＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・「蛙の目借時」「貝寄風」「曲水」「竹婦人」「天瓜粉」などの面白い季語
1. Kawazu no mekaridoki（The Time for Borrowing Frog Eyes）
蛙の目借時（かわずのめかりどき）
I’m reposting an interesting illustration and text about “The Time for Borrowing Frog Eyes” from the blog of “Nekomachi 3-chome Apartment Attic Workshop”.
“The time when frogs borrow eyes” is a seasonal word for spring. It is also called “mekari-doki,” “me-karu-kaeru,” or simply “mekari-doki.”
“The time when frogs borrow eyes” refers to the time when the weather warms up and drowsiness sets in. The warmth of spring induces sleepiness, and especially when rice seedlings are being prepared, hearing the frogs croaking makes one feel drowsy.
The word “mekaru” originally meant “to hunt for a mate,” referring to the calls of frogs and other creatures seeking a partner. This is cleverly combined with the seasonal word “mekari” (meaning “borrowing eyes”) to mean “being drowsy because a frog borrows your eyes.” It is a seasonal word with a classic haiku sensibility.
Example haiku are as follows:
– The teacher’s stick on the ruler, a time for borrowing eyes – Yoshida Toyo
– The water is so refreshing, a time for borrowing eyes for the frogs – Masuda Ryūu
– In the night clouds, Ichiryūsō is a time for borrowing eyes – Iida Dakotsu
– The sound of chalk on the blackboard, a time for borrowing eyes – Fukukawa Yūko
・物差に師の警策や目借時 吉田冬葉
・水いとゞうまし蛙の目かり時 増田龍雨
・夜の雲に一粒荘は目借時 飯田蛇笏
・黒板にチョークの音や目借時 福川悠子
2. Kaiyose (Shell-Gathering Wind)
“Kaiyose-kaze” (貝寄風) is a seasonal word for “spring.” A related seasonal word is “Kaiyose” (貝寄).
It refers to the seasonal wind that blows around the time of the “Shoryo-e” (聖霊会) at Shitennoji Temple in Osaka (February 22nd in the old lunar calendar). At Shitennoji Temple’s Shoryo-e, the tubular flower offerings are made from seashells blown ashore on Sumiyoshi Beach, hence the name “Kaiyose-kaze” (貝寄風), meaning “seashell-gathering wind.”
Example haiku include:
* “Kaiyose-kaze, cherry blossom shells scattered everywhere” – Kuruma Yo
* “Kaiyose-kaze, the plum blossoms of Abeno are also scattering” – Koshu
* “Kaiyose-kaze, the wind of seashell-gathering blows through Wakanoura” – Basho
* “Kaiyose-kaze, a single hat from a journey to Nanki” – Iida Dakotsu
・貝よせや散り敷くばかり桜貝 車庸
・貝寄せや阿倍野の梅の花も散る 紅秋
・貝寄する風の手じなや若の浦 芭蕉
・貝寄や南紀の旅の笠一つ 飯田蛇笏
3. Kyokusui (曲水)
“Kyokusui” (winding stream) is a seasonal word for “spring.” Related seasonal words include “Kyokusui no En” (winding stream banquet), “Ryūshō” (floating cup), “Ushō” (feathered cup), and “Sakazuki Nagashi” (floating sake cup).
“Kyokusui” refers to a ceremony held at the Imperial Palace on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar (the first day of the snake). Participants would sit by a stream in a garden, recite poetry before a floating sake cup passed them, or drink the sake if they failed, and then release the cup downstream.
Currently, it is held at places like Jōnan-gū Shrine in Kyoto and Dazaifu Tenman-gū Shrine.
Examples of poems include the following:
– The water of the winding stream flows into the swan pond. – Ihara Saikaku
– A beautiful verse seems to be arriving late to the winding stream. – Kato Kyotai
– A poem in the winding stream, delayed by the sake cup. – Masaoka Shiki
– A small sake cup placed on the grass in the winding stream. – Takahama Kyoshi
・曲水の水のみなかみや鴻の池 井原西鶴
・曲水に秀句の遅参気色あり 加藤暁台
・曲水の詩や盃に遅れたる 正岡子規
・曲水や草に置きたる小盃 高浜虚子
4. Chikufujin（The Bamboo Lady )
“Chikufujin” (竹婦人) is a seasonal word for summer. Related seasonal words include “Chikufujin（竹夫人）,” “Dakikago” (抱籠), “Soinekago” (添寝籠), and “Takeyakko” (竹奴).
A “Chikufujin” is a woven bamboo object used to cuddle on restless nights. It’s cylindrical, about 1 to 1.5 meters tall, and is said to be well-ventilated and cool.
I don’t think it’s used much these days. When I had back pain, I was recommended a “(Chikufujin-like) body pillow” as being good for stiff shoulders and back pain, so I bought one and tried it.
Examples include the following:
* A bamboo lady, one of the most heartless things – Anzai Sakurako
* A basket, carrying my concubine yesterday and today – Takarai Kikaku
* If in heaven, the bamboo lady would be a paired basket – Yosa Buson
* The moon of dawn shines on the bamboo lady – Ozaki Koyo
・情薄きものの一つや竹婦人 安斎桜子
・抱籠や妾かかへてきのふけふ 宝井其角
・天にあらば比翼の籠や竹婦人 与謝蕪村
・有明の月照しけり竹婦人 尾崎紅葉
5. Tenkafun (bamboo melon flour)
“Tenka-fun” (天瓜粉) is a seasonal word for summer. Related seasonal words include “Tenka-fun” (天花粉) and “Ase-shirazu” (汗しらず).
“Tenka-fun” is a white starch made from the roots of the yellow gourd (Trichosanthes cucumeroides). It is used to prevent heat rash (“asemo”) and sores in children. Currently, it is made primarily from talc. Baby powder is a type of tenka-fun.
I also often got heat rash as a child, so I fondly remember having tenka-fun applied to my face after baths.
Example haiku include:
* Ten days in this world, tenka-ko – Hasegawa Kai
* Tenka-ko, the evenings of my childhood – Sugimoto Zero
* The evening moon, and the child’s face white with tenka-ko – Hoshino Bakujin
* Tenka-ko, applied everywhere – Hino Sojo
・生まれきてこの世に十日天瓜粉 長谷川櫂
・天瓜粉子供の頃の夕方よ 杉本零
・夕月や子の顔白き天瓜粉 星野麦人
・天瓜粉ところきらはず打たれけり 日野草城