Week 37: “White Dew”

September 09 –  September 15 is the 37th week of 2024.  This week, we are in the meteorological season of fall but remain in astronomical summer until the autumnal equinox on September 22, 2024. 

At this time, we are also in the Solar Term of White Dew (Sep 08 – Sept 21) and enter the micro-season of “Dew Glistens White on Grass” (Sep 08 – Sep 12).

Basho, Issa, Buson, and Reichhold 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 Xi’an, the capital of China during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). ⁽¹⁾

White Dew

White Dew is the fifteenth Solar Term of the year and the third Solar Term of Autumn. Bailu (白露) is the Chinese name for this season.  Bailu (白露) means “white dew marks the beginning of cool weather”.⁽²⁾  

During White Dew, the temperature starts to drop rapidly and there is more rain.  Tea, rice liquor, and sweet potatoes are traditional foods for this season.⁽²⁾

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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-season for this week is “Dew Glistens White on Grass” (Sep 08 – Sep 12). 

About Dew

Dew is the term used to describe the tiny water droplets that form on objects near the ground. Dew forms when the air surrounding these objects cools to the dew point. The dew point is the temperature at which water vapor condenses into liquid.

There are several conditions that promote dew formation including:

• Warm days: Warmer days allow more moisture to evaporate into the air, increasing the potential for dew.
• Higher humidity: High humidity means there is more water vapor in the air.
• Light winds: Light winds prevent the mixing of air masses with different moisture levels, making it easier for dew to form.
• Moist soil: Moist soil adds extra moisture to the air, aiding in dew formation.
• Clear night skies: Clear skies promote rapid cooling of the ground and objects, encouraging condensation.

There are also a few conditions that will disrupt dew formation. These conditions are:

• High winds: Strong winds mix air masses, preventing dew from forming.
• Cold temperatures: If the temperature drops to or below freezing (32°F or 0°C), frost will form instead of dew.
• Arid climates: Dry regions may lack the moisture necessary to produce dew.

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Haiku, Kigo, and Saijiki

The kigo, or season word, is one of the key parts of the haiku. A kigo “a poetic device used in haiku to denote a season.”⁽⁶⁾ It can “conjure up many allusions, historical references, spiritual meanings, and/or cultural traditions.”⁽⁷⁾ When used in a haiku, it 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.”⁽⁷⁾

A saijiki is a dictionary of season words, or kigo, paired with haiku using that season word.  A saijiki is a reference and tool for the poet that is divided into five seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and New Year) and separated into seven categories.

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, each of the five seasons has seven categories of words.

• Seasons
• Heavens
• Earth
• Humanity
• Observances
• Animals
• Plants

While this document doesn’t include haiku for each season word, it is helpful in understanding what words may be kigo.

In  A Dictionary of Haiku, Jane Reichhold’s English language saijiki representing her location and experiences, she follows the five seasons structure with some slight differences in categories.  Reichhold’s categories are:

• Moods
• Occasions
• Celestial 
• Terrestrial
• Livelihood
• Animals 
• Plants

Both Reichhold’s Dictionary and Yamamoto’s Essential Season Words are helpful in understanding the role and use of kigo in haiku.

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This Week’s Kigo and Haiku

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, “fog”, ”dew”, “dew chill”, and “dew frost” are all relevant kigo for this week. 

In Jane Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku, “fog”, “mist”, and “morning dewt” are also relevant kigo.

Now, let’s read some haiku. 

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Basho

deep into autumn- 
a butterfly sipping 
chrysanthemum dew
(translated by David Landis Barnhill)

without dropping
its bright white dew, 
a bush clover sways 
(translated by David Landis Barnhill)

a narrow path, 
wire grass blossoms
filled with dew. 
(translated by David Landis Barnhill)

Issa

even among silver
dewdrops...
some big, some little
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

amid dewdrops
it triggers nostalgia...
hackberry tree
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

bell for the ancestors--
in falling dewdrops
it rings
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

The dewy grass
silently weeps
in the dying sun 
(translated by Allan Persinger)

After a short night
on the caterpillar’s hairs
dew drops
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Reichhold

morning dews
coming out a cedar house
the whole forest

broken fence
river valley fog patches
the gaping holes

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Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu about dew or  morning fog

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

Formatting Note:  To eliminate the spaces between the lines of your haiku, hit shift-enter at the end of the line.  For example,

one (shift-enter)
line two (shift-enter)
the third line (shift-enter)

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Thank You!

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A Local Saijiki Project

The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, explains that a saijiki is useful for poets, “naturalists, and people interested in the natural and cultural history of an area.”  The saijiki contains seasonal words, plus haiku that demonstrate the poetic qualities of the words.

The creation of a local saijiki, one that represents an individual community, always felt like a big, daunting, and yet worthwhile project.  So, I have decided to try and create my own saijiki. I am not sure how this will turn out, but if you are interested in joining me and creating your own saijiki, I have created a saijiki worksheet to get you started.  If nothing else, this is a good exercise in noticing the natural world and writing haiku. Let’s see where this project takes us! 

• Saijiki Worksheet (PDF file)
• Saijiki Worksheet (Google Doc)

About Today’s 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, a Translation by Allan Persinger. Jane Reichhold’s haiku was retrieved from the Dictionary of Haiku.

References:

1. “The 24 Solar Terms”; China Educational Tours
2. “6 Solar Terms of Autumn”; China Educational Tours
3. 72 Seasons App
4. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
5. “Dew”; National Geographic
6. “Dew”; Wikipedia
7. “New To Haiku: What is a Kigo?”