Haibun (1)

 

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.

 

 秋田平野刈田流るる大河かな

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.

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.

 

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.

 Summing up

 

At the signal to start the Kanto Festival, about 280 poles are raised up at once, drawing cheers from the spectators.

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”.

　　　  https://akitahaiku.com/　

       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"

 

 Haiku Blog, Talk, and Books

 

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」’