| meditating on a rainy day ... new green tea  |
The sad truth after the earthquake on March 11, 2011
first tea harvest -
the geiger counter keeps ticking
and ticking
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kigo for late spring
茶摘み chatsumi, picking tea leaves
茶摘歌 chatsumi uta, song of the tea pickers
chatsumime 茶摘女（ちゃつみめ）girls picking tea
In olden times, girls dressed in special kimono and headgear would go out to pick the tea leaves.
Click HERE to look at photos.
chatsumigasa 茶摘笠（ちゃつみがさ）straw hat of the tea pickers
chatsumikago 茶摘籠（ちゃつみかご）basket for the tea leaves
CLICK here for PHOTOS !
te hajime 手始（てはじめ）first picking (of tea leaves)
ichibancha 一番茶（いちばんちゃ）first picked tea
nibancha 二番茶（にばんちゃ）second picked tea
sanbancha 三番茶（さんばんちゃ）third picked tea
yobancha 四番茶（よばんちゃ）fourth picked tea
chayama 茶山（ちゃやま）mountain with tea plants
chayamadoki 茶山時（ちゃやまどき）time to go in the mountain with tea plants (for picking)
chatsumidoki 茶摘時（ちゃつみどき）time for picking (plucking) tea
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more kigo for late spring
seicha 製茶 (せいちゃ ) processing tea leaves
..... chatsukuri, cha tsukuri 茶つくり（ちゃつくり）
chamomi 茶揉み（ちゃもみ）massaging tea leaves
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
hoiroba 焙炉場（ほいろば）place for roasting tea leaves
hoiroshi 焙炉師（ほいろし）tea rosting master
cha no ha eri 茶の葉選り（ちゃのはえり）selecting tea leaves
kikicha 聞茶 (ききちゃ ) tasting tea ("listening to tea" )
..... kikicha 利茶（ききちゃ）
kagicha 嗅茶（かぎちゃ）smelling tea
..... kagicha 嚊茶（かぎちゃ）
cha no kokoromi 茶の試み（ちゃのこころみ）testing tea
after the tea leaves are processed, the first tea is tested in the company.
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新茶 shincha, new tea, fresh green tea
Tea Ceremony Saijiki
kigo for early summer
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Daruma san, 達磨さん、
the Indian Monk Bodhidaruma, founder of the Zen sect, practised Zazen for long hours.
When he got sleepy, he cut off his eyelids and threw them away.
Later he found a plant had grown out of them.
He collected the leaves and brewed the first tea
... says the legend.
. KIGO with Daruma San
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tea is a topic in coffee land Yemen.
So I need some kigo to point out when I drink it.
Here we use a tea glass.
the tea glass
warms up farmers' hands -
mountain dew
Heike Gevi
Kigo Hotline
. YEMEN SAIJIKI
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Shincha (新茶, Shincha), literally "new tea", represents the first month's harvest of Sencha. Over three quarters of all tea produced in Japanese tea gardens is Sencha, a tea selected for its pleasant sharpness and fresh qualities complementing a leaf of high uniformity and rich emerald color. Today Sencha is steam treated before further processing with hot-air drying and finally pan-frying.
Regions: Most regions make a number of kinds of Sencha, which are named according to the kind of processing used. Needle leaf Sencha is processed in Shizuoka and in the Yame region of Fukuoka. In other areas, including Kyushu, the comma-shaped leaf form is processed.
Popularity: Available for a limited time during the first crop of tea it is popular in Japan and is available in only limited amounts outside of it.
Flavor/Aroma: The earliest season Shincha (first month's Sencha harvest) is available in April in the south of Japan, and prized for its high vitamin content, sweetness and superior flavor. The flavour is full, robust, grassy and vegetal with a resinous aroma and minimal astringency.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !
More Reference !
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菅笠を着て覗き見る茶摘かな
suge-gasa o kite nozoki miru chatsumi kana
Tea-leaf picking:
Trying on her reed kasa,
She gazes in the mirror.
Shikou (1664-1731)
Tr. Blyth
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sanmon o dereba nihon zo chatsumi uta
outside the temple gate
it's Japan again!
song of the tea leaf pickers
. Tagami Kikusha 田上菊舎 .
Discussing the translation
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妻亡くし一人の夜の新茶かな
tsuma nakushi hitori no yo no shincha kana
I lost my wife ...
alone at night I drink
new green tea
Tr. Gabi Greve
© 樋口吉威 Horiguchi
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CLICK for more Japanese Haiga !
oshiego kara shincha todoku Shizuoka san
from my student
new tea arrives ...
from famous Shizuoka
Tr. Gabi Greve
© 石狼 Stone Fox
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Cross-cultural flowers ...
Green tea with milk and sugar ...
Stash Green Chai Spice
Indian Chai is enjoyed in cities and the smallest of villages, and is usually offered to every visitor to a home.
Chai is usually brewed very strong with lots of sugar and milk and often concentrated. Traditional Indian Chai combines rich black tea that is boiled in milk, and flavored with local spices such as sweet cinnamon, sharp clove, penetrating cardamom, and occasionally black peppercorns, pungent ginger and hot red chilies, and sweetened with sugar.
Chai can be both calming and stimulating, encouraging both conversation and relaxation. Stash Green Chai Spice lends a modern twist to the traditional Chai by blending Lung Ching or Dragonwell Chinese green tea with cinnamon, whole cloves, cardamom, ginger root and sarsaparilla. The result is a flavorful and spicy tea that goes well with milk and sugar and may be enjoyed any time of the day.
© www.stashtea.com/
Thanks to Cat for introducing this beverage!
Read more in my Daruma Museum:
The Old Tea and Horses Road from Yunnan to Lhasa
茶馬古道（ちゃばこどう) Chaba Kodoo
"West Lake Dragon Well" 西湖龍井
Tea from China: Lung Ching, Long Jing
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Daruma Doll and Zazen
座禅のだるまさん
© PHOTO : だるまさん色々
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More Daruma Dolls doing Zazen
These are clay dolls from Nakano.
中野土人形・座禅だるま
Photos from my friend Ishino.
Nakano clay dolls and Daruma
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More of my MEDITATION Haiku
. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2008
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