Winter Ascetic Practises

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Winter Ascetic Practises (kangyoo)

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

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Explanation

Purification rituals of all kinds are common in Japan, from a simple shrine visit to a severe austere standing naked in prayer unter a cold waterfall or throwing buckets of water over your naked body in the temple ground.

Some of these acitivities occur as the last part of a winter ascetic retreat. Some are counted as "Spring asceticism" according to the Asian lunar calendar, some are part of a "Naked Festival" (hadaka matsuri).




Ascetic practises in the cold
winter ascetic pracitse, kangyoo 寒行（かんぎょう）
kan gori, kangoori 寒垢離 (かんごり) pooring cold water over yourself


kan segyoo 寒施行 (かんせぎょう) giving alms in the cold season
no segyoo 野施行（のせぎょう）placing food for the animals in the fields
ana segyoo 穴施行（あなせぎょう）placing alms food at the holes for animals
kitsune segyoo 狐施行（きつねせぎょう）placing alms food at the fox hole
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Usually some red beans and fried tofu (abura age) were placed out for the animals.

kayu segyoo 粥施行（かゆせぎょう） offering gruel to the poor



Shrine or Temple visit in the cold,
kan mairi 寒参 (かんまいり)
kan moode 寒詣（かんもうで）



"naked visit", hadaka mairi 裸参（はだかまいり）
Click thumbnail for more !



praising Amida in the cold,
kan nenbutsu 寒念仏 (かんねぶつ)
Amida Prayer (Namu Amida Butsu)



The Demon saying his prayers in the cold
Oni no Kan Nenbutsu, a famous painting from Otsu.


Even on a tokkuri sake bottle 一升徳利




and on a hyotan 瓢箪 gourd



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Waterfall Ascetism (taki shugyoo)


Naked Festivals (hadaka matsuri)


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HAIKU

寒垢離や首のあたりの水の月
kangori ya kubi no atari no mizu no tsuki

midwinter bathing--
his head, the moon
in the water

Issa
Tr. David Lanoue




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寒垢離や赤褌の男振り
kangori ya akafundoshi no otokoburi

ascetics in the cold !
the figure of a strong man
in his red loincloth
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

伊藤雄　Ito Takeshi
http://www.nhk.or.jp/haiku/html/haiku18-2-18.htm

. . . . . The Loincloth and Haiku


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闇を行く寒行僧の白づくめ
yami o yuku kangyoo zoo no shirozukume

only the white
of winter ascetic monks
walking in the dark

Tsukakoshi Shuukin 塚越秋琴
Tr. Gabi Greve




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Related words

***** The Loincloth (fundoshi) and Haiku

***** Naked Festivals (hadaka matsuri)

***** ***** Eihei-Ji Temple 永平寺 and Cold Zen


***** Saijiki of Japanese Ceremonies and Festivals
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Rooka, Saint Roka

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Memorial Day for Saint Roka

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

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Explanation

Memorial Day for Saint Roka,
Rooka Ki 浪化忌 (ろうかき)

November 17. (1672 - 1703)

寛文11年12月17日（1672年1月16日） － 元禄16年10月9日（1703年11月17日）

He was born in Kyoto. His boyhood name was "Shoo Maru" 正丸.
His haiku names are 自遣堂・応々山人・休々山人.

He was a monk of the Pure Land Sect and also a famous haiku poet. His father Takunyo 琢如（たくにょ) had been priest at the famous temple Higashi Honganji in Kyoto.



Zuisen-Ji village

He lived at the temple Zuisenji 越中国井波瑞泉寺, where he became abbot in 1677 at the tender age of 7. He often travelled to Kyoto to meet his father and his brother, both haiku students of Kitamura Kigin.
Later he became a haiku student of Mukai Kyorai, one of the 10 important disciples of Basho.

In 1694 he met Matsuo Basho for the first time at the Haiku Group in Saga/Kyoto, Rakushi sha 落柿舎（らくししゃ）and became his disciple.

He was very fond of Basho and built a memorial for him after the death of Basho. He received a bit of the hair of Basho as mememto and later build his recluse, "Black Hair Hermitage" Kurokami An 黒髪庵.


"Black Hair Hermitage"


His Haiku Publications
『Ariso umi 有磯海』『Tonami yama となみ山』




Japanese Reference


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HAIKU

Haiku by Roka himself

下積の　蜜柑ちひさし　年の暮
shitazumi no mikan chihisashi toshi no kure

the lower layer
of mandarins is rather small ...
end of the year

Haiku about Trees



いなづまの濡れて走るや砂の上
inazuma no nurete hashiru suna no ue

getting wet
and running from the thunderstorm
on the sand

Haiku about Sand
Tr. Gabi Greve


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More Haiku by Roka

「のら猫の声もつきなや寒の内」
「初春のおちつくかたや梅柳」
「待春や机に揃ふ書の小口」
「朝立つや鳥見かへれば雲にいる」
「一本をくるりくるりと花見かな」
「霊前に新茶そゆるや一つまみ」
「首立て鵜のむれのぼる早瀬哉」
「釣りそめて蚊屋のにほひや二三日」
「秋深し昼も馴れたる小夜着哉」
「賑やかに菊は咲きけり初しぐれ」
「柊の花のこぼれや四十雀」
「久々で野に出る馬や大根引」


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Related words

***** Kitamura Kigin 北村季吟


***** Memorial Days of Famous People
....... A WORLDWIDE SAIJIKI

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Pilgrimage to Kyoto

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Pilgrimage to Kyoto (Kyoo mairi 京参り )

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Non-seasonal Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

The Pilgrimage to Kyoto with its many shrines, temples and the Emperor's palace was among the three famous pilgrimages during the Edo period, 庶民の三大行事.

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The other two were


Ise Shrine Pilgrimage, O-Ise-Mairi, Ise Mairi 伊勢参り
kigo for spring

Ise sanguu 伊勢参宮（いせさんぐう）

O-kage mairi お陰参り　（おかげまいり）
"Thanks pilgrimages" or "blessing pilgrimages," a term referring to periodic mass pilgrimages to the Grand Shrines of Ise (Ise Jingū) in the Edo period, undertaken against the backdrop of the spread of the Ise cult (Ise shinkō) from the middle ages and the general acceptance of pilgrimages by commoners to the shrines at Ise.

This kind of mass pilgrimage phenomenon is believed to have been observed some fifteen times through the early modern period, including the years 1638, 1650, 1661, 1701, 1705, 1718, 1723, 1730, 1748, 1755, 1771, 1803, 1830, 1855, and 1867. Of these, the four in 1650, 1705, 1771, and 1830 have traditionally been considered of the largest scale, with over two-million pilgrims participating in 1771.
Another characteristic of these pilgrimages is the consciousness that they were to occur every fifty to sixty years, in rough conjunction with the sexegenary cycle.

The term okagemairi is said to have become commonly used from around the time of the 1771 event, and while the expression nukemairi ("slipping away pilgrimage," one taken without permission) is also used, the two terms were normally discriminated based on their different motifs. In 1867, the pilgrimage tended to be more local in nature, and it tended on the whole to have the characteristics of a mass movement during a period of social revolution, in which "world-renewal dances" gained popularity in conjunction with the concurrent fad of the so-called eejanaika movement (an antinomian folk movement with millenarian overtones).

In sum, each occasion of the okagemairi tended to feature its own unique motifs. The significance of the term okage is not clear, but it appears to have referred either to the "blessings of the Grand Shrines," or to the fact that the pilgrimage was possible due to the "blessings of others," (namely, money and other alms given to pilgrims along the way).
©　Sakurai Haruo / Kokugakuin


nuke mairi 抜参（ぬけまいり）
leaving secretly and beg your way to Ise, often done by eloping couples to pray for their wedding

saka mukae 坂迎え（さかむかえ）
Ise Shrine Group, isekoo 伊勢講（いせこう）
daidai koo 太々講（だいだいこう）pilgrims group for Ise shrine
..... Isekoo いせこう【伊勢講】
Daidai kagura was performed at Ise shrine.


. Ise Shrine and its KIGO
Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢神宮, Ise Jingu)



. O-Kage Mairi Dolls .

　Woodblock Prints about Ise Mairi
External LINK

. Isemairi, Ise Mairi 伊勢参り Pilgrimage to Ise - Legends .


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Konpira Shrine Pilgrimage, Konpira Mairi 琴平参り
Konpira Shrine and Daruma

Palanquins of Konpira Shrine and Haiku



MAIRI 参り　 is usually a pilgrimage to a famous Shinto shrine.
Since free travel of commoners was not allowed during the Edo period, a pilgrimage was usually a good excuse to get away.



Kyoto 京都 and Haiku


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RESOURCE GUIDE TO
JAPANESE PILGRIMS & PILGRIMAGES
Mark Schumacher


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HAIKU

短夜を橋で揃ふや京参り
mijika yo wo hashi de sorou ya kyoo mairi

in the short night
crossing bridges en masse...
Kyoto pilgrimage



おとし厄馬につけたりいせ参り
otoshi yaku uma ni tsuketari ise mairi

the devil driven
from a horse...
Ise Shrine pilgrimage

Issa is referring to the great Shinto shrine at Ise. As part of a winter exorcism ritual, a priest is driving away evil spirits--from a horse.

Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


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Related words

***** Pilgrimage (henro, junrei) Pilgrims in Shikoku,
Japan and worldwide

. Pilgrimages in Japan - Introduction .

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Nakayama Gishu

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Nakayama Gishu

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

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Explanation

Gishu Memorial Day, Gishuu Ki 義秀忌 (ぎしゅうき)
August 19.


Nakayama Gishuu, 中山義秀（なかやまぎしゅう)

Takama Yoshihide 議秀（よしひで）was his real name.

1900年10月5日-1969年8月19日.



Born in Fukushima prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University Department of English Literature.
He worked as an English teacher at junior high school.

Novelist and Poet.
Akutagawa Literary Award winning writer.
After the war, he began to write historical novels about samurai life.

He became ill with cancer, but still found energy to write about Basho and haiku:
Bsshoo-An Toosei 芭蕉庵桃青.

On the day before his death he was baptised a Christian.

After his death, a literature prize was established in his name.

Nakayama Gishuu Bunka Gakushoo
中山義秀文学賞（なかやまぎしゅうぶんがくしょう）

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


His grave is at the temple EngakujiTemple (円覚寺), Shoreiin (松嶺院) in Kita-Kamakura.


More English LINKS

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Nakayama Memorial Hall in Shirakawa, Fukushima






Postcard from a walk to the Memorial Stone at Narita San Park
成田山公園

人老ゆれば　自然に風物寛寛恕たり


©　真間山弘法寺


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HAIKU



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Related words

***** Introducing Japanese Haiku Poets　


***** Memorial Days of Famous People
....... A WORLDWIDE SAIJIKI


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Temple Ishiyamadera

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Temple Ishiyamadera - "Stone Mountain Temple"

***** Location: Shiga, Japan
***** Season: See below.
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation


Autumn at Ishiyama -
by Hasegawa Sadanobu 長谷川貞信 (1809-1879)


The fireflies of Ishiyamadera , Ishiyama botaru
石山蛍（いしやまぼたる）are a
kigo for mid-summer


Ao-oni hotaru matsuri 青鬼蛍祭
Green Demon and Fireflies Festival
Ao-oni matsuri 青鬼祭り festival of the green demon
observance kigo for mid-summer

Second weekend in July.
This festival originated after WWII, in the "Hotarudani" 蛍谷 of the temple compound, in memory of the famous priest of the Heian period, Roochoo ritsushi 朗澄律師.

A demon figure, five meter tall and made of green cedar branches, is displayed at the main gate of temple Ishiyamadera.
This represents the figure of Roochoo, who had promised to protect the Buddhist law from the disturbances of the Green Demon.



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Ishiyama-dera 石山寺
Ishiyamatera, Ishiyama-Tera

Literally "Temple at Rocky Mountain"


©　Quoted from : /vallance22.tripod.com


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quote
"Stony Mountain Temple" is a Shingon temple in Ōtsu in Japan's Shiga Prefecture. This temple is the thirteenth of the Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage.
It was constructed around 762 CE, and is said to have been founded by Rōben.
The temple contains a number of cultural assets. According to literature available at the temple complex, the guardian carvings at Sanmon/Todaimon are by Tankei and Unkei. Allegedly, Murasaki Shikibu began writing The Tale of Genji at Ishiyama-dera during a full moon night in August 1004. In commemoration, the temple maintains a Genji room featuring a life-size figure of Lady Murasaki and displays a statue in her honor.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Quote
Set on the side of a mountain overlooking Lake Biwa, Ishiyama-dera temple was a popular pilgrimage in Murasaki's day. It was founded in 749 and is headquarters of one of the Shingon Buddhist sects.

The temple is mentioned in the Ukifune chapter of The Tale of Genji and is the 13th temple of the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage.

Murasaki is said to have begun writing The Tale of Genji at Ishiyamadera Temple on the night of the full moon, August 1004. To commemorate this event, the temple maintains a Genji Room with a life-size figure of the author at work.



The temple's tahoto (treasure tower) was built by Minamoto Yoritomo in the Kamakura period, and is the oldest of its type in Japan.

Ishiyama-dera is particularly beautiful during the cherry-blossom season. The temple's buildings and gardens are spread out over the mountain side.

Look at most beautiful photos here :
©　www.taleofgenji.org





"Fire Lamp Window" and Ishiyamadera
火灯窓 Katomado

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The famous rocks, which give the name to this "Stone Mountain Temple", are made from Wollastonite, keikaiseki 硅灰石.

ISHI might be translated as stone, rock.






More LINKS about this temple.


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Fudo Myo-O and Ishiyamadera


不動明王坐像


不動明王二童子像

source : takashikun.blogspot.jp


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Things found on the way

haribukku, haribuku, haributsuku 貼仏供（はりぶっく））
Buddhist offerings pasted on a frame


source :　www.ishiyamadera.or.jp

These specially prepared dry sugar sweets (higashi 干菓子) in the form of chrysanthemums, peonies, plum blossoms and other seasonal flowers and auspicious animals like cranes, , which change each spring and autumn.
The special shop which prepares them since the Edo period uses wooden molds more than 200 years old.
The colors are mostly pink, white, yellow, green and blue.


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HAIKU

Matsuo Basho wrote this famous haiku when he visited the temple in the winter of 1690 and got caught in a hailstorm

石山の石に　たばしる　あられかな
Ishiyama no ishi ni tabashiru arare kana
霰 arare

scattering on the stones
of Mount Ishiyama -
these hailstones
Tr. Gabi Greve

Here is a memorial stone of this haiku and the real view of these stones:




©　歌碑・句碑 / kahitokuhi

...

A local sweet was later created with some types of sweet beans, using the name "Tabashiru" :



©　石山寺[和菓子と甘味処] 茶丈藤村 sajo-towson

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Two translation versions by Norman Darlington

hail showers down
on the rocks
of Rocky Mountain


showering down —
hailstones on the stones
of Ishiyama

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Other translations, compiled by Larry Bole:


The hailstones
Glance off the rocks
Of the Stony Mountain
Tr. Blyth



Hailstones
glancing off the rocks
at Stony Pass.
Tr. Robert Hass

Hass comments:
"Hailstones: Hard things hitting hard things in a hard place.
Mountain passes were mysterious places in old Japanese culture, inhabited by boundary gods and placatory shrines, sometimes with the carved figure of a man and a woman coupling."



flying down
on the stones of Stone Mountain:
hail storm
Tr. David Barnhill

Barnhill's literal translation of "tabashiru" is: "shower-down."



Visiting temples with
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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Ishiyama, literally, means "Stone Mountain".
MORE ABOUT
Translating Place names

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Here is another poem of Basho using "stone mountain",
this time from another area of Japan.


石山の石より白し秋の風
ishiyama no ishi yori shiroshi aki no kaze

autumn wind
whiter than the white cliffs
of this stony mountain
Tr. Gabi Greve


Matsuo Basho at Temple Natadera 那谷寺, Northern Japan
Read a discussion of this haiku !


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Related words

***** The Tale of Genji, Genji Monogatari ... and haiku

***** Sweets from Japan (wagashi)


***** Saijiki of Japanese Ceremonies and Festivals

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August 1 (hassaku)

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"August 1" (hassaku)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Mid-Autumn
***** Category: Season / Humanity

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Explanation

hassaku 八朔 (はっさく)
first day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar

. Lunar Months and the Saijiki .


Nowadays it corresponds to the first of September in its climate, and thus has become a kigo for mid-autumn.
It is the 210th day after the beginning of spring, as a seasonal festival it is
nihyaku tooka 二百十日.
From this day on, strong typhoons are hitting Japan and farmers begin fearing for their harvest (and livelyhood).
. nihyaku tooka 二百十日の風祭り wind festival on the 210th day .
- Iwate


In the rural Japan of old, the ceremonies at the seasonal changes were very important for strengthening the bonds with the gods and among the farmers.

In the old lunar calender, the very first day of a month, when there was no moon, is called SAKU　朔 or tsuitachi. The first day of the eighths month is hachigatsu sakuhi 八月朔日, shortened to HASSAKU.
Ceremonies held on this day are also called like this. They have an old tradition in rural Japan to honour the rice paddies, which are just about beginning to bear fruit.

In rural areas, this day is also called
"special day for the fruits of the fields" (ta no mi no sechi 田美の節)
..... ta no mo no sechi 田面の節 たのものせち (tanomo)
..... ta no mi no sekku 憑の節供たのみのせっく (tanomi)
Farmers bring the best fruit of their harvest to the landowner to celebrate and wish for a good harvest coming autumn. TA NO MO is a play with words of an invocation to the gods for a good harvest "tanomimasu".

Workers would bring small paper dolls,
hassaku ningyoo　八朔人形 to their masters in an act of gratefulness.


Grandparents would make a straw horse for a baby boy who was born in the past year. Nowadays many splendid horses are for sale.

. . . CLICK here for Photos of Hassaku dolls !

. Hassaku Dolls 八朔人形 from Sano town, Tochigi .

. Iki no hassakubina, hassaku hina 壱岐の八朔雛
hassaku Hina dolls from Iki Island .
Nagasaki

. hassakubina, hassaku hina 八朔雛 .
Fukuoka


. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .

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This rural custom may have spread to the nobility and townsfolk in the Edo period. It then became the custom to bring small presents to those who are close to you in your work.
They also ate and served each other sweet Hassaku Mochi 八朔餅　dumplings in the knowledge that from now on the autumn harvest with a lot of extra hard and long work would come for most ... and maybe the taste of the mochi was a bit bitter in this expectation.
. . . CLICK here for Photos of the dumplings!　


ceremony of Hassaku, hassaku no iwai 八朔の祝
Harvest Festival, Hassaku sai 八朔祭

special vessel for giving a present to the wet nurses who feeded a person as a baby, other than the own mother, ebokai 絵行器（えぼかい）
Bokai were special vessels for carrying food around.

© PHOTO ainu museum japan

In these vessels, food and the following handmade animals were given as presents:

"manmade colored sparrow", tsukuri suzume 綵雀（つくりすずめ）
"manmade pheasant", tsukuri kiji 造り雉（つくりきじ）
"manmade heron", tsukuri sagi 造り鷺（つくりさぎ）


"princess melon doll", hime uribina 姫瓜雛（ひめうりびな）
"princess melon day", himeuri no sekku 姫瓜の節句（ひめうりのせっく）
Small white melons are painted with a powdered white face, cloths are draped around bamboo sticks to make them look like little princesses. This is a custom still practices in Kyoto.


special kimono worn for this day, hassaku no kosode
八朔の白小袖（はっさくのしろこそで）
..... for men the black official kimono with the family crest. Since it is still rather hot on this day, men sweat a lot during the ceremonies.
Even the ladies of the Yoshiwara quarters would wear light, often white robes or large white belts and visit their sponsors. Nowadays, Hassaku is celebrated in the Gion quarters of Kyoto, where the maiko walk around in light white kimono.



© PHOTO http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sya5017

Click HERE for some photos of the girls !


white ceremonial hat, hassaku no shiro katabira
八朔の白帷子（はっさくのしろかたびら）
Worn during the Edo period by the officials and regional lords for this festival.


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The term hassaku refers to the first day of the eight lunar month and the term hassaku matsuri encompasses a variety of observances held to ask the gods (kami) for a plentiful harvest.

The hassaku matsuri at Matsu-no-o Shrine (Matsunoo Taisha) in Nishikyō Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture is held on the first Sunday of September-which is actually numerically one month later than the traditional first day of the eight lunar month. The Tanomi shinji (田の実) held on September 13 at Aguchi Shrine in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, is also a hassaku festival, in which local farming households offer the first ears of rice harvested.

Likewise, on September 1 Iwakiyama Shrine in Iwaki Town, Naka-Tsugaru County, Aomori Prefecture, and Dewa Sanzan Shrine in Haguro Town, Higashi-Tagawa County, Yamagata Prefecture perform rituals called Tanomosai (田面祭) to secure a bountiful harvest. Moreover, Ono Shrine in Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture, holds a similar ritual on hassaku called Tanomosai (田母祭), whereas a Hassaku matsuri is held on hassaku both at Ōhirasan Shrine in Hirai District, Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture, and at Ōarai Isozaki Shrine in Ōarai Town, Higashi-Ibaraki County, Ibaraki Prefecture.

These and other cases demonstrate the ritualization of the lay custom of offering newly harvested grains to kami on hassaku and "entreating" (tanomu) them for a bountiful harvest.
　©　— Mogi Sakae, Kokugakuin University.




八朔祭（8月31日）Hassaku Ceremony August 31
Dewa Sanzan Shrine in Haguro





Hassaku matsuri at Oishi Fudo-In
大石不動院
Mie prefecture, Matsuzaka town, Oishi village
This festival has a tradition of more than 200 years.
Prayers are said to prevent damage from storm and water, for a good harvest, for the safety of the region and for a prosperous family.
It starts on August 31 and the main event in on September 1.

source : hudouinn

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Tea Ceremony

When Tokugawa Ieyasu entered the castle of Edo in 1590, his retainers and the feudal lords were invited for a congratulating ceremony. Red ceremonial rice (sekihan) was served as food for the townspeople.
In memory of this day, the students of a tea ceremony master come to visit him on this day.

Special food was served on this occasion, a rice gruel called
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.
These words are also kigo for the season.

For the Sen school of tea, there is also a special tea ceremony on this day (and the first of January), when the ten supporting craftsmen (juushoku　十職) of this school are invited to celebrate the bond of their continuous support.
The long bonds between the Raku family, making tea cups (rakujawan 楽茶碗) and others are well known.

The kettle used for this tea ceremony is called
hassaku gama　八朔釜

External LINK
Tea Ceremony at Ura Senke with the 10 Artisans

... ... ...

In the creative aspect of the art, it is the iemoto who sanctions new utensils and styles for use within the school and can forbid the use of unrecognized objects and utensils made by unsanctioned craftsmen. Utensils are developed through relationships with established craft families (Senke Jushoku) as well as new artisans whose work meets his standards.

Each iemoto establishes his preferences (konomi mono) in utensil types and designs, these then become part of the utensil repertoire available for students. Through authentication (hakogaki), he establishes a sense of taste. Other ways of exerting influence over the utensils used for chado are through officially recognizing certain craftsmen and utensil dealers and encouraging members to patronize these people, by engaging in utensil sales, by assisting museums and other exhibitors in displaying utensils for public viewing, by providing assistance to scholars and researchers of the arts, and through financial support to individuals and institutions which promote the study and practice of chado.

By being the authority and definer of chado's symbolic content, the iemoto perpetuates the art through an hereditary system that enables continuity and creativity.

Read more here
© By Barbara Lynne Rowland Mori


***** Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記　

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Hassaku Doll Festival at Nio Village

仁尾八朔人形祭り


© PHOTO http://gamma.de.takuma-ct

Click HERE to see more photos !

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

八朔や治水神社の日照雨
hassaku ya Chisui Jinja no sobae ame

Hassaku Ceremony !
at the shrine Chisui
it rains and shines

Gendai Haiku
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Click HERE for photos of this shrine !

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八朔や馬具に結はへし守札
hassaku ya bagu ni yubaeshi mamori fuda

hassaku ceremony -
I bind the lucky talisman
to the harness of a horse

Shimogawara Shoo 下河原勝
(Tr. Gabi Greve)



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Related words

***** Hassaku orange (hassaku kan 八朔柑 or zabon)
a citrus fruit
kigo for spring
Look at some PHOTOS HERE !


八朔や分けてあげたい自由時間　　
hassaku ya wakete agetai jiyuu jikan

hassaku orange -
I would like to share it,
my free time

Shizuko しずこ
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

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***** Hassaku Plums (hassaku bai 八朔梅)
"red from China" kara kurenai　唐紅花 からくれない
"red from Korea" kara kurenai 韓紅花
kigo for mid-autumn

A kind of plum that came via China to Japan a long time ago. It flowers arount the first of August, with a specially full blossom (yae 八重) and the flowers might last as long as December.


Teabowl called "Korean Red" 韓紅花 からくれない Rose Red

©　PHOTO ちゃわんあそび



***** Fields, rice fields, rice paddies (ta) and haiku

***** Red ceremonial rice (sekihan)

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kigo with moxabustion


. . . . . . . . . August second


getting a moxabustion on August second
nochi no futsuka kyuu　後の二日灸
kigo for mid-autumn


getting a moxabustion on February second
futsuka kyuu 二日灸
spring moxabustion, haru no kyuu　春の灸
day for the moxabustion, kyuu suebi 灸据え日
..... yaitobi やいと日
kigo for mid-spring


© PHOTO Copyright(C)1995-2006 Echizenya Co.,Ltd.

This day relates to the second day of the second month, according to the Asian lunar calendar. If you receive a moxabustion on one of these days, it is supposed to be a hundredfold more powerful for your health.
Modern dates may place this custom on the second day of March and September.
Moxibustion / the Wikipedia



Oku no Hosomichi
- - - Station 1 - Prologue 出発まで - - -
with a moxa on his shins . . .
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

ashi no sanri　足の三里　the point SANRI on the leg, ST36
there is another SANRI one on the arm.


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yaitobana 灸花 (やいとばな) "moxa flower"
hekuso kazura 屁糞葛（へくそかずら） "smelling fart vine"
Paederia scandens
plant kigo for late summer


doyoo kyuu, doyookyuu 土用灸 (どようきゅう)
moxabustion on the doyoo day
... doyoo mogusa 土用艾（どようもぐさ）
... hooroku kyuu 焙烙灸（ほうろくきゅう） moxa with a horoku pot
kigo for late summer


hooroku plates for moxibustion ほうろく灸
and Jizo Bosatsu




Hitotsu Yaito ひとつやいと one moxabustion
for the tired monks and lay people. With the wish for health in the coming summer.
at temple Zuiryu-ji 瑞龍寺 Zuiryuuji.
Takaoka town, Toyama prefecture 富山県


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kankyuu 寒灸 かんきゅう moxabustion in the cold
... kan yaito 寒やいと（かんやいと）
kigo for late winter


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kigo for the New Year

初灸 はつきゅう first moxabustion
... hatsu yaito, hatsuyaito 初やいと


yaitoshoogatsu, yaito shoogatsu 灸正月（やいとしょうがつ）
moxabustion on the New Year


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source :　michiko328


月花の愚に針たてん寒の入
tsuki hana no gu ni hari taten kan no iri

Matsuo Basho　松尾芭蕉、1692, age 49

into my moon and flower
folly, I'll drive a needle:
start of deep winter
Tr. Barnhill


acupuncture
for flower-moon foolishness -
the cold weather's sting
Tr. Addiss


MORE
. - Basho and the Acupuncture needles - .



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



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やまの娘に見られし二日灸かな
yama no joo ni mirareshi futsuka kyuu kana

getting my February moxabustion -
a maiden from the mountains
looks on

Takahama Kyoshi 高濱虚子


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でこぽんのでこぽんでこの二日灸
dekopon no dekopon deko no futsuka kyuu

pon pon and again
pon pon on my forehead -
moxabustion on the second day

Gendai Haiku Collection
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

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From the opening passage of
Basho's "Oku no Hosomichi:"

"Possessed by the spirits of roving which wrenched the heart, beckoned by Doosojin, unable to settle hand on anything, I mended a tear in my pants, replaced a cord in my hat, burned my shins with moxa, and then with the moon of Matsushima rising in my mind..."

(trans. by David Barnhill)

Doosojin, the Wayside Gods and Haiku 道祖神


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WASHOKU
Hassaku Oranges and other food

***** . Mugwort (yomogi) for moxabustion .

***** . PLANTS - - - the Complete SAIJIKI . 　


. . . . AUTUMN
the complete SAIJIKI


. Dates used in Haiku and Kigo .


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Saito Mokichi

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Saito Mokichi Day

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

1882年5月14日（戸籍では7月27日） - 1953年2月25日 February 25）
He was a famous Tanka Poet.
He was the family doctor of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and assisted in his suicide.

Mokichi Memorial Day, Mokichi Ki 茂吉忌 (もきちき)

Saito Mokichi / FACTS





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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


茂吉忌に重なる父の忌を修す　
Mokichi Ki kasanaru chichi no ki o jusu

Mokichi Day
the same as my father's death aniversary
to remember and pray

©　泉　靖子 / Izumi Yasuko
Tr. Gabi Greve

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龍太忌茂吉忌二月二十五日
Ryuuta Ki Mokichi Ki Nigatsu Nijuugo Nichi

Ryuta Day
Mokichi Day - February
Twentyfifth


©　藍生主宰句
Tr. Gabi Greve


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Related words

***** Memorial Days of Famous People
..... WKD SAIJIKI

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Gioo the Dancer

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Day of Gioo the Dancer (Gioo Ki)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Memorial Day for Gio, the mistress of Kiyomori

Gioo Ki 妓王忌 (ぎおうき)
Gioo Ki 祗王忌（ぎおうき）

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Giō and Hotoke
The story of Giō and Hotoke is long and involved, but basically tells of the most famous shirabyoshi Giō, who had won the heart of Taira no Kiyomori, being ousted by a younger and more talented shirabyoshi named Hotoke. Kiyomori cruelly sent Giō away, which grieved her greatly, and Hotoke was constantly ridden with guilt.

A year later, Giō was asked to perform a dance for Hotoke at Kiyomori's command, who actually intended on humiliating her. In her grief and humiliation, Giō, her sister and their mother became nuns seeking for a happier life. A few years later, the guilt was too great for Hotoke and she became a nun. She asked for forgiveness from Giō, who willingly forgave her and the four women lived out the rest of their days in prayer.



Shirabyoshi (白拍子)
were female dancers that performed traditional Japanese dances (also called "shirabyoshi") dressed as men. The profession of shirabyoshi developed in the 12th century. They would perform for nobles and high-ranking samurai, and at celebrations.

They are sometimes referred to as courtesans in the West, but the term refers to a high-class prostitute, so this is rather incorrect. By nature they were performers, though some shirabyoshi would give birth to nobles' children, but this was not their purpose.

Shizuka, a famous shirabyooshi, commonly referred to as Shizuka-gozen, was the concubine and lover of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the tragic hero of many folk legends.

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !




Dolls: Gio and her younger sister Gijo
祗王とその妹の祗女



............................. The song of Dancer Hotoke

"A delicate young pine at her first meeting
With him who is her Lord, through joys and tears
Sings of her hope that he may hear the beating
Wings of the passage of a thousand years;
While storks upon the tortoise island stand
And crowd the lily pond to seek his hand."


Read all the details here
THE STORY OF GIO

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shirabyooshi 白拍子 Shirabyoshi Clay Doll
34 cm high

. Dolls from Shimane 島根県 .
Nagahama 長浜土人形 clay dolls


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Things found on the way



Taira Kiyomori and the Genpei War


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HAIKU

妓王忌のミッキーミニーのペアカップ
Gio ki no mikkii minii no pea kappu

Gio Day -
pair cups of
Mickey and Minnie

©　Gendai Haiku Kukai





Japanese are very fond of pair cups. Usually, they are called "Couple's cups" meoto yunomi 夫婦湯のみ for husband and wife. Now boyfriends and girlfriends use them when they live together. Usually the one for the wife is just a bit smaller.
We also have rice bowls for couples in the same way.
Click on this thumbnail to view some more samples.


Traditional Tea cups for Couples


More about Happy Couples (meoto, fuufu) in Japan :
Meoto Daruma and the Takasago Legend 夫婦だるま


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妓王忌の苔に結べる春の露
香燿子



妓王忌や屈託もなく若き声
Gioo Ki ya kuttaku mo naku wakaki koe

Gio Memorial Day -
this young voice
so carefree

君不去
Tr. Gabi Greve



妓王忌とおもふ渚のうつぼ草
吉田紫乃

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- quote -
Dancer, Nun, Ghost, Goddess
The Legend of Giō and Hotoke in Japanese Literature, Theater, Visual Arts, and Cultural Heritage
Roberta Strippoli, Binghamton University
Dancer, Nun, Ghost, Goddess
explores the story of the dancers Giō and Hotoke, which first appeared in the fourteenth-century narrative Tale of the Heike. The story of the two love rivals is one of loss, female solidarity, and Buddhist salvation. Since its first appearance, it has inspired a stream of fiction, theatrical plays, and visual art works. These heroines have become the subjects of lavishly illustrated hand scrolls, ghosts on the noh stage, and Buddhist and Shinto goddesses. Physical monuments have been built to honor their memories; they are emblems of local pride and centerpieces of shared identity.
Two beloved characters in the Japanese literary imagination, Giō and Hotoke are also models that have instructed generations of women on how to survive in a male-dominated world.
- source : brill.com/products/book... -


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- quote -
Temple Gio-Ji - The Ladies’ Temple in Saga
- snip -
... I discovered a Basho renku about the Nonomiya Shrine in Saga, west of Kyoto, ...
... I translate “Gio dera” to “ladies’ temple” in a stanza by Basho taken from linked verse, known as renga.

Her hair gone,
chamberlain’s daughter
grown weary

Storm over Nonomiya
ladies’ temple bells

The Grand Chamberlain (Jijū) is a chief functionary of the Imperial court, and aide to the Emperor of Japan. He also keeps the Privy Seal and the State Seal, but his high rank does not prevent his daughter from experiencing the travails of life. She cuts her hair and escapes to Saga, at the foot of Mount Arashi (Storm Mountain) where there are many temples. Because “Gio” sounds like “Gion,” the stanza in Japanese recalls the famous opening to the Tales of the Heike:
“The bells of the Gion Shōja echoes the impermanence of all things…. The proud do not endure, like a dream on a spring night, the mighty falls at last, as dust before the wind.”

The Gion Shōja (or Jetavana) temple in India is where the Buddha gave most of his discourses. This passage is usually said to portray the fall of Kiyomori and his clan from power and wealth to exile and death – however the words well apply to the tale of the four dancers who became four nuns.

Basho sets up the opposition of storm and bells. The first is wild, violent, uncaring; the second deep, steady, and unifying. The storm represents the arrogance and intimidating behavior of men such as Kiyomori; the bells are the steady, focused energy of women. A bell, shaped like a uterus, is clearly female. Temple bells, with their reverberations of up to a full minute, are conducive to meditation, and have become a symbol for world peace. “Bells,” as final word of the verse, resounds through the weariness of the daughter as well as the violence of the storm. In “bells” there is resolution.

When I visited Gio-ji, I spoke to a priest who pointed out that the temple has no bell, so in Basho’s stanza we hear the bells of many temples in Saga combining their reverberations. While Gio-ji lacks a bell, it does have a beautiful moss garden which you can walk through but not touch. The temple is a twenty minute walk from Arashiyama Station which is a fifteen minute ride on the JR Sagano Line from Kyoto Station. There are statues of the four women, and their graves; they remained together for eternity. Maybe if you are there in the evening, you will be able to hear the kindness of Gio, the wisdom of Lady Buddha, the solidarity of the four women, in the temple bells of Saga. Furthermore, through this renku pair, we can explore the multi-faceted issue of gender politics, the ways men use their power to dominate women, the adaptations of women to survive, the chamberlain’s daughter who seems to be alone in her weariness, the ladies who found happiness in sharing their lives of devotion.
- source : Jeff Robbins 2017 -

Giō-ji 祇王寺 Temple Gio-Ji
Kyoto, Ukyō-ku, Sagatoriimoto Kozakacho, 32


... Tiny Gio-ji Temple is one of the most scenic spots in Arashiyama. The thatched-roof main hall overlooking a moss-covered grotto is a magical sight.


. Matsuo Basho Archives 松尾芭蕉 .


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Related words

***** Memorial Days of Famous People
....... A WORLDWIDE SAIJIKI

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