Haiku about Summer (32)

 

 

舟繋ぐ石の袂の青田かな

 

fune tsunagu  ishi no tamoto no  aota kana

 

 

The boat-tying stone

neighboring

the green paddy field

 

Notes:

 

Here in Akita, it is just June-like weather lasting these days, when I visited Kisakata(象潟) Basho visited on August 1, 1689, on his journey.

Basho and his party are said to have taken a boat out on the lagoon on Kisakata They put in first 能因島 (Nohin jima), Nohin Island, where they called at the remains of the hut in which 能因(Nohin)(988-?), a waka poet, lived in seclusion for three years.

After that, Basho and his party left for the opposite shore, where they landed from their boat, and they saw the cherry tree that stands as a memento of 西行法師(Saigyo hoshi)(1118-1190), Saigyo. Then they called at the temple standing nearby. In those days it was called the Ebb-and-Flow-Pearls Temple(干満珠寺)(Kanman ju ji), which is now called 蚶満寺 (Kanman ji), the Kanman-Temple.

 My photo and haiku are about the present-day Kisakata.

Hidenori Hiruta （蛭田秀法）

 



 

 

 

Haiku about New Year (7)

 

柴燃えて生剥げ踊る神楽かな

 

shiba moete   namahage odoru   kagura kana

 

 

Firewood burning

Namahage absorbed in

sacred music and dance

 

 

 

Notes:
Namahge give performances through sacred music and dance in the festival. The Oga people have coexisted with nature, inventing drama between human beings and the guardian deities. Giving birth to a feeling of mystery, the festival presents children something exciting and fantastic. The children gradually develop a sense of affiliation with their community and its culture, while the men who act as Namahage reinforce their identity and the continuity of their longstanding traditions.

By Hidenori Hiruta

蛭田秀法

 

Haiku about New Year (6)

真山の祭りに降りる神の使者

 

shinzan no   matsuri ni oriru   kami no sisha

 

 

From Mount Shinzan

descend messengers of god

into a festival

 

Notes:
The Namahage Sedo Festival is held on the grounds of the Shinzan Shrine at the foot of Mount Shinzan on the second Friday, Saturday and Sunday of February every year, when the “Devil Festival” on December 31 is re-enacted for the public there.
Namahage join the festival as messengers of god in the following way.
First of all, there is a ceremony in which young men are exorcized and changed into messengers of god with devil masks handed by Shinto priest（神官）, entering Mount Shinzan as Namahage.
Next, those Namahage　come down to the grounds of the Shinzan Shrine to take part in the festival.

By Hidenori Hiruta

蛭田秀法

Haiku about New Year (5)

なまはげに供ふ御膳や海の幸

 

namahage ni  sonau ozen ya   umi no sachi

 

 

A thanksgiving dish

to Namahage --

fruits of the sea

 

 

Notes:

The real purpose of the arrival of the devils is to punish the lazy fellow who does not do his work or help the parents with the house chores.                                      

The head of the family will serve the devils in a formal manner with sake and fish while the children and the housewife watch from a respectful distance. Suddenly the devil will shout to the wife “Is the cooking knife sharp?”  “Are the New Year’s beans boiled?”
The festival consists of drama between human beings and the guardian deities. It is carried out as tradition and custom in the richness and fantasy afforded people of this part of the world. The figures suddenly rush out of the house to pound on the next door in their frantic scratch for a lazy fellow.

 

By Hidenori Hiruta

蛭田　秀法

Haiku about New Year (4)

 

 

 

神の使者童育む大晦日

 

kami no shisha   warabe hagukumu   oomisoka

 

 

Messengers of god

bring up Oga children

New Year's Eve

Notes:

 When the door is open, the first devil describes himself as the spirit, while the second devil beats upon a wooden bucket with a large cutting knife.

The elders of the house receive them and bring the devils into the house and the living room. As the devils walk slowly down the hall way the devil of Namahage will shout in a loud voice. “Where are the crybabies in this house?”  Suddenly the devil slides open a door and there will be the children. Namahage will shout. “Are you good children?” “Are you working hard at school?” Of course, the children all nod their heads that they are doing their best.

By Hidenori Hiruta

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　蛭田　秀法

Haiku about New Year (3)

男鹿半島福招きけり神の使者

 

oga hantou   fuku manekikeri   kami no shisha

 

 

Oga Peninsula

messengers of god invite

good luck

Notes:

In the Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture in the northern Honshu, Japan, there is a deep feeling of mystery as the New Year begins. There is the “Devil Festival” held there on December 31, a ceremony that children find exciting and full of thrills. Two or five young men dressed in straw rain capes, large straw boots and wearing frightful masks run as fast as possible through the village in the snow and shout in a monster-like voice as they knock upon each door.

By Hidenori Hiruta

      蛭田 秀法

Haiku about Autumn (28)

秋深し知覧の桜根を広ぐ

aki fukasi   chiran no sakura   ne wo hirogu

deep autumn

Chiran's cherry trees spreading

their roots

Notes:
On November 2, 2015, Hidenori Hiruta visited the Tokkō Peace Kannondō (特攻平和観音堂) when he went to Chiran Peace Park, in Chiran, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.  
The Tokkō Peace Kannondō is a temple having a statue of Kannon, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy inside. The image enshrined within is a 0.58m replica statue of the Yumechigai Kannon (夢違観音 Dream-Changing Kannon), a National Treasure at Hōryū-ji. The names of the 1,036 kamikaze pilots are written on paper within her womb.
http://akitahaiku.com/

Hidenori Hiruta

蛭田　秀法

Haiku about Autumn (27)

 

 

島見ゆる仙巌園や菊祭

 

shima miyuru   senganen ya   kiku matsuri
 

 

Sakurajima over there

here is Sengan-en --

Chrsanthemum Festival

 

 

Notes:

 

The Sengan-en was built in 1658 by the 2^nd lord of the Satsuma feudal clan (19^th generation of the Shimazu family).

The garden uses a traditional garden design technique called ‘borrowed scenery’,  incorporating both Sakurajima and Kinko bay. The garden is said to have been loved and frequented by Shimazu Nariakira and Atsuhime. The Sengan-en also includes a villa that was used as a rural retreat of the Shimazu family, whom to this day, owns the Sengan-en.

By Hidenori Hiruta

蛭田　秀法

Haiku about Autumn (26)

 

 

城山の石仏祈る平和かな

 

shiroyama no   sekibutsu inoru   heiwa kana

 

 

Shiroyama stone Buddha

praying for

peace





Notes:

During his stay in Kagoshima （鹿児島）,  Hidenori Hiruta visited Shiroyama Observatory （城山展望台) on November 2, 2015.  He found the stone Buddha on a hill of the Observatory.

By Hidenori Hiruta

蛭田　秀法

Haiku about Autumn (25)

城山の望む天下や秋の色

 

shiroyama no  nozomu tenka ya  aki no iro

 

Shiroyama observatory

commanding the world below --

autumn colors

Notes:

 

Hidenori Hiruta made a photo haiku above during his stay in Kagoshima （鹿児島）.

He visited Shiroyama Observatory （城山展望台) on November 2, 2015.

The observatory was built on a hill that is 107 meters high. It has panoramic views of the center of Kagoshima and Sakurajima （桜島）. Kagoshima is called “Naples of the Orient,” due to climate, location, temperament of the inhabitants and the nearby presence of one of the world’s most famous volcanoes, Sakurajima.

By Hidenori Hiruta

蛭田　秀法