Week 03: “The Pheasant First Calls”

January 15 – January 21 is the third week of 2024 in the Gregorian calendar.  During this week, we complete the Solar Term of Minor Cold (Jan 05 – Jan 19) and enter the Solar Term of Major Cold (Jan 20 – Feb 03). The micro-seasons for this week are “The Springwater Holds Warmth” (Jan 11 – Jan 15) and “The Pheasant First Calls” (Jan 16 – Jan 20).

The haiku selected for this week are written by Basho, Issa, Buson, Reichhold, Fukio, and Spiess.

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The 24 Solar Terms 

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 reflects the climate around the city Xi’an, which was the capital of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). ⁽¹⁾

By the end of this week, we have entered the Solar Term of Major Cold (Jan 20 – Feb 03).   

Major Cold

Major Cold is the last Solar Term of winter and the last Solar Term in the Lunar Calendar. Snow, icy rain, and cold temperatures are common and welcomed during this time.  The accumulation of snow will provide a reserve of water for the upcoming growing seasons, and the colder weather will help control the population of pests that might damage the spring crops.⁽³⁾

Seasonal Food: Dispelling Cold Cakes

One of the common foods around Bejing at this time of year is the  “dispelling cold cake”.  This cake was introduced by Gao Wei, the secretary general of Beijing’s folklore society.⁽²⁾ The main ingredients of this cake are sticky rice and sugar.  The high sugar content of the cake is said to make people feel “warm all over”.⁽²⁾ Some versions of the dispelling cold cake will include dates and walnuts.  Dates and walnuts are said to be good for your body during the cold winters. 

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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⁾

The micro-seasons for this week are “The Springwater Holds Warmth” (Jan 11 – Jan 15) and “The Pheasant First Calls” (Jan 16 – Jan 20).

About Pheasants

A “pheasant” can be any one of about 50 different bird species found in the Galliformes order of birds. Birds in this order are described as being heavy ground-feeding birds.  Besides pheasants, other birds in the Galliformes order are turkey, chicken, and quail.  Pheasants are typically larger than quails but smaller than wild turkeys.^(5,6)

Pheasants are a sexually dimorphic species. This means that there is a significant difference in some of the characteristics between males and females.⁽⁷⁾  In pheasants, the males are usually larger, with brightly colored plumage and longer tail feathers.  The females are smaller and usually brown.⁽⁵⁾

The Green Pheasant

The Green Pheasant, or Japanese Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor), became Japan’s national bird in 1947. Referred to as “kiji” in Japanese, this species is said to be able to detect minor earth tremors that precede more significant earthquakes. These birds are credited with saving many lives before the invention of the seismograph.⁽⁸⁾

The Pheasant’s call

The Green Pheasant call is described as “a harsh double-honk, similar to (and perhaps indistinguishable from) that of the Common Pheasant.”⁽⁹⁾ 

Pheasants call throughout the day.  However, they are more frequently heard at dawn and dusk during the spring.  Spring calls are usually associated with the male pheasant trying to claim his territory.⁽⁹⁾  To hear the call of the Green Pheasant check out eBird.org: a project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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Astronomical Season

January 21, the last day of week 03, is 31 days past the winter solstice and 58 days away from the spring equinox (March 19, 2024).  

Moon Phases

At the start of this week, the Moon is in a Waxing Crescent phase with 21% illumination. On January 18, the Moon reaches 50% illumination, which is also known as the Moon’s First Quarter.

The First Quarter is seven days after the New Moon and marks the first quarter of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth.  The day after the First Quarter phase, the Moon shifts into its Waxing Gibbous phase. On January 21, the last day of this week, the Moon will be in the Waxing Gibbous phase with 83% illumination. 

The Next Full Moon is on January 25. 

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Seasonal haiku

When checking the World Kigo Database by Dr. Gabi Greve, we find that the pheasant (kiji) is a spring kigo and not a winter kigo.  This is interesting considering we are in the season of “The First Pheasant Calls”. 

Recognizing this difference between bird and season, we now have an opportunity to consider what other birds may be associated with winter. For example, in The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, “Cold crow”, ‘Cold Sparrow”, “Wild Duck”, and “Hawk” are all possible winter birds.

In Jane Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku, the are many birds listed in the winter-animal section.  “Wild Duck”, “Woodpecker”, “Owl”, “Eagle”, and “Black Birds” are just a few options.

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

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Basho

always hateful - 
those crows, except in this
morning’s snow scene 
(translated by Makoto Ueda)

Cold night: the wild duck, 
sick, falls from the sky 
and sleeps awhile. 
(translated by Robert Hass) 

A hawk in the flesh 
is more reliable than 
one in a dream 
(translated by Haruo Shirane) 

Issa

winter wind--
he can't find his roost
the evening crow
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

snow mountain--
what crow
has had children?
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

deep snow--
on the signpost
a crow caws
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

Even the mandarine duck’s
charm has no meaning under 
bare winter trees
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Reichhold

a flutter of wings
yet the bare branch
stays bent

from his tongue
wind tears the screech
of a snow owl

Fukio

the heart of winter–
a crow perches
on its own shadow
(found in Rosenstock’s Haiku Enlightenment)

Robert Spiess

the city bus stops–
a caw of a winter crow
through the opened door
(found in Rosenstock’s Haiku Enlightenment)

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Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references a bird in winter. 

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your page and link back. 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.  Buson’s haiku was retrieved from Foxfire:The Selected Poems of Yosa Buson. Jane Reichhold’s haiku were retrieved from Dictionary of Haiku.  Fukio and Spiess haiku were retrieved from Haiku Enlightenment by Gabriel Rosenstock.

Resources:

1. “The 24 Solar Terms”; China Educational Tours
2. “Eating the dispelling cold cake”; Chinaculture.org
3. 24 Solar Terms: 6 things you may not know about Major Cold; ChinaDaily.com
4. 72 Seasons App
5. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
6. “Pheasant”; Wikipedia 
7. “Pheasant”; Britannica 
8. “Sexual dimorphism”; Wikipedia
9. “The National Bird of Japan-Pheasant”; JapanCityTour.com
10. “Green-pheasant”; birdfinding.info
11. “Ring-necked Pheasant-Life History”; AllAboutBirds.org