うすうすとしかもさだかに天の川

slightly faint
yet clear
the milky way
—Kiyozaki Toshio

usu-usu to / shika mo sadaka ni / amanogawa

(print by Joichi Hoshi, titled "The Milky Way")

Another common autumn kigo is the Milky Way, amanogawa in Japanese, which literally is something like Heaven River. Now you can see the Milky Way in the sky in any season depending on your location. In Japan it may be easiest to see during summer. But the Milky Way became a kigo for autumn mainly because of the Tanabata festival.

Briefly, Tanabata is a celebration of the one time of year when the stars Vega and Altair meet. Normally they are divided by the Milky Way. In Japanese myth this becomes a love story. The festival is in July, but originally it was in August and August is autumn in the old calendar. I may talk about this event more at a later time, but just know this is why the Milky Way became a kigo for Autumn.

I imagine a lot of people reading this blog have never seen the Milky Way with the naked eye. Light pollution being what it is, it's tough to see any stars clearly from all but the smallest cities. In pre-electric Japan it would have been a lot easier to see and enjoy.

Don't miss the other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series!

#1 - Traveling to the inn
#2 - Childless Woman
#3 - Old Dancing Butterfly
#4 - Seeing the Moon
#5 - Checking the Scarecrow
#6 - Skill of Insects
#7 - The Spider Lilies
#8 - A Thousand Green Mountains
#9 - Falling Lead Enlightenment
#10 - Lonely Night
#11 - Her Day Off
#12 - Autumn Crow
#13 - Faint Footprints
#14 - Alone on the Road
#15 - Autumn Begins
#16 - Early Morning Moon Viewing
#17 - Mistaken for a Scarecrow

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org.