UVa Library Etext Center: Japanese Text Initiative

行事【ぎょうじ】 gyōji Observances

初午【はつうま】 hatsu-uma First Horse [the first Day of the Horse in the lunar New Year, a shrine festival, about 12 February] (early spring)

午祭【うままつり】 uma matsuri Horse Festival
一の午【いちのうま】 ichi no uma First Horse
稲荷祭【いなりまつり】 inari matsuri Inari Festival [festival of the rice-bearer and fox spirits, held on the first Day of the Horse]

針供養【はりくよう】 hari kuyō （はりくやう）, Needle Memorial Day [8 Feb; people give thanks to blunted and rusted needles for their service] (early spring)

針祭る【はりまつる】 hari matsuru (to) celebrate needles
針納め【はりおさめ】 hari osame needle offering

雛【ひな】 hina （ひいな）, (ceremonial) doll(s) [specifically, dolls representing the Heian court, typically displayed in homes with female children during the "Doll Festival", 3 March (formerly observed on the third day of third lunar month, late spring)] (mid spring)

雛祭【ひなまつり】 hina matsuri Doll Festival
雛遊【ひなあそび】 hina-asobi doll amusement [playful ceremonies performed in front of the doll display by young girls]
雛の日【ひなのひ】 hina no hi dolls' day
初雛【はつひな】 hatsu hina first doll(s)
内裏雛【だいりびな】 dairibina dolls of emperor and empress
立雛【たちびな】 tachibina standing doll(s)
紙雛【かみびな】 kamibina paper doll(s)
雛飾る【ひなかざる】 hina kazaru (to) decorate with dolls [i.e., set up doll display]
雛道具【ひなどうぐ】 hina dōgu doll furniture/accessories
雛菓子【ひながし】 hinagashi doll pastry
雛あられ【ひなあられ】 hina arare doll snow-pellets [miniature confections for hina asobi; see translator's note at 霰 arare]
雛段【ひなだん】 hinadan dolls' step-stand / doll display stand
雛の灯【ひなのひ】 hina no hi dolls' lantern(s)
雛の客【ひなのきゃく】 hina no kyaku doll-guest(s) / dolls' guest(s)
雛の宴【ひなのえん】 hina no en dolls' party/banquet
雛の宿【ひなのやど】 hina no yado dolls' inn/lodging
雛の家【ひなのいえ】 hina no ie dolls' house

On this day in ancient times, at the Imperial Court they would hold parties, make offerings, and they would stroke their bodies with dolls, then float the dolls in water to clean off impurities; thus the holiday was observed. This, dolls turning into pets, became dedicated to the home, and in turn dolls became an amusement for aristocratic children and women, and in this connection the "doll festival" became an annual holiday. In the Edo Period (1601-1867) the doll festival came to be popular among the common people and was widely observed; this involved two or three pairs of paper dolls, but in the mid-Edo Period, dolls splendidly adorned with beautiful cloths representing the emperor and empress, such as those used now, came into use. At the celebration of the first Doll Festival after a girl is born, girls are gathered for a party with the delightful dolls. That evening, as the Doll Festival ends, poeple often finish the observance with a "dolls' send-off", setting paper dolls afloat on rivers or seas. These customs remain from the ancient observances of purification rites protecting one from misfortune. The Doll Festival is one of the "Five Festivals" (五節句【ごせっく】gosekku), which also include "People's Day" (人日【じんじつ】 jinjitsu, 7th of the first month), "Iris Festival" 端午【たんご】 tango, 5th of the fifth month), "Weaver and Cowherd Festival" (七夕【たなばた】 tanabata, 7th of the seventh month) and "Crysanthemum Festival" (重陽【ちょうよう】 chōyo, 9th of the ninth month). (Formerly, these were all lunar calendar dates, but now many of these festivals have moved to the numerically corresponding dates in the Gregorian Calendar, though the Weaver and Cowherd Festival and the Chrysanthemum Festival are still observed according to the lunar calendar in some regions.)

綿とりてぬびまさりけり雛の顔

其角

wata torite nubimasarikeri hina no kao

from pulling the cotton
it got lengthened
the doll's face

Kikaku

桃ありてますます白し雛の顔

太祇

momo arite masumasu shiroshi hina no kao

with peach blossoms
more and more white
the dolls' faces

Taigi

天平のをとめぞ立てる雛かな

水原秋櫻子

tenpyō no otome zo tateru hiina kana

she places
a Tenpyō Era maiden--
this doll

Mizuhara Shūōshi

[In the Tempyō Era (710-794 CE) the imperial court was mainly at Nara; typical dolls of the Festival represent members of the Heian Era court at Kyoto (794-1185).]

老いてこそなほなつかしや雛飾る

及川貞

oite koso nao natsukashi ya hina kazaru

surely old
and even more dear . . .
setting up the dolls

Oikawa Tei

草の戸も住み替はる代ぞ雛の家

芭蕉

kusa no to mo sumikawaru yo zo hina no ie

even a grass door
sees a change of residents--
a house of dolls

Bashō

Even to this person retired from the world and living in a thatched cottage, the time to leave his dwelling has come. The new residents include a wife and child, and it is just time to display the Doll Festival dolls. (This is the first poem in Bashō's travel diary, Narrow Roads of the Interior (おくの細道 Oku no hosomichi), one of the great works of Japanese literature.)

四月馬鹿【しがつばか】 shigatsu baka （しぐわつばか）, April fool / April Fool's Day (mid spring)

万愚節【ばんぐせつ】 bangusetsu April Fool's Day
エイプリル・フール eipuriru fūru April fool

都踊【みやこおどり】 miyako-odori （みやこをどり）, Miyako Dance [Kyoto, during April] (late spring)

春祭【はるまつり】 haru matsuri spring festival [refers to any of a number of spring shrine festivals] (all spring)

涅槃【ねはん】 nehan Nirvana [refers to Buddha's entry into nirvana, traditionally lunar second month, fifteenth (full moon) day; now often celebrated around 15 March] (mid spring)

涅槃会【ねはんえ】 nehan'e Nirvana Festival
涅槃像【ねはんぞう】 nehanzō Nirvana Portrait (of the Buddha) [may be two- or three-dimensional; see next]
涅槃絵【ねはんえ】 nehan'e Nirvana Picture [depicts reclining Buddha and disciples gathered around as he enters nirvana]
涅槃図【ねはんず】 nehanzu Nirvana Figure [same as previous]
涅槃寺【ねはんでら】 nehandera Nirvana Temple
寝釈迦【ねしゃか】 neshaka Sleeping Shaka [i.e., Shakamuni Buddha]

御水取【おみずとり】（お水取） o-mizutori （おみづとり）, drawing holy water [from the well at Tōdaiji, Nara, 12 March; not to be confused with 水鳥 mizutori, waterfowl (mid spring)

二月堂の行【にがつどうのおこない】 nigatsudō no okonai Ceremony at Nigatsu Hall
修二会【しゅにえ】 shuni-e monks' training [at Tōdaiji, 1-14 March]
お松明【おたいまつ】 o-taimatsu pine torch [used in the ceremony]

彼岸会【ひがんえ】 higan'e Higan services [Buddhists services held during 彼岸 Higan, equinoctial week, which see] (mid spring)

彼岸詣【ひがんもうで】 higanmōde Higan temple visit / Higan pilgrimage
彼岸団子【ひがんだんご】 higan dango Higan dumpling

遍路【へんろ】 henro pilgrim (late spring)

遍路宿【へんろやど】 henroyado pilgrim inn
遍路笠【へんろかさ】 henrokasa pilgrim hat [a conical straw hat]
遍路道【へんろみち】 henromichi pilgrimage road / pilgrimage route
遍路杖【へんろつえ】 henrotsue pilgrim's staff / pilgrim's walking stick

This refers to going on pilgrimage to the Eighty-Eight Holy Places of Shikoku. The pilgrimage is based on a preaching tour made long ago, by Kōbō Daishi (弘法大師, or 空海 K北ai, 774-825), going from temple to temple around the ancient provinces of Shikoku, for a total of over 1100 kilometers (700 miles) in 40 days, beginning in the third lunar month. Wearing white garments and sedge hats, carrying "diamond staves" (referring to the Diamond Sutra), boxes of votive cards, rosaries, bells, and the like, and singing "pilgrim songs" (詠歌【えいか】 eika) and chanting, the pilgrims make their rounds. They are welcomed by villagers en route, who offer them free lodging for a night. It is a journey of faith, with an element of pleasure-seeking. At just that time, cherry blossoms, mustard flowers, vetch, dandelions, and similar flowers are blooming, and the pilgrim path is beautifully colored. Since the whole pilgrimage route is so long, sometimes people go for only a section in one of the four old provinces of Awa (阿波), Tosa (土佐), Iyo (伊予), or Sanuki (讃岐).

道のべに阿波の遍路の墓あはれ

高濱虚子

michinobe ni awa no henro no haka aware

at the roadside
how touching the grave
of a pilgrim in Awa

Takahama Kyoshi

年寄りの足の確かや夕遍路

高野素十

toshiyori no ashi no tashika ya yūhenro

definitely
these are elderly feet . . .
pilgrim at evening

Takano Sujū

はゝそはの母と歩むや遍路来る

中村草田男

hahasohano haha to ayumu ya henro kuru

hanging onto mother
walking with mother . . .
the pilgrim comes

Nakamura Kusatao

竜舌蘭に遍路の影の折れ折れて

橋本多佳子

ryūzetsuran ni henro no kage no ore-orete

in a century plant
pilgrims' shadows
rip-rippling

Hashimoto Takako

へんろ宿あの世の父母の宿のごと

大野林火

henroyado ano yo no fubo no yado no goto

this pilgrim inn
like that inn in the other world
of father and mother

Ohno Rinka

かなしみはしんじつ白し夕遍路

野見山朱鳥

kanashimi wa shinjitsu shiroshi yūhenro

sadness:
the white sincerity
of pilgrims at evening

Nomiyama Asuka

Pilgrims float along in their white clothing in the dim twilight. Watching these evening pilgrims, one thinks of the sadness they carry. Their white shapes symbolize this sadness. (Note: Pilgrims' white garmets come down to their knees, below which they wear black or dark-colored pants or leggings. This gives them an etherial appearance at nightfall.)

花祭【はなまつり】 hanamatsuri Buddha's Birthday Festival [April 8; literally, "Blossom Festival"] (late spring)

潅仏会【かんぶつえ】 Buddha's Birthday Celebration
仏生会【ぶっしょうえ】 Buddha's Birthday Celebration

復活祭【ふっかつさい】 fukkatsusai （ふくくわつさい）, Easter [more literally, "Resurrection Day"] (late spring)

イースター iisutā Easter

西行忌【さいぎょうき】 saigyō-ki Saigyō's Memorial Day / Saigyō's (Death) Anniversary [lunar 2nd month 16th day (1190); celebrating one of the greatest waka poets of the 12th century] (mid spring)

円位忌【えんいき】 en'i-ki En'i's Memorial Day [Saigyō's religious name]
山家忌【さんかき】 sanka-ki Mountain Home Memorial Day [after the title of his personal waka collection, Sankashū]

利休忌【りきゅうき】 rikyū-ki （りきうき）, Rikyū's Memorial Day / Rikyū's (Death) Anniversary [second lunar month 28th day; celebrating the first great master of the Japanese Way of Tea, Sen no Rikyū 千利休【せんのりきゅう】(1522-1591)] (mid spring)

虚子忌【きょしき】 kyoshiki Kyoshi's Memorial Day / Kyoshi's (Death) Anniversary [8 April; celebrating the dominant master of 20th century haiku, Takahama Kyoshi 高濱虚子【たかはまきょし】(1874-1959)] (late spring)

椿寿忌【ちんじゅき】 chinjuki Camelia Life Anniversary [named for Kyoshi's favorite camelias at Jufuku Temple 寿福寺【じゅふくじ】, where he is buried

啄木忌【たくぼくき】 takubokuki Takuboku's Memorial Day / Takuboku's (Death) Anniversary [13 April; celebrating one of the first great modern tanka poets, Ishikawa Takuboku 石川啄木【いしかわたくぼく】(1886-1912)] (late spring)

梅若忌【うめわかき】 umewakaki Umewaka Memorial Day [15 April; in memory of a defunct school of Noh Drama] (late spring)