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

Early springNEW!

[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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YakenoNEW!

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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pussy willowNEW!

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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tranquilNEW!

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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thawNEW!

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

The word “yukidoke” refers to snow that has accumulated in winter gradually melting with the arrival of warmer seasons.

Beyond simply meaning that the snow melts, in snowy regions it is also used as a joyful word heralding the coming of spring.

As the piled-up snow disappears, you begin to see things that had been hidden beneath it, and you can picture the water as it melts and flows away.

When depicted together with the budding of spring, it gives an impression that the change of seasons is felt even more strongly.

It may also be important to consider what colors unfold from the whiteness of the snow as it thaws.

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