Nelson Izu-Shi Friendship Society
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      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) 2020
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      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) 2019
      • Obon Summer picnic - August 2019
      • Onibana Taiko Drumming Performance - August 2019
      • Otsukimi Moon Viewing & Haiku Reading Sept 2019
      • Autumn Leaves Oct. 2019
    • Community Events 2018 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) May 2018
      • Canada Day July 2018
      • O-bon Summer Potluck Picnic - August 2018
      • Otsukimi Moon Viewing & Haiku Reading Sept 2018
      • Autumn Leaves Oct. 2018
    • Community events 2017 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) May 2017
      • Songs and Laments May 2017
      • Canada Day July 2017
      • Obon Picnic August 2017
      • Otsukimi (Full Moon Viewing & Haiku Reading) Sept. 2017
      • Autumn Leaves October 2017
    • Community Events 2016 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) May 2016
      • Canada Day July 2016
      • Obon Picnic August 2016
      • Otsukimi (Full Moon Viewing and Haiku Reading) Sept. 2016
      • Presentation to City Council September 2016
      • Autumn Leaves October 2016
      • Consul General visits Nelson November 2016
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Picture

Otsukimi 2017

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​On the occasion of the September meigetsu (harvest moon) a band of friendship society ‘wanderers’ met at Lakeside Park Nelson, for otsukimi (moon viewing), haiku reading and manju (what, no sake?)
 

Traditionally, otsukimi is held on the fifteenth night (Jugo Ya) of the eighth month of the lunar calendar.
 
Dating back to 1100 years ago, and influenced by Chinese culture, the court people had a moon viewing party with poem readings, playing music, and also enjoying sake. You would find many stories of this event in old collections of tanka poems, diaries and/or famous tales such as The Tale of Genji or The Tales of the Bamboo Cutter-the Princess Kaguya.
 
By the time of the Edo period, about 350 years ago, commoners also had a moon viewing party to celebrate and thank nature for their harvest. It became very popular among poets to have gatherings or contests for haiku reading under the harvest moon. This custom is still popular today in Japan.

 
Several members of the group read haiku in Japanese and English:

This haiku, written by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), was read by John:

Jou akete                          Please unlock the door
tsuki sashiireyo                 let the moon into
Ukimidou                          the Ukimidou on the lake      
 
(Ukimidou is a small temple on Lake Biwa.)


Basho is the renowned haiku poet of the Edo period who in later life became a wanderer most notably in the ‘north’ of Honshu. 
 
This Basho haiku,  taken from oku no hoso michi (The narrow road to the deep north), was read by Malcolm:  
 
“The changeable sky
 of the northern districts
 prevented me from seeing
the full moon of autumn” 
 
We were concerned that the smoke in the skies from the wildfires would prevent us from seeing the full moon.  We waited anxiously. 

Shoko wrote these haiku:
 
     Meigetsu ya                     The full moon night
      shitashiku tsudoi              friends are gathering
      uta o yomu                      reading haiku poems
 
 
     Meigetsu ya                        The beautiful moon
     reikusaido no                      standing beside the lake
     kaze suzushi                      cool breeze around
 
 (Kaze suzushi → kaze kemushi → smoky breeze around)

 
This haiku was written by Jim Sawada in memory of a lost friend:
 
“Meigetsuya                                            Harvest moon
Tomo ni sasageru                                    white chrysanthemum in a vase
Shiroi kiku”                                              for the friend I lost
 
Grace Deveau read a haiku written for the occasion:
 
“Eagerly we wait
Moon rises through smoky skies
Dry dusty harvest.” 
 
New member Richard read a haiku that he wrote just before the gathering:

"Brushstrokes of smoke
obscure memories
​shy moon hides"
 
Keiko and John independently chose this popular haiku, from Ransetsu Hattori (1654-1707):
 
Meigetsuya                                             Under the harvest moon
Kemuri hai iku                                         Smoke drifts
Mizu no ue                                              across the lake
 


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​Keiko made the traditional arrangement of 7 types of wild plants, and manju, a Japanese confection of rice flour and adzuki beans.  Manju look like the moon, and there must be exactly 15 of them!   We ate manju as we waited for the moon to rise over the mountains to the south of Nelson. 
 
Suddenly the top of the moon appeared. In minutes we viewed the full bright-red harvest moon.
Historical notes from Shoko Kurizaki Armstrong.   Malcolm Fitz-Earle photos.
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  • Home
  • Sister Cities
    • Origins of the Nelson – Shuzenji (now Izu-shi) Relationship
    • NELSON EXCHANGE VISIT TO IZU-SHI - SPRING 2019
    • IZU-SHI EXCHANGE VISIT TO NELSON - SUMMER 2019
    • NELSON DELEGATION VISIT TO IZU-SHI - SPRING 2017
    • IZU-SHI DELEGATION VISIT TO NELSON - SUMMER 2017 >
      • The yunomi jyawan
      • celebratory quilt
      • Saturday market
      • Mona Smith's Photos
      • Flashback to summer
  • The Friendship Garden
    • A Short History
    • Building the Friendship Gate
  • Community Events
    • Community Events 2023 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) 2023
    • Community Events 2022 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) 2022
      • O-Bon Summer Picnic - August 2022
      • Otsukimi Moon Viewing & Haiku Reading Sept 2022
      • Autumn Leaves Oct. 2022
      • 35Th Anniversary, Opening The Garden Shed, And Honouring Jim Sawada
    • Community Events 2021 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) 2021
      • Canada Day July 2021
      • Olympic & Para Olympic Cycling July 2021
      • Autumn Leaves Oct. 2021
    • Community Events 2020 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) 2020
      • Canada Day Tent July 2020
    • Community Events 2019 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) 2019
      • Obon Summer picnic - August 2019
      • Onibana Taiko Drumming Performance - August 2019
      • Otsukimi Moon Viewing & Haiku Reading Sept 2019
      • Autumn Leaves Oct. 2019
    • Community Events 2018 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) May 2018
      • Canada Day July 2018
      • O-bon Summer Potluck Picnic - August 2018
      • Otsukimi Moon Viewing & Haiku Reading Sept 2018
      • Autumn Leaves Oct. 2018
    • Community events 2017 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) May 2017
      • Songs and Laments May 2017
      • Canada Day July 2017
      • Obon Picnic August 2017
      • Otsukimi (Full Moon Viewing & Haiku Reading) Sept. 2017
      • Autumn Leaves October 2017
    • Community Events 2016 >
      • Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing) May 2016
      • Canada Day July 2016
      • Obon Picnic August 2016
      • Otsukimi (Full Moon Viewing and Haiku Reading) Sept. 2016
      • Presentation to City Council September 2016
      • Autumn Leaves October 2016
      • Consul General visits Nelson November 2016
  • About us
    • Executive and board
    • Contact
    • Brochure
  • MEMBERSHIPS