WHCschools
Susumu
Takiguchi, Instructor
LESSON 2-1: "cold"
In traditional Japanese kukai, typically the Shusai (master) selects
something like 15 to 25 haiku poems and makes general comments and
specific comments on 3 to 5 haiku. This lasts 10 to 15 minutes as
kukai is usually tightly scheduled.
Though we follow this practice broadly, I will make comments on more
haiku because this is a school, as opposed to a real kukai.
Generally speaking, there are many good and potentially good poems
in Lesson 2 haiku, indicating a promising start of the School.
Some general observations: -
1) One of Kyoshi's famous remarks is sen wa seisaku
(selection [of haiku] is creation in its own right). I enjoyed
reading your comments on others' haiku as much as reading your own
haiku. They reflect the commentator's personality as well as his/her
haiku views. Some make brilliant readings. In the commenting of
other people's haiku, honesty, sincerity and other qualities are as
important as in writing your own;
2) [Two members] raised the point which I was going to mention
before anything else. And that is, in the Japanese kukai, if the
kigo is presented everybody must use that specific kigo or a few
variations thereof which are in the saijiki (kigo dictionary). This
was observed in Lesson 1, where snow was given as a set
kigo. Kigo is either given on the day (seki-dai), or
notified beforehand (ken-dai). This system is called dai-ei
(haiku composition according to given
kigo"). These Japanese terms are not important but are given
partly to allow you to savour some feeling of the real kukai in
Japan and partly because you may be tempted to experiment the
Japanese-style kukai in your area. In this Lesson, the kigo cold is not given so strictly as in the case of Lesson 1
but in the way that anything which tells the cold of winter would be
acceptable. I think probably some people have taken this too
liberally;
3) The kigo which are related to cold include: kanki
(cold air), tsumetashi (chilly), sokobie (chilly to the bone),
kooru
(freeze), sayu (crispy cold), kanpa (cold wave, cold spell),
genkan
(extreme cold), gento (atrocious winter).
Kukai
results and commentaries may be viewed in the online message
archives and files of WHCschools
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