Week 39: “Thunder Ceases”

September 23 –  September 29 is the 39th week of 2024.  This week, we have shifted into autumn in both the meteorological and astronomical seasons.  We also wrap up the Solar Term of White Dew (Sep 08 – Sept 21) and enter the micro-seasons of “Thunder Ceases” (Sep 23 – Sep 27).

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

---

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 to Autumn Equinox

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⁾  

On September 22, we transition to Autumn Equinox, the sixteenth Solar Term of the year. Qiufen (秋分) is the Chinese name for this season.  Qiufen (秋分) signifies the mid-point of autumn. 

---

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 “Thunder Ceases” (Sep 23 – Sep 27). To understand why this season is called “Thunder Ceases”, we first need to understand what causes thunder.

What Causes Thunder?

Thunder is the sound produced by lightning, typically associated with thunderstorms. Thunderstorms occur when there is an unstable air mass, which means warm air is trapped beneath cold air.

When there is an unstable air mass, the warm air rises into the cooler air above it. As the warm air rises, its water vapor condenses to form a cloud. If there is enough warm moist air, the cloud will grow. It will eventually reach a point where it creates a flat, anvil-shaped cloud called a cumulonimbus incus. The water particles in these upper parts of the cloud then start to freeze. After the water particles freeze they will fall back toward the earth, thaw out, and become rain.

The rising and falling of these water molecules inside the cloud generates static electricity. Once the cloud’s negative charge reaches a critical point, it seeks to discharge, creating a flash of lightning.

This lightning rapidly heats the surrounding air, causing the loud crack we recognize as thunder.

Why Does Thunder Cease?

After the autumn equinox, days shorten, and temperatures in the northern hemisphere cool. As the temperatures drop, the chances of an unstable air mass decrease, leading to fewer thunderstorms. As a result, the conditions needed for creating thunder and lightening diminish.

---

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.

---

This Week’s Kigo and Haiku

In The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words as selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, “autumn sky”, “first autumn rain”, and “lighting” are relevant kigo for this week. 

In Jane Reichhold’s A Dictionary of Haiku, “clouds”, “dark rain”, and “storm” are relevant kigo.

Now, let’s read some haiku. 

---

Basho

Autumn wind, 
blasting the stones 
of Mount Asama. 
(translated by  Lucien Stryk)  

Something to behold! 
chrysanthemum after 
an autumn storm. 
(translated by Haruo Shirane) 

Autumn storm - 
wild boars tossed 
with leaves. 
(translated by  Lucien Stryk) 

Issa

the wind chills
one sleeve...
autumn rain
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

all night looking
at my wrinkled hands...
autumn rain
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

on four or five
slender blades of grass
autumn rain
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

In autumn rain
crossing over a river bottom
filled with weeds
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Moonflowers
tremble in the autumn wind —
a purifying river
(translated by Allan Persinger)

Reichhold

autumn storms
shaking moonlight
from leaves

in the dark of night
who would have thought
rain was round

---

Haiku invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu about the autumn sky.

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 remove 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)

---

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

Thank You!

---

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. “Thunderstorms”: Wikipedia
7. “What Causes Lightning and Thunder?”; SciJinks NOAA