Week 11: “First Peach Blossoms”

March 11 to March 17 is the eleventh week of 2024.  This week, we are in the Solar Term of Awakening of Insects (Mar 05 – Mar 19), the micro-seasons of “First Peach Blossoms” (Mar 11- Mar 15), and the micro-season of “Caterpillars Become Butterflies” (Mar 16 – Mar 20).

Basho, Buson, Issa, Reichhold, Kerouac, and Li Po wrote the poems selected for this week.

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

Awakening of Insects

Awakening of Insects is the third Solar Term of the year and the third Solar Term of Spring. Jingzhe (惊蛰) is the Chinese name for this season. Jingzhe (惊蛰) is translated to mean “the weather is warming up with the first thundering in spring, awakening the insects hiding under the earth in hibernation.”⁽²⁾

Seasonal Food: The Pear

During this season, people start spending more time outdoors and engaging in hard agricultural work.   At the same time, the air is also becoming drier and warmer. The combination of hard outside work and changing environmental factors can result in coughs and colds.  The pear, which is sweet and juicy, is said to moisten the lungs to prevent colds brought on by dryness.  Therefore, pears are a recommended food during Awakening of Insects.⁽³⁾

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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 we have the micro-seasons of “First Peach Blossoms” (Mar 11- Mar 15) and the micro-season of “Caterpillars Become Butterflies” (Mar 16 – Mar 20).  

Peach Blossoms

Peach Trees (Prunus persica) produce peach blossoms.  These trees are a member of the rose family (Rosaceae).  Other plants in this family included cherries, apricots, and almonds.  

Peach blossoms are typically pale pinks with a deep magenta center. Each flower has 5 petals and the blossoms are arranged around last year’s shoots. For a peach tree to blossom, and subsequently produce fruit, the tree needs to experience a period of chilling.  An ideal chilling period is about 500 hours of temperatures between 32 -50 degrees Fahrenheit.  This chilling period allows the tree to induce an internal chemical process that brings about the flower buds.^(6,7)

The peach blossoms’ petals are edible and often used as garnishes.  They can be found in cakes, pies, tarts, ice cream, crème brulee, and other desserts. 

Peach blossoms can also used in a variety of teas. The peach blossom mixes well with green, black, or white teas, and the taste of the blossom compliments the taste of mint, basil, and thyme, cinnamon.⁽⁸⁾

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Astronomical Season

March 18, the last day of week eleven, is 84 days past the winter solstice and only 1 day away from the spring equinox (March 19, 2024).  

Moon Phases

On March 17, the moon reached its first quarter phase. The First Quarter is 7 days after the New Moon and marks the first quarter of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. 

On March 18, the Moon is in a Waxing Gibbous phase with 68% illumination. It will take another 7 days to reach March’s full moon on March 25. 

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Haiku and Kigo 

The kigo, or season word, is one of the key parts of the haiku.  The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society gives us the following explanation for why we use kigo in haiku. 

“A kigo is a poetic device used in haiku to denote a season; it’s a powerful word or phrase that can conjure up many allusions, historical references, spiritual meanings, and/or cultural traditions. Its use in haiku, a poem of few words, is especially effective because of this power to expand its meaning beyond the literal and to create a larger aura of seasonal mood, historical/ literary context, and/or cultural implications.”⁽⁹⁾

Visit The Haiku Foundation’s “New To Haiku: What is a Kigo?” for more information about the kigo and its uses.

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Seasonal Kigo

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, “peach blossom” is listed as a spring kigo, while “peach” is an autumn kigo. Yamamoto also includes “plum blossom” and “cherry blossom” as related kigo. 

In a short paragraph before the list of Sping/Plant kigo, Yamamoto explains that in traditional renku, “blossom” without naming the type of blossom, is considered a cherry blossom. Cherry blossoms have their own micro-season (March 26 – March 30), so we will wait until then for any specific cherry blossom haiku.

 In Jane Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku, “blossoms” are listed as an overarching kigo, and “apple blossom, “cherry blossom”, and “plum blossom” are also listed.  Reichhold doesn’t make the same distinction about the term “blossom” as Yamamoto. 

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

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Basho

spring
gradually takes shape– 
moon and plum blossoms 
(translated by Haruo Shirane) 

a spring unseen: 
on the back of the mirror, 
plum blossoms. 
(translated by David Landis Barnhill) 

in my sickbed, 
I can’t even eat my rice cake - 
blossoming peach 
(translated by Sam Hamill) 

Issa

on the homecoming servant's
face too...
peach blossoms
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

the setting place
for the spring sun...
wisteria blossoms
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

A woman
Reading a letter by moonlight
Pear blossoms
(translated by Alex Kerr)

Reichhold

clusters talking
together in admiration
apple blossoms

Kerouac

The Spring moon–
   How many miles away
Those orange blossoms!

Li Po

Mountain Dialogue

You ask why I’ve settled in these emerald mountains:
I smile, mind of itself perfectly idle, and say nothing.
Peach blossoms drift streamwater away deep in mystery
here, another heaven and earth, nowhere people know. 
(translated by David Hinton)

Li Po (701-762) is a Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Li Po may also be known as Li Bai, Li Pai, Li T’ai-po, and Li T’ai-pai. 

I came across Li Po’s poem in some research I did after reading Arthur Sze’s poem “Floaters”.  In this poem, Sze writes,

peach blossoms on flowing water go
             into the distance—

and, as I ponder how a line written in 740
             stays present tense—
(excerpt from “Floaters”)

Please go read Arthur Sze’s full poem on the Poetry Foundation website. It’s worth the time!

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Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu referencing any blossoming plant except the cherry!

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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Let’s Spread the Joy of Haiku!

Buy a haiku book for the Woodbury Community Library (Woodbury, VT) and help them spread the joy of haiku! Follow this link to see the wishlist and how you can help.

2 out of the 10 books for the library have been purchased and are on their way.

Thank you for your support!

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

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 The Classic Tradition of Haiku edited by Faubion Bowers.. Jane Reichhold’s haiku were retrieved from Dictionary of Haiku. Kerouac’s haiku was retrieved from Kerouac’s  Book of Haikus.  Li Po’s poem was retrieved from Mountain Home: The Wilderness Poetry of Ancient China translated by David Hinton.

Arthur Sze has two collections of poetry: Sight Lines and The Glass Constellation: New and Collected Poems. Sze also has a book of translated poetry The Silk Dragon: Translations from the Chinese.

1. “The 24 Solar Terms”; China Educational Tours
2. “6 Solar Terms of Spring”; China Educational Tours
3. “24 Solar Terms: 6 things you must know about Awakening of Insects”; ChinaDaily
4. 72 Seasons App
5. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
6. “Peach”; Wikipedia
7. “Peach”; Brittanica
8. “Peach Blossoms”; SpecialityProduce.com