歯朶【しだ】 shida fern [used in New Year's decorations; while generic in common usage, in haikai used specifically for the following]
- 裏白【うらじろ】 urajiro resurrection fern [literally "back-side white"; Gleichenia japonica, also known as G. glauca and Polypodium polypodioides; note that all kigo here are common names for this fern]
- 山草【やまぐさ】 yamagusa mountain plant [literal]
- 穂長【ほなが】 honaga long-ear [as of "seeds"; literal]
- 諸向【もろむき】 muromuki facing around [literal; refers to facing the fern's white leaf-backs to the front in displays]
In botanic taxonomy, the term "fern"
(歯朶 [しだ] shida)
generally applies to a cryptogamic pteridophyte. In haiku, it refers more
specifically to the "resurrection fern"
(裏白 [うらじろ]
urajiro), which is used as a New Year's decoration and is a common
New Year's season word. Urajiro
is usually found clustered in large groups in warm mountains and fields.
The leaves are evergreen; their outer surface is dark green and the
name (literally "back-side white") derives from their white inner
surface. Usually the back side of the leaf is turned to face outward and
decorated. This white surface is likened to the longevity of a married
couple whose hair turns white. The Chinese characters that comprise the
word shida (歯朶) are connected to longevity
as well. There is a word play, associating the character
shi (歯) with "age" (齢), and da
(朶) with "branch" (枝); when the characters are brought
together as "shida" the word means "extending age."
Alternative terms include "mountain plant" (山草
[やまぐさ], yamagusa),
"long-ear" (（穂長 [ほなが], honaga ）),
and "facing around"
(諸向 [もろむき], muromuki).
As green as the fern leaves look, under the light we see that it has
started to wither. This must be
the fern on the second or third day of the New Year.
歯朶の上に置けば傾ぐよ小盃
高田蝶衣
shida no e ni okeba kashigu yo kosakazuki
placed upon the fern
it tilts
the little goblet
Takada Chōi
裏白や齢かさねし父と母
百合山羽公
urajiro ya yowai kasaneshi chichi to haha
oh the resurrection fern
how they have aged,
father and mother
Yuriyama Ukō
山草の行き来に触るる一葉あり
石川桂郎
yamagusa no yukiki ni fururu hitoha ari
in the coming and going of the mountain plant
there was one leaf
that touched
Ishikawa Keirō
裏白の灯ればすこし枯れてあり
太田鴻村
urajiro no tomoreba sukoshi karete ari
the black-white leaf
in the light
looks a little withered
Ōta Kōson
