1/07/2008
Frosty morning
frosty morning -
sipping hot tea
sipping happiness
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. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2008
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1/05/2008
First Shrine Visit
初詣 first shrine visit - two beauties sourrounded by their beaux first shrine visit - the smell of incense in our hair |
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Join me here on my visit with a slide show:
(Take your time to visit ...)
. . . . . First Shrine Visit 2008 / Photo Album
Fox Shrine Saijo Inari, about one hours drive from my home
It is a mix of Shinto worship and main temple of the Buddhst Nichiren Sect.
We visited on January 4, just right between the first three day crowds and the next sunday crowds. Even though, just to get a parking space took about 45 minutes waiting in line. And the special fee for the parking spot was just ... well ...
The blend of Buddhist and Shinto worship is remarkable here. Everyone takes incence and puts a stick in front of each of the many small memorial shrines. Some throw coins on the roofs of two smaller shrines and if the coin does not fall down, they will have good money luck in the coming year.
O-Negai Yokocho
All kinds of talismans and lucky charms for any kind of endeavor are sold here. During the new year celebrations, there is even a special shopping mall for this.
The big sacred rope of the shrine (shimenawa) is renewed every year. Look at it in the album.
The weather was warm to start with but turned rainy by the time we left ...
Yet, in the end at our local Hachiman Shrine I found a rather special present waiting for me, hanging in the bark of my favorite cedar tree ... look at the last photo in the album.
And the car smelled of incense all the way back home !
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Saijo Inari Shrine
is one of the three most famous Inari shrines in the country, and is a noted Buddhist shrine for prayer. The shrine is located in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, a city famous for its picturesque views of the Kibi Plains.
The shrine was built around 1200 years ago by Houon Daishi. The main building of the shrine suffered losses from fire when Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked the Bichuu Takamatsu Castle during the Warring States period. Yet, since the patron deity of the shrine was hidden under the building in a secret compartment 8 tatamis large, and covered by rock slabs, it was kept safe from harm.
Since that time, the patron deity became famous across the country for its miraculous efficacy, drawing the faith of the masses. The deity is famous for answering prayers for success in business, traffic safety, and for increased scholastic ability. Every March during the "First Day of the Horse" Hatsu-uma Festival, the shrine overflows with people who have come to pray for luck and good health.
© nippon-kichi.jp
Japanese (written on the many red prayer flags):
最上位経王大菩薩
Saijoo Ikyoo-Oo Daibosatsu
(さいじょういきょうおうだいぼさつ)
. 最上稲荷 . Japanese Home Page of the Shrine
Thanks Gabi san!
Thank you, Angelee from India.
Read my Haiku Archives
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1/03/2008
Reflecting Life
初詣 first temple visit - reflections of a good life |
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Join me at the First Shrine Visit 2008 !!!
Fox Shrine Saijo Inari
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. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2008
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1/02/2008
DaiDai
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Color DAIDAI 橙色 だいだいいろ
#ee7800 in the BOX above
WKD : Rice Cakes for the New Year (kagami mochi)
. WASHOKU
New Year Food and Decorations
. New Year Decorations (o-kazari)
Read my Haiku Archives 2007
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1/01/2008
Happy New Year
明けましておめでとうございます ! All the Best for the New Year of the Mouse ! May we all learn to share our earthly bread evenly. |
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I was born in the Year of the Mouse!
I will complete the first circle of life!
The Details
The Year of the Mouse
Special Cloths to wear on my
Kanreki Birthday!
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|
“2008, why is it a mouse and not a rat?”
Sensei gets a knowing smile on her face.
“A mouse is a cute animal. No one wants to be a rat.”
And this is the distinction I will be making in America for the rest of my life.
We, in the year of the mouse, have the competitive edge of the rat, the desire to win, but the Japanese know we are also shockingly cute, cuddly, the kind of animal who not only stores the best and most cheese, but also stands under snow-covered cherry blossoms, asking happiness to rain down on their friends.
http://kyushuchronicles.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/year-of-the-mouse/
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Netsuke and Haiga from Emile Molhuysen
CLICK for enlargement
Thank you very much, dear Emile!
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Read about my Haiku Life in Japan
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BACKUP worldkigo 2008
World Kigo Database
..................................................................... December 2008
Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha) Yemen
cha no hana 茶の花 (ちゃのはな) tea blossoms Japan
Nettle tree (enoki) Japan
Dinner, dining, eating ... and more worldwide
Shoochuu 焼酎 (しょうちゅう) Shochu, strong distilled liquor, Schnaps
..................................................................... November 2008
Rabbit, hare (usagi), snow rabbit (yukiusagi) Japan
Kaninchen, Hase
Firefly squid (hotaruika, hotaru ika ホタルイカ(蛍烏賊))
Ika ... squid dishes
Fish roe dishes (hararago) Japan
Mamakari ままかり Fish dishes from Okayama
Satsumaimo, satsuma imo 薩摩薯(さつまいも)sweet potatoes
Uni 海胆 (うに) sea urchin and sea urchin roe (uni 雲丹). Seeigel
Kani 蟹料理 CRAB dishes Krabben.
Horse meat, baniku (ばにく/ 馬肉) basashi, sakuranabe
BUTA ... Pig and Pork (buta, ton 豚 ぶた)
Daruma Ramen, raamen ラーメン Chinese noodle soup
Ainu Food アイヌ料理
Tosa no Inakazushi (inaka sushi) 土佐の田舎寿司 sushi from the countryside of Tosa
..................................................................... October 2008
Ogata Korin Memorial Day (koorin ki)
Winter honey ... Yemen
Sunbirds... India
Pillow (makura, kukurimakura) Japan
Lobster Decoration (kazari-ebi, Ise-ebi kazaru ) Japan
Stone fish, bullhead (okoze)Fish. Japan
Leek (naganegi) green onions, scallion, porree Japan
Itokoni いとこ煮 boiled pumpkin with red beans Yamaguchi
Kiritanpo (kiritampo) きりたんぽ skewers of mashed rice. Japan
Inkstone (suzuri) Japan
..................................................................... September 2008
World Heart Day September 28
Night of Power, Lailatul Qadr / Lailat-Ul-Qadr Yemen
Shichirin 七輪 portable cooking stove Japan
Onigiri おにぎり rice balls Japan
Hanbaiki 販売機 vending maschines for food Japan
Praise, flattery (homekotoba, o-joozu) Japan
Eel dishes (unagi) Japan. Some are kigo
Burdock root (gobo, goboo) Japan. Arctium lappa
Sansai 山菜 Mountain vegetables
. . . Including
Hahakogusa 母子草(ははこぐさ) sweet cudweed
Kogomi こごみ kind of fern
Nobiru のびる (野蒜) wild rocambole
Tsukushi 土筆(つくし)horsetail plant
Warabi わらび(蕨) bracken, fern
Zenmai 薇(ぜんまい) Japanese Royal Fern
Mori no Megumi, Bountiful food from the Forest
Momotaro Nabe ... Peach Boy HodgepodgeMomotaro Haiku by Issa
Dumplings of all kinds (dango) Japan. Mitarashi dango
Yaseuma, "thin horse" wheat noodles from Oita
Fast Food Gourmet ... the Japanese Version
Inari Sushi (inarizushi) Japan
Kanro-Ni, kanroni, sweet simmering Japan
Tsukuda-ni, Tsukudani ... simmered in sweet soy sauce Japan
Konchu Ryori, konchuu ryoori Insects as food
Citrus fruits (kankitsu rui) Japan
mikan, ponkan, hassaku, sudachi, daidai, kabosu, iyokan, sudachi, yuzu, oranges and others
Interesting, exciting, entertaining, amusing ... (omoshiro ya) Japan
Hara hachibu ... eating only 80% of your capacity an Okinawan diet
Breakfast (asagohan, asameshi) Japan
Kitchen (daidokoro) Japanese Kitchen
Trout and sweetfish (ayu, masu, iwana and more) and salmon (benimasu) and yamame Japan
Hamaguri, clam shells, venus clams Venusmuscheln
Tsukiji, the big fish market in Tokyo Tsukiji shijoo
SHUN ... Specialities of the Season
Spring Chrysanthemum (shungiku) Japan
Rape flower pickles (nahanazuke)/ nanohana rapeseed flower dishes Japan
Hitashi, Ohitashi ... quickly boiled vegetables Japan
Cod (tara) and various food items Japan
Kogawa Festival, Kogawa Sai Wakayama, Japan
Brazier (jiko) Kenya
Sambosa, samosa Food during the Ramadan. Yemen
Ameyoko Cheap shopping alley, from Ueno to Okachimachi.
Mikan, mandarin orange, tangerine Japan
Senbei, sembei 煎餅 (せんべい) rice crackers, sweet and salty
Godairiki san festival at temple Daigoji Kyoto, Japan
Golden Pavillion, Kinkaku-ji Kyoto, Japan
GHANA SAIJIKI
..................................................................... August 2008
This month and the following months are full of FOOD kigo and topics,
since I am preparing a WASHOKU SAIJIKI.
Loquat fruit (biwa) Japan
Tonburi seeds from the summer cypress Kochia scoparia Akita, Japan
Donburi Bowl of rice with topping
Shiokara ... salty and pungent fermented fish pasteJapan
Jizake, local ricewine brands
Chopping board, cutting board, chopping block (manaita) Japan
SUMMER FOOD of Japan
Nara pickles (narazuke) and other tsukemono pickles. Japan
Myoga Ginger (myooga) Japan
Myoga Ginger Festival.
Spikenard, Japanese spikenard (udo)
Alfonsino fish (kinmedai) Beryx splendens
Higo zuiki 肥後ずいき dried taro root
Shippokuk ryoori 卓袱(しっぽく)料理 Shippoku dishes , shippoku cuisine
Sawachi ryoori 皿鉢料理 Sawachi cuisine, celebration food
katsuo no tataki かつおのたたき chopped katsuo fish
Gameni がめ煮 mixed boiled vegetables and chicken meat
Chinmi, special delicasies
WASHOKU : Regional Japanese Dishes
Egg, eggs (tamago) Japan
Cherry Blossom Time ... Food Kigo
Deafness-curing sake (jirooshu) Japan
Famine in spring (shunkyuu) Famine in Japanese History
Herring roe praparations (kazu no ko tsukuru) Japan
Mirin (sweet sake for cooking) Japan
Miso paste and related kigo Japan
Turban shell as food (tsuboyaki, yakisazae) Japan
Starwort in cooked rice (yomena meshi)Japan
Rice cakes (mochi) for SPRING a KIGO list
Namasu vinegar dressing (namasu) Japan
Mountain pepper (sanshoo, sansho) Japan
Water (mizu) Drinking Water of Japan
Drinks for summer Japan
Including sweet rice wine (amazake), beer, ice shavings with flavor (kakigoori), barley tea (mugicha), strong liquor (shochu) and many more
Soy Sauce, soya sauce Japan
Rice (gohan, meshi) as food. Japan
Flounder, sole (karei) as food. Japan
SUMMER ... preparing Japanese food
Including natto fermented beans, vinegar (su)
Spring pickles (tsukemono)
Including namasu dressing, dengaku, wasabizuke and many more
Tablewear for Couples rice bowls (meotojawan) / chopsitcks (meotobashi)
Food from the sea and the mountains (umi no sachi, yama no sachi)
Kitaoji Rosanjin, a cook and potter
Knife (hoochoo, waboochoo) Japan
Miso paste Japan
WASHOKU ... Japanese Food Saijiki
Naracha Rice Gruel Japan
Yuba, skin of soy milk Japan
Arisoumi coast, Ariso-Umi Japan
Grasshopper (Platyphyllum concavum, Gampsocleis buergeri) Japan
Autumn Food ... ... KIGO list
Winter food ... ... KIGO LIST
Roe, fish roe dishes (sujiko and many others) Japan
Yam potatoe dishes (tororo jiru) Japan
Temple Kokawadera and a Basho stone memorial
Pivot ... its use in waka and haiku
Kamakhya Temple near Guwahati in Assam India.
And other pilgrimages worldwide.
GHANA SAIJIKI
..................................................................... July 2008
Sweat (ase) Japan. Perspiration, transpiration and related kigo
Asakayama ... 安積山 Mountain near Koriyama, Fukushima pref. Matsuo Basho on his way ...
Demon's gate (kimon) ... Japan
Dinner tray (zen), box tray (hako zen) ... Japan
Nishiyama Soin and the Danrin School (Soo-In) 西山宗因, 談林派
Lottery, lottery ticket (takarakuji) Japan
Melon / cool melon / watermelon Yemen
Flood (koozui, aki demizu) .. Japan. Floods, flooding. Worldwide.
..................................................................... June 2008
Karma, the Net of Indra ... Indra Net, Inter Net ... :)
Indian paintbrush (Castilleja) North America
WKD : New England Saijiki
Naked Festivals (Hadaka Matsuri) Japan. LIST
Yui Town Big Drum Festival (O-Taiko Matsuri ) Japan
Urasa Naked Festival at Temple Fukoo-Ji (Urasa no Doo Oshi) Japan
Jazz Music North America
Violett and Purple : MURASAKI in Haiku Lady Murasaki Shikibu
Chameleon, Veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) Yemen
Shrine Tada Jinja ... and Matsuo Basho
Rice gruel (kayu) Japan
Toji, Temple Too-Ji in Kyoto Japan
Independence Day, June 12, 1898Philippines
Swallowtail butterflies (agehachoo) Yemen, Japan
Elm tree (Ulmus) Europa, North America
Kasuga Shrine Festivals (Kasuga matsuri, Wakamiya On Matsuri)
Rhode Island USA
Kuromori Kabuki ... 黒森歌舞伎 (くろもりかぶき ) Yamagata prefecture. Japan
Donzuki Matsuri ... どんづき祭 "Body throwing festival", Niigata, Japan
Hasedera no Tada-oshi ... 長谷寺のただ押し (はせでらのただおし)Hasedera Temple Festival, Sakurai, Nara, Japan
Takewari Matsuri ... 竹割祭 (たけわりまつり) Bamboo splitting festival. Japan
Kashihara matsuri ... 橿原祭 Kashihara Shrine Festival. Japan
Towns of India and haiku India
Dream (yume), First Dream (hatsuyume) Japan
Official, minor official (yakunin, koyakunin) Japan, Edo period
Kato Shuson (1905-1993)
Sand, hot sand (nessa) Japan
..................................................................... May 2008
Family altar, Buddhist family altar (butsudan) Japan
Spikemoss (iwahiba, iwamatsu) Japan. Sellaginella tamariscina
Iris, bearded Iris (Iris albicans) Yemen
Paper clothing, paper robes (kamiko) Japan
White Dew (shiratsuyu) Japan
Lawn, grass, turf (shiba) Japan. ... and related kigo
New Year Arrow (hamaya) Japan
Goto Takatoshi Takatoshi Gotoh
Trillium family of flowers (kinugasa soo) .. Japan. North America
Delhi, Old Delhi, New Delhi. India
Bombay, Mumbai . India
Lucknow . India
Kumano Road (Kumano Kodo Japan
Saga Dawa / Vesak Celebrations Buddhist Communities
Rhododendron (shakunage, sekinan ) Japan
Shimabara no taiyuu no doochuu ... Shimabara Geisha Procession (Kyoto)
Shimabara taiyuu no doochuu
Miyako Odori .. "Dance of the Capital" in Kyoto
Naniwa Odori ... Naniwa Dance in Osaka
Haru Matsuri .. Spring Festival. General
Azuma Odori .. Azuma Dance, Tokyo Dance
Kamogawa Odori .. Kamogawa Dance in Kyoto
Garden (niwa), Park (teien, tei-en) Japanese Garden, Zen Garden ...
Storehouse, warehouse (kura, dozoo) Japan
Masahide, Mizuta Masahide (1657-1723)
Shushiki (Shuushiki 秋色) (1668-1725)
Hi no Oka Pass (Hi no Oka Tooge) Japan
Sand skiing, dune skiing Yemen
Pinewood Derby North America
Barangay Fiesta Philippines. and The Santacruzan
Haiku Sweets (haika 俳菓) Japan
Ghosts (yookai, bakemono) Japan
Imagination in Haiku ... Theory
San Miguel Beer Philippines
Straw hats (dholas, kofias and hadrami) Yemen
Sunflower (himawari) Japan. Europa. North America
Four Directions (toozai nanboku)East, West, North, South
Dontaku .. Dontaku Festival in Hakata, Japan
Go, a board game, igo 囲碁 (Japan)
Green Week, Greenery Day (midori no shuukan, midori no hi) Japan
Cassia blossoms (Cassia fistula) India. ... amaltaas, bendra lathi, aragvadha and other names
Cockroach (gokiburi, aburamushi) Japan
..... and more summer insects and little animals ...
Turtle, turtoise (kame) Japan
Grains, the five grains (gokoku) Japan
Deutzia blossoms (u no hana, unohana) Japan
Bataan Beach, Bataan Day Philippines
Buddha's Birthday, Flower Festival, Flower Hall (kanbutsu-e, kambutsu-e, shuuni-e, hanamatsuri, hana midoo Japan. sweet tea (amacha) and more
Utamakura, Place Names in Japanese Poetry "Poetry Pillow Words", makurakotoba
PLACE NAMES used in Haiku Japan and Worldwide
..................................................................... April 2008
Nozawa Boncho 野沢 凡兆 (Nozawa Bonchoo, 1640? - 1714) and his wife Tome, Ukoo 羽紅
Bulbul bird (hiyodori) Japan, Yemen, Kenya and other regions
Grouse, snow grouse, "Thunderbird" (raichoo) Japan
Fish Market Philippines
Airlie Beach Australia
Olympic Games Olympics
Malaysia Haiku
Tourist, sightseer, traveller, visitor ... worldwide
Larks, various types Yemen
Beans in autumn kigo ... the plants also Peanuts plants. Ingen Mame.
Taal Lake Philippines
Tawilis (Sardinella tawilis) Philippines
Peanuts Japan, Philippines
Scilla, Siberian Squill (Scilla Sibirica) Russia, Europe.
Coconuts, Coconut palms Philippines, India
Higashiyama Culture and Haiku
Japanese Culture Week, 2008 Kenya
Ageing ... Kenya
Milkfish (Chanos chanos) also called Bangus. Boneless Bangus. Philippines
Flamingo Yemen
Snack served with tea (cha no ko, o-cha no ko) Japan
Botamochi Rice Cakes (Botamochi) Japan
Botamochi Ceremony
Water dragon, Physignathus lesueurii Australia
..................................................................... March 2008
Herring (nishin) Japan. Koorai Iwashi
Flame of the Forest (Butea monosperma, Delonix regia) Two Trees with orange blossoms
Tibet
Migrant fishermen (watari gyofu) Hokkaido, Japan
Irrigation Ceremony (minakuchi matsuri, nawashiro matsuri) Japan
Will-o'-the-wisp (kitsunebi, onibi) Japan
Groundbreaking ceremony (jichinsai, jimatsuri) Japan
Dawn in spring, Spring morning light (shungyoo, haru no akebono)
Spring morning (haru no asa, haru no akatsuki) and others
Holi Festival.. Dol Yatra (the Swing Festival)India. Also introducing Chillum and Bhang.
Jelly strips (tokoroten) Japanese Food
Blind Woman from Echigo (Echigo goze) Japan. Introducing haiku from Echigo
Manzai (New Year's Comic Performance) Japan
Polar bear = ours polaire (ou « ours blanc » ) Canada. Eisbär
Husky = chien de traîneau (ou « husky ») Canada
Kuroda Momoko 黒田杏子 Haiku Poetess
Chichibu Festival (Chichibu Matsuri
Chichibu Night Festival (Chichibu Yomatsuri)
Kobo Daishi Kukai (Kooboo Daishi Kuukai) and Esoteric Buddhism Japan
Neem blossoms, neem tree, magosa (Azadirachta indica) India. And Ugadi Pachadi
Saigyo Hoshi Memorial Day (Saigyoo Ki) Japan. Saigyoo Hooshi
Nightingale singing competition (uguisu awase) Japan.
Arii Shokyu-Ni(1713-1781) "the Nun Shokyu". Nagamatsu Nami, Kohakuan.
Kohakuan Fufuu, Arii Fufuu (1702 - 1762), her husband
Chomu (Choomu) 蝶夢 (1732 - 1796), a Buddhist priest shookyuuni shokyuuni shokyu ni
Kite, black kite, Milan noir (tobi, tombi) Japan. Milvus migrans
Amihan and Habagat Monsoon Philippines
Boomerang Australia
Insects awaken, insects come out, bugs come out, bugs wake up, insects appear again, insects stir (keichitsu) Insects wake up. Japan
..... Frost descends (sookoo)
Matsushima 松島Japan
Leap day, leap year (2008) February 29
Bud of trees, treebuds (ko no me, konome) Japan
Bat (koomori, kawahori) Japan
Stone wall (stonewall) (ishigaki) Japan
..................................................................... February 2008
Wheat and Barley (mugi) and related kigo Japan
Coral Tree Blossoms (Erythrina indica) Tiger's claw, Sunshine Tree. India
Common cold and flu (kaze) coughing, sneezing, God of the Cold. Japan, worldwide
Water tank (As-Saharieg) Yemen
Desert rose (Adenium obesum). Yemen
Utsu no Yama, Mount Utsu, Mt. Utsu near Okabe in Shizuoka, Japan
Three treasures of Haiku and ISSA
Temple Saimyo-Ji and Issa
I, the first person (ware, watakushi, ore) used in haiku Japan
Donald Keene
Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia Family . Yemen, North America
. . . . . Pakistan ... Haiku in Pakistan
Desert, sand desert Yemen
Canna lily Yemen
Dates, ripe dates from the Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) Yemen
Eid Al-Kabir, Aid Al Kabir Yemen
Khat, Catha edulis, chewing khat Yemen
..................................................................... January 2008
YEMEN SAIJIKI
Jasmine Yemen
Oleander (kyoochikutoo) Japan. Yemen
Rose of Sharon (mukuge) / Hibiscus (bussooge) Japan. Yemen
Toribeno Cemetery in Kyoto Japan
Sumidagawa River Tokyo, Japan
Tao Yuanming To Enmei, Chinese poet 365 - 427 陶淵明
Takeda Butsugai Fusen ... 1795~1867
Kamikaze, Divine Wind Japan
Dalia (daria) Japan, India
Salt (shio) and salted winter food Japan
Issa and the God of Poverty (bimbogami)
Naito Joso (Naito Joosoo 内藤丈草) (1662 - 1704)
Tattoo, Tatoo (irezumi, horimono) Japan
Garlic chives (nira) and its blossoms (nira no hana) Japan
Balls, decorative hand balls (temari) Japan. Ball catching song, ball bouncing song (temari uta)
KAMASU : straw back, tobacco pouch, Pacific sandeel (Ammodytes personatus) Japan
Swan (hakuchoo) Japan
Fatsia japonica blossoms (yatsude no hana) Japan, Japanese Aralia
Iida Ryuta (Iida Ryouta) 1920-2007
Iida Dakotsu, his father (1885 - 1962)
Buddha Dainichi Nyorai Ceremonies and kigo
First Day of the Tiger (Hatsu Tora ) Japan. visit to Kurama Temple in Kyoto on the first day of the tiger: Kurama hatsu tora mairi .. and related kigo
Pongal Spring Festival India. Kolam decorations.
Boma Homesteads Kenya
Juuni Shinshoo 十二神将 Twelve Heavenly Generals, 12 Warrior Generals
Bishamonten, Tamonten (Vaishravana) Japan. Bishamonten Festival, Messenger of Bishamonten
Song, singing (uta) Japan. A list of kigo.
First Poetry Meeting at court(utakai hajime)
Eid Al-kabir on the pilgrimage to Mekka
Lotus Temple Delhi
Issa and O-Take Nyorai お竹如来
... Kamakura, a Haiku Town in Japan
Flamingo Gulf of Aden
Night work (yonabe) Japan
Mallet for good luck (fuku tsuchi) Japan. Mallet for pounding cloth (kinuta)
Fulling block (kinuta) Japan.Pounding cloth. Mallet for beating straw (wara kinuta) and more
Onomatopoetic Words used in Haiku
Boxing Day Australia, New Zealand, UK
Basho and the Ukimido Floating Hall, Lake Biwa
Australian Seasons ...
Seasons Beginning ... Japan, a KIGO list
Long Life Ceremony (enjusai ) Japan
Inahata Teiko (1931 -)
President of the Japan Traditional Haiku Association
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Discussion Forum !!!!!
HAIKU INFORMATION BOARD
Current Events !!!!!
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12/31/2007
First Snow Roses
初雪や first snow ! the silence of my roses deepens |
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Roses and Clouds, December 26 !!!
Read my Haiku Archives 2007
rose snow
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First Snow
first snow ! the silence deepens |
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Read my Haiku Archives 2007
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12/27/2007
roses and clouds
sea of clouds - my roses breathe so carefully frost melting on my roses - the beauty of NOW winter roses - each petal has its own spark |
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The Art of Meditation in Taoism
Contemplative Taoists will be happily to sit with yogis and Zennists for as long as is reasonable and comfortable, but when nature tells us that we are 'pushing the river' we will get up and do something else, or even go to sleep...
... or even write a haiku ...
Basically, Taoist meditation is more like a sort of wisdom achieved by close observation of the things and phenomena in the world surrounding us. Such wisdom should help us go alongside with things and not against them, and is surely related to the wu-wei (nondoing) concept.
© www.taopage.org
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Read my Haiku Archives 2007
rose roses rose
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12/26/2007
Long Moment
winter morning - the long moment from dark to light |
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Version TWO
winter morning - this long moment |
from dark |
to light |
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Version THREE
winter morning - this long moment |
from birth |
to death |
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woke up too early today, enjoying the warmth in bed while staring at the window ...
Read my Haiku Archives 2007
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12/25/2007
dishevelled
winter morning - the dishevelled hair of my neighbour |
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She is about 65 and I meet her often on my morning walk up the hill to get the newspaper. Me in my checkered pajamas and her ... well, you see above a gentler version of it.
Read my Haiku Archives 2007
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Tradition - Kumari
coping with tradition - Kumari chews a bubble gum |
© PHOTO Kumari: Reuters Limited 2007
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Kumari, or Kumari Devi
is a living goddess in Nepal. Kumari literally means virgin in Nepali and was the name of the goddess Durga as a child. A Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya caste of the Nepalese Newari community. The Kumari is revered and worshipped by some of the country's Hindus as well as the Nepali Buddhists, though not the Tibetan Buddhists.
While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, and she lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The selection process for her is especially rigorous. The current Royal Kumari, Preeti Shakya, was installed on July 10, 2001 at the age of four.
A Kumari is believed to be the bodily incarnation of the goddess Taleju until she menstruates, after which it is believed that the goddess vacates her body. Serious illness or a major loss of blood from an injury are also causes for her to revert to common status.
© KUMARI / Wikipedia
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Today, December 24 in Japan, I read in the Japan Times about the child that likes bubble gum ...
KATMANDU, Nepal -
The living goddess likes bubble gum.
On a cold autumn evening, during a festival giving thanks for the monsoon rains, dozens of chanting worshippers pulled her enormous wooden chariot through the narrow streets of Katmandu’s old city. Thousands of cheering people pressed forward, hoping for a blessing. Drunken young men danced around her, pounding drums and shouting.
But the goddess — a child wrapped in red silk, a third eye painted on her forehead as a sign of enlightenment — took little notice of the joyous riot. Instead, she stared ahead intently, her jaw pumping furiously.
Then, finally, she blew a yellow bubble about the size of a plum.
Priti Shakya is 10 years old, the daughter of a family of poor goldsmiths. At the age of 4, a panel of judges examined her in a series of ancient ceremonies — checking her horoscope, searching for physical imperfections and, as a final test, seeing if she would be frightened after a night spent in a room filled with 108 freshly decapitated animal heads. She was not.
So Priti became a goddess, worshipped as the incarnation of the powerful Hindu deity Taleju, and going into near-complete isolation in an ancient Katmandu palace.
She will return home only at the onset of menstruation, when a new goddess will be named. Then Priti will be left to adjust to a life that — suddenly and absolutely — is supposed to be completely normal.
That is how it has been for nearly four centuries, in a tradition that held out against modernity even as Nepal, ever so slowly, began to change.
But modernity is coming, even to the goddess.
“We know there needs to be change,” said Manju Shree Ratna Bajracharya, the eighth generation of priest from his family to oversee the temple of the royal kumari — or virgin — as the goddess is commonly called.
“But this criticism of the tradition,
this is pure ignorance.”
Read the full article HERE
© mamimagazine.com
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If you choose to write Japanese haiku, it is your decision to do so.
If you choose to wear a Japanese kimono, it is your decision to do so.
But it is part of a tradition and culture which might not be your own and you may not know too much about the real background of this tradition and culture you are trying to copy and use. You might not even be able to read Japanese and have to rely on translations and secondhand information when trying to understand what JAPANESE HAIKU is.
While wearing this unfamiliar Japanese kimono in the subway of your own culture, you might feel it uncomfortabel and want to make it suit YOUR needs. So you cut off the long sleeves and then throw away the many belts, using just a leather bucklebelt maybe ... and the long skirts have to go, make this into a pair of short pants, after all, yours is a hot country ...
When you walk the streets like the emperor with "YOUR NEW KIMONO", well, it might be adjusted to the needs of your living sourroundings, but what is it now ...
well, maybe just another bubble of the worldwide Haiku Gum...
to be chewed with a grain of smiling salt !
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On second thought, you might try
a light cotton robe, yukata 浴衣 (ゆかた) !
The yukata is frequently worn after bathing at traditional Japanese inns. Though their use is not limited to after-bath wear, yukata literally means "bath clothes".
The Emperor's New Clothes
. Kanjak Ashtami Puja - India .
CHECK HERE
My Haiku Theory Archives
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12/24/2007
Die Blaue Blume
this blue shine by the roadside - winter walk friendly smiles for the weary traveler - Shikoku road |
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The Blue Flower (German: Blaue Blume) is a central symbol of Romanticism
wikipedia has more
Shikoku Pilgrims Road
Read my Haiku Archives 2007
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12/21/2007
sunny morning
winter morning <> I share a sunny moment just with myself |
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Read my Haiku Archives 2007
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nashi
like the big head of a small baby ... what is this ? ?? |
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Read my Haiku Archives 2007
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