Hailstone Haiku Circle 'Hotspot'

Hotspot cools off; Icebox heats up?

2008-03-24T18:06:00.004+09:00

EASTER SUNDAY 2008

The HOTSPOT now becomes an archive! The ICEBOX is launched! Hailstone Haiku Circle's creativity officially moves to the new more versatile site henceforth. Fresh inspiration and news await you there! Anyone can leave a comment against a particular post or submit a haiku or two on the new Submissions page. If the link in this post has disappeared or doesn't work, try the one in the first comment. If that doesn't work, have a look at the links on the right or just type in 'Hailstone Icebox' into an internet search. You'll find us.

Titleless

2008-03-19T11:06:00.002+09:00

After all that talk

Of divorcing her husband

(Which we encouraged) -

Now he has granted her wish,

She becomes suicidal.

(Kamome)

With love from a seabird ...

2008-03-01T09:59:00.000+09:00

Waking from short sleep:

Patchouli and rosewater

Scent the atmosphere -

Books on healing surround me,

Her name on every cover.

Kamome

Hatsu Ginko in Gion

2008-02-15T12:26:00.007+09:00

Cold, sunny. Snowflakes and ice pellets blow into town from the north. Peter, our host, (left, in kimono) leads us on a stroll through his home patch of Miyagawa-cho. Maikos pass. New Year decorations, still displayed. We pray for the prosperity of Hailstone at the Ebisu Shrine. Mari and Mayumi, also in kimono; Tito, in Korean dress. Our guests from Ireland, Sean (extreme right) and Junko, take in the little alleys of wooden eaves, the dainty willows, many still bearing last year's leaves. We know that in a couple of months they'll be replaced by the viridian leaflets that every year herald Kyoto's cherry-time.

Young men pounding rice
'Call an ambulance'
They joke (Moya)

Our glee
each time a maiko passes -
scattering snow (Mari)

Longing hot sake
While maiko stroll by ...
Kites overhead (Peter)

Viewing flying gulls
From a boat-ceilinged room -
A gift of yore (Mayumi)

One hailstone
Melts into
My jotted poem ...
Soon, equally gone. (Tito)

NOTICE BOARD　お知らせ(Feb. 16, Revd)

2007-12-29T17:40:00.001+09:00

If you wish to contact us about events, publications and other general matters, please do so through the COMMENTS key below this Board.　We will reply to you also through the key.
イベント、出版物、その他に関する一般連絡はこのコラム下のCOMMENTS キーにてお願いします。日本語でも結構です。
******HAILSTONE PUBLICATIONS******
HAILSTONES (2001) a haiku chapbook ￥700 (sold out)
LOST HEIAN (2003) a Japan-in-Asia haiku gathering ￥800 (discount price for last copies)
ENHAIKLOPEDIA (2005) a haiku topic anthology, incl. haibun ￥1,000 (discount price)
The MOON and INSECTS (2007) a haiku chapbook ￥500 (edited by JW)
SEASONS OF THE GODS 神々の四季 (2007) ￥1,000 almanac (incl. haibun and illust., just released!)
******HAILSTONE EVENTS******
(RECENT PAST: for event reports, see archive postings)
Sep 13, 2007 Urban Ginko in Tenroku, N. Osaka (KG/HM)
Nov 17/18, 2007 Hailstone Autumn Haike in the Tango Peninsular, Kyoto Pref. (RD)
Nov 25, 2007 Mt. Ogura Is Shedding Tears pt. 10. (Ritsumeikan Univ. Volunteer Centre)
Dec 1, 2007 Takaragaike Ginko & Renku Study Meet (JD)
Dec 20, 2007 Seasons of the Gods Book Launch, by Nomi Jinja, Takatsuki, Osaka (AM)
Jan 13 , 2008 Hatsu Ginko-Rodokukai in Gion, Kyoto (PM)
(FORTHCOMING: for further details, please see separate postings; enquiries through the COMMENTS key, please.)
Haiku sketch walk: Friday, March 7th; 11:00-3pm (in the event of rain, bring rain gear)　
1st rendezvous spot-Eiden Demachiniyagi train station at 10:30am (connected to Keihan Demachiniyagi station in northeast Kyoto)
2nd rendezvous spot-Eiden Ichijoji train station 10:50am (northeast Kyoto)
(If you'd like to join us at any point during the haiku sketch walk let us know.)
Let's tap into our inner senses with a 'haiku sketch walk'. Don't worry, you need not be an artist, or be able to draw well. Just come out for a short walk, allow nature to help you reflect a bit, and sketch whatever impresses you.
We will visit two temple gardens. Forty-five minutes to one hour will be spent at each temple to walk around, reflect, and sketch whatever impresses you. Afterwards, we will have a late lunch around 1:30pm at a nearby soba restaurant. At the restaurant we will share our sketches and try to add complimentary haiku (yours or somebody else's). Bring a small sketch pad or book and a few pencils or your favorite ink pens. Bring temple entance fees: ￥500 for each temple (total:￥1,000) & Bring money for soba if you'd like to eat at the restaurant.
rare snow dayー
old-style haberdashery
on the snowmen //gerald/ (enquiries: Gerald Staggers)
English Haiku Workshops - Hibikiai Forum Spring semester at Friend Peace House just north of Nashinoki Shrine E. of the Gosho in C.Kyoto (2nd Thurs. Apr.-Jun. 18:15) and Senri Yomiuri Culture Center’s Eigo de Haiku in N.Osaka (4th Thurs. Jan.-Dec. 18:00, enquiries: Nitta 06-6833-5031). Lecturer: Stephen Gill.
******Miscellaneous******
Correction- in the anthology, “SEASONS OF THE GODS”, Poem 1/p. 6; the translated Japanese should be written and read as 新年のうるはしき夜明けの使者なるや/天馬空駆く蹄の音す(shin-nen no/uruwashiki yoake no/shisha naru ya/tenba kuu kaku/hizume no oto su).
************
Enquiries, also possible through the COMMENTS key below! If you don't leave your email, we will reply through the COMMENTS key, too.

Seasons of the Gods

2007-12-21T11:58:00.000+09:00

Hailstone Haiku Circle's latest collection is now out: Seasons of the Gods. ￥1,000, ￥210 (postage stamps to add for despatch in Japan), 98 haiku poems, 96 pages, 84 poem commentaries, 40 contributors, US$ 12 (airmail postage paid), 8 b/w illustrations, 5 sections (New Year, Spring delivers, Summer fulfills, Autumn detaches, Winter distills), 4 haibun, 2 linked verses, 1 fold-out cover by Richard Steiner, 1 afterword (Haiku, Shinto & Japan's Natural World) by Toji Kamata, and a partridge in a pear tree! Just in time for Christmas. Place your orders with Mari Kawaguchi. Discount package available for contributors. Outside enquiries via the comments button below. Please leave your email address for reply.

The Book Launch Party, held on 20 Dec. beside Nomi Jinja in Takatsuki, was attended by eighteen poets, amongst whom we were especially pleased to see Judy Dale, who had just flown in for a few days from Canada (leaning on the table).

Maiko evening fragment

2007-12-18T23:50:00.001+09:00

The turquoise kimono
Madame chose for you today:
In my butterfly dream
It holds you tight.

(Tito, for Gion no Ichiwaka, 15.12.07)

URGENT

2007-12-13T14:37:00.000+09:00

Please see the third post below (Notice Board, edited) for BOOK LAUNCH on 20 DEC. 18:00-20:30.
HAILSTONE HAIKU CIRCLE 4th ANTHOLOGY ‘SEASONS OF THE GODS’ （神々の四季）BOOK LAUNCH at Kinshokaku Restaurant 錦松鶴 (072-671-5191) , Takatsuki.

Posting Difficulties

2007-12-12T13:08:00.000+09:00

As he found that our site wouldn't allow him to do it himself, Kamome requested the following tanka posted. Our webmaster, David, hopes to make changes to the Hotspot early next year to make it easier for those of you who joined as contributors using the old system to post using a new one. We all wait with bated breath! If you are having difficulties with signing in to post or comment, please accept the editors' apologies for this temporary difficulty. A few of us, however, still seem able to post and comment, so do continue to visit every now and then to see what's new ...

Wishing open-eyed

About living together,

We talk on the phone -

Afterwards, the moon shines down

Into my empty kitchen.

(Kamome)

Amanohashidate and Kinosaki Haike

2007-12-03T12:59:00.000+09:00

At 9:00 a.m. on Saturday 17 November, Tito and I met at JR Sagano-Arashiyama station and began the annual Hailstone Autumn Haike. Our numbers were low but our spirits high. This was my very first foray into northern Kyoto Prefecture; and I had wanted to visit Kinosaki in Hyogo Prefecture ever since I read Shiga Naoya's short story 「城崎にて」 (Kinosaki nite) about a decade ago.

Tito kindly took the driving duties on himself, so apart from ineffectually fumbling with a map from time to time, I was able to fully enjoy the transition from city to countryside, flat lands to hills, and finally inland to coast. Waiting for us at the end of two-and-a-half hours' drive at Chionji temple in Amanohashidate were John Dougill and Mari Kawaguchi. After picking up a little sustenance at the local shops (thanks Mari for your extra homemade sandwich!), we crossed the bridge linking the sandbar with the coast, and soon found ourselves on a beautiful fine-sand, sun-drenched beach, the perfect spot for a picnic lunch.

Next we strolled up the centre of the sandbar, flanked on both sides by pine trees, with frequent glimpses of the sandy shore on each side. While we were viewing a shrine positioned to worship a miraculous fresh-water spring (which sadly was not in a miraculous state), a young local shrine enthusiast turned up on his collapsible bicycle, and in no time had agreed to accompany us on our travels for the day. We next took to the shoreline, and, with John taking the lead, some of us were soon walking barefoot in the surf, dodging the occasional large and purple beached jellyfish.

Barefoot
On this bridge to heaven
The gods and I ...
-- John Dougill

Another fateful meeting was with the 宮司 (guuji, or shrine priest) of the Kono shrine, clad in resplendent hakama. We came across him shortly after saying good bye to John at the shrine and making our tour of the impressive 岩座 (iwakura, holy rocks) there. Tito and the priest found they had much to talk about regarding the origins of some of the most important Shinto deities and the noble clan of Amabe to which the priest belonged (at least, by marriage -- his wife, in black in the middle of the picture, has the actual bloodline).

Next we eschewed the funicular and climbed to the peak of Kasamatsu for the obligatory (but no less impressive for that) upside-down viewing of the Bridge of Heaven as the sun began to sink towards the horizon. We ended our day together with a boat trip back across the bay.

towards pine-trees
crossing over the turning bridge
... scent of the sea
-- Mari Kawaguchi

Then Tito and I drove on to Kinosaki. Our hostesses at the ryokan Ashigaru were eager for us to enjoy our crab meal in as timely a fashion as we could. In fact, they did everything short of stuff the legs into our maws! As there were only two of us, they had stuffed us into a tiny windowless room in the dining area, and a similarly sized space in our bedroom. At least we had the privilege of an escape rope hanging next to the window!

We were able to catch the last shuttle bus into the town centre and undertook a three-spa 外湯めぐり, clattering along the streets in our geta and yukata. Then it was a taxi-ride back to the ryokan for some late-night beer and haiku-reading.

Breakfast was in similarly cramped conditions, but the morning view from the waiting room and the rotemburo was impressive.

the inn waiting room
lightning on the peaks:
"another five minutes"
-- Richard Donovan

The weather on the second day, however, was less so. Eventually, tired of waiting for it to settle down, we drove down to the base of Daishizan and began our hiked ascent past Onsendera. After a coffee break at the cable-car centre at the top, we braved increasingly foul weather and headed up to Momijidaira. We were greeted there by ochre leaves and showers of propritious hailstones from the clouds rolling about our ears. After a brief stop, where we waited in vain for a break in the weather, we set off back down the trail, a newborn stream nipping at our heels.

In the black clouds above
A god must have broken
His rosary of hailstone beads.
-- Tito

The footbath at the base of Daishizan was a welcome way to end our hike.

NOTICE BOARD　お知らせ

2007-11-04T13:33:00.000+09:00

Two New Tanka

2007-10-29T12:41:00.000+09:00

Having posting problems with our google-ized website, Kamome has sent these two tanka to be posted on his behalf. Both were 'Made in England' recently. Please take a moment to leave him a comment (click the comments button below this post!).

Psychotic grateful

After much unburdening -

'God will reward you'.

On the way back home I stoop

To pick up a two-pound coin.

Abandoned kitten

Clings desperately to my jeans:

'Please look after me!' -

If only I had done so,

We would both have had a home.

(Kamome)

At Mikami Shrine

2007-10-27T18:43:00.000+09:00

Here are some things that limited space and passed deadline prevented from being considered for inclusion in the forthcoming Hailstone book due in December. Not to worry: we have this blog to fool around with. What didn't get into the book, can be eaten up right here.
This spat of poems was composed in the shadow of Mikami Jinja, out Yasu way in Shiga Pref. A very old shrine, it is the leading god of the area and a very busy place all year round. The haiku are seasonal, but were all written at nearly the same time, not in the seasons they celebrate.
Munch away:

can’t fall for fall ‘cause
winter’s nearing;
yet, these sunsets do make sense

sunset over the shrine
viewed beneath the torii:
too much, too much

a red torii
up thru this deep snow
warms me on a black-white day

shrine green, shrine crimson,
shrine breeze, shrine banners,
welcome me to shrine spring

shimmering shrine in August’s heat,
red torii burning my eyes

beside the torii, beside its pond,
beside my girl, beside myself

the black troops flying home,
rest on the torii, watch,
with me, our sunset

"Black troops" refers to the countless crows on the east side of Lake Biwa. Beyond numbering.

A new, beautiful, hand-made haiku chapbook "The Moon and Insects"

2007-10-03T15:30:00.000+09:00

A new, beautiful, hand-made haiku chapbook, “The Moon and Insects”, compiled and edited in 2007 spring by Jane Wieman is now available. Twenty nine (involving those in covers) nice poems by sixteen poets are collected by her.

old leaves
enlaced in older cobwebs
glow
in winter sun
500 yen per copy + postal fee. Through the COMMENT key, please.

Urban Ginko to Tenroku, N. Osaka

2007-10-02T17:33:00.000+09:00

Eleven hailstones gathered at Tenjinbashi-suji street 3-cho-me (Tensan) in the late morning on September 13 and the lingering summer heat (35 degrees C on the day) first struck them.

hot morning commute
assailed by a waft of trash,
Thursday (Moya)

The street is the old approach to Osaka Temma-gu Shrine, dedicated to Sugawara-no-Michizane (845-903), a great scholar, venerated as a God of Study later. Hailstone, a group of persons maybe loving study, naturally was going to visit it and just in front of its gate, there was “Hanjo-Tei”…

Outside the rakugo theatre
Surrounded by plastic daisies –
Gerald fools. (Tito)

windless summer day
at Tenmangu Shrine –
scent of centuries past (Kaoru)

After prayer, and then lunch at Tensan again, they went ahead toward Tenjinbashi-suji 6-cho-me (Tenroku) through the crowded street of new and old stores selling anything and everything, also new and old.

September sun strikes
His ‘50s clock at 2 –
The bicycle repairman. (Tito)

afternoon market –
memories, shadows
and roasted barley flour (Mizuho)

In the bustling arcade
a training monk with his bowl –
late summer heat (Akito)

When Hailstone arrived at Tenroku, they found themselves completely melted. However, what high-spirited persons they were to further study the old houses and shops exhibited in the Museum of Housing and Living!
Breakup at 17:00.
-----
Participants: Akito M., Gerald S., Hisashi M., Kazuko T., Moya B., Mari K., Mizuho S., Reiko H., Stephen G. (T), Shun S., Kaoru G.

awe, pair

2007-09-16T18:11:00.000+09:00

These arrived earlier this month, quite unannounced and unexpected, while killing some minutes on a delayed train. As is often usual with my "things," I myself don't fully understand them at the time, only hoping someone at a sensible distance in time, at least, will see and interupt the meaning, if any. On the surface, simple enuf; but poetry isn't poetry if there isn't something else lurking about.
They are in the four line style so favored by Stephen the Gill. I want to add here that this style was roundly denounced in my face by haiku-ists in America last summer. Defending our Henry as best I could, it was nevertheless wasted effort. Boiling oil (we were having tempura in the garden) was brought to a higher heat, when I wisely relented my defense and saved my soul, perhaps, by agreeing with the opposition that possibly, given the times we are living thru and the rebellious nature of poetry in general, (yes, quite tasty, and hot enough), it could be kindly allowed to forgive them that straddle the rules for convenience sake while (oh, thank you, just a bit more, please), re-writing some, ignoring others, yes, of course, at their peril, I agree, yup, naturally the violaters will descend into the special hell reserved for the impurests mockers of The Right Way to Write Haiku, (exeellent, best ever tasted), oh, your signed book?, yes, of course, and thank you so much, will read it on the plane,...

Onward to the things:

take blind road
to guessburg, meet
queen May; pay, play,
then pray to disappear.

natal event in spring,
which spring is
all about anyway;
welcome Ai

Snails

2007-09-01T11:11:00.000+09:00

Altering his route

So as not to crush snails:

The Buddhist convert.

(Kamome)

NOTICE BOARDお知らせ

2007-08-24T15:39:00.000+09:00

If you wish to contact us about events, publications and other general matters, please do so through the COMMENTS key below this Board.　We will reply to you also through the key. イベント、出版物、その他に関する一般連絡はこのコラム下のCOMMENTS キーにてお願いします。
******HAILSTONE PUBLICATIONS******
HAILSTONES (2001) a haiku chapbook ￥700 (sold out)
LOST HEIAN (2003) a Japan-in-Asia haiku gathering ￥800 (discount price for last copies)
ENHAIKLOPEDIA (2005) a haiku almanac, incl. haibun ￥1,000 (newly discounted)
The MOON and INSECTS (2007) a haiku chapbook ￥500 (newly issued by JW)
******HAILSTONE EVENTS******
(RECENT PAST: for event reports, see archive postings)
Jan 27, 2007 First Kukai of 2007 (Hatsu-kukai), Hamayashiki, Osaka (MK/RH)
Feb 18, 2007 Chinese New Year (poetry reading), Jane’s house, Kyoto (JW)
Apr 02, 2007 Hanami (Cherry-blossom viewing 1), Osawa Pond, Kyoto (SG)
Apr 14, 2007 Hanami (Ch-bl. viewing 2), Ninnaji Temple, Kyoto (SG)
May 20, 2007 Mt. Ogura Is Shedding Tears Part IX, Saga, Kyoto (SG/ACE)
June 16, 2007 Haigakai (Haiga Workshop, Lecturer Tsuchi-no-ko), Kyoto (SG)
June 22, 2007 Midsummer's Night Frog-Listening Tour, Saga, Kyoto (MB/SG)
July 28, 2007 Renku-kai at Mumyō-an, Gichūji Temple, Zeze (SG/MK/KY)
Sep 13, 2007 Urban Ginko in Tenroku, N. Osaka (KG/HM)
(FORTHCOMING: for further details, please see separate postings; enquiries through the COMMENTS key, please.)
Sat. Nov 17/Sun. Nov 18 Hailstone Autumn Haike (Haiku Hike) in the Tango Peninsular. Rendezvous: 11:40 Monjudou in Chionji Temple, Hashidate. Train/car choice (see 'O, the Snail!' # 23). Sat. - hike across Amanohashidate sand bar to Kono Shrine, climb Kasamatsu Peak, (climb Kouyama in Kumihama), sotoyu-meguri in Kinosaki Onsen. Sun. - climb Mt. Daishi, hike to Momijidaira, Kinosaki Bungeikan, (hike/boat to Genbudou Caves). Arrive back in Kyoto/Osaka on Sun. even. Takes place if rain. Organizer: Richard Donovan.
Sun. Nov. 25 Mt. Ogura Is Shedding Tears pt. 10. This time, organized by students from the Ritsumeikan Univ. Volunteer Centre! Rendezvous: 10:00 JR Saga Arashiyama Station. Games, rubbish-clearing (gloves/bags provided), tree-planting, and poetry composition - all in one of Kyoto's most beautiful areas! Disperse: 16:00. Total to walk: 4-5 km. Bring weather-proof clothing and tough shoes. Takes place if rain.
Sat. Dec 1 Takaragaike Ginko & Renku Study Meet. Rendezvous: 13:00 Kokusai Kaikan Subway Station. The composition stroll will take us up and over the little hill of Myouhou 妙法 and we will share poems and discuss this summer's renku, 'The First Resting Place' in the Speakeasy Cafe at Shugakuin. Disperse: 17:00. Organizer: John Dougill. Takes place if rain.
English Haiku Workshops - Hibikiai Forum at Friend Peace House just north of Nashinoki Shrine E. of the Gosho in C.Kyoto (3rd Mons. Oct.-Dec. 18:15) and Senri Yomiuri Culture Center’s Eigo de Haiku in N.Osaka (Nov. 22 and 29). Lecturer: Stephen Gill.
Enquiries, through the COMMENTS key below! If you don't leave your email, we will reply through the COMMENTS key, too.

Mumyo-an Renkukai

2007-08-13T21:30:00.000+09:00

Fifteen poets assembled at the Nameless Hut within the grounds of Gichuji Temple in Zeze, Shiga Pref. on the last Saturday in July - a hot, sunny day. The meeting - an attempt to compose a han-kasen (18-stanza linked-verse) and dedicate it to the master haijin, Matsuo Basho, whose grave is at the temple - was lead by Nobuyuki Yuasa. He had invited Eiko Yachimoto of the Association of International Renku to assist him in the process of selection and translation into Japanese. This was a bilingual effort. The hokku itself was by Basho (まず頼む椎の木もあり夏木立）; thereafter, 10 verses (by 9 different poets) were compiled before we broke up to visit the nearby Tatsugaoka Haijin Cemetery. The renku is at present being completed using email. Periodically, Nobuyuki sends out a call for candidates for the next stanza, then selects from what he gets. Once finished, the original English version will be put up on the Hotspot for you to evaluate. We should remember that Basho was first and foremost a renga master. While being an act of homage to him, all participants will probably agree that it was a valuable insight into the production of the type of multi-seasonal imagined verse that was so popular in Basho's day. Our thanks to Nobuyuki and Eiko for their hard work.

Painting Frogs and Trying to Listen to Them

2007-07-05T17:09:00.000+09:00

The general consensus was that Gerald's deftly-painted rows of little black frogs were best. Teacher, Tsuchi-no-ko-sensei, seemed to agree. Hailstone participants learnt something of the history and conceptual background of haiga (haiku-style painting) in a specially-arranged Nijo workshop on 16 June. Then they watched the teacher paint - not only frogs, but goldfish, dragonflies, swallows and globefish, too. Finally, they were given blank washi cards on which to make their own attempts at haiga. Some haiku in English were added later. Object: production of a few shochumimai greetings cards for friends.

rain ...
above its incessant drone
frog voices rise
(Jane Wieman)

Less than a week later, on Midsummer's Night, another small crowd of poets gathered to listen to different varieties of frog singing. Four habitats were visited - a mountain stream (for its kajika), a mountain forest (for moriaogaeru), a swamp (ushigaeru) and the paddyfields of Saga (various). The rain let up only an hour or so before we met, so there was a nice mist at Kiyotaki, but little audible frogsong: we imagined the frogs were too busy clinging on for dear life to the boulders and trees on either side of the raging torrent. The fireflies were magical, though. Later, we saw the silhouette of a wild boar charging along the tiny paths between paddies ... Kazue was so close to it, she could feel the breeze! Frogs are the voice of the rainy season, but when a crowd appears they certainly know how to clam up.

Creeping towards us
Through the single-lane tunnel
Mist
From the other side.
(Tito)

Frogs call!

floor upon floor mirrored

in the city ricefield

(Moya Bligh)

a bullfrog ceases to sing ...
just the sound of its limbs
slipping back into
the night marsh.
(Keiko Yurugi)

VISIT

2007-06-27T18:05:00.001+09:00

Keiko Yurugi and I visited Edith Shiffert last Friday (6/22) - I looked for H’s postcard but couldn’t find it. Who knows what happened to it? Edith forgets very easily! She told us her mother once said, “Could you be a reincarnation of Elizabeth Barret Browning?”
We sat by a picture window looking out at a rice paddy and low wooded mountains as the afternoon waned - amazing numbers of swallows came whizzing by, down and up!
Here are two poems by Keiko from that visit.
green brook　　　　　　　　 (on the roadside to the hospital)
running swiftly through grasses‐
　　　a grey heron waits 　　 (goisagi)

halolike
her hair’s white silk strands
recalling her parents’ word
“Keep walking” 　　　　　　　　　　(encouraging)

And by me (Jane),
sugi stern and tall (cedars)
but flowering trees too
where the stream
passes her hospital

from stilly clearness
to white foam the river runs‐
her poems remain

Someone in my hometown of Grinnell, Iowa, searching (“googling”) for me found The Hotspot! Amazing. Thank you very much indeed for all your help with Hailstones web presence (blog is such an ugly word).
(Submitted by Jane Wieman)

NOTICE BOARDお知らせ

2007-06-16T18:22:00.000+09:00

If you wish to contact us about events, publications and other general matters, please do so through the COMMENTS key below this Board.　We will reply to you also through the key. イベント、出版物、その他に関する一般連絡はこのコラム下のCOMMENTS キーにてお願いします。
******HAILSTONE PUBLICATIONS******
HAILSTONES (2001) a haiku chapbook ￥700 (sold out)
LOST HEIAN (2003) a Japan-in-Asia haiku gathering ￥800 (discount price for last copies)
ENHAIKLOPEDIA (2005) a haiku almanac, incl. haibun ￥1,000 (newly discounted)
******HAILSTONE EVENTS******
(RECENT PAST: for event reports, see archive postings)
Aug 03, 2006 Summer Evening on the Water, Kukai, Kyoto (JW/KY)
Aug 26, 2006 Renga Meeting in Shokado Garden, Yawata, Osaka (GS)
Oct 14, 2006 Hailstone's annual Autumn Haike, Yamabe-no-michi, Nara (SG)
Oct 15, 2006 Internat. Ginko-no-Renga (in assoc. with Roses Group, UK), Asuka, Nara (SG)
Nov 05, 2006 Mt. Ogura is Shedding Tears Part VIII, Saga, Kyoto (Lecture-Ginko, SG/ACE)
Dec 09, 2006 Ginko under Autumn Leaves, Tetsugaku-no-michi, Kyoto (MB/KY)
Jan 27, 2007 First Kukai of 2007 (Hatsu-kukai), Hamayashiki, Osaka (MK/RH)
Feb 18, 2007 Chinese New Year (poetry reading), Jane’s house, Kyoto (JW)
Apr 02, 2007 Hanami (Cherry-blossom viewing 1), Osawa Pond, Kyoto (SG)
Apr 14, 2007 Hanami (Ch-bl. viewing 2), Ninnaji Temple, Kyoto (SG)
May 20, 2007 Mt. Ogura Is Shedding Tears Part IX, Saga, Kyoto (SG/ACE).
June 16, 2007 Haigakai (Haiga Workshop, Lecturer Tsuchi-no-ko), Kyoto (SG)
June 22, 2007 Midsummer's Night Frog-Listening Tour, Saga, Kyoto (MB/SG)
(FORTHCOMING: for further details, please see separate postings; enquiries through the COMMENTS key, please.)
Rengakai at the Mumyō-an, Gichūji Temple, Zeze, Shiga on July 28.
With Basho translator, Prof. Nobuyuki Yuasa, we will visit Basho's grave (and that of Kiso Yoshinaka) and attempt a English hankasen renga in traditional style. Rendezvous: ticket barrier JR Zeze Station 10:50 or Gichuji by 11:15. Bring a lunch-box.
Hotspot Blogsite Workshop and Urban Ginko in Aug./Sep., N. Osaka?
Ideas for date/place, please! Shall we celebrate the noise, traffic, graffiti, heat and find our own haiku space in it? We also need a base equipped with at least one computer.
English Haiku Workshops - Hibikiai Forum at Friend Peace House just north of Nashinoki Shrine E. of the Gosho in C.Kyoto (2nd Mon. in Sep., 3rd Mons. Oct.-Dec. 18:15) and Senri Yomiuri Culture Center’s Eigo de Haiku in N.Osaka (4th Thur. 18:00 every month, except Dec. class, which will be on Nov. 29 instead).
Enquiries, through the COMMENTS key below! If you don't leave your email, we will reply through the COMMENTS key, too.

Allelopathy

2007-06-10T15:32:00.000+09:00

Last autumn I found myself reading, quite out of school, about the secret lives of maples. The experience left me little ground for sentiment. It fairly shaded me out. The pigments that color autumn leaves are herbicidal. Come the fall, trees blanket the ground with toxins uncongenial to competitors for their little plots of real-estate. How like one another we all are. Tenacity & self-regard ignite the whole spectacle.

That maple tree is getting itself off again:
Ten thousand baby-hands clutch
At their own roots, their mossy grounds.

Well, so it is. Even the delicate hands of the Japanese maple have their role to play in holding down the native fort. Emily Dickinson (innocent of Darwin) builded better than she knew when she put pen to paper in the fall of 1862:

The name – of it – is “Autumn”–
The hue – of it – is Blood –
An Artery – upon the Hill –
A Vein – along the Road –

[N.B. Botanists have a name for the peculiar form of chemical warfare that trees engage in: "allelopathy," the "path," of course, leading to "pathogen." Here are links to 2 web-sites explaining the business:
1. Allelopathy. 2. Dye-Hard.]

Below, a Kyoto equation: leaves=money=leaves=money.
Even great temples make a living, come the fall.

Kazue Frog

2007-06-05T22:34:00.000+09:00

Dear Hailstones,

There will be a frog-listening event here soon!

American "Memorial Day": May 2007

2007-05-30T18:34:00.000+09:00

On Memorial Day, I sat on a veranda, above Oike Street, to take my pint of ale in the dusk, reading about American politics. The center doesn't hold there anymore, as an Irish poet once put it when the center didn’t hold where he was. “The best lack all conviction,” he said, “the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Only it is Babylon my countrymen are slouching towards & away from now, Mr. Yeats, not Bethlehem. We will see what new fear that brings on. “Patria mia,” is it really, Ezra Pound? “My country”? You were in London when you penned that title in Italian for an expat essay, exporting to Chicago bits of poetry cribbed from China by other hands than yours in Japan when you were just a whelp in "free-silverite" Idaho. “My country”: Well, yes and no, as we Americans say.

The ale goes down too well,
Better, even, than the dusk of May:
Another year gone slack, a loosening of the belt.

Then the friend I was waiting for arrived, and it was off with us up Kiyamachi, forty-odd meters: three glasses of house red & some good talk.

Oike-dori,
by night.

Hailstone Haiku Circle 'Hotspot'

Hotspot cools off; Icebox heats up?

Titleless

With love from a seabird ...

Hatsu Ginko in Gion

NOTICE BOARD お知らせ(Feb. 16, Revd)

Seasons of the Gods

Maiko evening fragment

URGENT

Posting Difficulties

Amanohashidate and Kinosaki Haike

NOTICE BOARD お知らせ

Two New Tanka

At Mikami Shrine

A new, beautiful, hand-made haiku chapbook "The Moon and Insects"

Urban Ginko to Tenroku, N. Osaka

awe, pair

Snails

NOTICE BOARDお知らせ

Mumyo-an Renkukai

Painting Frogs and Trying to Listen to Them

VISIT

NOTICE BOARDお知らせ

Allelopathy

Kazue Frog

American "Memorial Day": May 2007

NOTICE BOARD　お知らせ(Feb. 16, Revd)

NOTICE BOARD　お知らせ