Today's Kigo:   Sample Haiku from Japanese Saijiki (7)
                                                                                  translated by Fay Aoyagi

(1) Haiku Saijiki, edited by Fusei Tomiasu et al, Heibonsha, Tokyo, 1971
(2)  Dai Saijiki (Comprehensive Saijiki) edited by Shuoshi Mizuhara et al,
Kodansha, Tokyo, 1982
(3)  Gendai Saijiki (Modern Saijiki), edited by Tota Kaneko, Momoko Kuroda, Ban’ya
Natsuishi, Seisei Shuppan, Tokyo, 1997
(4) Kiyose (Collection of Seasons), edited by Kadokawa Shote, Kadokawa Shoten,
Tokyo 2001
(5) Kadokawa Haiku Daisaijiki, edited by Kadokawa Gakugei Shuppan, Kadokawa
Shoten, Tokyo, 2006
HERE
November 3-7, 2007: Click:
October, 2007 (slightly different format):  Click
HERE
HERE
November 9-23, 2007:  Click
Nov. 24-Dec.  13, 2007:  Click
HERE
December 19, 2007 - January 19, 2008: click
HERE
HERE
January 22, 2008-February 27, 2008
April 25, 2008
"sumire (violet)"

shōnen ni sumire no sakeru himitsu no basho
a boy has
the secret place
where violets bloom
                          Shugyo Takaha (5)

  ********
amatsubu o tsukete sumire no kuni e yuku
   a rain drop
  on my body
  I go to the violet country
                                  Toshio Obama (5)

  ********
sumire saku ima hashiraneba ishitsubutu
   violets bloom
  if I will not run now
  I will become the lost property
                                  Hoyo Kitagawa (3)
February 29-April 24, 2008
HERE
April 29, 2008
"asuparagasu (asparagus)"

kōfuku ni asuparagasu o yudekobosu
    happiness
   I boil and drain
   asparagus
                           Soko Kurata (5)

   ********
asadori no asuparagasu no fuzoroini
    asparagus
   from the morning field
   uneven in sizes
                                   Minako Masuda (5)

   ********
koi owari asuparagasu no aosugiru
    end of a love affair
   these asparagus are
   too green
                           Chieko Jinbo (5)
April 30, 2008
"isoginchaku (sea anemone)"

mushi haite isoginchaku no hana yururu
     spitting an insect
    sea anemone’s flower
    swaying                                Nobiru Konno (1)

    ********
ruiruito isoginchaku no saku kodoku
     heaps
    of flowering sea anemone—
    their solitude
                                            Shakunage Dobashi (5)

    ********
tenjō ni chichihaha isoginchaku hiraku
     mother and father
    up in the heaven—
    sea anemone opens
                                            Mario Torii (5)
May 1, 2008
"chūrippu (tulip)"

chūrippu chiru ippenn wa gohho no mimi
    a tulip sheds its petals
   one of them is
   van Gogh’s ear
                                   Akito Arima (5)

     ********
fukuzatsu ni naru noga iyade chūrippu
    I do not want to be
   too complicated…
   tulips
                                   Yoko Sugawa (5)

     ********
chūrippu genshoku wa mina kodokunaru
     tulips
     all in primary colors are
     solitary
                                  Masayuki Nakamura (3)
May 10, 2008
"hamaguri (clam)"

hamaguri o hiza ni nakasete yoru no kasha
       clams cry
      on her lap—
       a night train
                                      Yuji Ishizuka (5)

      ********
musūno hamaguri musūno tsubomi yoru no shima
       numerous clams
      numerous buds
      the island at night        
                                      Ryuta Iida (5)

      ********
hamaguri no sakamushi ni shi o izanawaru
       being invited
      to the death
      by clams cooked in sake
                                      Hekiteikan Isogai (5)