Frozen waterfall

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奥山の　凍て滝の声　響きおり


deep in the mountains -
the frozen waterfall
still roaring






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Kannon Waterfall, 観音の滝


waterfall iced up, itetaki 凍滝
More kigo about freezing and frozen things


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But then, maybe I was thinking of the retired politician who moved to the mountain village.

Or our neighbours dog getting real old lately ...




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In a tradition that stretches back 700 years, local farmers in Hanamaki, Iwate prefecture measure the circumference of the frozen waterfall at Taroshi Falls to predict the yield of the year’s rice crop.

According to the conservation group that has kept track of the measurements since 1975, the largest measurement on record is 8 meters, taken in 1978. Warm winters in recent years have caused the ice to break apart, sometimes making it impossible to get an accurate measurement. This year, however, the frozen waterfall measures in at a respectable 5.5 meters, surpassing the 4-meter mark that indicates a plentiful harvest.

Hiroshi Itagaki, 74, head of the conservation group, says, “With all the depressing news about this year’s heavy snow, I hope this can serve as a message of hope for the country.” The conservation group’s mantra is a haiku which translates:

so magnficent —
this icicle before us
bulging with promise

　© [Source: Asahi Shimbun]



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Read my Haiku Archives from December 2006

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To the World Kigo Database