Chrysanthemum Festival 9 9

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Chrysanthemum Festival (chooyoo)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Autumn
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

September 9, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month ...
Now mostly held in October, celebrating the end of the harvest time.

Now October 26, 旧重陽 Old Lunar Chrysanthemum Festival


It was one of the five special "double" days with double prime numbers, which are auspicious in the Lunar calendar,
like January 1, March 3, May 5 and July 7.


Chrysanthemums were introduced into Japan around the 8th century AD, and Emperor Gotoba 後鳥羽 (1180-1239) adopted this flower as his official seal.

Details are here :
. Chrysanthemum, Kiku, the PLANT and its kigo





露ながら 折りてかざさむ 菊の花
老いせぬ秋の 久しかるべく

tsuyu nagara orite kazasamu kiku no hana
oite senu aki no hisashikarubeku

Let's pluck and wear you,
O chrysanthemum flower,
while there's still dew --
that never-aging autumn
must then abide forever.

Ki no Tomonori 紀友則

The association of chrysanthemums with long life was imported from China along with their use in the longevity festival on the Ninth of the Ninth Month, which at the time fell some time in what's now October. According to Chinese folklore, drinking the dew off a chrysanthemum retarded aging or even, in some circumstances, granted immortality. Strictly speaking the wish is "for a (very) long time," but the effect (especially combined with "not aging") is close to "forever."

source : lnhammer.livejournal.com

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chooyoo 重陽 (ちょうよう) "double prime number nine"
..... chookyuu 重九（ちょうきゅう）"double nine"
Double Nine Day

kyuukyuu can also be writen 久久, meaning "long life".


kiku no sekku 菊の節供（きくのせっく）chrysanthemum ritual

kyoo no kiku 今日の菊（きょうのきく）chrysanthemum of today
..... kiku no hi 菊の日（きくのひ）day of the chrysanthemum
(Kyu Kyu Day)

chooyoo no en 重陽の宴（ちょうようのえん）
banquet in honor of the chrysanthemum

kiku no sake 菊の酒（きくのさけ）chrysanthemum sake

kariage no sekku 刈上の節供（かりあげのせっく）
seasonal festival to celebrate the end of harvest time




sankunichi 三九日（さんくにち）three days with a nine
..... mikunichi 三九日（みくにち）
. mikunichi nasu みくにち茄子（みくにちなす）
eggplants eaten on the three days with a nine

the 9th, 19th and 29th of the ninth lunar month, now placed in october.


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. kiku no kisewata 菊の着綿 (きくのきせわた)
"chrysanthemum cotton garment" 　
kiku no kisewata 菊の着綿 (きくのきせわた)
"chrysanthemum cotton blanket"
..... kiku no wata 菊の綿（きくのわた）chrysanthemum cotton
kiku no somewata 菊の染綿（きくのそめわた）

On the 8th of the 9th lunar month (one day before the Chrysanthemum festival) cotton silk floss covers were placed outside over the chrysanthemums to catch the evening dew. On the morning of the 9th, these garments were used to wrap the body of court ladies, a custom since the Heian Period. This was said to ward off evil and lead to a healthy ripe old age.
After this day, summer cotton garments were put away and the winter garments came into use.


. WASHOKU ... WAGASHI
Sweets called "Kisewata" 　



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okunichi (おくにち) "Honorable Day with a Nine"
okunchi おくんち、kunchi くんち
The ninth of the ninth month.
Nowadays often celebrated on the 9th of october.

This is especially celebrated in Kyushu,
Nagasaki Okunchi 長崎おくんち is the most famous, with parades and a lion dance.
It began as a celebration of autumn harvests in the late 16th century and became a shrine festival when Suwa Shrine was founded in 1642. Another purpose was to check for hidden Christians after the ban on Christianity. This is still evident today in the custom of garden showing (庭見せ, niwamise), when the presenting neighbourhoods open up their homes to public scrutiny ...
October 9 to 11
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



CLICK for more festival photos !

- - - - - famous festival floats (and toys)

. kujira no shiofuki 鯨の潮吹き whale spouring, blowing .

. Kokkodesho コッコデショ The Flying Drum .

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Hakata Okunchi 博多おくんち

Karatsu Okunchi 唐津おくんち
The festival, which begins on the evening of November 2 and concludes on 4th, features daily parades of fourteen hikiyama, massive floats in the form of samurai helmets, sea bream, dragons, and other fantastical creatures, all constructed from wood, lacquer, and other materials.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. Karatsu hikiyama 唐津曳山 festival floats as toys .


. Reference .


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takaki 高きに登る (たかきにのぼる) "climbing high up"

tookoo 登高（とうこう）
gumi no fukuro 茱萸の袋（ぐみのふくろ）bag with silverberries
gumi no sake 茱萸の酒（ぐみのさけ） sake with silverberries

An old Chinese custom with a wish for a long, prosperous life.
On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, a bag with silverberries was carried to a high place in the neighbourhood, then the fruit put in sake and the drink enjoyed as a toast to the deities.

gumi, a plant of the Elaeagnus family.
. . . CLICK here for Photos of the gumi bag offerings !


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tooka no kiku 十日の菊 (とおかのきく)
chrysanthemums on the tenth
kochooyoo, ko chooyoo 小重陽（こちょうよう）
"small chooyoo festival"
zangiku no en 残菊の宴（ざんぎくのえん）
banquet of the remaining chrysanthemums
gonichi no kiku 後日の菊（ごにちのきく）
chrysanthemums on the next day

This is also a custom from China, but it has not taken such a hold in Japan.

There is a Japanese proverb

muika no shoobu, tooka no kiku
六日の菖蒲 十日の菊
lilies on the sixth,
chrysanthemums on the tenth

meaning being late for an event, not to make it in time.


井寺や十日の菊に小盃
Miidera ya tooka no kiku ni kosakazuki

Temple Miidera -
for the chrysanthemums on the tenth
a small cup of ricewine

Morikawa Kyoroku 森川許六
one of the famous gread disciples of Matsuo Basho


Mii Temple 三井寺 Miidera and Haiku



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nochi no hina 後の雛 (のちのひな) "the next doll festival"
aki no hina 秋の雛（あきのひな）"dolls in autumn"
kikubina 菊雛（きくびな） chrysanthemum dolls

. Hina Doll Festival (hina matsuri 雛祭)
March 3 (the double three date)

In some regions, mostly in Osaka, Tokushima, Ise and others in Western Japan, it is custom to decorate the hina dolls on this day.
Others decorate them on hassaku, the first day of August.
Small straw dolls are also released on the rivers and along the coast in the evening.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !




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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way




Weddings in Taiwan on September 9, 2010

TAIPEI, Taiwan –
One hundred sixty-three couples in Taiwan were married in a mass ceremony at 9:09 a.m. Thursday, the ninth day of the ninth month of the 99th year since the founding of their republic.

The word for nine in Chinese sounds exactly like the word for longevity, so there was method in the decision by Taipei city authorities to organize the nine-nine-nine-nine-nine-nine nuptials when they did.
source : news.yahoo.com


double nine
and ninety-nine years -
how lucky you are !

Gabi Greve, September 9, 2010


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Double Ninth Day...
I step on the shadows
of newlyweds

Chen-ou Liu, Canada

Note:
Some people living in the rural areas believe that if you step on a shadow, you will bring bad luck, or even suffering, to its owner.



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HAIKU

早く咲け九日も近し菊の花
hayaku sake Kunichi mo chikashi kiku no hana

Chrysanthemum Haiku by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .



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山寺や糧の内なる菊の花
yamadera ya kate no uchi naru kiku no hana

mountain temple --
here, too, they serve
chrysanthemum petals
Tr. Chris Drake

This hokku is from the 9th month (October) of 1819, the year Issa chronicles in Year of My Life. Every year on 9/9 the Chrysanthemum Festival was held, and in the 9th month various exhibits of chrysanthemums were held. Chrysanthemum petals had been drunk since the ancient Nara period, and in Issa's time the wine drunk at the 9/9 festival with petals in it was believed to ensure long life. Chrysanthemum petals were also widely used as a side dish or sprinkled on salads, sashimi, sushi, tempura, and other dishes. The petals were also used in several herbal medicine mixtures.

Issa seems to have visited a secluded mountain temple that, like many other temples, provides meals to visitors, and he is surprised to find chrysanthemum petals even here. Presumably the petals have been sprinkled on vegetarian dishes at the temple and are a treat during the 9th month for both monks and visitors.

Chris Drake

. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


kiku no sake 菊の酒 chrysanthemum sake
. WKD : Edible blossoms, edible flowers 食用の花 .


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重陽やリヤドロ雛を床の間に　　
chooyoo ya riyadoro-bina o tokonoma ni

double nine day -
we decorate Lladro-dolls
in the tokonoma

source : 京羅坊（kyorabo)

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- For two good haiku friends -

to grow old
gracefully ...
chrysanthemum festival

Gabi Greve,September 2010
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Related words

***** Chrysanthemum (kiku)



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