Saijiki

A saijiki (歳時記 "year time chronicle"?) is a list of kigo (seasonal terms) used in haiku 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.[1] A kiyose (Japanese: 季寄せ) 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 seasonless (muki) 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:

Contents

Japanese seasons

In the Japanese calendar, seasons traditionally followed the lunisolar calendar with the solstices and equinoxes 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:[2]

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

Japanese

References

  1. ^ Gill, Robin D. The Fifth Season—Poems to Re-Create the World: In Praise of Olde Haiku: New Year Ku; Books 1 & 2, Paraverse Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9742618-9-8, p.18
  2. ^ Higginson, William J. Kiyose (Seasonword Guide), From Here Press, 2005, p.24

External links

See also