Early Autumn・初秋
Poetic Name (Mei)
銘
Description / source poetry
New autumn air
新涼
Shinryō
Fujiwara Toshiyuki capture the feeling of 'shinryō' in this poem from the Kokin-shū:
秋来ぬと目にはさやかに見えねども風の音にぞ驚かれぬる
"Nothing meets the eye to demonstrate beyond doubt that autumn has come - yet in the sound of wind I hear it in my heart"
- Fujiwara Toshiyuki (?-907), Kokin-shū #169
Image: @minenomatsu
Thatching
Grass
刈萱
Karukaya
‘Kaya’ is a general name for long grasses like cogon grass, sedge, and Japanese pampas grass. In autumn people cut Kaya to make thatched roofs, wind breaks, etc.
This is especially poignant for chanoyu as sōan tea pavilions are made with thatched roofs.
Image: @minenomatsu
Soaring Sky of Fall
秋高し
Aki-takashi
In early and mid-Autumn, the ceiling of the sky above us appears to soar higher up to the heavens than other times of year. Gazing up into the great, blue firmament
sends our spirits soaring. Boundless, blue imagination.
Image: @minenomatsu
不知火
Shiranui
‘Shiranui’ refers to the flickering lights out on the surface of the ocean seen from the shore in early autumn. They were often seen around the start of the 8th month of the lunar calendar especially on the Yatsushiro Sea and Ariake Sea in Kyushu. The lights came from the light of ‘isaribi’ fishing lights (to lure fish) from fishing boats at the mudflats reflecting on the surface of the water in the cool autumn air. People weren’t aware of the cause of the phenomenon and called these lights the ‘Shiranui’ (Mystery Flame).
Reference: 'Chanoyu Kisetsu no Kotoba' Tankosha Publishing
Shimmering autumn air
秋麗ら
Aki-urara
On a fine day in autumn, the air is fresh but golden sunlight warms the earth, creating diffraction above the surface of wild-grass. This shimmering air, quivering
in delight from the warm heath reaching up into the cool atmosphere, is called ‘aki-urara’.
Image: @minenomatsu
Red Spider Lily
彼岸花
Higanbana
Red Spider Lilies or 'Higanbana' flower after the first good rain of Autumn. They are originally from China, Korea and Nepal, are were introduced to Japan and from there to the United States and elsewhere.
The bulbs of the Red Spider Lilly are very poisonous and are used in Japan to surround rice paddies and houses to keep pests and mice away. They can be seen wild and thick alongside rivers and fields at the start of autumn. A brilliant site. In Japan, the higanbana signals the arrival of autumn.
Higanbana are associated with death and should never be given to people as a bouquet for this reason. Instead, they are used for funerary rites and planted on graves.
As the flowers grow near cemeteries around the autumnal equinox, they are considered as ominous flowers in Buddhist literature. They are described as flowers that grown in Hell and guide people to the next reincarnation.
The popular Japanese name higanbana (彼岸花) literally means the flower of higan, higan meaning 'the other' or 'that shore' of the Sanzu River, the river the dead
must cross on their way to the afterlife (浄土 jyōdo).
For me, I am terribly fond of these flowers, both for their light and dark associations, and the nostalgia surrounding the brilliant blooms. The first time I saw them was indeed after the first
autumn rain. It was a fine day, the blue sky reaching up high. The thick, pale green and straw coloured grasses of the river bank near home were alight with these higanbana fire-balls. They
looked like a hoard of warriors that had emerged from the underworld. Wiry, noble, lush, and with an ominous air of duty. With higanbana, Mother Nature takes a fiery sickle to summer and
ignites the ageing ground. The Red Spiders make a vibrant parade among the wistfully swaying straw. They torch the cooling air, reaching up to soaring skies. The red flares tell us to
prepare for the winter crossing and remember those who have already sailed to the 'other shore'.
Moon Shadow
月の影
Tsuki no kage
Tsuki no kage (directly translated means ‘the moons shadow’), refers to the light rays reflected by the moon. From the ‘Kokin wakashū’ collection of waka poems:
Konoma yori
Morikuru tsuki no
Kage mireba
Kokoro zukushi no
Aki ha kinikeri
Between the branches,
A moon shadow filters through
The soft silver glow
Lights a feeling in my heart:
The pensive Autumn is here
Image: @minenomatsu
Fading leaves
薄紅葉
Usu momiji
Usumomiji describes the maple leaves as they just start to take on their Autumn colour, when they are pale reflections of the brilliant colours to come.
Plop! a maple leaf -
Pale shades of autumn seep through
My block of tofu
Irozuku ya
Tofu ni ochite
Usu momiji
-Bashō
Image: @minenomatsu
With a single leaf to ground, the Autumn is known
throughout
the land
桐一葉
Kiri hitoha
This mei evokes the image of seeing a large paulownia leaf fall to the ground and thus triggering a sense of the oncoming Autumn. The paulownia tree is the first tree to start letting go of its leaves for the colder months. The phrase ‘Hitoha ochite tenka no aki o shiru’ 一葉落知天下秋 (With but a single leaf to ground, the Autumn is known throughout the land) tells us that in just a single leaf the great truths of Gaia are contained. This phrase also has the meaning of foretelling decline (from into the winter months), and to make us acutely aware that from the smallest signs we are able to foretell great things to manifest in the future.
Reference: 'Chanoyu Kisetsu no Kotoba' Tankosha Publishing
Image: @minenomatsu
Songs of Autumn
秋声
Shūsei
The sound of the breeze, rain and the rustle of leaves. The crickets in the evenings. This poetic name evokes the sounds that give one a sense of the deepening Autumn.
Image: @minenomatsu
Autumn Rain
秋雨
Akisame
After the heat of summer, where rainfall invites rejoicing, akisame is the first rain that makes you take shelter from cold and watch on with an air of melancholy.
Image: @minenomatsu
Autumn dusk
秋の暮
Aki no kure
(Aki = autumn, Kure = dusk.)
This mei is used when the unmistakable feel of autumn seeps into days’ end.
On a withered branch
A lonesome crow has settled
Lo! the autumn dusk
Kare eda ni
Tori no tomari keri
Aki no kure
- Bashō
Image: @minenomatsu
Long-night moon
'Nagatsuki' ('September' in Japanese) the month of long nights and beautiful moons.
夜長月
Yo-naga-tsuki
長月
Nagatsuki
The first month of Autumn. The best month to view the moon. Night lengthens little by little, allowing more time to appreciate the moon. The increasing chill in the night air adds to the beauty.
Image: @minenomatsu
Cloud with moonlight cargo
雲の水脈
Kumo no mio
天の川雲の水脈にてはやければ 光とどめず月ぞ流るる
Clouds carrying moonlight cargo coursing over the starry night sea,
Luminescence misses its stop - sailing out to æther
- Unknown, Kokin-shū #882
In the Japanese poem, 'Kumo no mio' (roughly: clouds coursing) is the stand-out phrase most appropriate for a chashaku name. In the English translation, 'Cloud with moonlight cargo' seems to capture the key image of the poem. One would of course make a point to state the poem in its entirety.
