A is a list of ''

kigo is a word or phrase associated with a particular season, used in traditional forms of Japanese poetry. Kigo are used in the collaborative linked-verse forms renga and renku, as well as in haiku, to indicate the season referred to in the sta ...

'' (seasonal terms) used in

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or s ...

and related forms of poetry. An entry in a saijiki usually includes a description of the kigo itself, as well as a list of similar or related words, and some examples of haiku that include that kigo. A is similar, but does not contain sample poems. Modern ''saijiki'' and ''kiyose'' are divided into the four seasons and New Year, with some containing a further section for topics. Each seasonal section is further divided into a standard set of categories, each containing a list of relevant ''kigo''. The most common categories are: * The season * The heavens * The earth * Humanity * Observances * Animals * Plants

Japanese seasons

In the

Japanese calendar Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with t ...

, seasons traditionally followed the

lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the ...

with the

solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...

s and

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

es at the middle of a season. The traditional Japanese seasons are: * Spring: 4 February–5 May * Summer: 6 May–7 August * Autumn: 8 August–6 November * Winter: 7 November–3 February In categorising kigo, a saijiki or kiyose divides each season into early, middle, and late periods, as follows:Higginson, William J. ''Kiyose (Seasonword Guide)'', From Here Press, 2005, p.24 * Early spring: 4 February–5 March * Mid-spring: 6 March–4 April * Late spring: 5 April–5 May * Early summer: 6 May–5 June * Mid-summer: 6 June–6 July * Late summer: 7 July–7 August * Early autumn: 8 August–7 September * Mid-autumn: 8 September–7 October * Late autumn: 8 October–6 November * Early winter: 7 November–6 December * Mid-winter: 7 December–4 January * Late winter: 5 January–3 February

Examples of saijiki and kiyose

English

The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words
selected by Kenkichi Yamamoto, on Renku Home *

William J. Higginson William J. Higginson (December 17, 1938 – October 11, 2008) was an United States, American Poetry, poet, translator and author most notable for his work with haiku and renku, born in New York City. He was one of the charter members of the Haiku ...

, ed. ''Haiku world: an international poetry almanac''. Kodansha, 1996.
The Japanese Haiku Topical Dictionary
at the University of Virginia Japanese Text Initiative
World Kigo Database
worldwide saijiki

Japanese

Masaoka Shiki , pen-name of Masaoka Noboru (正岡升), was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry, credited with writing nearly 20,000 stanzas during ...

, ed. ''Kiyose''. 1930 () *

Kyoshi Takahama was a Japanese poet active during the Shōwa period of Japan. His real name was ; Kyoshi was a pen name given to him by his mentor, Masaoka Shiki. Early life Kyoshi was born in what is now the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture; his father, Ike ...

, ed. ''A New Saijiki'', 1934 () * Teiko Inahata, ed. ''The New Hototogisu Saijiki'', 1996 ()

References

External links