Cultural Keywords

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- 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!

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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
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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 .


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. 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 *.

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. 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" *.

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. 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 * .

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. 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 - .

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. 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 . *

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. 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


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. 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 . *

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. Persons and People - names in his hokku .

. Places, place names in his hokku .

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. 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 . *


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Kulturelle Schlüsselworte


All festivals and dates relate to the Asian lunar calendar.

WKD : The Asian Lunar Calendar Reference


. WKD : Main Index .

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Join with your own cultural keywords!

. Haiku - Culture Magazine - .


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Kigo used by Basho

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- Kigo and kidai used by Matsuo Basho
松尾芭蕉と季語（季題）- Jahreszeitenworte -

quote
With the dramatic growth of haikai in the seventeenth century, the number of new seasonal words grew rapidly.
- snip - ... while the number of seasonal words grew at an astounding pace, the number of seasonal topics remained relatively limited.

source : Haruo Shirane
Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons:
Nature, Literature, and the Arts

seasonal words - read kigo
seasonal topics - read kidai

tatedai 縦題 -　竪題　"vertical dai"
yokodai 横題 "horizontal dai"

kigo 季語, short for kisetsu no kotoba　季節の言葉　- a word indicating the season
. WKD - Kidai and Kigo　季題と季語 .

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- - - Saijiki in the Edo period

Kitamura Kigin - Yama no I "Mountain Well" 北村季吟『山之井』 Yama no I
1624 -1705］comp. 1647-8
It contained 1300 kidai and season words.

............... later republished as
Zoo yama no i "Expanded Mountain Well "Yama no I" 1667



Kigin 季吟　was the haikai master and teacher of Matsuo Basho.

I assume that Basho and other disciples of Kigin studied these words in depth and knew all these kidai by heart after about one year (going through the four seasons) of their apprenticeship. After that time of study they passed the knowledge on to their own disciples.

Since seasonal references play an important role in the linked verse RENKU　連句, a haikai master like Basho had a lot to teach to his disciples.


. WKD : History of Japanese Saijiki 歳時記 . 　　


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. WKD : KIGO ABC INDEX .

The kigo used by Basho are usually marked in the ABC index of this archive.
Check the tabs on the right.

- - - - - (For now) I prepared three special Basho SAIJIKI , they comprise also most of the cultural keywords that also figure as kidai:

. Basho SAIJIKI - gyooji 行事 - observances and rituals .

. Basho SAIJIKI - seikatsu 生活 - daily life, humanity .


. Basho SAIJIKI - tenmon 天文 - heaven .


- - - - -

Here I will add a few more summaries of hokku by Basho with a certain kigo.


In the pre-Meiji era (before 1868), almost all hokku/haiku contained a kigo.
For example,
Japanese experts have classified
only 10 of Matsuo Bashō's hokku in the miscellaneous (zō) category
(out of about 1,000 hokku).
The kigo saijiki KIGOSAI lists 1031 hokku, three of them have no kigo.
Other poems of the 5 7 5 type by Basho appeared in the middle part of a renku or kasen, where no season word was required.
They would not be seen as HOKKU　発句 - first KU in a linked verse - in his time. (see below, zappai).


The fifth season of "New Year" had not been invented yet, since the Asian lunar calendar determined the seasons.
"First Spring" was the New Year's Day or New Year's season, which lastet 15 days until the full moon of the first lunar month.
. WKD : The Haiku Seasons - then and now .


. WKD - Kigo used in Haiku .

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Seasonal references were very important in the poetry of Japan since the Heian period. Manuals with collections of seasonal words grew as composing poetry moved on from the aristocracy to the townspeople of the Edo period.
For composing linked verses (renga) it was necessary to have a set of seasonal references.
Basho and his disciples played an important role in the growing interest of seasonal references, finding more and more seasonal items to include in their poetry.

This trend has been going on in our times, where modern words like "airconditioning" become a kigo as soon as a haiku poet makes use of the word in his poem.

On the other hand cultural kigo of the daily life popular in the Edo period have become obsolete, as the items themselves are not used any more.
This gives birth to even more saijiki to broaden our knowledge and understanding :

Enjoy Old Kigo ! by Uda Kiyoko
古季語と遊ぶ . 宇多喜代子

. History of Japanese Saijiki .


- - - - - Please try to read Haruo Shirane

Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons
source : www.amazon.com

- quote
the main points:

Secondary Nature: cultural surrogates for primary nature
-- textual (poetry, tales, etc.)
-- cultivated (gardens, meisho, ikebana, bonsai, food, etc.)
-- visual representations (painting, ukiyoe, architecture, dress, etc.)
-- performative (noh, kauki, festivals, annual observances)


Contrastive Typographies of Nature
waka-based nature: elegant, highly encoded, emphasis on color, scent, and sound (birds, insects, deer), harmony.

Satoyama (farm village)-based nature: nature as bounty/harvest, nature as feared and worshipped,animals/plants as gods (kami), and everyday animals, birds, and plants


Below are relevant excerpts from Haruo Shirane's new book, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literature, and the Arts:

One of the major reasons for the prominence of nature and the four seasons in Japanese literary and visual culture is the impact of Japanese poetry, particularly the thirty-one-syllable waka (classical poetry), the main literary genre of the premodern period. Indeed, all the major types of Japanese poetry -- kanshi (Chinese-style poetry), waka, renga (classical linked verse), and haikai (popular linked verse) -- use natural themes extensively.

Even those poems that appear on the surface to describe only landscape or nature serve to express particular emotions or thoughts. Japanese poetry rarely uses overt metaphor (for example, 'My love is a rose.'). Instead, the description of a flower, a plant, an animal, or a landscape became an implicit description of a human or an internal state.

Metonymy, especially the construction of a larger scene from a small detail, also played a crucial role, particularly in short forms like waka and seventeen-syllable hokku (opening verse of renga sequence). From the perspective of the reader, all such poetry will potentially have a surface (literal) meaning and a deeper meaning. Representations of nature in aristocratic visual culture -- whether painting, poetry, or design --- are thus seldom simply decorative or mimetic; they are almost always culturally and symbolically encoded, and that encoding tends to evolve with time and genre.

Each seasonal topic generated a cluster of associations, and the seasons (along with famous poetic places) developed associative clusters that became part of a cultural vocabulary.

The highly encoded system of seasonal representation created by poetry provided an enduring foundation for an increasingly complex and multilayered view of the four seasons.

In a country in which little original wilderness survives, reconstructed nature -- in the form of replanted forests, cultivated gardens, famous places (meisho), and shrinesand temple grounds -- has contributed to the greening of both the countryside and the urban environment. For city dwellers, who make up the vast majority of the population, representations of nature . . . raise awareness of the seasons . . . Although nature may be far away, it is relived or recaptured in the cultural imagination.

The pervasiveness of secondary nature in Japanese culture has often been mistaken for a closeness to or a belief in Japanese harmony with nature.
- source : neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.jp





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From this BLOG, entries with the lable KIGO
. Basho Archives - KIGO entries .


This is a growing list. Please come back again !
This part is under construction.
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. - aki no kure 秋の暮 - autumn dusk - .


botan　牡丹　peony
. WKD : botan　牡丹　peony .


. - cha 茶　tea - Tee - .


. - choo,蝶 choochoo 蝶々 butterfly - .
and the Chinese sage Chuang-Tsu (Chuang Tzu), Sooji 荘子 Soji、Zhuangzi


. fuyugomori 冬籠り winter confinement, winter isolation .


hagi 　萩 bush clover
. WKD : hagi 　萩 bush clover .



. hanami 花見 cherry-blossom viewing .
hanagoromo 花衣 robes for cherry-blossom viewing
hanamori 花守 warden of the cherry trees
hana no yado 花の宿 lodging with cherry blossoms
sakuragari 桜狩 "hunting for cherry blossoms"


. - hatsumono 初物 first things - .

. - hotaru 蛍 (ほたる) firefly, fireflies - .

. - hototogisu ホトトギス - .


. - izayoi 十六夜 moon on night 16 - sixteenth night moon - .



. - kari 雁 goose geese, wild geese - .

. - kiku 菊 chrysanthemum - .


kogarashi
. Withering Wind, Cold Gale (kogarashi 木枯らし, 木枯, 凩) .


. kusu no ki 楠木 camphor tree .
and the samurai Kusunoki Masashige 楠木正成


makuwa, makuwauri - Matsuo Basho liked makuwa uri very much and wrote quite a few haiku about them.
. WKD : makuwa uri 真桑瓜 Makuwa melon .

. - meigetsu 名月 harvest moon - .



. - nazuna 薺 sheperd's purse - . *

. - neko　猫　cat - .
neko no koi 猫の恋 cat in love
neko no tsuma 猫の妻 wife of the cat



. ran 蘭 orchid, orchids .


. - samidare　五月雨 - June rain .

. - semi 蝉 cicada / semi no koe　蝉の声 - . *

. - shigure 時雨 winter drizzle, sleet - .

shirauo, shira uo 白魚 whitabait
. WKD : Whitebait (shirauo 白魚) .

. - sumi 炭 charcoal - Ono-zumi小野 charcoal from Ono and more - .

. - suzushisa 涼しさ coolness - and suzumi　涼み －.




taki 滝 waterfall
. WKD : Waterfall, taki 滝 / baku 瀑 .


. Tanabata 七夕 Star Festival .
hoshi-ai, hoshi ai 星合 "the stars are meeting"


. - taue, ta-ue, ta ue 田植 rice planting - .

. - toogarashi 唐辛子 red pepper - .


. - toshi no kure 年の暮 end of the year - SAIJIKI humanity .

. - tsukimi 月見 viewing the full moon of autumn - .


. - tsuyu 露 dew, dewdrops - .



. - uguisu 鶯 nightingale, bush warbler - .

. - ume ga ka 梅が香 plum fragrance - .
and PLUM



. - yuugao 夕顔 bottle gourd - .
moonflower
- - - - - and
asagao 朝顔 morning glory

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- - - - - hokku with three kigo

春もやや気色ととのふ月と梅
. haru mo yaya keshiki totonou tsuki to ume .
spring, moon and plum blossoms


摘みけんや茶を凩の秋とも知らで
. tsumiken ya cha o kogarashi no aki to mo shirade .

(spring) picking tea leaves. winter storm. autumn.



- - - - - hokku with four kigo

冬牡丹千鳥よ雪のほととぎす
. fuyu botan chidori yo yuki no hototogisu .
(winter) snow. winter peonies, plover, hototogisu (4 kigo in one poem!)


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－－－－－　hokku and poems with NO kigo - muki 無季　- zappai　雑俳　
. - zappai　雑俳, zoo 雑 Zo - miscellaneous - .
Including middle poems of a renku, where no kigo was required.



季語別「芭蕉全句集」(1031句) - kigosai - Kigo Saijiki
List of 1031 hokku by Basho, according to the kigo he used.
Only 3 hokku listed do not have a kigo.
source : kigosai.sub.jp


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quote - Richard Gilbert
After haiku became a fully independent genre, the term "kigo" was coined by Otsuzi Ōsuga (1881-1920) in 1908.
"Kigo" is thus a new term for the new genre approach of "haiku."
So, when we are looking historically at hokku or haikai stemming from the renga tradition, it seems best to use the term "kidai."

Bashō regards kidai as a way to commune with the creative power of nature (zōka). Bashō does not regard kidai as a rule, but rather as a word or keyword establishing a relationship with kokoro (heart, mind). Kaneko Tohta paraphrases: “Bashō said to his disciples, ‘find kidai for yourself. If you are unable to do this, you cannot become a good haikaishi (haiku poet).’” Importantly, this is not because kidai is primary in itself, but rather that without finding an expression of language which unites Self with zōka, one cannot achieve a deep sense of heart (i.e. knowing).

Basho also has said, “Even if the word is not traditional kidai, in the case that the word has enough quality to be kidai, do choose it and use it. When you find a new kidai, it will be a great gift for the next generation” (Kyoraishō)."

The Heart in Season: Sampling the Gendai Haiku Non-season Muki Saij
source : Richard Gilbert - Simply Haiku 2006


. WKD : Kigo and Kidai 季語　- 季題　 .

Oosuga Otsuji 大須賀乙字 Osuga Otsuji
(?Seki Osuga), born in Fukushima.

季語といふも季題といふも実は同一の意味の言葉である。
source : www.miraiku.com/


. WKD - Kidai and Kigo　季題と季語 .

. WKD : KIGOs ABC INDEX .


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aki no kure

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- aki no kure 秋の暮 - autumn dusk -


autumn dusk, autumn twilight,
aki no kure 秋の暮 (あきのくれ)
autumn nightfall, autumn evening, autumn eve

"aki no kure" might also refer to the end of autumn.
Autumn coming to an end
But this is usually expressed in the opposite wording
kure no aki, the twilight of autumn itself, 暮の秋(くれのあき)

"Autumn means sunset (dusk)" (aki wa yuugure)
is a famous statement in the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon (Sei Shoonagon 清少納言, Makura Sooshi 枕草子).　It has long been loved by Japanese poets and together with the SPRING DAWN (haru no akebono) been the subject of many poems.

. WKD : Autumn dusk (aki no kure 秋の暮) .


under construction
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元日や思へばさびし秋の暮
. ganjitsu ya omoeba sabishi aki no kure .
First Day of the New Year

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愚案ずるに冥途もかくや秋の暮
. guanzuru ni meido mo kaku ya aki no kure / guan zuru.
(autumn) end of autumn. in my humble view. the netherworld

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枯朶に烏のとまりけり秋の暮
. kara eda ni karasu no tomari keri aki no kure .

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こちら向け我もさびしき秋の暮
kochira muke ware mo sabishiki aki no kure

for a painting by
. Kitamuki Unchiku 北向雲竹 .


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この道や行く人なしに秋の暮
. kono michi ya yuku hito nashi ni aki no kure .
nobody travels this road


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身にしみて大根からし秋の風
mi ni shimite / daikon karashi / aki no kaze

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死にもせぬ旅寝の果てよ秋の暮
shi ni mo senu tabine no hate yo aki no kure (shinimosenu, shini mo senu)

not dead yet
at journey's end -
autumn evening
Tr. Barnhill


I am hardly dead
As a result of my lodging by the road;
Autum's close.
Tr. Blyth


Written in Autumn 1684, Basho age 41.
upon returning from the trip to Musashino. Nozarashi Kiko


quote
I shall introduce a commendable attempt by an English poetess() at demonstrating the feasibility of translating Japanese haiku into English effectively by creating ten different English versions of a famous haiku by Basho.

The basic prose translation runs thus:

At the end of this journey at last,
I haven't met my death, as I feared at the beginning;
At the end of autumn.

[1] Her first rendering attempted to call up memories of great works in the English literature canon.

A weary way; now, at last, the end:
In the beginning, fear of death, that passed away.
Autumn is ending too.

The English reader should recall Grey's 'Elegy' -

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
also the first words of the Gospel of St. John,

In the beginning was the word.
And an Anglo-Saxon lament with the refrain,
That passed away, so will this.

Here she seems to be attempting to make an exotic poem acceptable as English poetry by evoking accepted masterworks.

[2] The second version uses simple rhythm and rhyme to mark the haiku firmly as 'poetry' in a form accepted by all English people, - the four line >rhymed verse found in nursery rhymes and hymns.

This is journey's end at last;
I set out fearing Death; he passed
Me by and all my wandering's done.
And autumn's come and gone.

This version personifies Death, using a familiar folk-lore representation of Death as a solitary traveller met on a lonely road.
She may have tried out the easiest English verse form. Overall, this version is too wordy.

[3] The third attempt uses the same easily acceptable form and emphasises Basho's hint of self-mockery.

The end of this long road; the journey's made
At last. Starting, I was afraid
I might meet Death. My foolish fear!
Wandering and autumn's days end safely here.

[4] Her fourth try is more concise and ambiguous. Does the end of autumn bring cosy security or expectation of winter and old age?

The end at last. This weary journey done,
I set out fearing Death; he passed me by;
The end of autumn's come.

In this version, she has abandoned rhyme and maybe for that reason it turned out to be too much like ordinary speech.

[5] Version five is again a three line verse, but contains a rhyme and is more cheerful in outlook, even mildly triumphant.

This is journey's end at last;
I set out fearing Death, he missed my trail;
Journey and autumn's end are safely past.

[6] The sixth variation is the one she herself preferred. It expressed the mood of calm acceptance which I perceive in the poem. It also uses assonance rather than true rhyme.

This journey's over; all the wandering done;
Starting, I feared to meet my death but now,
Only autumn's gone.

[7] Version seven, very similar, contains a true rhyme (last - past) in place of the 'eye rhyme' done - gone. She feels on reading 6 and 7 aloud that 6 sounds more 'musical' and softer.

This is the journey's end at last.
The death I feared at starting never came,
And not my life, but only autumn's past.

[8] The eighth variant follows the rules for Anglo-Saxon poetry in alliteration and rhythm. Thus an English reader perceives the verse as a clever exercise in archaic style which arouses interest.

The trail travelled truly; goal reach at long last;
Death-dread at road's head needlessly heeded.
Autumn fast fading.

She uses words derived from Anglo-Saxon, which gives a strength and vigour to the lines. She thinks that alliteration is still an effective device when writing poetry in English.

[9] In the ninth version she tries, as many translators of haiku do, to copy the Japanese form of seventeen syllables. She feels that English words contain too many syllables to allow nuances of meaning to be expressed in seventeen English syllables.

End of this long trail
Begun in fear of death.
Alive. Autumn ends.

[10] The last try offers an example of a pun, using the word 'remains' in two senses in an attempt to reproduce the device of the 'hinge word' which is used in so many haiku.

My journey is completed, finally.
Death I feared at starting; life remains
And the remains of Autumn.

source : Susumu Takiguchi


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Photo Gabi Greve, 2006



. WKD : Autumn dusk (aki no kure 秋の暮) .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


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choo butterfly

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- choo, chō 蝶 butterfly -

For the Japanese haijin, the butterfly it is not just an ubiquious animal in springtime, but relates to a much deeper layer of Taoist philosophy about the essence of being.
I am sure most of you know the famous parable by the Chinese sage Chuang-Tsu (Chuang Tzu).


Sooji 荘子 Soji、Zhuangzi


Basho also compares himself with a butterfly, leading a wandering life from flower to flower, traveling from one disciple to the next.


. WKD : Butterfly (choochoo 蝶々) .


The sweets maker Kikyou in Iga Ueno has a few butterfly sweets!


under construction
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秋を経て蝶もなめるや菊の露
aki o hete / chō mo nameru ya / kiku no tsuyu



- - - - - still looking for the Japanese

Deep into autumn
and this caterpillar
still not a butterfly
source :　haiku.insouthsea.co.uk


not yet a butterfly
even as autumn passes
the caterpillar
Tr. Reichhold

- - - - -

and a few more
- source : thegreenleaf.co.uk


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蝶も来て酢を吸ふ菊の膾哉
. choo mo kite su o suu kiku no namasu kana .
(spring) butterfly. to sip vinegar. pickled chrysanthemum petals

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source :　kikyou012

蝶の羽のいくたび越ゆる塀の屋根
choo no ha no ikutabi koyuru hei no yane

butterfly's wings -
how many times do they flit
over the roofed wall?
Tr. Ueda



roofed wall and gate


. WKD : roofed temple walls .


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source :　kikyou0123


A field of sunlight

蝶の飛ぶばかり野中の日影哉
蝶の飛 ばかり野中の　日かげ哉
choo no tobu bakari nonaka no hikage kana

butterflies only
fluttering in this field
of sunlight
Tr. Barnhill


Only butterflies are
On the wing -
Sunlight in the fields.
Tr. Saito


butterflies flit . . .
that is all, amid the field
of sunlight
Tr. Ueda


This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.


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蝶鳥の浮つき立つや花の雲
chō tori no / uwatsuki tatsu ya / hana no kumo

butterflies and birds


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蝶よ蝶よ唐土の俳諧問はん
choo yo choo yo Morokoshi no haikai towan

butterfly! butterfly!
I would ask you about
China's haikai
Tr. Barnhill


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You are the butterfly
And I the dreaming heart
Of Chuang-tzu
Tr. Blyth

君や蝶我や荘子が夢心
. kimi ya cho ware ya Sooji ga yumegokoro .


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胡蝶にもならで秋経る菜虫哉
kochoo ni mo narade aki furu namushi kana

Oku no Hosomichi - - - - Station 43 - Ogaki 大垣 - - -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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椹や花なき蝶の世捨酒
. kuwa no mi ya hana naki choo no yosute-zake .
hermit sake for the butterfly


物好きや匂はぬ草にとまる蝶
monozuki ya / niowanu kusa ni / tomaru chō


起きよ起きよ我が友にせん寝る胡蝶
. okiyo okiyo waga tomo ni sen neru kochoo ( oki yo) .
come with me as my friend



蘭の香や蝶の翅に薫物す
. ran no ka ya choo no tsubasa ni takimono su .
incense on a butterfly's wings



白芥子に羽もぐ蝶の形見哉
shira-geshi ni hane mogu chō no katami kana
. shirageshi ni hane mogu choo no katami kana .
Here Basho sees Tokoku as a white poppy and himself as a parting butterfly.




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. WKD : Butterfly (choochoo 蝶々) .
spring


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


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