10/30/2006

Autumn Colors

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autumn colors -
a yellow butterfly
on a purple aster




Earlier on this morning, with a sea of clouds





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Gabi, the colors in ll.2-3 are not the ones l.1 led me to expect -- which makes your ku all the more effective for me.

Best, Bill

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That was just the intention, Bill !
The backdrop of my mountain is autumn colors now, but my garden, still a symphony of different colors. This year is mild and many many flowers are just spectacular. The Bees and the Butterflies are still very acitve.

Expectations are really a BAD thing, because they often make us overlook what is really in front of our noses and eyes ...

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KIGO

Autumn (aki, Japan)

. Autumn Leaves (momiji, Japan) yellow leaves, colored leaves



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10/28/2006

Clouds down the Valley

  







雲海や 棚田の朝を迎えおり







the sea of clouds -
a special morning in my
terraced rice fields







My home, the famous terraced rice fields of West-Ohaga.






The Sea of Clouds in my own Garden


My home in Okayama, Ohaga  大垪和 道の駅


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10/26/2006

Stone Buddha Momiji

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野仏に 紅葉の降るる 山暮らし


red maple leaves
falling on the stone Buddha -
my mountain life


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Nobotoke, Stone Buddha Statues in the fields, imbued with prayers for a good harvest, to pacify the Gods of the Elements.
A lot of them represent Jizo Bosatsu.

We find modern versions also at a roadside place where a deadly accident has taken place, to pray for the rest of the souls lost here.

Along the old pilgrims paths of Japan, many of the stone Buddhas mark the graves of unknown pilgrims (muenbotoke 無縁仏) .



World Kigo Database: Autumn leaves (momiji)


More of my haiku about Stone Buddhas

Doosojin, the Wayside Gods



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10/25/2006

Sea of Clouds

  







early morning
with an aching tooth ...
what a splendour !








pink autumn clouds -
I blow you a kiss
where ever you are






















ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo


the sea of clouds .. unkai .. 雲海










Thank you for an aching tooth, forcing me to get up early
... and NOT to miss this !


The YOU in this haiku is not directed at my human friends, mind you.


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早起きし 君、朝化粧 深山かな

getting up early
your morning makeup
deep mountains

sakuo nakamura


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More CLOUDS in my Valley, the Tanada



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10/24/2006

Autumn Rain

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autumn rain -
the smell of dead leaves and
mother earth



autumn butterfly -
a flurry of white
amongst the red roses




late autumn sunset -
the sickle moon pops up
behind a pine



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autumn rain -
the smell of dead leaves and
mother earth

I like this ku very much.
[dead leaves] is translated as ochiba 落葉。
I don't like the sound "Dead"
because the dead smells odd scent.

Can I have another English word ?

Sakuo

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Dear Sakuo san,
my husband just did kusakari, cutting the weeds and the whole garden smells lovely...

as for the dead leaves, I did not make it OCHIBA, fallen leaves, on purpose. It seems too .. light .. here for what I want to express.

I want to contrapose the dead-ness of late autumn with the life power of mother earth.
Also, I have autumn rain as a kigo, so ochiba would be another.

Ochiba, the falling leaves, for me are the read and colored leaves that whirl around in the wind and that I sweep away every day. In that way, they are still some sort of alive and moving around.

Dead leaves are the ones lying on the same place for a while, with rain and sun turning them to a rather black color. They do not move any more in the wind and just hang on to become compost for the next year. In that way they are motionless and dead.

And the dead leaves here smell wonderful ... of new promising things coming spring, of mushrooms growing inside their warmth now, of little insects and animals hiding under them ...

GABI

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Advise from an American friend:

I liked your explanation of your haiku and could smell the mulchy scent of rotting leaves. I agree than fallen leaves doesn't capture what you're trying to show. Your leaves are rotting, turning to mulch, turning back to the earth.

But the leaf is dying as soon as it breaks from the tree that feeds it. To be honest, I have a problem with 'dead' too, I think. According to your prose you saw 'blackened leaves'. Wouldn't this show death and mulchy rotting leaves too?

Does rain indicate late autumn in Japan? I did not see late autumn in its deadness at all. My own experiences are that rain and autumn create glistening colorful wet leaves.
I wonder if you shouldn't include 'late autumn rain' to make the picture blacker and less confusing with what we consider beautiful autumn, not dead at all. But it may be different in Japan! I'm thinking of my autumn rains.

late autumn rain—
the scent of Mother earth
and dead leaves

Or.. grin, 'blackened leaves" :-)

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From Isabelle:

To me, this ku is beautiful, just as it is, and "dead leaves" says to me just what Gabi explains in her reply.

The discussion did, however, make me wonder how best to convey the same idea in German. "Tote Blaetter" would probably hold the negative connotations raised in the discussion...

Herbstregen --
der Duft von verwesendem Laub und
der Mutter Erde


The idea is a kind of "living dead-ness"... as the rotting process leads to new life.


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. Fallen leaves (ochiba)


. Autumn Leaves (momiji) yellow leaves, colored leaves


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10/21/2006

aki no yado

  



人生や 我が家もただの 秋の宿 







Oh, the Human Life !
my own home just another
lodging for autumn








This house of a sword smith is near my home. It gave rise to this haiku.

If you are interested in Japanese swords,
check my article here !


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Still struggeling with the proper English:

The first line is a rather .. strong .. translation of the YA in Japanese.

jinsei ya
wagaya mo tada no
aki no yado

the Japanese version could also read

jinsei ya wgami mo tada no aki no yado

wagami 我が身 ... my human body


aki no yado, an inn, a lodging. Herberge in German would be appropriate.


I want to express that my home (anyones home) is just a temporary shelter, like a temporarily used resthouse or hotel on the road of life.
The same holds for the human body (wagami).

And I feel like being in the autumn of my life right now ... close to 60 ... and winter coming soon ...


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Larry qoutes Mark Twain on the subject

"Oh, this human life, this earthy life, this weary life! It is so groveling, and so mean; its ambitions are so paltry, its prides so trivial, its vanities so childish; and the glories that it values and applauds- lord, how empty!"

- No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger


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Norman has even translated this haiku into Esperanto

ho, homa vivo!
mia propra hejmo nur
aŭtungastejo


Norman Darlington
Translating Haiku Forum  



Japanese - Esperanto Dictionary
エスペラント訳日本文学作品目録
- Reference -


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わが宿は蚊の小さきを馳走かな
waga yado wa ka no chiisaki o chisoo kana

In my cottage the mosquitoes are small;
That is all the good cheer I can offer.


For his pupil Aki no Bo, a Buddhist priest of Kanazawa, when visiting Genju-An near Lake Biwa.
..... This verse is interesting as it well represents the poet's simple life.

Classic Haiku:
An Anthology of Poems by Basho and His Followers
Asataro Miyamori
source : books.google.co.jp



source : languagegallery.blogspot.jp

Feast at my lodging
Celebrate the petiteness
Mosquito boarders

Tr. Sharon Hahn Darlin






at my hut,
all that i have to offer you,
is that the mosquitoes are small

Tr. ? nonature



in my home
even the mosquitoes are small—
feasts for a guest

Tr. Reichhold


dans ma cabane,
tout ce que j'ai à vous offrir
c'est la petitesse des moustiques

Tr. haicoutoujours


(This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.)

. Matsuo Basho - Archives of the WKD .


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. autum melancoly - a kigo for haiku .




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10/19/2006

Cotton Rose Face

  


。 芙蓉の顔 。 






there is no mirror
to reflect your beauty -
cotton rose face










Read about the Cotton Rose Face as KIGO


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there is no mirror
to reflect your beauty <>
mother godess


The Mother Godess


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10/18/2006

Goldenrod 2006

  






goldenrod -
the wilderness alive
with sunshine














Goldenrod (seitaka awadachisoo), a KIGO



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Autumn leaves

  






autumn leaves -
a last ray of sunshine
in the woods








ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo









This might read as a simple description of my autumn walk in the forest.
Yet it refers the final part of a human life that starts with autumn, the loneliness that comes when the sunray is gone ... and a lot more. Haiku should convey a human feeling within the phenomenon of nature, as Kyoshi teaches us.

The Basics of Haiku



Autumn leaves, momiji, as KIGO


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10/16/2006

Dragon Branches

  



秋深し 大地に下りる 竜の枝







autumn deepens -
Dragon branches reaching
down to mother earth














Read more Dragon Haiku


Temple Entsuu-Ji in Kagamino . 円通寺
My Photo Album



. More DRAGON photos .



.

dragon branches
in the new spring
in the old pond


. Park Walk in Tsuyama .

MORE
Dragon Branches in the Lake - PHOTOS .




***** . Autumn dusk (aki no kure) Japan


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10/13/2006

Waterwheel

  




天高し 谷間に密そむ 水車小屋






bright autumn sky -
a waterwheel abandoned
in the valley








It is a sad sight indeed to find these traces of life,
now put to rest,
in the beautiful valleys of Japan.
The elderly population is no longer capable
to keep them up and running ...

They are the symbol of the problems of rural Japan !








Takadono, Metal Manufacturing Hut in Koshihata  



My Photo Album
Koshihata Valley, Okayama, October 2006



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humanity kigo for all summer

CLICK for more photos

suisha fumu 水車踏む (すいしゃふむ )
treading the water wheel

..... fumizuisha 踏水車(ふみずいしゃ)

Many water wheels in the Edo period had to be activated by hand, or rather, by foot. Balancing on top, holding on to a pole and stepping from one step to the next.



CLICK for more images of Japanese water wheels .

Wasserrad
Wassermühle (suishagoya)

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dooryoku suisha 動力水車 waterwheel for pounding

soozu 添水 "water provider"

The inner part of the water mill with the hammer to pound and hull the rice was called



sakonta 左官太 / 左近太 / さこんた
sakontaroo 左近太郎 Sakon Taro
sako no taroo 迫の太郎 Sako no Taro

The hammer, mallet was also used to pound earth for pottery.


左近太の嬉々と働く春の水
sakonta no kiki to ugoku haru no mizu

the watermill hammer
moves along happily -
water of spring

Tr. Gabi Greve

Etoo Toyoko 江藤豊子 Eto Toyoko
source : haikudaisuki

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山梨県 - 山中湖村花の都公園
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


- reference -

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Hokusai - Mount Fuji

Rice brokers
Rice polishing by water mill in early modern Japan.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


- quote
" History of Watermills in Hino"
by Sadako Ueno

Watermills in Hino were often described in Kawano Nikki (diary) (from the 2nd year of Keio (1866) to the 45th year of Meiji (1912). I read various diaries including the ones by Keisai Irako and Tamizo Tachikawa, ancient texts, and other documents on watermills in Tokyo Metropolitan Archives. Furthermore, I often put down what I heard and I really got interested in watermills in Hino. History of watermills somewhat suggests history of Hino. At the end of Edo Era, watermills built on irrigation channel of Hino were used for grain cleaning of rice and oats.

Amano Watermill built in 1937, was unique because it was set on a narrow waterway (mawashi-bori) cut from the irrigation channel with difference of height, and water flew through a house. Water volume can be controlled at the intake, enabling to draw only the amount needed to drive the watermill. People usually lived in a private watermill; however rich inhabitants sometimes employ a residential staff. A shared watermill was 2x3 Ken (1ken=about 1.8m), with 4 to 6 rice motors and the mill wheel set outside rarely had millstones. People set rice in turn in the morning, and sometimes stayed at the watermill overnight when graining was not finished because of lack of water. In the Meiji Era, watermills were built in almost every village. Shared watermills were sometimes owned by a half stock; two people used it in turn. They could sell or buy the stock. The family who operated such watermill had often the family name, "Kuruma".

Because the watermill machine was expensive, rich village officers usually manage the watermills and grained for neighborhood charging the rate. The application for a watermill was submit to a local governor within a territory of government of Edo. Building a watermill was difficult because it was required to obtain the approval from Nanushi and villages which had water right, and land owners of surrounding fields. Furthermore, payment to the government was also required. Watermills were built at the east end of Hinojuku, where houses were not found. They grained rice free for neighborhood as a compensation for the resulting noise.

In private watermills, people bought rice from neighborhood and milled to sell to a neighbor town, Hachioji, where demands for rice increased as the growth of population occurred along with the boom of silk industry since the Meiji Era.

An indoor water wheel of 3.4m diameter was driven in the Kaneda watermill (No.17), with 30 rice motors milled rice. Ancient texts show that three watermills existed in Nishi-Hirayama of the Edo Era. Also, large-scaled watermills were lined through No.16 to 22 along the Watermill Street where horse carts and carts came and went carrying rice for mill and milled rice. This area still retains the townscape at the time with old houses and narrow streets.
The watermills for twisting thread existed in Hirayama and Takahata. Hachioji had more watermills than in Hino, most of which were for fabrics with smaller water wheels about 1.0m diameter.
- source : eco-history.ws.hosei.ac.jp

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rice ground with a stone mortar of a water mill named

Daruma An だるま庵

- source : www.sadomon.com/SHOP



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水車小屋伏香炉 incense burner in form of a water mill

Bizen pottery from the kiln Darumagama 備前焼 だるま窯
- source : toukian.seesaa.net


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日本一の水車・大分県 The Biggest Water Wheel of Japan - in Oita

思い出にカッタンコットン水車小屋
omoide ni kattankotton suishagoya

memories
of kattan kotton
of the water mill


- source : naraken10.blog55


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source : www.rakanneko.jp/buson

舂や穂麦が中の水車
usuzuku ya homugi ga naka no mizuguruma

pounding grains -
in the middle of the barley ears
a waterwheel


. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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India

gharat or water flour mills
run on a stream’s kinetic energy to turn the shaft of the grinding mill.The water is diverted from the stream or river along a channel or canal to the water wheel. The force of the water’s movement drives the blades of a wheel or turbine, which in turn rotates an axle that drives the mill.

The Gharat abounds in remote villages in the Indian Himalayan region. Communities that currently use them are concerned that the clean, low-cost technology might vanish altogether as it hasn't managed to capture the attention of policymakers.
source : www.thewaterchannel.tv


quote
The somewhat subdued rolling sound of a continuous friction between heavy stones near the river betrays the presence of a gharat nearby. These gharats have a momentous role in utilization of mechanical power from water streams mainly for grinding purpose.the gharats originated somewhere in the Northeast region around the 7th century. But there is no consensus over the date.
Currently gharats are in wide use in the whole of the Himalayan range and the Northeast. The populations of the Himalayas, from Afghanistan to Myanmar, still live predominantly in agricultural economies, often at subsistence level. The need for milling is reasonably well served by traditional watermills spread throughout the region. According to some estimates there are over 500,000 watermills in this entire region.
source : www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala



above the grind
of the ancient gharat
the miller's song




Angelee Deodhar

. WKD : India Saijiki .

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10/10/2006

Misty Morning 01

  






mystery morning -
the valley smiles
in the autumn sun















Misty Morning, Part 2

Misty Morning, Part 3

In Memoriam
Marella Ram Vinodh (YAJUSHI)



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Misty Morning 02

  



a late wanderer -
the full moon
over my bamboo








full of hope
we all wake up -
bright autumn morning







Misty Morning Part 1

Misty Morning, Part 3

In Memoriam
Marella Ram Vinodh (YAJUSHI)



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Misty Morning 03

  







misty morning -
a black and white world
behind the graves














I dedicate this series to Yajushi.
I had written this haiku for him last night

autumn deepens -
a last sunray
on the pines

when I found the sunray this morning over the grave ...

In Memoriam
Marella Ram Vinodh (YAJUSHI)




Misty Morning Part 1


Misty Morning Part 2


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silence of listening




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bright autumn day -
listening to the silence
of stones growing older







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Inspired by this quote:

In the silence of listening,
you can know yourself in everyone,
the unseen singing softly
to itself and to you.

Rachel Naomi Remen
http://www.rachelremen.com/




SILENCE as a Haiku Topic


More of my Stones:
Mitoku San, Temple Sanbutsu-Ji


Read my Haiku about SILENCE !



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10/09/2006

Mantis for Lunch

  






love is over -
now she has lunch
in the autumn sun






ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo



hey you two !
anyone wants to
play with me?






ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo


a final bite -
his last leg twitches
for a last time










Look at the full sequence of photos
!! HERE !! Nr. till Nr. MAN21.




Praying Mantis (kamakiri), a KIGO


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