BLACK WIDOW

BLACK WIDOW

at my garden gate

a reasonable fear

widow of death waits

hoping for supper

her orphaned children are hungry

widow of death waits

a warm spring morning

she offers a deadly hug

shivers down my spine

TSUKIMI THOUGHTS (The Japanese Moon Viewing Festival)

TSUKIMI THOUGHTS

white light through the glass

kitty lying on his back

time for a moon bath

white light through the glass

cat meditates in the beam

becoming more strange

tsumiki evening

bunny and panda watching

different angles*

(*Aoi and I are on different sides of the Pacific tonight)

KAKI SEASON: Getting a Kaki

GETTING A KAKI

(An Illustration by Aoi Tokugawa

getting a kaki

the kitty mafia wants one

not me!

ONIWA HOTEL: CHA-CHA

Oniwa Hotel ~

flirtatious laughter

a band playing the cha-cha

can you hear them too?

ONIWA HOTEL: STRANGE SHAPES

Oniwa Hotel ~ 

strange shapes through the glass

a faint moaning down the hall

just ghosts making love

A PALACE FOR BATS

the trains have now passed

tiny eyes watch from above

a palace for bats

AN ELEGANT FAN

an elegant fan

for fashionable ladies

on the JR Line

KUMANO SHRINE: Shimenawa

Kumano Shrine ~ 

old shimenawa

soiled shide in the breeze

abandoned prayers

KUMANO SHRINE: HEAVENLY MAIDEN

Kumano Shrine ~ 

heavenly maiden

her flute playing for eons

only ghosts listen

KUMANO SHRINE: Ceiling Art

Kumano Shrine ~

faded shapes above

visions of centuries past

from Hearn’s ghostly world

KUMANO SHRINE

kumano shrine ~
the kami sits invisibly,
cradling his head in his hands
no one comes to call.

KUMONO SHRINE: BAA SAKURA

Kumano Shrine ~

baa sakura

lonely national treasure

no one strokes her hair

SPECK OF LIGHT

speck of light flashes

rising, falling in the sun

just a speck of dust

Lying on my bed this afternoon, listening to Mozart, and looking up toward the ceiling through a sunbeam that descended from the window, I saw a small flashing light rising and falling on invisible thermals. It drew nearer and near, rising and falling, moving back ward and forward, but never too close, escaping closer inspection by riding on my breath. On and off, on and off, it flashed; and I wondered. Was it a speck of dust, or the light of some life, somewhere else in this time and dimension, or perhaps some other, telling me that it existed? A sparkling dot where no other dust drifted — a tiny beacon on its own.

And then it was gone.

Was that a life? My life? Our lives? Are we destined to flash and sparkle brightly and dance on the wind, only to suddenly find oblivion?

Someday I’ll find out.

AZUMINO WALK: A Haiku

morning mist surrounds

azumino morning walk

a single dove speaks

HAIKU: A New Day begins

last night a shower

even the grass is refreshed

a new day begins

JAPANESE AESTHETICS: FURYU

Fūryū (風流)

The Japanese aesthetic Fūryū (風流) was derived from the Chinese word fengliu, which literally translated meant “good deportment” or “manners. After its “importation” to Japan in the eight century, the word came to refer more directly to the refined tastes of a cultivated person and to things what were associated with such people. When applied in a more aesthetic sense, the word fūryū took on a reference to the refined, even elegant behavior of an sophisticated person. As time went on, the word was applied to all things that were regarded as elegant, sophisticated, stylish, or artistic.

By the twelfth century, with the evolution of semantics in Japan, fūryū began to evolve into two distinct variations. The first variation applied fūryū to more earthy, ostentatious beauty as marked in popular art forms. In the second variation, people attempted to find fūryū in the beauty portrayed in landscape gardens, flower arrangements, architecture, and poetry about nature, normally written in classic Chinese. It was this second “branch” of fūryū that in part gave birth to cha-no-yu or the tea ceremony, during the Muromachi Jidai or Muromachi Era (1333- 1573).

During the Edo Period or Edo Jidai (1603 – 1868), a form of popular fūryū became evident through a style of fictional prose known as ukyo-zōshi.[i] A second popular interpretation of fūryū became apparent in such art forms as haikai[ii] poetry and the nanga[iii] style of painting; an interpretation that advocated a withdrawal from all of life’s burdens. An example of this version of fūryū may be found in the following poem by Bashō :

the beginning of fūryū

this rice planting

song of the north.

A more contemporary interpretation of fūryū, strongly influenced by Zen, lies in the two characters which comprise the term, 風流, wind and flowing. Just like the moving wind, fūryū can only be sensed: it cannot be seen. Fūryū is tangible yet at the same time, intangible in the elegance which it implies; moreover, just like the wind, fūryū puts forward a wordless, transitory beauty, which can be experienced only in the moment: in the next it is gone. Interestingly, several styles of folk dances, yayako odori and kaka odori, have come to be referred to as fūryū or “drifting on the wind” dances and are quite popular.

---

[i] Ukiyo-zōshi (浮世草子 ) or “books of the floating world” was the first major genus of popular Japanese fiction, by and large written between 1690 and 1770, primarily in Kyōto and Ōsaka. Ukiyo-zōshi style literature developed from kana-zōshi (仮名草子 ) [a type of printed Japanese book that was produced largely in Kyōto between 1600 and 1680, referring to books written in kana rather than kanji]. Indeed, ukiyo-zōshi was originally classified as kana-zōshi. The actual term ukiyo-zōshi first appeared around 1710, used in reference to romantic or erotic works; however, later the term came to refer to literature that included a diversity of subjects and aspects of life during the Edo Jidai. Life of a Sensuous Man, by Ihara Saikaku, is regarded as the first work of this type. The book, as well as other passionate literature, took its subject matter from writings of or about courtesans and guides to the pleasure quarters. Although Ihara’s works were not considered “high literature” at the time, they became extremely popular and were crucial to the further development and broadened appeal of the genre. After the 1770s, the style began to stagnate and to slowly decline.

[ii] Haikai (俳諧 , meaning comic or unorthodox) is short for haikai no renga, a popular style of Japanese linked verse that originate in the sixteenth century. Unlike the more aristocratic renga, haikai was regarded as a low style of linked verse intended primarily for the average person, the traveler, and for those who lived a less privileged lifestyle.

[iii] Nanga (南画 , or southern painting) also known and bunjinga (文人画 ) , intellectual painting) was a somewhat undefined school of Japanese painting which thrived during the late Edo Period. Its artists tended to regard themselves as an intellectual elite or literati. The artists who followed this school were both unique and independent; yet they all shared a high regard for traditional Chinese culture. Their paintings, most often rendered in black ink, but at times with light color, were inclined to represent Chinese landscapes or related subjects, much in the same form as Chinese wenrenhua or literati painting of the nanzonghua or Chinese “southern school” or art.

Copyright 2010 by Hayato Tokugawa and Shisei-Do Publications. All rights reserved.

THE FIRST SIGNS OF AUTUMN

The First Signs of Autumn

Aki tatsu ya

Nani ni odoroku

Onmyōji

the beginning of autumn:

what is the fortune teller

looking so surprised at?

-Buson

Perhaps he is surprised because autumn is so early in its arrival: at least four to six weeks early by the calendar. Autumn colors such as these are far earlier in their display this year than in previous times. What that means for winter one can only guess, but for now, it is an early chance to walk about and enjoy the splendors of nature.

MOONSET

moonset -

no words were necessary

no words were possible

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!

http://renku.home.att.net/500ESWd.html#AUTUMN

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

http://renku.home.att.net/index.html

Lots of helpful information!