[For seniors] Classic spring kigo: beautiful words that evoke the season

spring breeze

Sunny Day Service – Spring Wind [Official Video]

Even in spring, when there are many days of balmy warmth, sudden windstorms and rain can strike—yes, the spring storms.

They are natural phenomena brought by developing extratropical cyclones from around March to May, and many of them deepen the season and usher in the rainy spell to come.

You might even miss cherry-blossom viewing, lamenting, “All those blossoms have fallen…” The haru-ichiban, the first strong south wind of spring, could be called the leadoff batter of these spring storms, also known as May storms.

If you were to make a haiku of it, I think it would turn out well if you fashioned it to evoke a certain sense of bustle and clamor.

spring rain

5-minute cooking time: Soy milk dandan glass noodles 🍜 #dietrecipe #healthyrecipe #easytrecipe #healthynoodles #dietnoodles #shorts

You’ve probably heard the line “It’s a spring rain—let’s go and get wet,” spoken by Banzuiin Chōbei in the Kabuki play A Masterpiece: Banzuiin Chōbei.

Even if Kabuki is all Greek to you, for some reason that one line is familiar, isn’t it? And along with it, many people have become aware of the word “harusame,” or spring rain.

Spring rain is characterized by fine strands of rainfall that descend quietly, like a haze.

Mist and fog also evoke spring, so spring rain seems to sit along that same continuum.

There are many related seasonal words for spring rains as well, such as spring drizzle, rapeseed-blossom rains, and spring sleet.

They all carry a somewhat languid, wistful mood.

spring has come; the water grows warm

Kyoto’s Kamo River: the season when the water grows warmer #shorts

With the warm spring sunshine, the waters of rivers and lakes have begun to soften, and as a result, aquatic life such as fish and water plants has become more active.

“Mizu nurumu” (the water grows warm) is one of the truly springlike season words that directly tells us of spring’s arrival.

Ujō Busseki’s “Before I even noticed, the tap water, too, is warm” is an excellent verse that even those not especially interested in haiku can relate to.

And Seiton Yamaguchi’s “The bottom is visible, and nothing crawls there—water warming” is a line that quietly lets one feel the stillness of the haiku world.

There are many famous verses using this word, so I hope you’ll face this season word as a challenger.

pussy willow

Catkins, a type of willow that grows wild along riverbanks and similar places, are striking plants whose springtime flowers have a distinctive appearance.

The name comes from the way the flower buds, covered in silvery white silky hairs, look like a cat’s tail.

Not only do they bloom in spring, but their soft look also evokes the season’s sunlight and warmth.

Since they mainly inhabit river embankments, they can also be associated with snowmelt—suggesting they could be used in a variety of expressions.

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Early spring

[Haiku Stroll • Episode 52] These haiku poets keenly sense and express the seasons, never missing the small changes in familiar scenes. #haiku #haikureading #haikurecital

Haruasashi is a term that describes the early spring from early to mid-February, when the cold remains harsh even after Risshun has passed and true spring still feels distant.

In noun form, expressions like “asakiharu” or “senshun” are also possible, so choose based on balance with surrounding words.

Though warmth and cold coexist, the blooming of plum blossoms and the sprouting of butterbur buds evoke spring—this single word conveys the seasonal transition.

It carries a sense of expectation as signs of spring gradually appear and is a word that conveys the poignancy of a shallow, nascent spring.

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Yakeno

Haiku and the seasonal word “yakeno” [spring seasonal word]

Yakeno is a word that describes the blackened fields left after burning dead grasses in the hills and fields in early spring.

As a task necessary for farming—both to control pests and to encourage new sprouts—it conveys the start of the season and the expectation of harvests to come.

Because it hints at the green budding that follows, it also evokes the powerful rhythms of life and the contrast between the black earth and the blue sky.

It’s a word that seems to express both the preparations for spring’s budding and the sense of storing energy for the abundance ahead.

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tranquil

March 8, 2024: “Spring kigo ‘Nodoka (Tranquil)’” Haiku LOVE

Nodoka is a word that expresses the calm, warm, and leisurely scenes and moods of spring.

It’s read as “nodoka,” and even the sound of the word conveys a gentle, tranquil atmosphere.

It evokes the image of harsh winter having passed, with time seeming to flow more slowly in the sunlight, and a sense of soft, warm rays.

A closely related seasonal word is uraraka, but that term is more often used for the spring sunlight itself, while nodoka is used to express time—this is the difference.

As a way of expressing time shaped by warmth, it’s a word that feels richly layered.

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