Week 38: “Swallows Leave”

September 16 –  September 22 is the 38th week of 2024.  This week, we are in the meteorological season of fall but remain in astronomical summer until the autumnal equinox on Sunday (Sep 22) at 8:43 am. 

This week, we are also in the Solar Term of White Dew (Sep 08 – Sept 21), and the micro-seasons of “Wagtails Sing” (Sep 13 – Sep 17) and “Swallows Leave” (Sep 18 – Sep 22).

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⁾  

Seasonal Fruit

Grapes and Longan fruit become widely available at this time of year.  Both types of fruit are sweet and have traditional medicinal properties.  Grapes “dispel internal heat and expel toxins”, ⁽³⁾ and Longan fruit supports the spleen, nourishes the blood, and calms the nerves.⁽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⁾

The micro-seasons for this week are “Wagtails Sing” (Sep 13 – Sep 17) and “Swallows Leave” (Sep 18 – Sep 22).

About Wagtails

Wagtails are small passerine (perching) birds belonging to the genus Motacilla. They are insectivores, known for their long tails and distinctive tail-wagging behavior, which gives them their name. Wagtails typically live near waterways, roost in trees, and build their nests on the ground.

There are 13 species of wagtails worldwide. In Alaska, both the Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis) and the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) can be found. While in Japan, they have the Japanese Wagtail (Motacilla grandis). The Japanese Wagtail is a non-migratory species^(6,7)

About Swallows

The term “swallow” refers to birds in the family Hirundinidae. There are 86 species of swallows found across the globe.

Swallows are small birds characterized by pointed, narrow wings, short bills, and smal feet. Many species have forked tails and display plain or metallic blue and green plumage. Swallows are highly aerial, spending much of their time in flight as they hunt for insects. They nest in various locations, including tree cavities, sandbanks, and man-made structures.  

In the United States, eight species of swallows are commonly observed: the Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Cliff Swallow, and Cave Swallow. Of these, the Barn Swallow is the only species found in North America and Japan.^(8,9)

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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.”⁽¹⁰⁾

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, “wagtails” and “rice sparrows” are relevant kigo for this week. 

In Jane Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku, “migrating fowl”, “cranes/storks come”, and “crow” and “quail” are relevant kigo.

Now, let’s read some haiku. 

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Basho

Within my winecup 
Let no mud fall, 
O, you flocking swallows. 
(translated by Thomas McAuley)  

sparrows from rice fields 
flock to the tea plantation, 
seeking refuge 
(translated by Sam Hamill)

Issa

maybe the wagtail
put it there...
lantern for the dead
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

when you return
don't forget my house!
departing swallows
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

the swallows too
pray for the town...
river shrine
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

On a painting of Otsu
scattered droppings —
swallows
(translated by Allan Persinger)

On ancient Japanese roads
in shabby straw shrines and houses
swallows
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Reichhold

migrating ducks
changing colors of the lake
to autumn

cold wind ruffles
breast feathers of a gray bird
rumors of war

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Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu about a local bird.

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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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. “24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about White Dew”. English.gov.cn
4. 72 Seasons App
5. “Japan’s 72 Microseasons”; Nippon.com
6. “Wagtail”; Wikipedia
7. “Japanese Wagtail”; Wikipedia
8. Heisman, Rebecca. “Swallows of the United States”; American Bird Conservancy
9. “Swallow”; Britannica
10. “New To Haiku: What is a Kigo?”