Micro-Season: “Hot Wind Blows”

The micro-season of “Hot Wind Blows” begins on July 07.  This is the first micro-season of the season Minor Heat.  The other seasons within Minor Heat are:

• Hot Winds Blows (Jul. 7 – Jul. 13)
• The First Lotus Blossoms (Jul 12 – Jul 16)
• The Young Hawk Learns to Fly (Jul 17 – Jul 23)

These seasons were established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai. While they are specific to Japan, you can use these seasons as a starting point for your own exploration of the natural world.

To celebrate this season, we will learn about prevailing winds and read haiku by Basho, Issa, Buson, Shiki, and Reichhold.

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What Causes Wind?

 “Wind” is defined as “a natural movement of air outside.”⁽¹⁾ It can be forceful like a hurricane or gentle like an evening breeze.  All winds, no matter their speed and forces,  are primarily caused by differences in atmospheric pressures. 

The air in our atmosphere typically moves from higher-pressure areas to lower-pressure areas.  High and low pressures areas on the Earth are created by the uneven warming of the Earth’s surface. Low-pressure areas are formed when warm air rises, while high-pressure areas are formed when cold air moves in to replace the heated air. While these pressure systems interact to generate various local wind patterns, including sea breezes, land breezes, mountain breezes, and valley breezes. They also interact to create larger global wind patterns.

The Prevailing Winds 

“Prevailing Winds” are consistent winds that occur over large regions of the Earth’s surface and they are divided into five major wind zones. The five wind zones are the Polar easterlies, Westerlies, Horse latitudes, Trade winds, and the Doldrums.  

Polar Easterlies

The Polar Easterlies are found around the North and South Poles. These winds are cold and dry and typically blow from the east to the west.

It should be noted that in meteorology, wind is classified by the direction it is coming from.  For example, a “western wind” blows from the west to the east.  Whereas an “easterly wind” will start in the east and blow toward the west.

Westerlies

Westerlies are prevailing winds that blow from the west at the Earth’s midlatitudes (30-60 degrees latitude).  These winds are typically stronger in the winter than they are in the summer. 

Horse Latitudes

The horse latitudes are located between the westerlies and the trade winds. The winds in the horse latitudes are usually gentle and can blow in different directions.

Trade Winds

The trade winds are sometimes called easterlies.  These winds blow from east to west around the tropics.  These winds are fairly predictable and sailing ships have relied on them for hundreds of years  Many hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons start as trade winds.

Doldrums

The doldrums are also called the Intertropical Convergence Zone. This is where the trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres meet.  The doldrums usually produce calm weather and weak winds. 

A Few Other Factors

The Earth’s five wind zones are just a part of the Earth’s wind system.  Other factors such as the three wind circulation cells (Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar) work in conjunction with the wind zones to slowly move the warmer air from the tropics to the poles, and the Earth’s rotation and the subsequent Coriolis effect further contribute to the global movement of air.  

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Seasonal Haiku

According to the World Kigo Database, “Wind” is a non-seasonal topic.  But there are seasonal wind phenomena.

Examples of seasonal wind phenomena include, “Spring breeze” and “Morning East wind” which are spring kigo. “Summer wind”, “South wind”, and “Scented breeze” are all summer kigo.  “Autumn breeze”, and “Autumn wind” are autumn kigo.  “Cold wind” and “Dry wind” are Winter kigo.

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, “South wind” and “Wind in the verdure” are also summer kigo. Verdure is the greenness of growing vegetation.

In A Dictionary of Haiku, Jane Reichhold lists the general terms of “wind” and “breeze” as summer kigo.

Now with all this in mind, let’s read some haiku.

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Issa

wind on the greenery--
the weary faces
of people
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

popping up to see my house
in windblown greenery...
the sun
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

wind blows--
lots of rips, my so-called
mosquito net
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

In the haiku above “wind” is a non-seasonal topic and “mosquito” is the summer kigo

Basho

How gratifying it is –
Snow patches fragrant in the summer wind
At Minamidani.
(translated by Earl Miner) 

Buson

The evening breezes–
The water splashes against
A blue heron’s shins
(translated by Donald Keene)

In the haiku “blue heron” is the summer kigo.

Shiki

the steam train very quickly
climb the mountain
the wind blow through fresh verdura
(retrieved from Masterpieces of Japanese Culture)

Jane Reichhold 

desert winds
blowing mountains
into the sun

wind time
desert clouds blow
light into sunrise

warm wind
children's voices
melt in the night

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Haiku Invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references summer winds or summer breezes.

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your own page and link back to this post. I can’t wait to read what you write!  

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Thank You!

Resources:

1. “Wind”; Brittanica Dictionary
2. “Wind”; National Geographic
3. “Prevailing Winds”; Wikipedia

Basho’s haiku was retrieved from Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations. Issa’s haiku was retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s HaikuGuy.com.  Buson’s haiku was retrieved from The Classic Tradition of Haiku edited by Faubio Bowers. Jane Reichhold’s haiku were retrieved from  A Dictionary of Haiku.  Shiki’s haiku was retrieved from  Masterpieces of Japanese Culture.