Haibun
“Rice Cultivation & Akita Culture”
by Hidenori Hiruta in Japan
Rice Cultivation
During
the Yayoi period (c. 300 BC – 300 AD), people settled in lowlands and
began cultivating rice. River floodplains and wetlands were the most suitable
areas for rice cultivation and came to symbolize fertility.
According to the Kojiki『古事記』(712), which is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the kami（神）, and the Japanese imperial line, Japan is described as "the land of abundant reed fields and the rice fields of Toyoashihara no Mizuho no Kuni."
Literally, Japan was a country where beautiful, fresh
ears of rice grew, like rich and spacious reed fields. The flooded riverbeds
and low-lying reed marshes of those days are now mostly alluvial plains, but
they formed the beautiful land of Mizuho.
Currently, rice is grown mainly in alluvial plains
throughout Japan. Since the Yayoi period, rice farming has not only been a key
industry in Japan, but has also given rise to a variety of cultures in each
region. In particular, rites and festivals are held to pray for good harvests
and to give thanks for the harvest, and these traditional events play an
important role in people's lives.
In terms of literature, the Man'yōshū『万葉集』compiled during the Nara period (710 –
794), contains waka poems about rice, and there are also many seasonal words
related to rice in haiku, which have led to the creation of many haiku poems
about rice.
Akita Culture
Here are three photographs and haiku poems based on
Akita Prefecture's alluvial plain and the Kanto Festival.
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akitaheiya karita nagaruru taiga kana
Akita Plain
the river flowing
through
harvested rice
fields
Note "Akita Plain"
"Akita"
is a place name and literally means "autumn rice fields", that is, 秋(aki:
autumn) 田 (ta:
rice fields).
Akita Plain faces
the Sea of Japan and spreads out around the lower reaches of the Omono River.
Lake Hachirogata spreads across the northern part of the plain, and the Oga
Peninsula is located to the west of it. Agriculture has been thriving in the
area since ancient times, with rice cultivation being the main focus.
Akita is also used
as the prefecture name, which is well known as the land of Mizuho. In Akita
Prefecture, rice cultivation is carried out in Akita Plain, Noshiro Plain, Honjō
Plain, Yokote Basin (Semboku Plain and Hiraka Plain), and other areas.
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竿燈や光の稲穂宵闇に
kantō ya hikari no inaho yoiyami ni
Kanto –
lanterns like rice
ears glow
the evening
darkness
Note "Akita Kanto
Festival (1)"
The Kanto Festival, the celebrated summer event in
Akita, is held to ward off evil and pray for a bountiful harvest, using bamboo
poles fitted with bale-shaped lanterns made to look like large ears of rice.
The origins of the Kanto date back to the mid-Edo period during the Horeki era (1751-1764). It began as a festival designed to ward off summer ailments and drowsiness and to drive away evil spirits.
In 1789, during the first year of the
Kansei era, a document described a procession with numerous lanterns on long
poles arranged in a cross shape, resembling the prototype of the current Kanto
Festival, which has been passed down by the townspeople of Kubota Castle of the
Akita Domain.
In the evening, the kanto poles come in different
sizes with the largest measuring 12 meters, weighing 50 kilograms and carrying
as many as 46 paper lanterns, lit by real candles. To the sound of drums,
flutes and onlookers chanting "dokkoisho, dokkoisho", each kanto is
hoisted up by a single performer who balance them on end using various
techniques.
The time spent holding the kanto with both hands is
short, with most movements being done with one hand. The performer receives the
kanto from the person in front of them, carries it on their body to perform the
act, and then passes it on to the next person - all of this action is done with
one hand, demonstrating the skilled technique of the performer.
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竿燈のバランスを取るおでこかな
kantō no
baransu o toru odeko kana
The kanto pole
on his forehead
in balance
Note "Akita Kanto
Festival (2)"
During the day, neighborhood and company teams get
together to display their special feats.
The level of skill can be seen by which part of the
body the pole is balanced.
"Flat hand"
A basic technique where the pole is
balanced on the palm of the hand.
"Shoulder"
A technique where the pole is balanced on
one shoulder and the neck and arm are used to balance it.
"Forehead"
A technique where the pole is balanced by
looking up at the sky and resting it on the forehead.
"Waist"
A difficult technique where the pole is balanced on the waist, requiring skill. If the pole can be held still successfully, the performer can pose holding a fan or umbrella. This elicits loud applause and cheers from the audience.
At the signal to start the Kanto Festival, about 280
poles are raised up at once, drawing cheers from the spectators.
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Kanto Festival has been designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Last of all, let me add one more thing. What can be
said to be common between rice farming and Kanto Festival is that both required
male power as a driving force behind them.
In the early rice farming, the men plowed the fields,
while the women planted the rice and harvested it.
In the Kanto Festival, the men are the performers,
while the women play flutes or
drums.
Note 'Kanji「男」for "man"
(male)'
In Japanese,「おとこ (otoko: male)」is
written in kanji as「男」. The compound character「男」is
explained as below.
The kanji for「男」"man"
(male) is a compound character made up of the characters for「田」"field"
and「力」"power."
It is said that "field" represents a rice field, and
"power" represents the plow, a farming tool. It is said that it came
to be used to mean "man" because it was men who managed the farmland.
In Japanese,「力」"power"
is also read as "chikara," but chikara comes from "blood,"
and is said to represent the shape of tensed muscles.
From this, it can
also be interpreted that the origin of "man" represents the image of
someone doing heavy labor in a rice field, and that it is men who are doing
heavy labor.
Brief bio
1942 Hidenori Hiruta was born in Taihei, Akita
City, Akita Prefecture, Japan.
1952 Entered the Sōtō
Zen monkhood at the age of 10.
1961 Entered Akita University and majored in
English language and English literature.
1964 Wrote a graduation thesis as below.
The title: The
Waste Land by T.S. Eliot – Despair and Salvation –
The Waste Land: T.S.
Eliot's famous long poem
“About salvation
after the First World War (1914-1918)”
1965 Began to teach at a high school as an
English teacher.
1981 Attended a high school English education
instructor course organized by the Ministry of Education, where one of the
lectures was English Haiku. He first wrote English haiku as below.
At Mount Tsukuba
burnishing study
and thoughts
chestnuts ripen
筑波山毬栗の如学びけり
tsukubayama igaguri no goto manabi keri
1998 Studied about English haiku from Professor
David McMurray. He began to write English haiku again. His haiku have appeared in various publications including Asahi Haikuist Network edited by David McMurray, Simply Haiku, Haiku Pix Review, Haijinx,
HI (Tokyo), and so on. He was active,
based in Akita Prefecture, Northern Honshu, Japan.
2009 Member of the Haiku International
Association, whose president was Dr. Akita Arima.
Also member of Japanese haiku group:
Ten’I (Providence) led by Dr. Akito Arima.
2009 Set up the website “Akita International
Haiku Network”.
Also founded the association “Akita
International Haiku, Senryū, Tanka Network.”
2019 Hidenori and Ben Grafström formed the new
association “Akita International Haiku Network”.
2024 Formed the new haiku group “Haiku beyond
Earth「天上」俳句会”,
whose posting is now going on through the website of the Akita International
Haiku Network.
2025 Living
in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
Photo "a photo in Sendai Tanabata Festival 2017"
.JPG)
2009 Hidenori Hiruta set up his own haiku blog
“AKITA HAIKU”.
https://akitahaiku.blogspot.com/
Facebook 蛭田秀法
https://www.facebook.com/shhiruta
2023 Gave a talk: “9.23 Haiku Talk by Hidenori
Hiruta at Kobe University 2023”, whose title is「五・七・五の世界―日本語の魅力―」.
https://akitahaiku.com/2023/12/05/
2019-2021
Published 5
e-books (English Edition) Kindle 版:
‘俳句「山上」HAIKU Surmounting’
‘俳句「山上」HAIKU Surmounting Ⅱ’
‘3.11 Memorial Haiku「追悼」’
‘HAIKU Lake Tazawa「国鱒」’
‘Resurrection of Tatsuko「辰子の復活」’
