01/11/2014

Cultural Keywords

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

- Cultural Keywords used by Basho -

During his many travels around Japan, Basho came to know different places, different regional food, different legends, customs and festivals.

He also wrote about animals and plants, implying his friends or famous people from the past.

In his hokku and travel diaries he introduced many items casually, since they were usually known to his fellow poets of the Edo period.
Some of the themes he introduced are kigo.

But for readers coming from other cultures, most of these words need a special explanation before the hokku can be understood in its proper cultural environment.

Here I will try to list the most important ones,
Basho being my guide to Japanese Culture and the early Edo period.

This is the most important collection
of my Basho Archives of the WKD.



. Basho travelling / traveling in Japan .
utamakura 歌枕 place names used in Japanese poetry


Mit Basho durch die Kultur Japans reisen!

....................................................................................................................................................


quote
In one of his most famous theoretical statements, Basho says,
“Learn about pines from the pine, and about bamboo from the bamboo.”
Each pine exhibits pineness but is not pineness itself: each pine alludes to, or is symbolic of, the essence of pine.

Contemporary writers may find Basho’s statement confusing. To use the Western terminology of essence we see in Reichhold and many modern Western haiku commentators, even the essence of pine is not the same as the essence of being. The essence of things is not located within the thing itself. The is-ness of a thing is not to be gained through attention to the thing alone. Indeed, is-ness is not the same as the “thingness” of a thing.

Barnhill says that in his travels Basho pursued
 “the wayfaring life in order to embody physically and metaphorically the fundamental character of the universe.”
He visits places “loaded” with cultural and spiritual significance and his sense of “nature” is bound up with these traditions of place. This intertwining of place and significance, the local and the transcendental, is basic to Basho’s experience. The centrality of “place names” or utamakura is basic to Basho’s outlook.
Barnhill says,
“Basho tended to write of places in nature handed down through literature,
giving cultural depth to his experience of nature.”

source : JAMIE EDGECOMBE, 2011


. learn from the pine - - - said my American haiku friends. .  

This is a still growing list. Please come back again.
under construction
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



松尾芭蕉と元禄文化
Matsuo Basho and the Culture of the Genroku Period

quote
Genroku 元禄
September 1688 - March 1704
The years of Genroku are generally considered to be the Golden Age of the Edo Period. The previous hundred years of peace and seclusion in Japan had created relative economic stability. The arts and architecture flourished.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Edo Haikai 江戸俳諧 Haiku and Hokku .


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. ama 海女 woman divers and 海士 fishermen .

. ama 尼 Buddhist Nun .

. Amida 阿弥陀 Amida Buddha - Amidaboo 阿弥陀坊  Amidabo . ###

. an 庵 thatched hut - yado 宿 my humble abode .

. asunaroo, asunarō 翌檜 Asunaro Hinoki cypress .

. aware 哀れ Basho feels the pathos of things .



. bantaroo 番太郎 flood warden in Edo .

. - Basho about Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .
Enjoy the life of a haikai master in the Edo period.

. betsu zashiki 別座敷 detached sitting room .
(also the title of one of his hokku collections)

. biwa 琵琶 lute Biwako 琵琶行 a Chinese poem .

. bunko 文庫 library *.

. byoobu 屏風 Byobu, folding screen * .


. cha 茶 tea, green tea - Tee ### .

. chatsumi 茶摘み picking tea leaves * .

. chausu, cha usu 茶臼 tea-grinding mill * .

. chigo 稚児 children temple acolytes *.

. chigozakura, chigo-zakura 児桜 - famous cherry tree in Akita * .

. Chikusai 竹斎 Doctor Chikusai *.
A shabby doctor and his travelling stories

. dairibina  内裏雛 "Emperor Dolls" for the Hina Doll Festival * .

. doyoo boshi 土用干し airing during dog days * .



. Ebisukoo, Ebisu koo 恵比寿講 Ebisu Ceremony Group * .

. . Edo 江戸 the Samurai Capital ### . .
- - - - - . Edo miyage 江戸土産 souveniers from Edo .


- - - FOOD and DRINK - - - ###


. fude 筆 brush for writing *.

. furiuri, furi-uri 振売 peddlers, hawkers, salesmen *.
bootefuri 棒手振り peddlers with a pole on the shoulders

. furumono dana 古物棚 dealer of old things . *

. - furusato ふるさと 故郷、古里 home village, home town - *.
- hitosato 一里 and shison 子孫 "children and grandchildren"
- sato 里 sato, village, Heimat
- yamazato 山里 mountain village
A most important emotional place for the Japanese.

. futon 蒲団 Japanese bedding. mino futon 三幅布団 / 三布蒲団 narrow matress * .


. futsukayoi 二日酔い/ 宿酔 hangover * .

. fuuga, fūga 風雅 Fuga. elegance, refinement - Aesthetics and Basho * .
- - - - - and
fuuryuu, fūryū 風流 Furyu. elegance, refinement
- - - - fuukyoo, fûkyô  風狂 FUKYO, poetic eccentricity
. fuuryuu no hajime ya Oku no taue uta .
poetic venture, beginning of all art

. fuugetsu, fūgetsu 風月 the beauty of nature * .
lit. "wind and moon"

. fuyugomori 冬篭り winter seclusion, winter confinement * .
- - - - - sashikomoru さしこもる (鎖し籠もる)


. ganjitsu 元日 first day of the year * .

. ge 夏 summer retreat * .

. geta 下駄 wooden sandals, clogs *.

. gobyoo 御廟 imperial mausoleum * .
imperial tomb of Godaigo Tenno 後醍醐帝御廟, Yoshino, Emperor Go-Daigo


. goki ichigu 五器一具 one set of begging bowls * . - - - goki 御器 hitosoroi 一揃い

. goten 御殿 palace, manor - tonozukuri 殿造り *.

.............................................................................


. haikai 俳諧 - hokku 発句 - words used in his poems ! * .


. hachi takaki, hachitataki 鉢叩き ceremony for Saint Kuya 空也上人 * .

. hakama 袴 Hakama formal trouser skirt * .

. hakamairi 墓参り visiting graves at O-Bon * .

. hakkei 八景 Eight Views, eight famous scenic spots * .

. haori 羽織 Japanese coat * .

. haritate, hari tate 針立 acupuncture needle * .

. hatsugatsuo, hatsu gatsu (katsuo 初鰹) first skipjack bonito of the season * .

. - hatsumono 初物 First Things, New Things - * .

. hatsu-uma 初午 first day of the horse * . at a fox shrine

. hei 塀 / hei no yane 塀の屋根 wall with a roof * .

. heso no o, hozo no o 臍の緒 umbilical cord * .

. Hida no takumi 飛騨の工 / 飛騨の匠 craftsman from Hida * .

. Hie oroshi, hieoroshi 日枝颪 wind from Mount Hieizan * .

. hijiri, hijiri kozoo 聖小僧 mendicant monk, "holy man" * .
Basho himself was on a kind of "hijiri" life, travelling all over Japan, without a regular home.

. himuro 氷室 (ひむろ) icehouse, ice cellar * .

. hinokigasa 檜木笠 hat made of cypress bark * .

. hioke 火桶 "fire box", brazier * .

. hoiro 焙炉 stove to dry green tea leaves * .


. - - - Hokku and Haikai 発句と俳諧 - - - . *


. hokutoo 北斗 the Big Dipper, the Plough * .

. hoorai kazari 蓬莢飾 / 蓬莱 Horai-decoration for New Year * .

. hotarumi 蛍見 watching fireflies - hotaru 螢 * .

. hotoketachi 仏達 Buddha statues * .

. hoya 穂屋 "shrine hut with a thatched wall" *.

.............................................................................



. ichi 市 market, shiwasu no ichi 師走の市 december market, toshi no ichi 年の市 Year-End Market * .

. imayoo 今様 popular songs * .

. imo no kami 痘瘡の神 deity of smallpox * .

. iori, an 庵, yado 宿 my humble abode, thatched hut ###.

. iroha 色葉 colored leaves or いろは, the Japanese alphabet * .

. irori 囲炉裏 sunken hearth, fireplace * .

. isaribi, kagaribi 漁り火 fire to lure fish * .

. Izumo no kami 出雲守 / Hitomi Izumo no Kami 人見出雲守 mirror maker * .



. jinbe, jinbei 甚平 light summer robe * .

. joo, jō, kusari 鎖 chain, used to lock * .

jooroku 丈六 Joroku Buddha Statue * .

.............................................................................


. kabuto 甲 / 兜 / 冑 helmet of a samurai *.
famous helmet of Saito Sanemori 斉藤実盛,

. kadomatsu 門松 pines at the gate / matsukazari 松飾り * .

. kagami 鏡 mirror * .

. kagemachi, kage machi 影待ち waiting for sunrise *.

. kakine 垣根 hedge, fence . *

. kamado, hettsui, hetui, hetsui 竃 / 竈 kitchen stove * .
- - - - - niwakamado, niwa kamado 庭竃 / 竈 // kama 釜 iron pot for cooking


. - kami 神 Shinto deities - ### .

. kamigaki 神垣 "Fence of the Gods", fence of a Shinto shrine * .

. kamiko 紙子 paper robes * .

. kami no kao 一言主 face of the deity Hitokotonushi *.

. Kanbutsu-e, Kanbutsu 潅仏会: Buddha's Birthday Celebrations * .

- kane 鐘 bell, temple bell, sunset bell - *

. Kannon Bosatsu 観音菩薩 and Asakusa Kannon 浅草観音 Temple . *

. kapitan カピタン Kapitein, Captain, Dutch Delegation . *

. karahafu, kara hafu 唐破風 Chinese cusped gable . *

. karakasa からかさ / 傘 oil-paper umbrella with a bamboo frame . *

. karakoromo, karagoromo, kara koromo から衣 / 唐衣  robes from China . *

. karo toosen 夏炉冬扇 to be useless - like a stove in summer, a handfan in winter . *

. kasa 笠 bamboo hat, straw hat, traveller's hat . ###

. katabira 帷子 light linen dress . *

. katsuo uri 鰹売 vendor of skipjack, bonito fish monger * .

. kawara 瓦 roof tiles - いらか iraka roof tiles * .

. kawauso no matsuri, kawa uso 獺の祭 Otter Festival at Seta . *

. kazarinawa, kazari nawa 飾縄 rope decoration for New Year * .

. keshizumi 消炭 (けしずみ) ash to extinguishing the fire / sumi 炭 ash . *

. - - kigo and kidai 季語(季題)theory of season words - - .

. kinuta 砧 fulling block * .

. - - kire 切れ and kireji 切字 - - cut and cut markers - .

. koma 駒 - uma 馬 - Japanese horses . ###
- - - - - komamukae, koma mukae 駒迎へ selecting tribute horses for court

. kometsuki 米搗き professional rice grain pounder . *

. komo 薦 straw mat . *

. komorido 籠人 / 籠り人 person in retreat . *
- at temple Hasedera, Nara 長谷寺

. kooshi goosu, gabushi 合子 - furugooshi 古合子 set of food bowls . *

. koromogae 衣替え, 衣かへ  changeing robes for summer . *

. koshi no wata 腰の綿, 腰綿 "cotton wrapper around my hips" . *

. kosode 小袖 short-sleeved kimono . *

. kotatsu 炬燵 Kotatsu heater - okigotatsu 置炬燵 . *

. koto 琴  Koto zither / kotobako 琴箱 box for a koto . *

. kuchikiri, kuchi kiri kuchikiri 口切 opening a new jar of tea * .

. Kumasaka Choohan 熊坂長範 Kumasaka Chohan . ###

. kunichi 九日 okunichi "Honorable Day with a Nine" . * - Chrysanthemum festival

. kura 蔵 storehouse, warehouse . *

. kusamakura, kusa makura 草枕 pillow stuffed with grass . ###

. Kutsuki bon 朽木盆 tray from the Kutsuki region . *


. kyooku 狂句 Kyoku - comic verse, crazy verse . *

. - Kyooto 京都 Kyoto, Kyo - Miyako 都 / みやこ - .

............................................................................



. machi ishi, machiichi, machi isha 町医師 doctor in town . *
- - - kusuri nomu 薬飲む  drinking medicine

. makie, maki-e 蒔絵 gold-silver laquer work . ###

. makuwa melon 真桑瓜 makuwa uri . *
with painted faces on "princess Melon" 姫瓜 hime uri

. manzai 万歳 Manzai performance . *

. masu 枡  measuring box . *
- - - . masu 升 container for ritual sake .

. matsukazari 松飾り "pine decroation" * .

. mayuhaki, mayu haki  眉刷毛  eyebrow brush . *


. meido めいど / 冥土 / 冥途 nether world, world of the dead . *

. men 面 - 能面 Noh mask . *

. mino to kasa 蓑と笠 Mino straw raincoat and rain hat . *
- - - - - . minomushi 蓑虫 bagworm  . *

. misogi 御祓 summer purification . *

. miyamori 宮守 shrine warden . *

. mochibana, mochi-bana 餅花 New Year decorations . * - lit. "mochi flowers"

. momi suru 籾する hulling rice, polishing rice . *
- - - - - Momi suru Oto 籾する音 The Sound of Hulling Rice

. - mu 無 emptiness - nothingness - kyo 虚 emptiness . *

. mushiro 筵 takamushiro 簟 bamboo floor mat to sleep on . *

.............................................................................


. nagezukin, nage zukin 投頭巾 square hood . *
and - maruzukin, maru zukin 丸頭巾 

. nanshoku、danshoku 男色 homosexuality . *

. Naracha 奈良茶 Nara rice gurel and the importance of haikai 俳諧 . *

. nattoo 納豆 Natto, fermented sticky soy beans * .

. nazuna なづな摘み Nazuna seven herbs of spring, Shepherd's purse, nazuna 薺 . *


. nebutsu, nenbutsu 念仏 Nembutsu, Prayer to Amida Buddha . *

. Nehanzoo 涅槃像 -Nehan-e 涅槃会 Statue of Buddha lying down . *
and juzu 数珠 rosary beads



. nenohi, ne no hi 子の日 day of the rat . *

. nijuushichiya 二十七夜 moon on day 27 . *


. noren, nooren, nōren 暖簾 door curtain . *

. noo 能 Noh theater and Matsuo Basho . *

. nori no matsu 法の松 "pine of the Buddhist law". Dharma pine * .

. nukamiso tsubo 糠味噌壷 pot for fermented Miso paste . *
- - - konuka 粉糠 fermented miso paste


.............................................................................


. oi 笈 backpack of the Edo period . *

. okoraago 御子良子 Okorago, Shrine maidens at Ise . *

. omeikoo 御命講 Omeiko Ceremony for Saint Nichiren . *

. omizutori, O-mizutori お水取り water-drawing ritual . *
- mizutori 水取り in Nara

. onozumi, Ono-zumi 小野炭 charcoal from Ono . *

. onsen 温泉 hot spring . *
He visited quite a few, like Kusatsu and Nasu Yumoto.
yu no nagori 湯の名残り / yu o musubu 湯をむすぶ

. oogi, ōgi 扇 handfan - karo toosen 夏炉冬扇 . *

. oomigaya 近江蚊帳 kaya mosquito net from Omi . *

. Ootsu 大津絵 Otsu-e paintings from Otsu town . *

.............................................................................


. Persons and People - names in his hokku .

. Places, place names in his hokku .

.............................................................................


. ran, ran no ka 蘭の香 Japanese orchids and their fragrance . *

. Rashoomon 羅生門 Rashomon Gate, Kyoto . *

. rendaino 蓮台野 graveyard * .

. robiraki 炉開き "opening the hearth" . *
for the Tea Ceremony

. roosaibushi, rōsaibushi 弄斎節 rosai-bushi, Rosai song . *


............................................................................


. Saga no take 嵯峨の竹 bamboo from Saga . *

. sakura asa, sakura-asa 桜麻 "cherry-blossom hemp" . *

. sarabachi 皿鉢 plates and bowls . *

. saru hiki , saruhiki 猿引 monkey trainer . *

satori 悟り  - Zen enlightenment
. satoranu さとらぬ no enlightenment, unenlightened . *


. seki 関 checkoint, sekimori 関守 checkpoint warden . *

. sekizoro 節季候 Year End Singers, December Singers . *

. semigoromo, semi-goromo 蝉衣 thin "cicada robe" for summer . *

. senkoo 線香 incense . *


. shakan, sakan 左官 plasterer . *

. shamisen, samisen 三味線 Japanese lute . *

. shikishi 色紙 decoration card with poem . *

. shime 七五三, shimenawa 注連縄 a sacred rope . *

. shinobuzuri, shinobu-zuri しのぶ摺 / 忍ぶ 綟摺り fern cloth-printing or mottling . *

. shiro 城 castle, shiro ato 城跡 castle ruins / yamashiro 山城 mountain castle . *

. shisoku 紙燭 torch lamp with paper shade . *

. shizu 賎 person of low social standing . *

. shoshun, hatsu haru 初春 "First spring", the New Year . *


. - soo, sō 僧 monk, Buddhist priest - . *


. sumoo 相撲 Sumo wrestling . *

. susu harai (susuharai) 煤払い  end of year housecleaning . *

. suzuri 硯 inkstone / suzuribako 硯箱 box for the inkstone . *

.............................................................................


. tachi 太刀 large sword . *

. take 茸 mushrooms - (ki no ko, kinoko 茸, 菌) . *

. takimono 薫物、たきもの burning incense . *

. takotsubo 蛸壺 octopus pot . *

. tamamatsuri, tama matsuri 玉まつり / 魂祭, 玉祭 festival for the souls, O-Bon . *

. tamasudare たますだれ / Nanjing Tamasudare (玉簾/珠簾) performance with bamboo sticks . *

. tamuke 手向け offering at a grave or temple . *

. tan 反, 段(たん)unit of measurement . *

. Tanabata 七夕 Star Festival - 天の川 Amanogawa . *

. taru 樽 barrel - taue daru 田植樽 . *
sake barrel offered at the end of the rice planting.

. tatami 畳 floor mats . *

. taue uta 田植えうた song of the rice planters . *

. Teikin Oorai, ōrai 庭訓往来 Teikin Orai textbooks * .

. tenbin 天秤  pair of scales . *

. tenugui 手ぬぐい small hand towel . *

. tera 寺 Buddhist temples visited by Basho . *

. tsue 杖 walking stick, cane. Wanderstock . *

. tsukigane つき鐘 temple bell . *

.............................................................................


. ubune boat 鵜船 for cormorant fishing . *

. ukihito 憂き人 person with elegant feelings of fuuga 風雅 . *

- ukiyo 浮世 the floating world -

. umakata 馬方 horse owners . ###
transport and travel along the Tokaido road

. Urashima Taroo 浦島太郎 The legend of Urashima Taro .*

. usu 臼 different types of mortars, grinders and hand mills . *



. utabukuro 歌袋 bag to keep poetry, poem-pouch, song-pouch . *


. uzumibi, uzumi-bi 埋火 banked charcoal fire . *

.............................................................................


. waraji, waranji 草鞋 straw sandals and geta clogs . *

. wara 藁, shinwara 新藁 new straw . *

. wata 綿 cotton plants, watabatake 綿畠 cotton fields . *
- - - - - watayumi, wata yumi 綿弓 cotton bow


. yado fuda, yadofuda, shukusatsu 宿札 - visitor sign of a lodging . *

. yakko 奴 Yakko servant . *

. yamabushi 山伏  mountain ascetics . *

. yamagatsu 山賤 / 山賎 (やまがつ) forest workers, woodcutters, loggers . *

. yanagigoori 柳行李 Yanagigori, wicker trunk . *
koori, katani 行李片荷 carrying boxes for travellers

. yarido 遣り戸, 鑓戸, 槍戸 wooden sliding door . *

. yashikigata, yashiki-gata 屋敷方 living in a samurai residence (yashiki) . *

. yogi 夜着 bedtime quilt . *

. yoki hi よき日 - nichi nichi kore yoki hi 日々是好日 Every Day is a Good Day . *

. yojoohan 四畳半 four and a half tatami room . *

. yome ga kimi 嫁が君 first mouse of the year . *

. yomo 四方 the four directions / The Four Directions 東西南北 . *

. yotsu goki 四つ五器 4 or 5 bowls for wandering monks . *

. yukimaruge, yuki maruge 雪丸げ, yuki Daruma 雪だるま snowman . *

. yuujo, yūjo 遊女 whore, whores, prostitute *



. zashiki 座敷 "sitting room", visitor's room - natsu zashiki 夏座敷 . *

. zatoo 座頭 blind person . *

. Zen - 芭蕉の禅修行 Zen Training and Basho .
- - - - - - Read: : The Haiku Apprentice - Haiku, Basho and Zen

. zoori 草履 straw sandals . *


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kulturelle Schlüsselworte


All festivals and dates relate to the Asian lunar calendar.

WKD : The Asian Lunar Calendar Reference


. WKD : Main Index .

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




Join with your own cultural keywords!

. Haiku - Culture Magazine - .


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::