because he was playing with the children of the nearby village. Ryōkan refused to accept any position as a priest or even as a "poet." In the tradition of Zen his quotes and poems show he had a good sense of humor and didn't take himself too seriously.
Statue of Ryokan Taigu
Ryōkan lived a very simple life, and stories about his kindness and generosity abound. On his deathbed, Ryōkan offered the following death poem to Teishin, his close companion:
Although he lived a simple and pure life, Ryōkan also displayed characteristics that under normal circumstances would be out of line for a typical monk.
In 1826 Ryōkan became ill and was unable to continue living as a hermit. He moved into the house of one of his patrons, Kimura Motouemon, and was cared for by a young nun called Teishin. "The [first] visit left them both exhilarated, and led to a close relationship that brightened Ryōkan's final years".The two of them exchanged a series of haiku. The poems they exchanged are both lively and tender. Ryōkan died from his illness on the 6th day of the new year 1831. "Teishin records that Ryōkan, seated in meditation posture, died 'just as if he were falling asleep”.
The "hokku" you have to use today is Ryokan's Jisei (death-poem):
I was triggered by the visueel dance in Ryokan's "hokku" and the first thing that came to mind was the "dying swan" scene of that famous ballet "Swan Lake" composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. I associated on "autumn", the season in which nature "dies" and the movement by the falling leaves.
This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until May 20th at noon (CET). Have fun!
Last Thursday we had a nice "hokku" to work with written by a classical haiku poet so today I have a "hokku" written by a modern haiku poetess. I think you all will know her, because she is an active participant at CDHK, Dolores Fegan. (At the right side of our Kai you can find her e-book "First Magnolia Bloom", for sure worth to read.
The "hokku" of today is the following, a "magical" haiku of autumn:
autumn evening like whispered prayers leaves float away
In this week's "Chevrefeuille's Gift To You To Celebrate Our First Luster Of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai" I have "invented" a new special feature. I have called it "Haiku Puzzler". The goal is to re-create the scrambled haiku of three haiku poets, but to make it somewhat more difficult, I have used four scrambled haiku.
Below you find an image in which you can find all the lines of these three haiku. To find the three haiku you get three hints:
1. This haiku poet brought haiku into the 20th century by mentioning a modern invention. 2. This haiku is renown all over the globe. 3. At the end of the life of a haiku poet the custom was to write a Jisei (death-poem). This is the jisei of a famous female poet.
To make the "haiku puzzler" complete you have to submit the three found haiku including the name of the haiku poet.
Have fun!
Here is our first "Haiku Puzzler":
click on the image to enlarge
I am looking forward to your responses. You can start immediately. I will give the solution through one of our regular posts next week. You will find in that regular post a link towards the solution.
This first episode of "Haiku Puzzler" is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Wednesday May 17th 10.00 PM (CET). Have fun!
!!! Open for your submissions next Sunday May 14th at 7.00 PM (CET) !!!
Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Welcome at a new “weekend-meditation”. This week I have a nice episode of “Namasté, The Spiritual Way” for you and I think you will love it.
Next Sunday, May 14th, it's Mother's Day and therefore our prompt for this “weekend-meditation” is Mother's Day, but what is Mother's Day? Is it just a celebration day for Mothers? I have sought the Internet for some information about this holiday and I ran into the following.
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s. Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world.
In ancient Greece there was already a Mother's Day for Cybele, but who was she? Or what kind of cult was it?
Cybele was the great Phrygian mother of the gods, a goddess of fertility, motherhood and the mountain wilds. Her orgiastic cult dominated the central and north-western districts of Asia Minor, and was introduced into Greece via the island of Samothrake and the Boiotian town of Thebes.
Cybele was closely associated with a number of Greek goddesses, firstly Rhea, the Greek mother of the gods (Meter Theon), but sometimes also Demeter, Aphrodite and Artemis.
Cybele was portrayed in classical sculpture as a matronly woman with a turret-crown, enthroned and flanked by lions.
In ancient Greece Cybele was called 'Meter Theon', and there were great festivals to celebrate her. These were called: The Orgia (Orgiastic festivals) of the Meter Theon.
These festivals were introduced into Greece from Phrygia via the island of Samothrake. They were closely related to those of Dionysos, whose Phrygian form, Sabazios, was named as a son of the goddess.
The Phrygian Orgia were overseen by eunuch priests called Gallai, who led devotees in nocturnal mountain rites involving much drinking, and frantic dancing accompanied by the music of rattles, kettledrums, flutes and castanets and the ritual cry 'evoe saboe,' 'hyes attes, attes hyes'. Young men armed with shield and sword also performed the high-footed, shield-clashing Korybantic dance. The rites also involved ritual mutilation, ranging from flagellation to the act of self-castration performed by the Gallai priests.
Young Greek man performing the Korybantic Dance
OK ... enough about the background of Mother's Day. It's just a holiday especially for mothers and I think you all know why you are visiting your mother, grandmother, mother in law. Let us try to compose a few haiku on Mother's Day to honor our mothers and grandmothers.
she is the best mother takes care of me I cherish her when I was little she always sang her lullaby to scare bad dreams
That was it for this “weekend-meditation” prompt Mother's Day. Have a nice Mother's Day and ... well cherish your mom ... she has given birth to you.
This episode, as you all know I think, is open for your submissions next Sunday May 14th at 7:00 PM (CET) and it will remain open until May 19th at noon (CET).
Another day has gone, we are running to halfway this wonderful Tan Renga Challenge month and until today I just loved all the continuations and completions you all have shared here. Thank you all for participating in this daily challenge to create Tan Renga.
Yesterday we had a nice haiku by Hamish Managua Gunn and so today it is time for another classical haiku poet, however ... our "hokku" of today is written by Tomiyasu Fusei (1885 - 1979), a contemporary of Shiki and maybe not that classical as other haiku poets from the past I used here, because Tomiyasu died in 1979. I had planned to use another haiku written by him, because I really didn't know more about him. So as I was doing some research for this new episode I ran into other beauties written by him. So I decided to use another haiku.
Let me tell you first a little bit more about Tomiyasu Fusei:
Tomiyasu Fusei was a famous member of the Hototogisu Haiku Group (started by Shiki), from Aichi prefecture. He later founded the "Haiku Association of Tokyo University", Toodai Haiku Kai with Mizuhara Shuoshi and Yamaguchi Seishi. They were all students of Takahama Kyoshi.
Ishizuchi mo nankin no hana mo ooi nari The flower of a pumpkin as well as Mt. Ishizuchi is great in scale
He was born in Aichi Prefecture as the fourth son to father "Saburo" and mother "Naka", in 1885. His real name was "Kenji". Naka's father had the Haigo (pen name) "Baigetsu (plum moon)", so his literary talent was descended from his mother.
In May of 1937, he retired as the vice minister of communications after 27 years' service with the Ministry of Communicaions. In July 1937, he visited Matsuyama for the first time and arrived at Niihama, he composed this Haiku as his first impression of Ehime. (Mount Ishizuchi is a famous holy mountain in Shikoku Island.)
Shikoku Island is a once in a lifetime to do pilgrimage for every Buddhist along the 88 temples on this island. A few years ago we did this pilgrimage virtually here at CDHK (February and March 2014, you can find those posts through the "archive-list" at the right side of our Kai.)
The haiku by Fusei which I shared above is our "hokku" for today and here is my attempt to create a Tan Renga with it by adding my two-lined second stanza.
Not as strong as I had hoped, but as I read "pumpkin" I just had to use Halloween in my continuation. And now it is up to you to add your second stanza through association.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 15th at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, a new "weekend-meditation", an episode of Namasté, The Spiritual Way, later on. For now .... have fun!
PS. I have included a new exclusive CDHK E-book on Troiku, titled "Flamingo Clouds", in our CDHK Library. A preview of this new CDHK E-book you can find above in the menu.
Welcome at this new episode of our Tan Renga Challenge. Yesterday we had a classical haiku poet and today I love to challenge you to create a Tan Renga with the following haiku by Hamish Managua Gunn:
