Haiku and Happiness - - - Happiness and Haiku

Welcome to my Haiku Gallery !

2009-12-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

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I will try to show you my home in Japan
and other interesting things Japanese,
sorted into some common topics.

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... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Contents

Amida Buddha 阿弥陀如来

Anemones ... アネモーネの朝露

ANIMALS in my Haiku life COLLECTION

April 2007 ... Archives

..... Asian Haiku Trevelogue
China, Taiwan, Thailand and more .....

August 2007 ... Archives

Autumn Days 。。。秋の天高し

Autumn Festival 2005 秋祭り、境神社

Autumn Flowers 2002　秋の花
..... Autumn Flowers 2005 　雨粒と花　Raindrops
..... Autumn 2005

Autumn Leaves 2005 紅葉

Azalea and Shaka つつじとお釈迦様

Badgers / Tanuki in my Garden 2005 狸

Bamboo 竹の物語

Begging Monk ... Takuhatsu 托鉢

Birds, our Birds 鳥の話. Our Roof. 我屋根

Black Sheep 黒き羊 and black swan

Bonsai 盆栽

Bridges .. 橋

Buddha's Footprints (Bussokuseki) 　　仏足石

Buddha in the winter light / February 2009 Tibetan wooden statue

Buddha's Voice Frog 仏の声の蛙

Buds in Winter 冬の命
..... Dry Flowers 冬の命

Camellia / Tsubaki 椿

Carpet Meditations 2007

Cats in Paradise .. O-Tsu and Haiku-Kun お津と俳句くん

Cat and the Mouse .. Fun with my Computer

CHINA 中国の旅
..... My Asian Haiku Travelogue: China
..... Autumn Memories Keilin, Guilin 桂林

Cicada Birthday 050725 　蝉の誕生　semi セミ

Cold Morning 　寒い朝、2006

Cooking a Cat ! 猫と一杯, 2005　夏

Cherry Blossoms <> Sakura .. 桜　桜　桜 2005

Cherry Blossom Lake Saigyo and our Lake 西行法師 2005

Cherry Blossom Road 桜道　2005

Chrysanthemums, Fireworks 花火菊 2005

Clouds in my Valley 谷に雲

Clouds after the Rain Chinese Ink Painting, July 2005 中国の墨絵

Clouds at Lake Tomada 雲と池の早春 2005
.... Small Lake in Autumn colors, Namu Amida Butsu !

Cold coming back 寒戻り　2005年3月

Cold Samui 寒い朝 First time below zero, 2005

Cosmos Flowers 　コスモス、秋桜

Mt. Daisen 2005 , Beachflowers and WIND

Death and Last Haiku

Decoration Flowers Takahashi Temples, 0507

Dew Tsuyu 朝露

Dimensions ヂメンシオン

Fallen Leaves - Ochiba 落ち葉

February 2007 ... Archives

First Snow .. 初雪　2005年

First Shrine Visit 2006 Hatsu Mode

First Sunrise 2005 .. 初日の出

FLOWERS in my haiku life !Collection

Frankenfood, frankengrass, franken rice genetically modified problems

GARDEN, my garden in my Haiku life COLLECTION

Ghost Stories お化けの話　：o)

Goldenrod (seitaka awadachisoo) 　　背高泡立草

Google, googling, googeling ... and the memory

Grains of Sand and a bit on the philosophy of the ordinary !

Grasshopper's Wedding Party .... with visitors

Graves in the Mist 霞に墓

Healing Power 癒しと俳句と祈り

Henro Pilgrims 遍路と無縁仏

HOME, my home in my Haiku life COLLECTION

Illusions with Fish 空想と魚

..... My Asian Haiku Travelogue: INDIA

Izumo Kaidoo, the old road to Izumo Katsuyama, Tsuboi, In no sho and many more ...

January 2007 ... Archives

JAPAN, my home in my Haiku life COLLECTION

..... My Asian Haiku Travelogue: JAPAN 1977

Jizoo　地蔵 .. a smiling Stone friend

June 2007 ... Archives
July 2007 ... Archives

... Kamakura, a Haiku Town in Japan 鎌倉と俳句

Kannon, the Bosatsu of Mercy 　観音菩薩
.. .. .. Horseheaded Kannon
.. .. .. Kannon in the winter sun, 2006

Karl the Froggie with his family 　　.. 蛙 ... and his wife Karlina (Hyla japonica)
..... Frog in Buddha's Eye 仏の目にカール君

Karma, the Net of Indra ... grashopper in my teacup

KOAN and Haiku (01) .. 公案と俳句
KOAN and Haiku (02) .. Dreams 夢
KOAN and Haiku (03) .. Original face and Immortality

Koya-san in Wakayama .. Ginko　.. Haiku-walk

Lake and Clouds　　池と雲

Last Fudo Ceremony 2005 Osame-Fudo 　収め不動

Lavender

LIFE,
my daily Haiku life COLLECTION

Lily, My Kannon-Lily 観音ユリ
..... July 2006 : Lily in the Rain 2006年の観音百合

Love 　ミモサと愛情　Mimosa

LOTUS 蓮、蓮華の花

Magnolia 木蓮　Mokuren

MANDALA .. Just the Beginning　。。曼荼羅

March 2007 ... Archives
May 2007 ... Archives

Medicine Buddha : Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来

.. .. .. .. Mimasaka Haiku
.. .. .. .. From the Province where I live in Japan.
..... 　Mimasaka, Postal Town of Doi: My Haiku Walk December 2006
美作市土居宿 , 出雲街道

Moss 石に苔
... Moss at Mt. Mitoku, October 2006

Mother, for my mother

Mountain Gods Yama no kami 　山の神

Mountains smiling Yama Warau 山笑う

November 2006

October 2007 ... Archives

Onsen 温泉 Hot SpringHot springs of Japan

Outhouse Joy ..便所の話

Peace, August 6, 2006 Introducing Okamoto Taro　岡本太郎と平和

Philosophy and Haiku

Pine <> Matsu 松の木

Pottery and Haiku 焼物と俳句

Quietude and the Galactic Ant 　静けさと蟻のクシャミ
..... The Sound of Wind, Sound of Clouds (essay) 風の音、雲の音、お茶の音

QUOTES to enjoy with your haiku life !

Rain dripping ..雨もまだ

Rain, Prayer of Rain on my roof 屋根に雨の祈り, September 2006

Rainy Season Tsuyu 　梅雨さなかに　満福
..... Rainy Season, Whow ! July 2006 2006年のすごい梅雨

Reflections .. Graves in a mirror 。。田舎の墓

Roses and Rosebuds during all seasons

Sea of Clouds 秋の雲海、2005　Autumn

September 2007 ... Archives

Shelter 仏様にまかせる。。。

Shadows in my haiku
More Shadows in my haiku since 2007

Shintoo Shrine 神道と宮

Shiraishi Island, a Pilgrim's Path 。。。白石島の遍路道、June 2006

Silence 静けさ ... Silence 2005

Simple Daily Happiness 簡単な毎日の幸せ

SKY,
the sky in my Haiku life COLLECTION

SNOW
..... snowed in December 2005
Snowman Daruma, Yukidaruma .. .. 雪だるま
First Snow 2006
Snow Circle and water basin Feb. 2006

Spring 2006 2006年の春

Soaring Mind 鳶の話　Tobi

Spiders in Paradise 。。極楽の蜘蛛

Spring Weeds 2006, a HAIKU WALK 雑草の春の色
..... Spring, Early in 2007 早春　2007年

Stone Meditation .. Hogen, a Chinese Zen Master
Stone Buddhas .. 石仏
... Amida Buddha
　　　　　... Arhats in Stone 五百羅漢
... Buddha's Footprints (Bussokuseki) 仏足石
　　　　　... Buddha's Voice (Shakyamuni)
... Azalea and Shaka (Shakyamuni)
... Lavender leans on Buddha
... Horseheaded Kannon　馬頭観音
... Snow Night Meditation (Shakyamuni)
... Walking with the Gods 神様の散歩道
... STONES,
the stones in my Haiku life COLLECTION
... STONES and ZEN,
the zen stones in my Haiku life COLLECTION

Stone Garden 石庭、小堀作

Stone Wall 我が家の石垣

............ SUMMER

Summer Flowers 夏の花々

Summer Iris 杜若

Summer Metamorphosis 夏の変化

Summer Morning 夏の朝、酔仙翁・スイセンノウ

Summer Sky 夏の空

Sunbeam for us all ! 皆のための太陽
..... Sunset in Pink, August 2006

..... My Asian Haiku Travelogue: TAIWAN

Tanada .. Terraced Rice Fields in my Area 大垪和の棚田

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. Tao, Dao and Haiku 道教と俳句
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. Tao of a useless tree 　

..... My Asian Haiku Travelogue: THAILAND

Tokei-Ji in Kamakura, January 2006

NEW in 2007: Travelogue through Asia
..... Photos and Haiku from my various trips. China, Taiwan, Thailand

Trees, my best friends ..　巨木
................................ Camphor Tree Kusunoki 楠木　くすのき
................................ Tao of a useless tree 　

Trumpet Creeper 　　凌霄花　のうぜんかずら

Tulips 　　チューリップの嵐

Typhoon Tokage in Japan October 23, 2004 　台風トカゲ

Typhoon Nabi 14 September 2005 　台風14号
............................... Green Apples fallen by the typhoon　青林檎
............................... Humans Powerless Katrina 2005

Universe sparkles .. 宇宙の物語

VALLEY,
my valley in my Haiku life COLLECTION

Voice of Buddha .. .. Frogs Farting :o) 。。蛙の屁

Water kettles from Nambu ... 南部鉄瓶

Weeds, my Wonderful Weeds

Wild Boars Inoshishi　猪の訪問

Windows Temple Window Shapes お寺の窓の形

Winter 200/06, from December 2005 2005/6年の冬

Winter Wonders ..冬物語

Wisdom 知恵と無知恵

Woodpecker きつつき

Yin and Yang Cats ..陰と陽と猫

Zen Riddles with BEE ..ミツバチと禅
.. .. .. .. .. .. Haiku and Moments
ZEN,
the daily zen in my Haiku life COLLECTION

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. QUOTES . .. .. .. .. .. to enjoy haiku even more

Hundred Years with Haiku
Translation from Japanese Haikupoets older than 90 years

Introducing Japanese Haiku Poets　

Saijiki for Buddhist Events .. 『俳句仏教歳時記』

Shikoku Summer 2005 Our own Haiku Pilgrimage　四国遍路

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......................... Some of my Haiku Theory

Contents of the Archives

One Haiku, two Ideas The Basics

English Spelling and Punctuation

One-Line Haiku : three sections, three lines

THEORY : Counting on your fingers: 5-7-5 Cultural Differences

THEORY : Why 5-7-5 ? or rather, WHY NOT in English!

Japanese Spelling and the Hepburn System Romaji

THEORY : Why 5-7-5 ? or rather, WHY NOT in English!

GINKOO, a Haiku Walk 吟行

Gijinka, Personification : some thoughts

Technical Support and Haiku Theory ARCHIVES

Teaching Haiku to Children / also usuful for adults

Wabi and Sabi (wabi sabi) The Japanese Aesthetics of Solitude

Translating Haiku, my special forum for all your questions

Haiku Information Board

my KIGO HOTLINE for you !

My Lessons about Haiku

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.. .. .. Health and Happiness

Daruma teaching visceral wisdom

Mead and your Health, Kneipp and Dioskurides
..... ミードと健康の話、デイオスクリデスの有名な薬学集

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。。。。。。。。　Enjoy My Japan and My Haiku !

© 。。Gabi Greve 2004
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/

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.. .. .. .. .. … Please sign my GUESTBOOK …

.. .. .. To the World Kigo Database

.. .. .. To the Daruma Museum Index

... 大垪和　ー　道の駅 - My Valley .. Ohaga Chronicles

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Back to the TOP

Haiku and Happiness ... Archives since 2007
Dr. med. Gabriele Greve
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MY NEW HAIKU BLOG

2007-01-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

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MY NEW HAIKU BLOG

The latest entries have moved here now
http://haikuandhappiness.blogspot.com/

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Read my Old Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Last Apple Tree

2007-01-27T23:47:00.000-08:00

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He had been tending his many orchards for many years. Getting older, things got more difficult and one by one, he had to cut down the many trees in his orchards.
Today I observed the old farmer below in my valley :

winter cold -
he felled his last
apple tree

Winterkälte -
er fällt den letzten
Apfelbaum

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The sad reality of rural Japan 2007, where the old get older rapidly and there are no young ones to take over. So the weeds, badgers and wild boars thrive ...

Read my Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Yawning Daruma

2007-01-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

Mandala Plate

2007-01-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

　　

winter's eve -
the mandala on
my dinner plate

More about Mandala and Haiku

More about my Pottery and Haiku

Read my Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Heron in Temple

2007-01-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

　　

寺の冬　鷺も餌に　つかぬもの

winter in the temple -
even the heron can get
no food

I dedicate this haiku to all the water birds who lost their natural habitat thanks to the activities of the human race.

My Article about
Takano Shrine 高野神社

Heron and Egret (aosagi, shirosagi), Kigo for Haiku

Read my Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Mouse and Bread

2007-01-17T20:01:00.000-08:00

　　

winter morning -
the mouse nibbles my
breakfast bread

Wintermorgen -
die Maus knabbert mein
Frü..stücksbrot

Usually my husband bakes the bread himself, but this one was sent by a friend, full of holes ... not good to spread the butter on it for breakfast ...
so the plate with the mouse came in handy !

Read my Article about
Oil Dishes and Oribe

Oil Dish with Daruma

Read my Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Carpet Meditation

2007-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

　　

winter morning meditation -
the mind crawls along
carpet patterns

Sitting on my Chinese silk carpet in winter,
keeps the bottom warm but ...

.................... alternative haiku versions

meditating in winter -
the mind crawls along
carpet patterns

morning meditation -
the meditating mind crawls
along carpet patterns

After toying a bit with my photoshop, I came up with another version.... :o)

..... LOOK HERE ! .....

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... My Asian Haiku Travelogue ...

... Meditation (dhyana) and haiku

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Carpet, Rug .. juutan dantsuu
KIGO FOR ALL WINTER

How many details in a haiku?
(June 2009)
In Japanese, I learned to pack in as much as possible into the 5 7 5 pattern. It should paint a clear picture for the reader to enable him/her to be there with me and enjoy the situation with me. So I do not want to produce a riddle which gets the logical mind of the reader trying to figure out the basics and thus loose me in my moment of the image.

In the above haiku, winter morning meditation ... truely a bit long
BUT
meditation ... this word alone would get the reader into a general mood, philosophizing about meditation in general.

morning meditation ... now the reader can be with me, still half asleep, hungry before breakfast, but at least listening the the birdsong in the morning.

winter morning ... now the reader can be with me sitting in a cold atmosphere, being mostly miserably shivering with bare feet ... have you ever been to a Japanese temple on a cold winter morning, sitting with bare feet ?

Basho tells us about an old pond and a frog, all very clear and simple.
Or about a crow on a branch in autumn, nothing spectacular, but very clear.

morning meditation ...
the mind crawls along
carpet patterns

In English language haiku, things are different ... from minimalist to one line to five lines, the form is not a guideline any more ...
without kigo, so we do not know wheather to feel hot or cold within the given situation ...
and many riddles and ambiguities are presented to jumpstart the logic and take us away from a clear picture ...

So I am back to my problem,
how many details should we pack into an English language haiku so that the reader is able to share our situation at the first reading?
and maybe add a short footnote to take care of cultural differences that are indeed particular to our area?

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Read a discussion of this problem by
Alan Summers

Hi Gabi!

>> winter morning meditation ...
>> the mind crawls along
>> carpet patterns
>>
>> When I wrote this, it had not occured to me to check for a better
>> kigo, only later did I find that CARPET was a winter kigo.

I think it's okay to have two kigo because this is an English-language haiku, and many of us would not think of carpet as a purely winter image and indicator of a season.

>> How many details should we put in a haiku?
Put as many as you can and then start eliminating them and only stop when it either doesn't make sense or it's a 'so what haiku'.

>> Haiku is not for you only, but to share with others. So your haiku
>> must be understandable at first reading ... that is what my Japanese
>> teacher told me many times.

There's the nub of it, what your teacher said stands not only for haiku but for poetry as a whole. It's a good template to start with.

>> In the above haiku, winter morning meditation ... truely a bit long

>> morning meditation ...
>> the mind crawls along
>> carpet patterns

For me this loses the power of your original haiku. If the poem was put into Japanese it might work with carpet as a winter kigo, but in English, this isn't the ooomph of your original poem.

>> In English language haiku, things are different ... from minimalist
>> to one line to five lines, the form is not a guideline any more ...
>> without kigo, so we do not know whether to feel hot or cold within
>> the given situation ...

Good points, which is why I feel the word 'winter' needs to stay. In the west 'winter' has so many connotations, from Wenceslas and Viking songs, to the Green Man, Santa, Christmas presents, even Coca Cola (as they invented the current Santa) to Victorian times and Charles Dickens to cold brutal times of war and starvation.

Without the word 'winter' I just feel a lot of readers might feel it's just someone doing meditation and being distracted by a bit of carpet pattern.

>> So I am back to my problem,
>> how many details should we pack into an English language haiku
>> so that the reader is able to share our situation
>> at the first reading?

I think you cracked it with the version you posted first of all.

>> and maybe add a short footnote to take care of cultural differences
>> that are indeed particular to our area?

I think a footnote would be overkill, but it might be interesting for some readers, especially if you brought out a book.
This could be an intriguing haiku to use for one of the problems of using
kigo. It sounds like a good chapter for that book Gabi! ;-)

Alan
http://www.withwords.org.uk

Thank you so much, Alan!
But NO, no book in the near future!

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Some more friends shared their views.

"Details that inform, rather than imply and evoke, should generally be excluded or excised."
B.

"but the whole point of choosing cues is to choose cues that both inform and invoke, like space and negative space
frogs in a pond denote and connote and suggest
and they are transformed in their absence into sounds
all suggestive, all implying levels of evocation that move out like the rings in the pond when you skip a smooth stone across it
details both palpable and evocative, both definitive and metaphorical
storms below, the milky way and galaxies above and beyond"
I.

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Carpet meditation (2)

2007-01-16T17:34:00.000-08:00

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meditating in winter -
carpet patterns distort
the mind

meditating in winter -
the mind distorts
carpet patterns

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Carpet Meditation, the real one !

Thanks to Adobe Photo Shop, Uzumaki, Whirls,
and a long rainy afternoon !

.................. :o)

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Carpet, Rug .. juutan dantsuu
KIGO FOR ALL WINTER

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Wintersweet roobai

2007-01-14T22:13:00.000-08:00

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evening sunshine -
a wintersweet glows
on a bare branch

wintersweet -
looking for a right
on the wrong side

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Wintersweet (roobai) Japan 蝋梅

Read my Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Two Owls Love

2007-01-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

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two owls
on the same old branch -
good couple's day

zwei Eulen
auf dem gleichen Ast -
Tag der guten Ehepaare

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Couple's Day (fuufu no hi 夫婦の日) ... February 2

Read my Haiku Archives from December 2006

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Thai Roofs

2007-01-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

　　　

looking up
in the summer sky -
the temple roofs

my Photo Album
Thailand 1980

Read my Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Stones in Shanghai

2007-01-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

　　

unmovable wisdom
in the Chinese park -
the season is NOW

Dragon Decorations from Shanghai, Trip in 1994

Read my Haiku Archives from December 2006

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Shanghai Decorations

2007-01-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

More of my
Stones in Shanghai

Read my Haiku Archives from December 2006

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Frozen waterfall

2007-01-09T04:52:00.000-08:00

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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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Blizzard

2007-01-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

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blizzard <>
one million snow flakes and then
one more

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One of my teachings in Japanese Archery was to practise :

yuki no metsuki　雪の目つき

watching the snow fall,
then watching just one flake fall,
all the way from high up
to its very end on the ground.

Try it, it is quite a feat !
Sit outside on your veranda in the cold and just watch
one flake, one flake one more flake !

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Zen Priest Takuan teaches:

"When facing a single tree, if you look at a single one of its red leaves, you will not see all the others.
When the eye is not set on any one leaf, and you face the tree with nothing at all in mind, any number of leaves are visible to the eye...

The mind that stops or is moved by something-
this is the affliction of the abiding place."

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..................................................................................... A little later in the day

a yellow puddle
in the white snow <>
Haiku took courage

our cats loath the snow, they can not go around their business as usual ...
finally, Boss Haiku just did it !

Thus endeth a blizzard and dissolves in sunshine

snow melting <>
one million drips and
drops

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Shimenawa

2007-01-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

　　

注連縄

paper and straw -
the new year starts
with a clean slate

Sacred Ropes, shimenawa

Our first Shrine Visit 2007
More Photos

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Red White Lotus

2007-01-03T23:46:00.000-08:00

　　

紅白の　福をたべるや　お正月

eating good luck
for the New Year -
red and white lotus

red and white, koohaku 紅白, are the auspicious colors for the New Year and other auspiciuos ceremonies !

Here you have a lotus root colored that way ... tastes great, believe me!

Lotus as a KIGO

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Fox Eyes

2007-01-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

　　

勝山のお稲荷さま

Inari Fox Eyes -
I try hard to see
the new year

... ... getting bigger ... ...

behind bars -
he still holds
all the secrets

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FOX and INARI and HAIKU

Read about my visit to
Katsuyama, a postal town on the old road of Izumo

Here are some more photos from Inari Shrines in Katsuyama
Small Shinto Shrine for a female deity and Inari fox deity
Photos from here to # 91.

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First Smile 2007

2007-01-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

　　

still half asleep
on the same pillow -
our fist smile

明けましておめでとうございます！

初笑みや

These two beckoning cats are chopstick rests. The little tails are formed like a bar to lay the chopsticks on them.

May your new year be a blessed one !

Gabi, Bernd, O-Tsu and Haiku-Kun

By the way
First Laugh (hatsu warai) is a kigo for haiku, related to the God of Good Luck, Ebisu.

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First Sun 2007

2007-01-01T01:01:00.000-08:00

　　

明けましたおめでとうございます！

first sun -
a ray of hope
in every heart

erste Sonne -
ein Strahl der Hoffnung
in jedem Herz

　　

2007 is the year of the Wild Boar

Inoshishi 亥猪

The boars come very close to my home,
while we drink our evening beer.

twighlight zone -
wild boars harvesting
the fallen rice

You can see it all HERE !

Ricecakes like little wild boars, inoko mochi 猪子餅, 亥の子餅

Calendar Systems of the World

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Happy New Year !
the nurse drinks tears
in her champagne

New Year's Bath -
a new cake of soap and
a fresh towel

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Do not miss this one !!
Our First Smile 2007 !

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December snow

2006-12-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

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snow on my bamboo -
this year ends with
a white finale

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more PHOTOS are here !

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NEXT
Read my Haiku Archives from January 2007

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Tibetan Buddha

2006-12-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

　　

mild winter sun -
the Medicine Buddha
watches over me

when I caress you
I feel the hands of
your creator

We bought him more than 30 years ago in the Himalayas. He is rather roughly carved. He sits on our TV and takes care of the welfare of our home ! In his hands he holds the never-empty medicine bottle.

Read my Entry about the Tibetan Buddha of Healing

Read my Entry about Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing 薬師如来

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silcence of a bird

2006-12-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

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suddenly
the silcence of a bird
hit by a stone

the neighbour's boy on the run ...

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While I was sitting on my terrace listening to the sudden silence, a few stories came to mind:

the old farmer, always complaining about his nagging wife. But when she was hospitalized a while ago, he suffered more from her absence than he ever really did by her presence

the young mother ... her baby would cry all night ... but when it was taken from her by an acute disease, even the nightlong cries turned into fond memories

the adolescent ... his father lectured him about the virtues of a MAN, until he took off and run away from home. But when the father dies by a sudden traffic accident, he could not stop crying ...

I am sure you can add your share of this kind of happenings ...

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Senryu, Zappai and Haiku

川柳、雑俳、俳句

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December forsythia

2006-12-26T16:39:00.000-08:00

　　

december sunshine -
an early forsythia
streches its head

Forsythia is a kigo for spring.

Here is a similar one
Wax Forsythia, roobai 蝋梅

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