Week 45 – First Winter

November 06 – Nov 12 is the 45th week of the Gregorian calendar.  During this week we move into the Solar Term of First Winter.  This week also sees the end of the microseason “The Maple and the Ivy Turn Yellow (Nov 02 – Nov 07) and the beginning of the microseason “The First Camellia Blossoms” (Nov. 08 – Nov 12). 

The selected haiku for this week were written by Basho, Issa, Baishitsu, Reichhold, and Kerouac.

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The 24 Solar Terms – First Winter

The 24 solar terms were created by farmers in ancient China  (206 BCE and 24 CE) to help guide their agricultural activities. Each solar term is 15 days long and is based on the climate around the city Xi’an, which was the capital of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). ⁽²⁾

First Winter (Nov 08 – Nov 22) is the 19th Solar Term of the year, and it is the first of the winter solar terms. An alternative translation of this season is Start of Winter.⁽³⁾

At this time, all the crops should be harvested and stored for the cold months.  Some activities that are associated with this season include:

Eating dumplings: There is a legend that says near the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (CE 25-220), Zhang Zhongjing protected the people of the Henan province from a typhoid epidemic and frostbite by making them mutton, hot pepper, and herb dumplings.  The dumplings are said to increase the body’s temperature and protect from the cold.⁽³⁾ 

Eating Chinese pumpkins:  These pumpkins are also called wogua, and are common in Northern China. The pumpkins are harvested in summer and then eaten during this season.⁽³⁾

Sacrifices to the Ancestors: This tradition seems specific to the “people of the Manchu Eight Banners and Han Eight Banners in Benxi of Liaoning province.”⁽³⁾ The sacrifices to the ancestors include lighting incense and making offerings. 

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The 72 Seasons

The 72-season calendar was established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai.  Each season lasts for about 5 days and offers “a poetic journey through the Japanese year in which the land awakens and blooms with life and activity before returning to slumber.”⁽⁴⁾

This week contains the end of the micro-seasons of “The Maple and the Ivy Turn Yellow” (Nov 02 – Nov 07) and the beginning of “The First Camellia Blossoms” (Nov. 08 – Nov 12).

About the Camellia

The Camellia is an evergreen shrub or bush that is a member of the Theaceae, or tea family, of plants.  The camellia is native to eastern and southern Asia and can grow up to 66 feet (20 m) tall.  The camellia flowers are usually large with 5 to 9 petals. Different products made from the camellia plant include cooking oils, teas, and anti-inflammatory medicines.  You can read more the camellia here.

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Astronomical Season

November 12 is the the last day of week 45 of the Gregorian calendar. On November 12th, there have been 50 days since the autumn equinox (Sept 23, 2023) and only 39 days until the winter solstice (December 21, 2023) in the Northern Hemisphere. In other words, we are now closer to the winter solstice than we are to the autumn equinox, which puts us in the winter season for both the Solar Terms and 72 season calendars.  

For the meteorological and astronomical seasons, we are still in autumn.  Meteorological autumn continues until the end of November and astronomical autumn continues until the winter solstice (December 21, 2023)

There are 128 days until the vernal equinox (Mar 19, 2024). 

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Seasonal Haiku 

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, the “sasanqua”, “tea flowers”, and “flowers out of season” are early winter kigo. “Sasanqua” is another way to reference the Camellia sasanqua.

In A Dictionary of Haiku by Jane Reichhold “winter bushes” and “evergreens” are relevant kigo for this week. These kigo are listed under the heading of Winter and the category of “plants”. If we look under the heading of Winter and category of “livelihood”, we also find “drinking tea” as a relevant kigo. 

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

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Basho

opposing leaves 
the flowers of the camellia 
are indifferent
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

The wooden stamper. 
What it was before – 
a camellia, or a plum-tree? 
(translated by Dmitri Smirnov)

against the brushwood gate 
it sweeps the tea leaves: 
windstorm.
(translated by David Landis Barnhill)

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Issa

"No warmth in this house!"
the stuck-up
winter camellia
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

snap and crackle
the camellia blooms
the coal fire smokes
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Sakurai Baishitsu 

a camellia falls –
cock-crow and another
camellia falls
(translated by William J. Higginson)

Reichhold

morning light
the taste of snow
in thin tea

seeds scattered
around the evergreen trees
a complete circle

Kerouac

Hot tea, in the cold
  moonlit snow–
a burp

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Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu about contrasting images. For example, during “The First Camellia Blossoms” we are noticing that there are flowers blooming in winter, which seems out of place. Or, as we see in Reichhold’s and Kerouac’s haiku we have hot tea and coldness of snow.  

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!

About the Haiku

Basho’s haiku were retrieved from “Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations” Editor: Gábor Terebess.  Issa’s haiku were retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s Haiku Guy.  Jane Reichhold’s haiku were retrieved from Dictionary of Haiku. Jack Kerouac’s haiku were retrieved from “Jack Kerouac Collected Haikus”; Terebess Asia Online. Baishitsu’s haiku was retrieved from The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology edited by Faubion Bowers. 

References

1. “ISO 8601”; Wikipedia
2. “24 Solar Terms”; ChinaHighlights.com
3. “24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about Start of Winter”; ChinaDaily.com
4. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com