Saturday, November 29, 2008

Manners Lesson



Manners Lesson


Gray beard walks in peace

Youths want to bully –

Painful manners taught

From an incident of yesterday's morning walk. There is not always strength in numbers and the old are not always weak. There are always surprises! Yet, I also failed by my response. Today my harmony is now restored.

POEM ON NEW GLASSES


Poem On New Glasses (Not Haiku)


new windows now resting on nose

many more haiku to compose

BUSHIDO LESSON: ON ONE'S OWN DEATH



On One's Own Death


One who follows Bushido believes that it is of prime importance to keep their death in mind at all times. This means every day, every night: from New Year’s Day morning until New Year’s Eve night.

If one keeps their own death in mind at all times, and by this I mean an awareness or consciousness of ones own death (but not to the point of obsession) one will always be able to fulfill the needs of loyalty and family duties. With this “consciousness” one can also then avoid a myriad of evils, calamities, and hardships. One is likely to be more physically sound and healthy; thus, they may actually have a longer life. An additional benefit is likely to be that one’s character will improve and they will grow in virtue.
You may well ask, “Why?” All life, including human life, can be likened to the evening dew or to a morning frost; that is, life is something that is indeed quite fragile and ephemeral. This is true of anyone’s life, no matter what his or her station in life may be.
If a person blinds themselves to the inevitability of their own death, that is, if they take comfort in the belief that they will live a long time, that they will live “forever,” it may indeed be possible that something will happen to them. They may think that they have “forever” to do their work and to take care of their families. Because of this belief that “tomorrow will never come,” they may well feel that it is not necessary to work hard or to tend to their families with less care and intensity.

If one realizes that the life that is here today may not be here tomorrow, then when one is given a task by their employers or when they look at their families, they may have the sense to realize that “this could be the last time.” In doing so, one cannot help but to become more attentive to their work and to their family.

Be that as it may, if one unmindful of death and thus becomes careless or inattentive, they will have a tendency to be less cautious and careful in their lives. For example, one may be more inclined to say something that is offensive to another and get into an argument, which could itself lead to any number of consequences. One might find themselves in places or in situations that they perhaps would not have otherwise gotten into, again with any number of consequences for themselves or for those around them or for their employer, parents, siblings, or children. The consequences of our actions can have far reaching results sometimes, results that perhaps should have been easily avoided, had one kept in mind their own mortality.

With one’s own transience in mind, when one speaks and in replying to what is said by others, one is more likely to understand the substance and significance of every word. One will be less likely then to engage in pointless arguments.

People from all economic and social groups tend to excess, that is, they overeat, they tend to drink too much, and they indulge in their desires to a harmful degree, all because they give not even a small thought about their own death. This kind of behavior, this kind of “lifestyle,” over time can put a strain on their bodies. As a result, there is every possibility of their dying at a younger age or at the least, becoming sickly and weak. With the potential of one’s own death in mind, even if one is young and healthy, they will automatically know how to take care of themselves. They will be moderate and be mindful of food and drink, avoid addictions, and are more likely to be more sensible. The result is that they will tend to remain healthy and to increase the opportunity for a longer life.

On the assumption that one will “live forever” or that their passing is so far into the future so as to not be worth consideration, one will be likely to develop a money-oriented or acquisitive mentality. That is to say, they will have a tendency to become more desirous of things, cling to their possessions, and to desire more. When one realizes that life may be very short indeed, greediness, acquisitiveness, and materialism weakens and thus the character improves.

How does one keep death in mind? Well, certainly it is illogical and therefore wrong for one to simply sit there and wait for death, or for one to become obsessed with it. This may be all well and good for a monk but with such a mindset, one cannot function or survive in the modern world. To regard one’s death in that way is to turn one’s back on their duties to themselves, their families and to their employers and it defeats the entire purpose of thinking about it at all.

The idea is for one to go about their duties every day, and at some time when their mind is free of distraction, to give some thought to the transience of their existence. Perhaps, in the morning, before going out and about they duties is a good time to give thought to this matter, for the thought of life’s fragility will stay in their mind for the entire day. Perhaps also at night, before retiring, is another good time for such thoughts. Think about the day just past and recall everything that ha happened. Ask yourself questions.

“Did I do well today?” The answer will be either “yes” or “no.” “If I have another day to live, can I do better?” The answer will always be “yes.” And as your eyes close at the end of that day, take that thought with you and bring it on to the next.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

HAIKU: IVY LEAVES




tsuta no ha ya
nokorazu ugoku
Aaki no kaze



ivy leaves -
every one of them flutters
in the autumn breeze

-Basho (1644 - 1694)

The print is by Sadao dated about 1930.

HAIKU HELP



Haiku Help


Here is a very helpful link to about 500 kigo or season words for use in haiku!



and since you are there, please visit the Home Page as well:



Lots of helpful information!

A UKIYO-E FOR AUTUMN



Daitokuji Takagiri-in



(Daitoku Temple Takagiri Villa) or Takagiri Pavillion at Daitoku Temple in Kyoto)
The temple compound, which was built by Lord Hosakawa Tadaoki in 1601 as a memorial to his later father, is known for the teahouse and the beautiful autumn colors to be found there. This hanga (modern ukiyo-e) is dated sometime between 1935 and 1960 by Kantatsu Yoshizawa (1915 – 1993)

HAIKU: EARLY MORNING FOG




morning fog
creeps through field and forest –
frozen trail

BUSHIDO LESSON: RIGHT AND



RIGHT AND WRONG


As long as it is both realized as well as accepted that people must comprehend right and wrong, and in doing so strive to do right and to avoid wrong, then Bushido is alive.

“Right and wrong” means the same as “good and evil.” Right is good, wrong is evil. It is that simple. Generally, people are not totally lacking in an understanding of good and evil, right and wrong; however, they find it rather boring and tedious to act rightly and to strive for decency and integrity. Acting wrongly and behaving badly is “fun” and it is familiar (it seems more so now than in earlier days) so people can drift toward things that are wrong and bad. Indeed, it becomes rather dull for them to do right and to cultivate good.

A person who is truly insane, or a person who has never developed a proper capacity for thought and reason cannot distinguish good and bad or right and wrong so they should not be included in this discussion. Once one has determined something to be wrong or bad, to avoid social demands and justice and do what is wrong is not the proper attitude for a follower of Bushido and it is the “high point” of the immaturity of our modern times. This can be attributed to a lack of inner strength and perseverance in people.

It is really and truly important for one to be aware of wrong and to seek right.

There are three ways of doing right. For example, suppose you are going somewhere with a friend who has a large sum of money with him, and he asks to leave it at your house until he returns, rather than carry it with him. And suppose you take this money for him and put it away where no one can find it. And suppose further that your friend suddenly dies and no one but yourself knows that he left the money at your house and no one knows that you have it.

Under these circumstances, if you have no thought other than sorrow at the loss of your friend and you tell his relatives of the money and give it to them without delay, then you can be said to have truly done right.

But, suppose also that instead of being a friend, the person was simply a casual acquaintance and no one knows about the money he left with you and there are likely to be no questions asked about it. And suppose further that you are in bad circumstances financially yourself at that time. Well, on one hand this might seem like a stroke of luck! Why not just keep quiet about it and keep the money for yourself?

If one finds themfself ashamed to find such a thought occurring to them, and they change their mind and return the money to the rightful heirs, then one could be said to have done right out of a sense of shame.

Now, suppose that someone in your home, perhaps your wife or child, knows about the money and suppose further that you return the money to the rightful heirs out of shame for any possible recriminations from your family and perhaps out of fear for the legal consequences. In this case you could be said to have done right out of shame in relation to others.

Ah, but what would you do if no one knew about it at all? Even in such a case, it could still hardly be said that you were not a man who knew what is right and does it.

The process of developing the habit of doing right begins with the fear of being disrespected by those close to you, starting with your family. It then advances to refraining from doing wrong and intentionally doing the right thing out of fear of laying yourself open to the shame of being criticized and ridiculed by the community or society you live in. If you do this, it will naturally become habitual, so eventually you develop a mentality that prefers to follow what is right and scorns doing wrong.

Within the context of military matters (which might be seen as a metaphor for modern business life) there are those who are born brave and are not deterred by attacks on the battlefield, no matter how intense. They make targets of themselves, framed between loyalty and duty. The courage of their spirit can show physically so that it goes without saying that they were splendid in action.

There are also those who are hesitant in the face of danger and their hearts are pounding and their knees tremble, yet they go forward, right along with the brave ones, in the realization that their comrades will see them if they remain behind and thus are determined not to expose themselves to derision later on. Although they are not the same as the “brave ones”, when they have gone through this several times, over and over again, they become used to it. Eventually their minds settle and they become praiseworthy, strong and firm, and in the end, not so different at all from those who are naturally brave.

So then, when it comes down to doing what is right and to being courageous, there is nothing to go on but a sense of shame. If you do wrong and are unconcerned for its consequences or that people will say it is wrong, or if you care nothing that people will despise your for your spinelessness, then there is nothing that anyone can teach you.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

CRIMSON STAIRS






stairs crimson carpet

old bones groaning as they climb -

winter gust deceds

AN AUTUMN UKIYO-E



An Autumn Ukiyo-e


Here is an ukiyo-e for autumn. It is from "Azuma Fuzoku Nenju Gyoji" or "customs and Manners of Yearly Events at Eastern Capitol" for the month of October (Jugatsu), by Chikanobu Toyohara (1838-1912). This print from about 1890 shows a mother and her little child holding a red balloon while they enjoy an Autumn day together.

RED LEAVES: Haiku





RED LEAVES, LONG SHADOWS-
KYOTO'S HOLY PLACES
A HEART LONGS TO SEE

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

JAPANESE AESTHETICS: Bigaku


JAPANESE AESTHETICS (Bigaku)



A characteristic feature of long-established aesthetics within Japan is the inclination to value symbolic portrayal more highly than realistic representation. Another trait is the assumption that true art involves a selective presentation of the beautiful and skirting of the humble and vulgar. As a result, artists have tended to choose nature for their subjects, thus shunning the portrayal of everyday life for the ordinary people. The taste for grace and elegance by the Heian court exerted a lasting effect on later cultural traditions, and established elegance as one of the main standards for beauty. Such important notions as okashi, fūryū, yūgen, and iki all carried a nuance of elegance.

Another highly valued attribute was impermanence, which could be considered a variation of elegance, for delicate beauty was considered fragile and ephemeral. Buddhism, with its emphasis on life’s uncertainty, merged with this ideal and provided a certain “philosophical” depth. Such aesthetic values are aware, mono no aware, yūgen, wabi, and sabi all thus implied transience.

An artistically created empty space, either in time or in space, became an important idea in aesthetic practices. Simplicity fit together with the concept of mimesis, which stressed symbolic depiction. Concepts like wabi, sabi, ma, yojō, and shibui were all oriented toward simplicity in their basic inferences, consistently showing distaste for rich or ornamental beauty.

Simplicity also means “naturalness,” or a lack of pretension, in artistic expression. In traditional Japanese aesthetics the gap between art and nature is considerably shorter than in the West. The mystery of nature could never be presented through description; however, it could only be suggested and the more brief the suggestion, the greater its success.
(First published 2008.09.16. Copyright 2006 by Hayato Tokugawa. All Rights Reserved)

SOME USEFUL HAIKU TERMS




SOME USEFUL HAIKU TERMS



MORA

Mora (plural is morae) is a unit of sound used in the study of words that determines the weight of syllables and thus their stress and/or timing, in some languages such as Japanese. The term meaning “period of time” comes from Latin meaning a pause or a delay. A syllable containing one mora is said to be monomoraic, two is bimoraic. Generally, monomoraic syllables are said to be “light syllables,” bimoraic syllables are said to be “heavy syllables” and trimoraic syllables are said to be “super-heavy syllables.”
Japanese is famous for its moraic qualities. Most dialects including Standard Japanese use moras (or morae) as the basis of the sound system rather than syllables. For example, in modern Japanese haiku, one does not always follow the pattern 5 syllables/7 syllables/5 syllables as is commonly believed, but rather the pattern 5 moras/7 moras/5 moras. As just one example, the Japanese syllable-final n is moraic.

KIGO

Season words or Kigo (季語) are words or phrases that are generally associated with a particular season. They were originally used in the longer “linked-verse” form known as renga, and especially in the opening phrase of a renga, the hokku, to indicate the season when the stanza is set. The are valuable in providing an economy of expression (extremely important I have recently learned) for haiku to indicate the season in which the poem is set.

HISTORY OF KIGO

Representation of and reference to the seasons has always been important in Japanese culture and poetry. Japan is, of course, long from north to south so seasonal features can vary from place to place. The sense of a season in kigo is; however, based on Kyoto since classical Japanese literature was developed mainly in this region, especially up to the early part of the Edo Period.

Some examples are (for spring)” “spring begins” (haru tatsu), “warm” (atakakashi or nurumu”, spring haze (kasumi).

I am told that many Japanese haiku poets often use a book called a saijiki, which is a dictionary for kigo. An entry in a saijiki might include a description of the kigo itself plus a list of similar or related words, plus a few examples of haiku that included that kigo. The saijiki is divided into the four seasons plus there is a list for “season-less” or “muki” words.


(First published 2008.09.16.) Copyright 2006 by Hayato Tokugawa. All Rights Reserved)

Swordman - Dai Chikamatsu Zenshu



Swordman - Dai Chikamatsu Zenshu


I came across this ukiyo-e today and thought that I would share it with everyone. It is by Yamaguchi Sohei and dates to about 1923 to 1926. What I find rather striking about this print is the expression on the samurai's face - not the fierce look or even glee that one would see in an old movie with Mifune Toshiro, but something else - anguish, horror? What do you think?


(First published 2006.09.14.)

THOUGHTS FROM A TAKAYAMA ROOFTOP: Is Globalization Changing Japan (Part 2)



IS GLOBALIZATION CHANGING JAPAN (PART 2)

The book everyone was talking about last month at the first World Economic Forum (WEF) ever held in Tokyo was not Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat, or some other volume on globalization. It was a slim Japanese volume called The Dignity of a State. Written by mathematician Masahiko Fujiwara, the book is seemingly a longing call to return to ancient Japanese virtues. But it's also a sharp, angry outburst that blames free markets for a wide assortment of Japan's and the world's woes. "Globalism," Fujiwara writes, "is merely a strategy of the U.S. that seeks world domination after the Cold War." The author also calls the market economy "a system that clearly divides the society into a minority of winners and a majority of losers." WEF members, most of them advocates of free markets and open economies, might want to reject Fujiwara as part of the radical fringe of vocal anti-globalization protesters. But the book has touched a nerve in Japan, where many feel economic reforms are destroying the country's egalitarianism, creating a nation of haves and have-nots.


The Dignity of a State has sold 2 million copies since last November, making it Japan's second best-selling title of 2006. (It trails only the latest Harry Potter installment). A grassroots backlash against reform in the world's second largest economy is worrying to some WEF delegates. "This book's popularity is not a positive development," says Charles D. Lake II, vice chairman of AFLAC Insurance in Japan. But it is an important one. Despite Japan's much-heralded success in modernizing its economy, the fact remains that a large segment of Japanese society loathes the way things are heading.

In summary:


“Globalism,” Fujiwara writes, “Is merely a strategy of the U.S. that seeks world domination after the Cold War.” The author also calls the market economy “a system that clearly divides the society into a minority of winners and a majority of losers.” According to Time Magazine, the book’s popularity is fed by a popular response in Japan that sympathizes with the notion that “economic reforms are destroying the country’s social equality, creating a nation of “haves” and “have- nots".


Another review of the book says that according to the author, Japan’s distinguishing “national character” is a set of behavior standards based on the spirit of Bushido, the samurai code of honor. That spirit, he writes, was shattered by Japan’s defeat in World War II and completely abandoned after the collapse of the assist-inflated “bubble economy of the 1990s. Japanese society is now set to fall into ruin, the author continues. Ideas that Japan eagerly accepted along with “Americanization,” such things as the market –oriented principle of economics, do not offer a solution to the problems facing the nation. Rather, emotion and empathy form the basis of Japanese civilization and Bushido is the core of ethics. Japan should not aim to be a universal country, but a unique and dignified one.


According to what I have been able to read about Fujiwara-san and his book, he believes that Japan should return to Bushido because capitalism has destroyed Japan. As usual (I guess he is referring to Tokugawa and Meiji eras), “evil foreign devils” and their ideas have damaged the purity of Japan and the Japanese people.


I would be very interested to get anyone’s opinion on this topic, especially if you are familiar with this book and have similar or differing viewpoints.