Week 06: Year of the Dragon

February 05 – February 11 is the sixth week of 2024 in the Gregorian calendar.  During this week, we enter the Solar Term of the Beginning of Spring (Feb 04 – Feb 18). We also pass through the micro-seasons of “Spring Winds Thaw the Ice” (Feb 04 – Feb 08) and enter the micro-season of “The Nightingale Sings” (Feb 09 – Feb 13).  This week also marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon.

The haiku selected for this week were written by Basho, Issa, Kinue, Greve, and Kerouac.

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

Beginning of Spring

Beginning of Spring is the first Solar Term of the year. 

While it is still cold in many places, in the southern regions of China the snowfall has shifted to rain and people have started preparing for the upcoming planting season. 

Biting the Spring

The Beginning of Spring brings a custom of “biting the spring”.(2)  During this time people will eat spring rolls, spring pancakes, carrots, and radishes.  

Spring pancakes are a traditional food of the northern regions of China. Spring pancakes are made from leavened dough that is steamed, pulled apart, and filled with a variety of fillings.  Consuming spring pancakes has become a traditional way to ensure a successful planting and harvesting season.(3)

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  “Spring Winds Thaw the Ice” (Feb 04 – Feb 08) and “The Nightingale Sings” (Feb 09 – Feb 13)

The Nightingale or the Bush Warbler

“The Nightingale Sings” has also been translated to “Bush warblers start singing in the mountains.”(4,5) This second translation is more accurate because the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) is not very common in Japan.  However, the Japanese bush warbler (Horornis diphone) is a year-round resident of Japan, and its breeding song has long been recognized as a sign of spring.(7,8)

Here is a quick sample of the Japanese bush warbler’s song. 

Astronomical Season

February 11, the last day of week six of 2024, is 52 days past the winter solstice and 37 days from the spring equinox (March 19, 2024).  

February’s New Moon

The new moon in February will occur on February 9, 2024.  A new moon occurs when the moon is directly between the Earth and the sun, which puts the moon’s shadow side toward the Earth making it difficult to see.

Looking toward the field of astrology, we find out that February’s new moon coincides with the astrological sign of Aquarius (January 20 and February 18).  Jill Wintersteen, a columnist for Yoga Journal, writes the following about this time of year. 

“Aquarius teaches us to think in terms of energy. Life is a constant give and take of energy. We are constantly absorbing and reacting to the energy around us. We are also defining it. Some days we shape the collective. Other days it shapes us.”(9)

If you are interested in learning more about the New Moon in Aquarius, you can read Wintersteen’s full article.

Lunar New Year

February 10 is the start of the new Lunar Year and the start of the Year of the Dragon.

The Dragon is the fifth sign in the 12-year cycle of zodiac signs.  The dragon is the only mythical animal in the zodiac and is considered a symbol of authority, honor, and dignity.

Kathryn Wortley writes the following about the dragon in The Japan Times:

“As the luckiest and most auspicious of the 12 animals, the dragon is thought to signify unprecedented opportunities. In a dragon year, people are said to be able to harness the creature’s intelligence, leadership and abilities to pursue their dreams with creativity, passion, courage and confidence.”(10)

Individuals born in a year of the dragon (1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024) are said to carry the traits of the dragon.  Dragons are also known to be courageous leaders who accept all challenges placed in front of them.(11) 

You can read about all the personality traits of those born in the Year of the Dragon here.

Seasonal haiku

In Japan dragons “are revered as the benefactors and protectors of mankind; powerful and wise guardians that shield us from universal dangers, and impart their wisdom.”(12) Dragons are also considered a “symbol of good fortune and wealth, they bring us happiness, offering us strength and courage at each important turning point in our lives.”(12) The deep cultural connections of the dragon make them great objects or images for haiku of senryu. However, dragons can also be kigo. 

An example of a dragon kigo is “dragons climbing to heaven”. This phrase is a mid-spring kigo denoting the time when the dragon “went off to heaven to take care of the rain for the season, until the equinox in autumn, when he would come down to earth.”(13) “The dragon boat festival”, which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, is another way that the dragon can become part of a kigo.

Now, let’s read some haiku. 

Basho

long seasonal rain - 
lighting dragon candles 
a municipal guard 
(translated by Makoto Ueda)
the dragon’s place 
with today’s low tide is airing 
everything in the sun 
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

Issa

lotus blossom--
a dragon once rode you
people say
(translated by David G. Lanoue)
a chilly wind
a chilly autumn...
Year of the Dragon
(translated by David G. Lanoue)
in the red bowl
a whorling dragon!
buckwheat noodles
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Suzuki Kinue

a dragon ascends
to the heaven—
a metro’s vent hole
(translated by. Fay Aoyagi)

Gabi Greve

the dragon lived here
long before man -
knowing my limits

Kerouac

Here comes 
   My Dragon—
goodbye

Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references dragons or the zodiac animal of your birth.  

If you don’t know your Zodiac sign, this resource can help.

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

Extra credit check-in: How is NaHaiWriMo going for you? Have you been able to write a haiku a day?

You can support this newsletter work by donating at “Buy Me a Coffee” or shopping at our bookstore.

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.  Suzuki Kinue and Gabi Greve’s haiku was retrieved from “Dragon Art of Asia – 2012 – Year of the Dragon” complied by Dr. Gabi Greve. Kerouac’s haiku was retrieved from Kerouac’s  Book of Haikus.  

Resources

  1. “The 24 Solar Terms”; China Educational Tours
  2. 24 Solar Terms: 9  things you may not know about Start of Spring; ChinaDaily.com
  3. “Spring Pancakes”; Wikipedia
  4. 72 Seasons App
  5. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
  6. “Nightingale”; BirdFacts.com
  7. “Common Nightingale”; Wikipedia
  8. “Japanese Bush Warbler”; Wikipedia
  9. Wintersteen, Jill, “ New Moon in Aquarius”. YogaJournal.com
  10. Wortley, Kathryn. “Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon” The Japan Times.
  11. Song, Sophie, “Year of the Dragon”, ChineseNewYear.net
  12. “The Japanese Dragon – Myths, Legends, and Symbolism” Pagongkyoto.com
  13. Greve, Gabi: “Dragon Art of Asia -2012 -Year of the Dragon”. WKD
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126 thoughts on “Week 06: Year of the Dragon”

Add yours

  1. Pingback: Curious Dragon – JJJ Interactive Books

  2. Writing a haiku a day is not hard for me. Writing a good haiku daily…well, that is something else! I write in my journal every morning and most mornings it will include haiku inspired by a reading or an experience the day before. Thanks again, for a wonderful post today. And the bush warbler’s singing was beautiful. I did not use “rat” in my haiku, but this is what came to me:

    my zodiac gene
    from nineteen forty-eight:
    born to be kind

    Peace,
    LaMon

    Reply

    2. Hi LaMon, I can related to your experience of writing everyday and the challenge of writing something good. For me, the good comes every once in a while.
      I really appreciate your haiku and they way you were able to go with the prompt and make it your own. Very nice!

      Reply

    3. LaMon,
      I love that you referred to your zodiac gene in your haiku. If I recall correctly, people born in the year of the rat have very positive attributes.
      Like you, I try to write a haiku every day, but I certainly can’t claim that the haiku is a good haiku. I admit that I don’t always accomplish the every day haiku though, but other days, I write several haiku.
      Peace, my kind friend,
      Nan

      Reply

      1. One of the characteristics I have worked on for several years if kindness. So, it was serendipity when I read that one of the characteristic of the rat was “kind”.

    2. Hi Selma, Thanks for including the link back to your post. Very informative and what a wonderful story about the Great Race. I have heard the story before, but I so enjoyed your telling. Then you build a haiku around it!

      Reply

    3. Selma,
      I love that you combined all these zodiac animals into your haiku. Your post in 2022 was equally interesting to read. Well done on both. I didn’t realize that gold is color for the year; thanks for the info.
      ~Nan

      Reply
  4. Pingback: Mythical dragon: A senryu – Therapy Bits
  5. Pingback: The Dragon Springs… 1p XXIV nd 2.9 – Jules Pens Some Gems…

      1. No nightingales my way… so the warbler relative was the closest thing 🙂

        I was reading some of the conversation at Seasonwords… red enelopes with money is supposed to be a lucky new year tradition along with different foods.

        I knew some race horses had maskes… but I think at least in the states they are not always red. Interesting about masks or hoods… if you are training falcon – As it looks like those avians are hooded to also keep them calm before a ‘hunt’ (just a different race of sorts).

      3. Maddy – I think the warblers are hiding today! We’ve had snow – it is still snowing. But there are ruby red cardinals at the feeders – and an onyx raven – I actually haven’t seen black birds most of this winter. I think they go to easier pickings 🙂

      1. ~Thanks. Hubby and I take turns getting our morning paper from the tube at our street side mailbox post. Some mornings there is quite a bit of song. I have a CD with bird songs… but I haven’t listened to it often enough to tell who is who when they tweet 🙂

    4. Wow, Jules! You knocked it out of the park with three haiku and the AS, too. So different and covering the gamut of Mark’s blog (the warblers, the Lunar New Year, and the Age of Aquarius, which has me now mentally singing the song from the musical, “Hair”).

                               ~Nan

      Reply

  7. sun warm stones
    awaken dragon
    or simply snake?

    Thanks so much, Mark, another post both deep and lofty. And always fun!
    With my birthday Feb 11 (Aquarius) 1953, I suppose my specific sign could be banded water snake.

    YES to writing daily haiku and thanks for the nudge. See today’s blog for some thoughts on Old Sam Peabody . . .

    Old Sam Peabody

    Reply

    1. Griffin,
      I have a few snakes living in my yard… mostly garden snakes. But at least one really long black one (as wide or longer than a double wide driveway)- who I saved once from some construction netting.

      I’ve been writing hiaku/picese with haiku (I think almost everyday this month…but not to the set prompts… I’m a rebel that way)

      Reply

    4. Thanks so much for linking your post. What a read! “Be Bold” by Jenny Bates is a emotional! So good to hear you have been able to write a daily haiku. It can be a challenge, and yet it can be fun.
      Thanks for sharing all this and your haiku!

      Reply

  8. When my son was just 3 weeks old we visited nearby Chinatown
    to watch the festivities.

    ~ ~ ~

    the dragon dance
    of New Year’s
    warm in his snuggly

    ~ ~ ~

    This is so great! Yes, I am keeping up with ” the NaHaiWriMo ” of one a day…this is so inspiring. I’m off to read Mark’s post and all the poems.

    Reply

    4. Madeleine,
      Clever use of the dragon in this ku, and depending on the reading, either your son or the dragon is in his warm snuggly. Now, I know it’s your sweet child, but I like the double meaning here.
      Are you writing to the prompts “NaHaiWriMon” is posting? I plan to, but most of my haiku right now are just what I’d normally write.
      ~Nan

      Reply

      1. Thank-you Nan for your lovely remarks:) No, I haven’t been, either (just what I normally write, as well:) I think I will, also. 🙂

      4. Nan, trying to keep up with the prompts too. It’s fun. I’m not posting on facebook, though. 🙂 Just started using the prompts yesterday, as I was doing my “regular” before…I’m new to this!:)

    5. Maddy – Your dragon ku reminded me of one of my favorite sci-fi fantasy series; “The Dragon Riders of Pern” 🙂
      Happy New Year of the Dragon!!🧧

      Reply

      1. Sounds interesting Jules, will have to look it up. 🙂 Happy New Year of the Dragon, to you, as well!

  9. Hi Mark, and everyone. Hope you are all having a lovely Friday. When I was scrolling up the posts, I noticed Jules, “Dragon Spring” , which reminded me of the beautiful and aromatic dragon snap.

    dragon snap
    puffy colors of the rainbow
    my daughters’ favorite

    Reply

    1. Mark, the post about nightingales inspired me.

      ~ ~ ~

      watching
      a nightingale sing
      on t.v.

      ~ ~ ~

      They sing beautifully, of course! Unfortunately, there aren’t any nightingales in the bay area…

      (YouTube. Singing Nightingale the Best Birdsong .
      Wildlife World Oct 26, 2015 )

      All three of Issa’s poems resonate, the buckwheat noodles takes the cake!

      Reply

      1. Oops:/ I missed the bush warbler’s song…I am glad I did see your link the second time ‘ round…it may even be lovelier than his cousin’s, in Europe:)

      2. Maddy,
        You are hitting these haiku out of the park. Have you ever noticed that one haiku seems to create another and another? Every time the Ohio Haiku group has our monthly meeting via Zoom I find I write several during the meeting, and I am energized all the day long from the interactions with the other poets (some from out of state). We had it today, and for once, we had a writing exercise. I probably have six or so haiku from just today’s meeting. ~Nan

      3. Awww, Nan, that’s so kind of you to say. I do notice that, too. 🙂 Glad you attended! Poetry meets are so inspiring. There is a Belmont Virtual meeting every month over here. I always love it! Poems just start coming. That’s great there were writing exercises during the meeting, so helpful! Six poems…wow! 🙂

      4. …you are way ahead for our daily “Na Hai Wri Mo” project and also hitting your haiku out of the park! 🙂

    2. Pretty sure they are called snapdragons, Maddy.

      I absolutely love them!! I also wrote a haiku about them when thinking of the year of the dragon. Deja ku, my friend!

      Reply

      1. Lol, Eavonka…too funny, my friend! Deja Ku to you too! 🙂 You are so right…I always do that! 🙂

      2. *Corrected form and I changed it a little after I submitted the one above:

        puffs of rosiness
        among my daughter’s window box
        snap dragons

      6. Thanks, Mark…it’s a lot of fun collaborating with Eavonka…I learn so much, as well! 🙂

      7. I thought the same thing, but then I looked them up as Maddy wrote the ku. I was surprised to find all the names that sometimes snapdragons go by: dragon flowers, as well as toadflax and dog flower (if Wikipedia can be trusted for accuracy). Look at all the possible haiku that could come out of these names. ~Nan

      8. Hahaha, I am such an old stick in the mud. Snapdragon is one of my favorite names (and flowers). I can’t imagine even wanting to call them anything else.😂

    3. Great use of dragon in this haiku, Maddy. Such a perfect description of the dragon snap. I’ve always thought of snapdragons were such beautifully shaped flowers and I can understand why your daughters loved them. ~Nan

      Reply

    4. Maddy,

      I had snapdragons in the garden one year… I think I might get some again! Though I have so many flowerseeds to try. I like when the white columbine come up looking like little bells. I have seeds somewhere for yellow columbine too. I think they also can come in purple.

      I read that snapdragons do well in pots and if you pinch the tops they will continue to grow and bloom! I wonder if I planted them with potatoes in a big pot on the front that gets the morning sun… I did get a few potoatoes last year… not enough to tide through winter, but it was fun to watch them grow.

      Reply

      1. That sounds lovely Jules…the columbine are marvelous too. Yes, a lovely image…almost hearing them in the breeze. Purple sounds so pretty, too.
        And all in a big pot! 🙂

      2. Maddy, Gardening will have to wait – we have about 2″ of overnight snow and the white stuff is still falling. There have been some cancelations – but some schools have ‘a virtual learning’ day!

        I waited to trim the dead parts from the mums that are returning (in a front garden)… there was some green coming up. But I thought the snow on the dead parts might help protect the mums… But then mums are hearty 🙂

      3. Hi Jules: What a lovely sight the newly fallen snow, so welcomed by children as they get to stay home, at least. I’m wondering if there is some sunlight coming through too? (and not too cold…) …in a way the snow is also protecting the new mums coming up. 🙂

  10. year of the dragonflies in our future

    In anticipation of the Lunar New Year, I wrote this monoku last week, and I’m so happy that it goes with the prompt!

    Monoku are such an interesting form, and I hope this one works.

    Reply

    1. Eavonka, this monoku is very lovely! And there is depth to it…I think it has triple meanings…it’s an absolute delight and works very well! I do agree, they are pretty amazing. 🙂

      Reply

    3. Eavonka, Nice job with the monoku! I personally struggle to write these and so enjoy reading them. I find that a well written monoku is like a puzzle. This one definitely works like that.

      Reply

      2. I am glad to know that I am not alone in the struggle to write monoku. I have less trouble reading them, but when I write them, I don’t think I get across all the multiple readings (if this makes sense). ~Nan

      1. I write very few of them, tbh. But when I get inspiration, like this one, it’s such a joy.

        I suspect you could be far better at them than you think. I found the articles on Whiptail incredibly helpful.

    5. At the right time of year I can see dragon and damsel (just smaller versions of the larger) down by the creek.
      Such magical little insects. They make me think of faries 🙂

      Reply
  11. Pingback: Poetry – Senryū – Darkness Dragon-winged – A Poem by Goff James | Art, Music, Photography, Poetry and Quotations

  13. Hi Mark,
    Thanks for another haiku-filled and informative post. Thanks to your link, I now know what zodiac animal was the year I was born. Here are my haiku:

    red envelopes…
    celebrating
    the year of the dragon
    ~Nancy Brady, 2024

    spring planting
    dandelion seeds found
    in the colt’s tail
    ~Nancy Brady, 2021
    published in
    Stardust Haiku Issue #53 May, 2021

    paddock
    a dapple gray horse wears
    a mask of red
    ~Nancy Brady, 2024
    #offthecuffhaiku

    Have written more than a haiku a day, but missed February 8, I think. Got a blog to post, then will be back to read everyone’s haiku.

    https://nbsmithblog.wordpress.com

    Reply

    1. A wonderful bonanza of haiku to savor, Nan. I’ve always loved those red envelops.

      I am a Fire Horse. What is your Chinese Zodiac sign?

      Reply

      1. Eavonka,
        Thanks for your comment on my ku. I used to make Lunar new year cards for my son, who studied Chinese for his job. I included red envelopes with a dollar or two inside.

        Based on the link that Mark provided, it is a Horse, but I don’t know anything beyond that (or how to find the information).

        The red envelope haiku may look familiar as that was my entry to THF’s January kukai (red). I have written several others as well, but thought I might be able to use them at some other time.

      2. I looked up what seems to be your birth year since you had to have been born in the last horse year prior to my own.

        You are a wood horse. If you google it, you will find out more information than you probably ever wanted. 😅

        I am fascinated by such things, and I am delighted we are both Horses. Horse is also one of my medicine card totem animals.

        Aha, no wonder that red envelope poem felt familiar! I just used my poem from that kukai in a rengay. I was surprised by how few of the winners even made my long list. There was just so much to chose from! My poem had a crimson leaf landing in a new year.

      3. Well, I know your haiku made my long list, and was in the running for several rounds of winnowing process. After I go through all of the haiku and choose ones I like, I narrow them down by pairing them off and choosing one or the other. I keep pairing them down, and sometimes two superb haiku go up against each other. If I really can’t choose between them, I set them aside as a tie. As I get to the last 5 or 10, it really gets difficult. I believe yours was one of them, but of the winners and honorable mentions, I only had the flashmob haiku. The rest of my choices didn’t even show up. Before I hit the Submit Vote button, I write them down just to see how my haiku choices stack up to the results. Some months my choices do well; this one, there were too many good ones, and I suspect that the votes were all over the place. I wish, like other kukai I’ve entered, that if you submit, you have to vote or your haiku gets eliminated. Sometimes only about half of the number of haiku entrants ever vote. I always vote if I submit even if it takes me several days to narrow the choices.

      4. Aww, so glad my poem caught your fancy! Only my #1 choice “endless desert” (with the red gas can) got mentioned.

        I noticed that even the 1st place winner couldn’t have had more than 16 votes out of of over 120 voters so I think things got really spread out this time.

    2. I’m back, with my cup of tea! The red envelopes are wonderful. I especially love your poem about dapple gray horses. It’s so great when owners use masks. (Flies can be so merciless:/. ) I wondered about the red mask and so looked it up. I didn’t know they are used on racehorses in England and Ireland, to stay calm before races. It is large enough to muffle their ears too from all the noise…used as a sun block too. 🙂

      Reply

      1. Thanks, Madeleine, for the compliments on my haiku.

        Thanks, too, for the information about masks and horses. I asked my husband if he had noticed the mask and he gave me some answer about medicinal reasons for it, and I didn’t question it.

        I had never noticed a horse wearing a mask until then. Since it is cold here right now, I can’t imagine too many flies are causing a problem. A second horse at the same place doesn’t wear a mask. Since these two horses live at the corner of a fairly busy intersection, I wonder if the mask is being used to narrow the horse’s vision, reducing anxiety. I’ll have to look to see if the horse is light-skinned and needs a sunblock, too, when next I go by them. I just thought this masked horse (Hi, ho Silver!) needed a ku of his own. Nan

      2. Sounds like fun, Nan! (I agree, he does deserve one of his own!) Thank-you for your thoughtfulness….lovely names for a lovely flower. 🙂

    3. Hi Nan, I really like “red envelopes”. I was just reading about the color red and new years decorations.
      Great to hear that you are keeping up with NaHaiWriMo. That is impressive that you only missed one day!

      Reply

      1. Mark,
        I learned about the red envelopes when my son was studying Chinese for his job. I made him cards to celebrate the lunar new year. I included red envelopes with money tucked inside as that was the custom. In a couple years when his son is older, I will probably make him cards and add a red envelope or two. I actually wrote a haiku about that at the same time I wrote this one. TMI!
        I feel behind in my haiku writing for the month though. I’ve not written the haiku for the prompts, just writing other haiku. ~Nan

  14. Pingback: Week 6–Year of the Dragon (Season Words) | nbsmithblog…random digressions and musings
  15. Pingback: 12.2.24 — Haiku – BenT

  18. Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

    Here’s my haiku for the day: (from the NaHaiWriMo prompt)!

    red roses
    and violets of haiku
    it’s so much fun writing
    with all of you!

    A haiqua.. .(from necessity, as I had some left over words:)
    Hope everyone is having a very nice day! 🙂

    Reply
  19. Pingback: Tiger in Year of Dragon – Mom With a Blog

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