Tatami floor mats

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. Tatamicho, Tatamichō, Tatamimachi 畳町
Tatami district in Edo .
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Changing tatami floor mats (tatami gae)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Mid-winter
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Woven mats of rice straw traditionally used to cover floors in Japan.



Tatami (畳 )(originally meaning "folded and piled, tatamu ") mats are a traditional Japanese flooring. Made of woven straw, and traditionally packed with rice straw (though nowadays sometimes with styrofoam), tatami are made in individual mats of uniform size and shape, bordered by brocade or plain green cloth.

Tatami were originally a luxury item for the wealthy at a time when lower classes had mat-covered dirt floors. Tatami were gradually popularized and finally reached the homes of commoners towards the end of the 17th century.

There are various rules concerning the number and layout of tatami mats; an inauspicious layout is said to bring bad fortune. In homes, the mats must not be laid in a grid pattern, and in any layout there is never a point where the corners of three or four mats intersect.



In Japan, the size of a room is typically measured by the number of tatami mats (畳 -jō, joo, jou). The traditional dimensions of the mats were fixed at 90 cm by 180 cm (1.62 square meters) by 5 cm (35.5 in by 71 in by 2 in).
Half mats, 90 cm by 90 cm (35.5 in by 35.5 in) are also made. Shops were traditionally designed to be 5½ mats (8.91m²), and tea rooms and tea houses are frequently 4½ mats (7.29m²). Because the size is fixed, rooms in traditional Japanese construction measure in multiples of 90 cm. Mats from Kyoto (Kyo-tatami, Kyoo datami) and other parts of western Japan are slightly larger than those from Tokyo and eastern Japan at 95.5 cm by 191 cm (1.82m²; 37.6 in by 75.2 in).

Edges for tatamis come in many patterns for different occasions.


Tatami is made with a rush plant, igusa.
Igusa is a perennial plant of the family of igusa. Igusa smells good. It has a fresh, grassy smell. In English, they are called rushes. Igusa blooms from May through June. The plant grows up to a length of 100 centimeters or less. They grow in marshes where sunshine is good. In Japan, there are 30 kinds of igusa growing in many different areas.

Tatami is made from natural igusa that must be flexible from the root to the tip, and the thickness and the color varies slightly. About 4000 to 7000 igusa are used for the tatami. Generally the best tatami uses more and longer igusa rushes.

There are many benefits in using igusa such as air purification, heat insulation, elasticity, cooling (especially in hot summer seasons), eco-friendly and sound absorbing qualities. Igusa tatami is also smooth to the touch, so it is comfortable for babies and young children. Most Japanese like tatami. Many homes have at least one tatami room.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

In Edo, the 伊阿弥 / 藺阿弥 Iami family was appointed by Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The family business dated back to the Muromachi period.
藺阿弥 also grew igusa rush material. The family name Iami was given by 織田信長 Oda Nobunaga.
The tatami maker family later served under Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
- reference source : tatami-tatami.cocolog-nifty... -

. Tatamicho, Tatamichō, Tatamimachi 畳町
Tatami district in Edo .

tatamiya　畳屋 - 畳職人 tatami maker


source : edoichiba.jp. tatami...



. Edo craftsmen　江戸の職人 Shokunin .

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. igusa 藺 (い) rush, Binse .
Juncus effusus

. Igusamura, Igusa mura 井草村 Igusa village .
Suginami 杉並区 Suginami ward . from the first to the 5th sub-district
Kami-Igusa, Shimo-Igusa - Edo


Brocade edges for tatami mats - put to good use:
. Purses from 畳の縁 tatami heri border brocade .

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changing the tatami mats, tatami gae 畳替 (たたみがえ)
..... kaedatami 替畳（かえだたみ）

This was done as one of the preparations for the New Year. The topmost woven mat was first changed (bottom up) and when this part was worn out, a new mat was used to fix on the straw insulation core .

There is a saying in Japan
New Tatami and new wife are needed every 10 years!

女房と畳は新しいほうがいい
"A wife and tatami are best when new!"


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Tatami Daruma 畳だるま
Daruma made from tatami mat pieces



from 青畳工房　
http://aodatami.com/

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April 25, 2013

Kyoto temple to host tatami ‘memorial service’畳供養 Tatami Kuyoo
The Japan Tatami Industry Promotion Association will host the country’s first ever “memorial service” for the straw mats by burning them in Kyoto’s Shojokein Temple on Thursday.
The burning ritual will start at 2 p.m. and last about an hour, after which new mats will be presented to the first 20 visitors.


京都浄土宗 大本山 Shoojooke In 清浄華院 Temple Shojoke-In
source :　www.tatami.in

- Temple Reference -
This temple is located near Rozan-Ji. Founded by Emperor Seiwa　清和天皇 in 860.


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HAIKU


秋近き心の寄るや四畳半
. aki chikaki kokoro no yoru ya yojoohan .

松尾芭蕉　Matsuo Basho and a four-and-a-half mat room


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青畳音して蠅のとびにけり
ao-datami oto shite hae no tobi ni keri

green tatami mat--
a fly lands
with a thump



人並に畳のうえの月見哉
hito nami ni tatami no ue no tsukimi kana

like the others
on tatami mats...
moon gazing



鳥もなき蝶も飛けり古畳
tori mo naki chô mo tobi keri furu tatami

birds singing
butterflies flitting...
old tatami mat

Issa / more Tatami haiku
Tr. David Lanoue

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.涼しさや一畳敷もおれが家
suzushisa ya ichijoo-jiki mo ore ga ie

this coolness --
a single floor mat
is my house
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from sometime in the summer of 1821 and exists only in the copy of Issa's Eighth Diary made by Issa's follower Baijin. The hokku is a bit difficult to interpret, since this is the only hokku in which Issa speaks of a single tatami floor mat, and Issa's house in his hometown burned down in 1827, so the floor plan of the house is not known. More research by historians is needed on this point, but as a general rule each room with a tatami straw mat floor in the farm houses of moderately wealthy farmers (as Issa's father was) had 4-8 tatami mats or even more. On the other hand, small storage spaces usually had no windows, and the floors were of wooden boards. In addition, the room with a hearth in the center of it tended to have a board floor, perhaps with thin straw mats on the boards. Issa's father's house also had a small stable in or near it, since his father not only farmed but rented out pack horses. Perhaps Gabi can enlighten us on the typical use of tatami floor mats in farm houses.

In any case, I take Issa to be writing about his psychological and spiritual condition living in the half of his father's house that he inherited. The summer of 1821 was a difficult time for Issa and his wife Kiku, since in the fourth lunar month (May) she came down with a bad case of gout. When she did, Issa rushed home from a student's house and nursed her for about four months until the symptoms disappeared. Although Issa didn't keep a detailed diary during this time, it is very likely that Kiku's mother and probably another woman to help her came to Issa's house and also helped nurse Kiku. In addition, since Issa couldn't travel, many visitors came to see him, and he must have been extremely busy doing all sorts of jobs.

In this situation, with Kiku lying sick on a mattress all day, the rooms of Issa's house must have been filled with people and things, with little space left for just sitting and enjoying cool breezes. Perhaps during this time Issa had only a single mat's space to himself for his writing and for cooling off and sleeping. Usually a single mat -- just large enough for a single person to sleep on -- would seem cramped, but now Issa finds it more than enough. It seems as big as a whole house to him now. His mind is on helping his wife recover and, probably, on working harmoniously with his mother-in-law, and he no doubt fans his wife often on hot days. The size of his personal space just doesn't seem as important as it usually does. The fact that he is in his own house with his wife and some of her family may cool him psychologically just as much the evening breezes do.

Chris Drake

. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 Issa in Edo .

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The change of servants
Her tears
Splash on the tatami

Taiga / In The Moonlight a Worm

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草の戸や畳かへたる夏祓
kusa no to ya tatami kaetaru natsu harae

reed door -
tatami mats changed for the
summer purification
(tr. Gabi Greve)

Tan Taigi 炭　太祇　たん・たいぎ (1738-1791)


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Related words

***** Light seating mat, goza 茣蓙

mats with pictures, e goza 絵茣蓙（えござ
e mushiro 絵筵（えむしろ）
patterned mats, aya mushiro 綾筵（あやむしろ）

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***** Seating mats, portable, mushiro 筵

kigo for the new year

kake mushiro 掛筵 (かけむしろ)
new mat, aramushiro 新筵（あらむしろ）
toshigomo 年薦（としごも）
"lucky mat", fuku mushiro福筵（ふくむしろ）


kigo for all summer
mat for sleeping, negoza 寝茣蓙 (ねござ )
... ne mushiro 寝筵（ねむしろ）

rattan mat, too mushiro 籐筵 (とうむしろ ,tomushiro とむしろ )

reed mat, gama mushiro 蒲筵 がまむしろ
..... gama goza 蒲茣蓙（がまござ）
gama/kama is a reed that grows near lakes and rivers.

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takamushiro 簟 (たかむしろ) mat from woven bamboo
amushiro, ten 簟 (not: take mushiro)
It is a mat woven with bamboo stripes and quite cool to lie on.


窓形に昼寝の台や簟　
madonari ni hirune no dai ya takamushiro

by the window
on a high sleeping platform -
a bamboo mat
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written in summer of 1693 元禄6年夏.
Basho is maybe thinking of the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 Too Enmei (365 - 427), who led a poor but poetically rich life. In the hot humid summer of Japan, it was very important to find a cool place to sleep in summer.

. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


. WKD : Tao Yuanming 　陶淵明 .

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六月の女すわれる荒莚
rokugatsu no onna suwareru ara mushiro

a woman in june
sits on a worn-out
reed mat

Ishida Hakyoo 石田波郷

He wrote this haiku just after the war, when this young woman sat there on an old mat, in the middle of all destruction, yet still emanating the feeling of the energy of the lush greenery of June.
This meaning would be lost if the haiku had a cut after line one, like
rokugatsu YA.

Tr. Gabi Greve

Ishida Hakyo (Ishida Hakyoo) (1913-1969)


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***** 　takamushiro nagori 簟名残 (たかむしろなごり) remembering the bamboo mat 　
kigo for autumn

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***** komodatami こもだたみ (こもだたみ 菰畳／薦畳)
They are woven from Makomo reed.
makomo 真菰 wild rice; water oats.
They were already used in the Heian period.


春立や菰もかぶらず五十年
haru tatsu ya komo mo kaburazu go juunen

spring begins--
no reed mat over my head
fifty years now

Kobayashi Issa

Komo is reed matting or a rush mat.
In traditional Japan, a person's age increased by one year at the beginning of every new spring. Now Issa is fifty.
When I first read this haiku, I didn't grasp what Issa meant by having no "reed mat" (komo) over his head. Shinji Ogawa explains that this is an idiom for "never being a beggar."
He translates, "spring begins/ without being a beggar/ fifty years."
Issa's humor lies in the fact that he seems to be bragging about so little: that he has managed to stay at least one step above street beggars crouching under their mats when it rains.
Tr. David Lanoue

observance kigo for early autumn

makomo mushiro 真菰筵（まこもむしろ） mat made from Makomo
for the Bon-shelf

. Bon Festival, O-Bon, Obon お盆 .



komo 薦 komo straw mat

薦を着て誰人います花の春　
komo o kite tarebito imasu hana no haru

the man wearing
a straw mat, who is he?
blossoms of spring
Tr. Barnhill

Written on the New Year's day of 1690 元禄3年元日, Basho age 47. Basho stayed with a haikai at Zeze after finishing his trip to "Oku no Hosomichi".

This refers to the spring in "flower capital" of Kyoto. A begger might wear a straw mat, but so might be a sage or sacred hermit. A straw mat was the winter cover for the poorest of beggars (kojiki, kosshiki こつじき / 乞食) at that time.
This was a time when he started to experiment with the style of karumi 軽み lightness.


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .




. WKD : konjiki, kojiki, kotsujiki 乞食 beggar, Bettelmönch .


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- #tatami #iami -
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Oden hodgepodge

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Oden, O-Den hodgepodge おでん　御田

***** Location:　Japan
***** Season: All Winter
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation



A Japanese hodgepodge dish or kind of stew, containing all kinds of ingredients cooked in a special broth of soy sauce, sugar, sake, etc.
The ingredients are simmered in an earthen pot, the sound of the broth is referred to as gutsugutsu and felt rather pleasant.
Eating oden is a relaxing family event or a sad lone dinner at one of the many food stalls around each station of Japan.
Spending a long winter night with friends, sipping ricewine, complaining about life and munching bits and pieces of oden is a fond winter pastime.


simmering oden
nikomi oden 煮込みおでん（にこみおでん）
simmering it "Kanto style", kantoodaki 関東煮（かんとうだき）
preferred in the area around Tokyo and the Kanto plain

oden ingredients, oden dane おでん種（おでんだね）
simmering oden, oden niru おでん煮る



oden stall, oden store, odenya おでん屋（おでんや）



Matsuo Basho himself was fond of konyaku oden (gelatinous food made from devil's-tongue starch).


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Quote from the Japan Times

Oden : Japanese for 'soul food'
By ROBBIE SWINNERTON

For some this is soul food, warming and comforting; for others it is the rank smell of culture shock. Whichever side of the great divide you stand, though, one thing is certain: Your local convenience store will never deliver the authentic taste of any food. For that, you need to go to the source, to a long-established specialist.

Tradition runs strong in Senzoku, on the northern fringe of Asakusa, and nowhere is this more evident than at Otafuku. This family operation, currently run by the fourth and fifth generations of the Funadaiku family, has been serving its specialty here since 1916.

There is a small dining room at the back with tatami mats and low tables. But the seats of choice for the predominantly local clientele (you are way off the tourist trail here) are the low-slung chairs at the counter, from where they observe the proceedings, chat with the two Funadaiku brothers, and order their meals, one piece at a time, much as you would at a sushi shop.

Not surprisingly, Otafuku prepares its oden in the robust Kanto style, seasoned with dark shoyu (soy sauce). The ingredients — predominantly of seafood, tofu or vegetable origin — are gently simmered for a couple of hours until they are infused with the rich, savory essence of that broth. What is less usual is the wide variety of different items to choose from.

All the usual suspects are present and correct: whole, hard-boiled eggs; slabs of firm tofu; thick rounds of daikon radish; satsuma-age (deep-fried fish paste); and dark, rubbery konnyaku (devil's tongue root jelly), all texture and minimal flavor. There are more exotic offerings too: uzura no tamago (skewered quail eggs); iidako (miniature octopuses); and even whale tongue and blubber.

Our perennial favorites are the tsumire, flavorful balls of ground sardine, and the kyabetsu maki, cabbage leaf stuffed with finely ground beef. Both of these have plenty of inherent flavor that does not get lost in the long simmering process. Everything does start to taste a bit repetitive after a while; that is why each serving comes with a powerful dab of fiery yellow mustard to cauterize any staleness from your palate and sinuses.

Oden is by definition snacking food, in classic izakaya style. It's there to accompany the sake — and here you won't go wrong with the resinous taruzake, sake poured straight from the wooden cask on the counter. Chilled, it is served in wooden masu box cups, with a little salt on the side; to appreciate its full perfume, it is better warmed (ask for okan).

Here are some of our favorites from Kyoto : kyo-ganmo — small golden balls of deep-fried tofu mashed with flecks of carrot and seaweed, with a delicate quail's egg at their center; daikon — always the benchmark of any oden shop, here the vegetable retains its natural flavor, texture and color, and is among the best you will find; iwashi tsumire — small, dark, intensely flavored balls of minced sardine; tori supaisu tsukune — balls of ground chicken meat, slightly crunchy in texture like the tsukune served at yakitori shops, but here spiked with piquant black pepper; satsukuri-san — sweet-potato puree formed into a soft disk shape, with a piece of chestnut in the center; and kabomaru-san — an excellent autumn special, prepared from pureed kabocha pumpkin studded with raisins to give an extra dimension of natural sweetness.

Although each serving is accompanied by the standard dash of karashi mustard, we find we leave it untouched, as we don't want to override the natural flavors of the oden.

Read the full article here
from the Japan Times, Nov. 2, 2007

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

. Shizuoka Oden Yokocho 静岡 おでん横丁 .

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WASHOKU

In Japan, the choice of what to serve for a meal, and how to present it, is intimately linked to nature and embellished by cultural nuance. Each month in the Japanese kitchen, and at table, has a distinct seasonal identity, complete with its own legends and festivals, and the motifs and color schemes associated with them.

Modern-day oden traces its roots back to the Muromachi Period (1336-1573) and a dish called DENGAKU in which skewered tofu, slathered with a sweet and spicy miso paste, was broiled.

Read more and a few recipies HERE
©　www.tasteofculture.com


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HAIKU

飲みすぎのおでん野郎に黄のからし
nomisugi no oden yaroo ni ki no karashi

for the drunk
with too much oden -
yellow mustard

　©　草若葉
Tr. Gabi Greve

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浮き沈みある世想いておでん煮る
uki shizumi aru yo omoide oden niru

thinking about
the ups and downs of life -
I simmer oden

　©　haiku tabi nitijou
Tr. Gabi Greve

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ことごとく意見の合はぬおでん鍋
kotogotoku iken no awanu oden nabe

really,
our opinions are so different -
oden pot

Saika Junko 雑賀純子


I imagine an old couple, sitting in comfort with the oden pot, nibbling and complaining anyway, just like in the next haiku.



ぐつぐつとおでんぐつぐつぐつと愚痴
gutsugutsu to oden gutsugutsu gutto guchi

gutsugutsu
oden simmering gutsugutsu ...
and we complain heartily

Ebiko Raiji 蛯子雷児


hokui40 collection
Tr. Gabi Greve

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Related words

***** Japanese Food to keep you warm in Winter

***** Food from Japan (washoku)


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Pampas grass (susuki, kaya)

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Pampas grass (susuki, obana)

***** Location: Japan, other areas
***** Season: various, see below
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Miscanthus species, usually M. sinensis
Papmas grass is native to Japan and China, it grows everywhere near rivers and in mountainous plains.
It is one of the seven plants of autumn and as kigo best know in autumn, together with the moon.

Seven Flowers of Autumn (aki no nanakusa).. Seven Herbs of Autumn


susuki 薄 (すすき) pampas grass
..... 芒（すすき）


Kaya 萱 is an older name, kaya was often used to thatch the roofs of old farmhouses.

The ears, plumes of this grass are also called
"tail flowers", obana 尾花.


yoshi / ashi 葦、芦、蘆、葭 reed grass
Phragmites australis


ogi 荻 (おぎ) common reed
Miscanthus sacchariflorus

. Ogikubo 荻窪 Ogikubo district .
Suginami, Tokyo


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Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese silver grass, Eulalia grass, Maiden grass, Zebra grass, Porcupine Grass; syn. Eulalia japonica Trin., Miscanthus sinensis f. glaber Honda, Miscanthus sinensis var. gracillimus Hitchc., Miscanthus sinensis var. variegatus Beal, Miscanthus sinensis var. zebrinus Beal, Saccharum japonicum Thunb.) is a grass native to eastern Asia throughout most of China, Japan and Korea.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 0.8-2 m (rarely 4 m) tall, forming dense clumps from an underground rhizome. The leaves are 18–75 cm long and 0.3–2 cm broad. The flowers are purplish, held above the foliage.

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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............... SPRING

In early spring, many susuki fields are burned down to fertilize and make space for the new harvest. In many areas this is an activity of the whole community, involving the fire brigade to make sure not too much is burned down.


blackened pampas grass, suguro no susuki
末黒の薄 すぐろのすすき
kuro-u no susuki 黒生の芒（くろうのすすき）

burned fields of pampas grass, yakeno no susuki
焼野の芒（やけののすすき）

buds of papmas grass, susuki no me 芒の芽（すすきのめ）

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kigo for mid-spring

tsubana 茅花 (つばな) Chigaya flowers, reed grass flowers
Imperata cylindrica
chigaya no hana
茅萱の花（ちがやのはな）、tsubana no 茅花野（つばなの）
tsubana 針茅（つばな）、chibana ちばな、
asajigana 浅茅が花（あさじがはな）
shirahagusa しらはぐさ
tsubana meku 茅花ぬく（つばなぬく）

. haru no mizu sumire tsubana o nurashi-yuku .
Yosa Buson

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kigo for late spring

ashi wakaba 蘆若葉 (あしわかば) young leaves of ashi
..... waka ashi 若蘆（わかあし）
ashi no wakaba 蘆の若葉（あしのわかば）


harugaya 春茅 (はるがや) kaya in spring


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............... SUMMER

green pampas grass, ao susuki 青芒 (あおすすき)
luxuriant pampas grass, susuki shigeru 芒茂る (すすきしげる)


green rushes, aoashi ao-ashi 青蘆（青葦） (あおあし)
Phragmites species


セミナリヨ跡の青蘆信長忌
seminario ato no ao ashi Nobunaga ki

green rushes grow
over the seminary remains -
Nobunaga Memorial Day

Sano Michi 佐野美智

. Nobunaga Ki 信長忌 Nobunaga Memorial Day .



green sedge, aogaya 青萱 (あおがや)
Cyperus species
luxuriant sedge, kaya shigeru 萱茂る (かやしげる)


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Susuki and the Moon,
two ingredients of the Japanese Autumn


............... AUTUMN



pampas grass, susuki 芒 (すすき) 薄
Miscanthus sinensis

flowering pampas grass, hana susuki 花芒 (はなすすき)
ho susuki 穂芒（ほすすき）susuki ears
no susuki 芒野（すすきの） field with susuki
susuki hara 芒原（すすきはら）plain with susuki

susuki chiru 芒散る（すすきちる） susuki is falling apart

ito susuki 糸芒（いとすすき）"susuki strings"
..... oni susuki 鬼芒（おにすすき）、


autumn sweet with ito susuki pattern


masuo no susuki 真赭の芒（ますおのすすき）Masuo-Susuki
..... まそほの芒
..... masuo no ito 真赭の糸（ますおのいと）
a kind with red flowers
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

hitomoto susuki 一本芒（ひともとすすき）one stem of susuki
hitomura susuki 一叢芒（ひとむらすすき）a group of susuki

ten-inch-plume pampas grass, masuho no susuki
十寸穂の芒 (ますほのすすき)


"hawk-feather pampas grass", zebra pampas grass
taka no ha susuki, 鷹の羽芒 (たかのはすすき)
M. sinensis variety zebrinus


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

Pampas Grass Memorial Service for Ippen Shonin
susuki nenbutsu-e 薄念仏会 （すすきねんぶつえ）
Memorial Service for Saint Ippen Shonin

At the temple Yugyoji (Yuugyoo-ji) 遊行寺 in Fujizawa on September 15.

In a long vase in front of the alter the priests arrange long susuki ears and pine branches and hang small paper slips from them where the Amida Prayer is written. The service is in memory of Saint Ippen (Ippen Shoonin 一遍上人聖).
一遍上人聖 Japanese reference

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

rice gruel .. O-bana no kayu　尾花の粥
..... obana gayu 尾花粥（おばながゆ), obanagayu小花粥（おばながゆ）
..... susuki gayu 薄粥（すすきがゆ）

Roasted ears of the susuki grass were mixed in the rice gruel. It was supposed to have medical properties to keep you fit for the harvest season.

August First, Tea Ceremony

.................................................................................
kigo for mid-autumn

kariyasu 刈安 (かりやす) Miscanthus tinctorius
kugusa 黄草（きぐさ）"yellow plant"
kakina かきな、kaina かいな、someshiba そめしば
kobunagusa 小鮒草（こぶなぐさ）
Hachijoo kariyasu（八丈刈安 はちじょうかりやす）
Miscanthus tinctorius from Hachijoo Island.

Extracts of this plant are used for dyeing cloth.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !



ashi no hana 蘆の花 (あしのはな) reed flowers
..... yoshi no hana 葭の花（よしのはな）
ashihara 蘆原（あしはら）field with reeds
..... yoshihara 葭原（よしはら）
ashi no aki 蘆の秋（あしのあき）autumn of the reed
..... yoshi no aki 、葭の秋（よしのあき）


.................................................................................
kigo for late autumn

kaya 萱 (か) miscanthus. Schilfgras
kaya no ho 萱の穂（かやのほ）ears of miscanthus
kayahara 萱原（かやはら）field with miscanthus


kaya karu 萱刈る (かやかる) cutting miscanthus (reeds)
kaya fuku 萱葺く（かやふく）thatching a roof
. . . . . ashi kari 蘆刈 (あしかり) cutting reeds
and more KIGO with kaya and reeds



ashi no howata 蘆の穂絮 (あしのほわた) ears of reed grass
ashi no ho wata
..... ashi no ho 蘆の穂（あしのほ）




.................................................................................
kigo for all autumn

karu kaya 刈萱 (かるかや) Kangaroo Grass
Themeda triandra var. japonica.
ogaru kaya 雄刈萱（おがるかや）
megaru kaya 雌刈萱（めがるかや）
kakeigusa,kake igusa 筧草（かけいぐさ）


chigaya 白茅 (ちがや) Imperata cylindrica, Alang-Alang
cogon grass
chi 茅（ち）、kaya 茅（かや）asaji 浅茅 / 淺茅（あさぢ）
Imperata cylindrica. Steppengrass


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

ogi 荻 (おぎ) common reed
kazakikigusa 風聞草（かざききぐさ）
nezamegusa 寝覚草（ねざめぐさ）
ogihara 荻原（おぎはら）field with common reed
hamaogi 浜荻（はまおぎ）common reed on a beach


.................................................................................
kigo for early autumn

ogi no koe 荻の声 'おぎのこえ) "voice of the common reed"
ogi no kaze 荻の風（おぎのかぜ）wind in the common reed
oki fuku 荻吹く（おぎふく）
sasara no ogi ささらの荻（ささらのおぎ）


死神は美男なるべし荻の声
. shinigami wa binan narubeshi ogi no koe .
Ikeda Sumiko 池田澄子 (1936 - )


observance at Yoshida Sengen Shrine

. Susuki matsuri 芒祭（すすきまつり）"pampas grass festival" 　


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............... WINTER

susuki in winter, fuyu susuki 冬芒 (ふゆすすき)
kan susuki 寒薄 (かんすすき) susuki in the cold
Tokiwa susuki 常盤薄（ときわすすき）Giant Chinese Silver Grass
Miscanthus floridulus
Arihara susuki 在原薄（ありはらすすき）



withered pampas grass, kare susuki 枯薄（かれすすき）
..... kare-obana 枯尾花, 枯れ尾花(かれおばな)
dry miscanthus


pampas grass withered, susuki karu 薄枯る（すすきかる）
..... obana karu 尾花枯る（おばなかる)
..... susuki kareha 薄枯葉（すすきかれは）

pampas grass withered by frost, shimogare susuki
霜枯薄（しもがれすすき）







withered rushes 枯蘆 (かれあし) kareashi, kare ashi
ashi no kareha 蘆の枯葉（あしのかれは）
withered leaves of rushes
kareashiwara 枯蘆原（かれあしわら）field with withered rushes
kanro 寒蘆（かんろ） rushes in the cold



. karekaya, kare kaya 枯萱（かれかや） 　
withered kaya rushes


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

. Fukiyachoo 葺屋町 Fukiyacho District of roof thatchers .

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August :
Moon and Pampass Grass, Susuki ni Tsuki　
ススキに月 , 月に薄
Flower Trump (hanafuda) and Haiku

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The Rabbit pounding rice in the full moon



Pounding rice (mochi tsuki, mochitsuki) and haiku


*****************************
HAIKU

ともかくもならでや雪の枯尾花
tomokakumo narade ya yuki no kare obana
tomokaku mo narade ya yuki no kareobana

well, yes, somehow
I made it - snow
on the withered pampas grass


Here Basho refers to the fact that after a long and difficult journey he finally made it despite all odds, without meeting his death, to the town of Edo. He may be getting old and fragile, like pampas grass bends in heavy snow, but he is still up and writing poetry.
Written in 1691.


The expression
tomokaku mo naru ともかくも なる
It will become so, there is nothing I can do about.
Often used with reference to the death of a human being.

(Tut marker YA is in the middle of line 2.)

. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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ともかくも風にまかせてかれ尾花　
tomokaku mo kaze ni makasete kare-obana

anyway
leave it to the wind -
withered pampas grass

or

anyway
it is at the mercy of the wind -
withered pampas grass


Chiyo-Ni 千代尼

a honkadori to the poem by Basho.


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

- - - - - Kobayashi Issa - - - - -
Tr. David Lanoue

withered grassland--
once upon a time there was
a female demon...

枯すすきむかし婆々鬼あったとさ
kare susuki mukashi baba oni atta to sa

Issa /Demons and Haiku

. . .

穂すすきや細き心のさわがしき
ho susuki ya hosoki kokoro no sawagashiki

plumes of pampas grass--
the thin hearts
swishing

誰ぞ来よ来よとてさわぐすすき哉
tare zo ko yo ko yo tote sawagu susuki kana

come one! come all!
the rustling
pampas grass

. . .

夕立の枕元よりすすき哉
yûdachi no makura moto yori susuki kana

extending from my pillow
in the downpour...
pampas grass

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




穂すすきや細き心のさわがしき
ho susuki ya hosoki kokoro no sawagashiki

slender-hearted
tufted miscanthus grass
rustling, trembling
Tr. Chris Drake

This autumn hokku was found among Issa's papers after his death, so it probably comes from the final period of his life. The tall (3-10') susuki grass Issa is watching and listening to is often called "Japanese pampas grass," but strictly speaking it is miscanthus grass (Miscanthus sinensis). A look at photo will show that miscanthus is slightly slimmer than true pampas grass, and its tufts are more like soft tassels than the long plumes of the pampas grass, which can almost suggest spearheads. It is also different from eulalia grass. The most popular common names for miscanthus grass in English are maiden grass and Chinese silver grass, though susuki grass seems to be catching up. It grows in clumps, and in the early fall each tall but slender stalk puts out even more slender 6-8" tassels at the top that resemble golden cords. In dry weather the tassels are a bit stiff, though they bend and move in the wind. But when they are wet by rain the tassels often droop and hang down like long hair. Both the leaves of the stalks and the tassels rustle, but the sound from the leaves is stronger and in Japanese traditional poetry often suggests voices.

In this hokku Issa speaks of whole stalks of miscanthus grass that have put out tufts of slender tassels at their tops. In virtually the slightest breeze the tassels move, and with a little wind the whole thin stalk also sways a little, so miscanthus grass has, since the days of early medieval waka, been associated being "slender-hearted" or having "slender hearts": being extremely sensitive, feeling a sense of general loneliness, having a tendency to feel anxious or forlorn or having feelings of helplessness. Being slender-hearted was regarded positively by waka poets and critics and believed to be a prerequisite for writing waka able to evoke the sublime, transcendent, mysterious beauty sometimes called yuugen. I wonder if Keats' "negative capability" -- "... when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason...." -- wouldn't be one good translation for the openness to change and creative anxiety implied by "slender-hearted." Basho also talked of hosomi or slenderness in terms of the inseparability of beauty from anxiety, sadness, and change.

The word Issa uses in line three refers to how this slender-heartedness, this restless anxiety and sensitivity of the heart-mind, express themselves physically. The rustling of the leaves and tassels make audible the trembling that is going on in the heart-minds (kokoro) of the miscanthus grass and no doubt in Issa's own heart-mind as he hears their sounds and sees their swaying. This is of course personification, but it also draws on the Buddhist belief that plants and trees have various forms of consciousness and can achieve enlightenment. I wonder if Issa doesn't recognize in the trembling, rustling heart-minds of the miscanthus grasses an open admission of some sort by the grasses of their complete dependence on the wind and on Amida Buddha.

I think Issa regarded miscanthus grass stalks not only as parallel but different companions on the path leading through areas of the Pure Land in the present life but also as a mirror for getting a better view of himself, as in these hokku:

ho-susuki ya ore ga tsuburi mo tomo-soyogi

tufted tall grass --
my head, too, sways
with your swaying

- and

ho-susuki ya ore ga kobin mo tomo-soyogi

tufted tall grass --
my loose hairs sway
with your swaying

The miscanthus grass seems to teach Issa about the value of tremblings and rustlings in himself he wasn't completely aware of before.

Chris Drake


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


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this spider net
hanging in mid air -
just for me ?

　©　Gabi Greve, Japan, October 2007


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waking up
to a load of snow -
susuki bending low



Gabi Greve, January 2011


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Related words

kigo for mid-spring

***** horns of reeds (ashi no tsuno)
蘆の角 (あしのつの)
sprouts of reeds
..... ashi no me 蘆の芽 (あしのめ) ashi buds
ashi no kiri 蘆の錐（あしのきり）"drill of ashi grass"
tsunogumu ashi 角組む蘆（つのぐむあし）
ashikabi 蘆芽（あしかび）



ogi no tsuno 荻の角 (おぎのつの) "horns of ogi"
tsunogumu ogi 角組む荻（つのぐむおぎ）
ogi no me 荻の芽（おぎのめ）buds of ogi


kigo for late spring

ashi wakaba 蘆若葉 (あしわかば) young sprouts of ashi
waka ashi 若蘆（わかあし）"young ashi"
ashi no wakaba 蘆の若葉（あしのわかば）

ogi wakaba 荻若葉 (おぎわかば) young sprouts of ogi
waka ogi 若荻（わかおぎ）
ogi no futaba 、荻の二葉（おぎのふたば）

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


***** Reed, cutting reed grass (ashi kari)


***** . suge 菅 Suge sedge
Carex morrowii


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kigo for all summer

***** igusa 藺 (い) rush, Binse
..... igusa 藺草（いぐさ）
Juncus effusus
ida 藺田（いだ）field with rushes
hosoi 細藺（ほそい） thin rush
tooshingusa 燈心草（とうしんぐさ） "wick rush"
The stem had been used to make wicks for oil lamps.

futoi, futo i 太藺 (ふとい) bulrush
lit. "fat rush"
Scirpus tabernaemontani, Teichsimse
- - - - -
gama 蒲 (がま) Gama cattail, reed mace
Phalaris arundinacea

. gamamushiro 蒲筵 (がまむしろ) mat from gama .



kigo for mid-summer


i no hana 藺の花 (いのはな) flower of the rush


. i karu 藺刈る (いかる) harvesting rushes .
..... ikari, i kari 藺刈（いかり）
i hosu 藺干す（いほす）drying rushes
and more kigo about igusa


Igusa is the main material for the tatami floor mats.
Tatami is made with a rush plant, igusa. Rush is planted in the rice fields in August.
Tatami is made from natural igusa . . .
. Tatami 畳 floor mats .


kigo for late summer
gama no ho 蒲の穂 ( がまのほ) ears of Gama cattail
..... gama no hana 蒲の花（がまのはな）flowers of Gama cattail
gamaboko 蒲鉾（がまぼこ）



hamasuge, hama suge 浜菅 (はますげ) coco-grass
purple nut sedge, red nut sedge
..... koobushi こうぶし
Cyperus rotundus


yuusuge, yuu suge 夕菅 (ゆうすげ) tall daylily, with yellow flowers
lit. "evening Suge"
kisuge, ki suge 黄菅（きすげ） "yellow Suge"
Hemerocallis thunbergii


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kigo for all summer

***** kusayoshi 草葭 (くさよし) reed canarygrass
Phalaris arundinacea


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***** Seven herbs of autumn (aki no nanakusa)


***** shino 篠 small kind of bamboo
shinodake 篠竹, medake メダケ（雌竹）
Pleioblastus Simonii
shinohara 篠原 arrow bamboo grove

. WKD : Bamboo (take 竹) .


. PLANTS - - - the Complete SAIJIKI . 　

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

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Rain on Cherry Blossoms

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"Rain on Blossoms" (hana no ame)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Spring
***** Category: Heavens

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Explanation


"rain on blossoms", "rain an blooms", "rain on flowers", "blossom rain"
hana no ame　花の雨
rain on cherry blossoms etc.

rain during the time of cherry blossoms, hanadoki no ame
花時の雨（はなどきのあめ）




Since in the Japanese haiku vocabulary, HANA is identical with the cherry blossoms, there is no doubt when using this expression. In other languages, it is usually not enought to convey this strong meaning and we should make sure the reader understands the connotations. Best use a footnote, but at least translate it as

rain on cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms in the rain, ... many more versions are possible.

A cold and chilly rain during the cherry blossom viewing season. The Japanese brave the weather and go out to enjoy the cherry blossoms anyway, since the time to that is just so limited.


According to the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, it can also be a metaphor (mitate) for a heavy fall of blossoms/petals.
(In this case, petals falling like a snow strom(hanafubuki 花吹雪) can also be used.）




hanafubuki 花吹雪 "blossom storm"
"blossom blizzard", blossom snowstorm
... sakurafubuki 桜吹雪（さくらふぶき）
hika 飛花（ひか） cherry blossoms flying around


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In "Cherry Blossom Epiphany," Robin Gill translates "hana no ame" as "blossom rain."

Two examples:

yorokobi no namida zo machishi hana no ame

this long-awaited
blossom rain: call it
tears of joy!

Teiji (1645), trans. Gill


hana no ame hito o yowasu ni ware no you

blossom rain
pushing drink on a friend
I end up drunk

Ryooto(1717?), trans. Gill

Of this haiku, Gill notes that:

"Tsuji Momoko, haiku poet herself, explains: 'This is the chilly rain of blossom-viewing time.'"

Ms. Tsuji goes on to contrast the chilliness of 'blossom rain' to the warmth of 'sake' in her explication of this haiku.

Compiled by
Larry Bole, Translating Haiku Forum

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Worldwide use


*****************************
Things found on the way


*****************************
HAIKU

花の雨竹にけぶれば真青なり
hana no ame take ni kebureba masao nari

rain on the cherry blossoms
with bamboo in the mist -
so pale and green

Mizuhara Shūōshi 水原秋桜子
Tr. Gabi Greve

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バイブルをよむ寂しさよ花の雨
baiburu o yomu sabishisa yo hana no ame

this loneliness
while I read the bible -
rain on the cherry blossoms

diese Einsamkeit
während ich die Bibel lese -
Kirschblütenregen

Sugita Hisajo 杉田久女
Tr. Gabi Greve


*****************************
Related words

***** Cherry Blossoms (sakura, hana) ...
and many related kigo

***** Rain in various KIGO

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Lamp light

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]

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Lamp light (lamplight) in autumn (shuutoo)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: All autumn
***** Category: Humanity

for lamplight in other seasons, see below

*****************************
Explanation

When the evenings start earlier, nights getting longer, its time to get out the lamps (consider you have no electricity in the Edo period).　
It is a time for huddeling together and become quiet looking in a candle light.


It is also a time to sit in peace and read a good book under the lamp light.

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

lamp in autumn, autumn lantern, autumn lamplight,

shuutoo 秋燈, 秋灯（しゅうとう）
..... aki no hi 秋の燈 (あきのひ)
"autumn with lamp light", tooka no aki 燈火の秋（とうかのあき）

familiar lamp light, intimate lamp light
tooka shitashimu 燈火親しむ（とうかしたしむ)
"under the lamp light", tooka shitashi 燈下親し (とうかしたし)



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Worldwide use

Germany

Lampenschein, Lampenlicht


*****************************
Things found on the way

Lamp light in spring (shuntoo　春灯) is a more pleasant thing, with evenings getting shorter.

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


Choochin, Andon, Japanese lanterns and Daruma
Chochin, Akachochin



. Kanto 竿燈 Lantern Festival in Akita 　


*****************************
HAIKU

秋灯や夫婦互に無き如く　　　
shuutoo ya fuufu tagai ni naki gotoku

under the autumn lantern -
a couple sits there
ignoring each other　　　　

Takahama Kyoshi 高浜　虚子
Tr. Gabi Greve

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LAMPLIGHT in translations of haiku by Issa

灯ちらちら疱瘡小家の吹雪哉
hi chira-chira mogasa ko ie no fubuki kana

lamplight flickers
in the smallpox shack...
a blizzard



行灯で飯くふ人やかへる雁
andon de meshi kuu hito ya kaeru kari

eating his rice
by lamplight...
the geese depart



草の蚤はらはらもどる火かげ哉
kusa no nomi hara-hara modoru hokage kana

the grasses' fleas
pitter-patter move...
lamplight's shade


More:
Tr. David Lanoue

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hi ni nute ko ni oshiyuru ji aki no ame

sewing in the lamplight
I teach spelling to my child –
autumn rain

(Tr. Makoto Ueda)

Nähend im Lampenlicht
mit dem Kind buchstabieren –
Herbstregen

Tr. Angelika Wienert

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

A falling blossom
Floats past a window’s lamplight
Inside, typing words

　©　Jim Molnar

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Lamplight, tomoshibi, 灯火 , hi 火
topic for haiku


灯火やかすみながらに夜が明る
tomoshibi ya kasumi nagara ni yo ga akeru

lamplight
in the spring mist...
dawn

Issa
Tr. David Lanoue

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ランプ売るひとつランプを霧にともし
ranpu uru hitotsu ranpu o kiri ni tomoshi

a lamp vendor
put on a light
in the fog

Azumi Atsushi 安住敦

He wrote the haiku after the war in Toky（1946）.
Tr. Etsuko Yanagibori


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Related words


***** summer lamp, natsu tomoshi 夏燈 (なつともし)
summer lantern light, natsu no hi 夏の燈（なつのひ）
cool lantern light, hi suzushi 燈涼し（ひすずし）


***** winter lamp, fuyu tomoshi 冬燈　（ふゆともし）


***** Dawn moon in autumn (ariakezuki)

***** Candle (roosoku) Japan, worldwide

***** Lantern (andon, choochin)

***** Stone lanterns in the garden (ishi dooroo) Japan


***** Bon, the Ancestors' Festival (o-bon)
Ceremonial use of lights, lanterns and candles in Japan.


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White Breath (shiraiki)

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White Breath (shiraiki)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: All winter
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation


breath is white, iki shiroshi 息白し (いきしろし)
white breath, shiraiki 白息（しらいき）




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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

shiraishi no inu mo yorokobu sanpomichi



the white breath
makes even the dog happy -
daily walk

©　蓮 さん Ren san
Tr. Gabi Greve

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Even the laundry room vent
exhales a white breath -
approaching winter.

©　John Thomas, 1999

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white breath
clear sunrise
the long parking lot

Haiku Writing Roundtable, Fall 2004

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Related words

***** Winter (fuyu, Japan)

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Sweet Osmanthus

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Sweet Osmanthus

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late autumn
***** Category: Plant

*****************************
Explanation




Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)
Sweet Olive, Tea Olive, Fragrant Olive

golden sweet olive, gold mokusei, kin mokusei
金木犀（きんもくせい）

fragrant olive, mokusei, 木犀 (もくせい)
flower of the mokusei, mokusei no hana
木犀の花（もくせいのはな）

silver mokusei, fragrant white olive, gin mokusei
銀木犀（ぎんもくせい）


light yellow mokusei, usugi mokusei
薄黄木犀（うすぎもくせい）


The origin of this tree is China, but now it is well loved to give some fragrance to the Japanese garden since the Edo period. The smell reaches far and therefore the flower is sometimes even called " "Smelling for seven (or nine) RI of distance" (七里香, 九里香).
A "Ri" is a little less than 4 kilometers or almost two and a half miles.

Gekkitsu ゲッキツ　(月橘): This is also the name of a tree of the citrus group with fragrant blossoms.

The bush has many small branches with many fragrant flowers of various colors, hence the names given above..

Gabi Greve

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The Sweet Osmanthus (Latin name: Osmanthus fragrans; also known as Sweet Olive, Tea Olive and Fragrant Olive) is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 5-12 m tall. It is native to Asia, from the Himalaya east through China to Japan.

The leaves are 5-10 cm long, entire or finely toothed. Its flowers, produced through the summer, are small (1 cm long), white, with a four-lobed corolla and have a strong fragrance.

It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens (both in Asia and elsewhere in the world) for its deliciously fragrant flowers which carry the scent of ripe peaches or apricots. There are two very fine examples in the public gardens in Menaggio on the shores of Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy.

The plant is semi- to moderately-hardy and will survive light frost but will not survive a prolonged or hard freeze.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


fragrant white olive


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

秋告げる香りはなってキンモクセ
aki tsugeru kaori hanatte kinmokuse

telling of autumn,
the scent of
kinmokusei

-Saeko Takada、Haiku Village 1998

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Walking to school
I smell a faint
of Kinmokusei

Sachiko Endou, 1996

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Vivo de prisa.
"kinmokusei" avisa
para, respira.

I live hastily
"kinmokusei" says
stop, breathe.

Ana Acosta, Mexico 2001



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Related words

***** oobai 黄梅 (おうばい) "yellow plum". Winter Jasmine
geishunka, geishun ka 迎春花（げいしゅんか）
flower to welcome spring
Jasminum nudiflorum
kigo for early spring


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Chill

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Chill , chilly, chilled

***** Location: Worldwide
***** Season: Various, see below.
***** Category: Season

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Explanation

There are various ways to express CHILL in Japanese, hie 冷 for autumn is the most common of them.
For some expressions, a month or season must be named especially to make them kigo.

Let us look at some.

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SPRING

chill on the cherry blossoms, hanabie
花冷 (はなびえ)
..... hana no hie 花の冷え（はなのひえ）


April chill

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SUMMER

chill during the rainy season, tsuyubie
梅雨冷え　（つゆびえ）

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AUTUMN

early or mid autumn

autumn chill, shuurei 秋冷)しゅうれい)
chilly, cool, hiyayaka 冷やか (ひややか)
to be chilly, hiyuru 冷ゆる (ひゆる)


late autumn

getting chilly and cold, sozoro samu
そぞろ寒 (そぞろさむ)
a bit chilly, a bit cold, yaya samu やや寒 (ややさむ)
somehow, somewhat chilly and cold, uso samu うそ寒 (うそさむ)

dew chill, cold dew, tsuyuzamu 露寒（つゆざむ）

evening chill, cold in the evening, yoi samu 宵寒 (よいさむ)

night chill, cold night, cold at night, yosamu 夜寒 (よさむ)
(yozamu - used by Issa / Lanoue)


on her free day
she wakes up alone
in a cold night . . .

Chyo-Ni about her prostitute friend


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WINTER

chill after a hot bath, yuzame 湯ざめ ( ゆざめ)
A traditional Japanese bathroom was not heated, so when you leave the hot water you have to dry and dress in the cold.

chill of winter


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

Fingers weaving winds
Into shawls of autumn chill:
Pine trees beckoning.

Michael R. Collings, USA

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kega no ashi kabaite yuzame hayakarishi

injured foot
coming sooner
chill after bath

(Teiko)

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身にしむやなき妻のくし閨に踏
身にしむや亡妻の櫛を閨に踏
mi ni shimu ya naki tsuma ni kushi o neya ni fumu

The piercing chill I feel:
My dead wife's comb, in our bedroom,
Under my heel.
Haiku Translation - Piercing Chill, 2005


quote
piercingly cold
stepping on my dead wife's comb
in the bedroom

The opening phrase, mini ni shimu (literally, to penetrate the body), is an autumn phrase that suggests the chill and sense of loneliness that sinks into the body with the arrival of the autumn cold and that here also functions as a metaphor of the poet's feelings following the death of his wife. The poem generates a novelistic scene of the widower, some time after his wife's funeral, accidentally stepping on a comb in the autumn dark, as he is about to go to bed alone. The standard interpretation is that the snapping of the comb in the bedroom brings back memories of their relationship and has erotic overtones.
But this is not about direct or personal experience. The fact is that Buson (1706-83) composed this while his wife was alive. Indeed Buson's wife Tomo outlived him by 31 years.
source : Haruo Shirane


I am pierced by the cold:
My late wife's comb
Lies underfoot, on the bedroom floor.
Tr. Thomas McAuley


The piercing chill I feel:
my dead wife's comb,
in our bedroom, under my heel...
Tr. Henderson


It goes into me --
the comb of my long gone wife,
to step on it in the bedroom.
Tr. Sawa and Shiffert



. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .
Taniguchi Buson (1716-1783)



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CHILL WIND, chilly wind
blows in many seasons, a haiku topic

leaving home--
a chill wind ruffles
the cherry blossoms

　©　Sue Mill

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Chill wind
blowing through the ruins of
New York skyscrapers

　©　HIROSHIMA HAIKU

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The chilly wind blows
The season begins to change
Winter's at the door

　©　the masked crusader

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chill wind
the young poet dies
a second time

chill wind whistles
around doors and windows
October song

　©　soji, shiki archives 2000

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In a chilly wind,
A long-distance race --
Runners' white breath.

　©　Tomoaki Ito, Japan

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Chechnya, February 2000

chilly morning
they bury in the mud
his bruised flesh

　©　Serge Tome

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chilly morning -
-------an eagle's talon
---------------nailed to the door

　©　Gabriel Rosenstock, 2003, Simply Haiku

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Related words

***** Cherry Blossoms (sakura, Japan) ... and many related kigo

***** ... Rainy Season (tsuyu) Japan

***** Autumn (aki) Japan, worldwide

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