The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society (YTHS) sponsors the annual Kiyoshi and Kiyoko Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest. This is the oldest USA-based international haiku contest honoring the English-language adaptation of the traditional Japanese form. The contest requires each submitted haiku to have a five-seven-five-syllable pattern and to include a single kigo (seasonal phrase) from a contest-specific list.
Before I discuss the contest screening process, here are features of the kigo. A kigo “operates in Japanese haiku as a poetic device. Symbolic of a season, it holds the power of allusion to literary, religious, and historical references” (Machmiller, 2011). Thus, in addition to denoting a season for the poem and placing it in nature, a kigo provides a “vertical” link between the haiku and poet’s historical, cultural, and literary past (see also Shirane, 1998 and 2000). Haruo Shirane comments:
In Japan, the seasonal word triggers a series of cultural associations which have been developed, refined and carefully transmitted for over a thousand years and which are preserved, transformed and passed on from generation to generation through seasonal handbooks, which remain in wide use today.
A kigo “is the sounding board of the poem…. [without it] there would be no amplification, no overtones, no lingering reverberations” (Machmiller, 2011). Furthermore “the season that a kigo represents is chosen because the kigo is at its most impressive at that time of year” (Machmiller, personal communication, 2013).
The Tokutomi contest offers haiku poets the opportunity to explore these aspects of the haiku tradition by encouraging the creation of contest-worthy haiku. I acknowledge that skillful poets can successfully break rules and conventions. In particular, many admirable haiku have been written with more than one kigo and even without a kigo. But, to be fair, entries in a contest must comply with contest rules. My objective here is to summarize kigo usages that fell outside the 2013 Tokutomi Contest rules. I hope this information could help the reader be successful in using the classical form required by the Tokutomi Contest. Contestants in subsequent Tokutomi Contests could be less likely to use multiple kigo or make other inadvertent errors that can cause disqualification of a poem.
Each year the contest coordinator selects kigo for the contest. The list for the 2013 contest contained kigo for each of the five seasons (including New Year), and can be found here.
For the 2013 contest, poets offered 218 poems. One of the largest coordinator tasks was, surprisingly, to screen haiku for compliance with the rules. Unfortunately 56 poems (a quarter of the haiku) failed to meet at least one of the four contest rules. This disqualified them from being forwarded to the judges. Almost all disqualifications were caused by disregarding the contest rule: “Haiku with more than one recognized kigo will be disqualified” (see all the 2013 contest rules here).
Sometimes a poet added an explicit season name (“spring,” “summer,” “autumn,” or “winter”) that matched the contest-list kigo used. But, by definition, each kigo refers to a season. Naming the season duplicates the season information and diminishes the power of the specified kigo. The poet needs to allow each kigo to denote its season fully.
Less commonly a poet added an explicit season that conflicted with the chosen contest-list kigo. For example, more than one poet added “winter” in a haiku with the contest-list kigo “first sun.”
Sometimes the poet inserted the name of a month (January, October, etc). This is a double problem. First, the name of a month either duplicates or challenges the season invoked by the contest-list kigo. Second, the explicit month is best avoided in general because poets write haiku in the southern hemisphere as well as the northern: the name of a month denotes the reverse season to a reader living on the opposite side of the equator to the poet.
Just as a contest-list kigo implies a season, so do many other words. One of the hardest areas for the haiku poet is to develop attentiveness to words and phrases that potentially signify the season, in order to not include them inadvertently.
In contest submissions, some poets added an extra season word that signified but did not name the season. Some words duplicated and some contradicted the contest-list kigo used. A small and randomly selected subset is:
Poets sometimes differ in their ideas about the seasonal significance of a word: set that aside. This contest is guided by traditional (as opposed to personal) uses of season words. In the same way that a writer uses a dictionary and a spelling checker, a haiku poet can consult the YTHS season word list as well as the non-regional season-word almanac by Higginson (1996a) in order to check against accidental addition of season words.
A haiku was disqualified if it used a contest-list kigo incompletely. In particular “migrating raptors” is an autumn kigo. Replacing it by the unqualified and non-seasonal “raptors” was cause for disqualification.
Altering a kigo from singular to plural (or vice versa). Thus “migrating raptor” was as acceptable as “migrating raptors.”
Modifying a kigo to use a synonym. Thus “migrating hawk” was acceptable as a variant of “migrating raptors,” although the unqualified “hawk” (a winter kigo) was not acceptable.
The 2013 rules did not specify that a haiku would be disqualified if it used a contest-list kigo as a simile. Examples are:
Accordingly, such haiku were not disqualified for the 2013 contest. For future contests, a guideline will be added that a haiku would be disqualified if it were to use a contest-list kigo in any non-kigo manner.
Practice the use of a single kigo in a haiku. This has two benefits that can result in better haiku:
Every word is vitally important in the haiku, the shortest of poems. When any word duplicates a meaning already in the poem, a word is wasted and the impact of the haiku is diluted.
The study of kigo helps a poet attend to the sensibility of the essential role that the natural world and the seasons play in the classical haiku.
Study kigo through reading Higginson (1996a and 1996b) and Machmiller (1995 and 2011), as well as Missias (2000). Enrich the depth of your studies through such books as Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Basho (Shirane, 1998).
Ueda (1999, p. 19) also comments on the cultural resonance of the haiku’s kigo, writing about the kigo being something the senryu (the haiku’s often humorous human-nature sibling) lacks:
[W]hile a haikai poet could create complexity through the use of [a] kigo (season word), a senryu writer has no such culturally loaded vocabulary at his disposal… He could use a word referring to season … but because senryu had no tradition of seasonal poetry to feed on, the word would not carry the kind of rich cultural connotations that a kigo would.
Trumbull (2000), in an exploration of adaptations of the Japanese haiku by Western writers, advised that classically in Japan: “Poets who used a kigo incorrectly, in a way that failed to capture the manifest essence of the season, would risk the rebuke of the haiku master.” Meanwhile, I hope that this essay, far from being intended as a rebuke, is a helping hand in the kigo foothills, and will bring you greater success in your future submissions to the Tokutomi Contest.
As for the moon, kigo almanacs show “moon” to be of the autumn season. If you see “moon” by itself in a kigo list for a Tokutomi Contest, do not duplicate the season in your “moon” haiku by adding “autumn” or any other autumnal season word. And do not add a phrase that conflicts with the autumn season given simply by “moon.”
Instead, allow the kigo to do its full work. Let the moon denote the brightest of moons, the moon closest to the earth in autumn. To distinguish this usage from other occurrences of the moon, the traditional convention is that a reference to the moon at another time of the year must be shown by naming the season (summer moon, winter moon, or spring moon) or by some other designation (such as in the 2013 Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest whose spring kigo included “sugar moon”).
I am grateful to Patricia J. Machmiller for her kigo guidance. Without it, I would not have had the opportunity to coordinate the 2013 Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest. I hope that by sharing this experience with you, you will be able to incorporate some of it in your writing and that in future years’ contests your haiku will be among the winners.
Missias, A.C., editor (2000). In Due Season: a discussion of the role of kigo in English-language haiku. Supplement #1 of the Acorn haiku journal, released Spring, 2000.
Trumbull, Charles (2000). Seasonality: English-language Haiku in Search of its Vertical in Missias (2000) above.
I recently saw a patient an old fibro patient, who I’d last seen a few years ago. She had been doing quite well managing her fibromyalgia over the years by following my advice and taking the appropriate supplements I had recommended. In her return visit she shared with me how her fibromyalgia symptoms of fatigue, achy muscle pain, fibro fog, and low moods had been a growing problem over the last several months. A year ago, she was doing fine.
Being a good detective, my first question was “what have you been doing differently?” She said she had been under more stress but it was better now. She couldn’t think of anything else. I proceeded to quiz her about her health. My next question was “how is your sleep”? She responded “fine, no problem. I take 10mg of Ambien and I’m out of it for the night.”
“Are you taking 5HTP”? I asked. She said “No, I’m taking Ambien because it only costs me $10 with my co-pay and the 5HTP was costing me $30 a month. “Was the 5HTP working, was it helping you fall asleep and stay asleep?’ I asked. “Yes it was, but since I was taking Ambien, I didn’t think I needed it and I wanted to save money.”
I about fell out of my chair, but I quickly regained my composure. “A year ago, you stopped taking 5HTP which was working and switched to Ambien to save $20 a month?” “Yes.” She replied.
Here was a smart, educated woman who was well versed in my writings and protocol, a past patient who by following my advice had kept her fibromyalgia in check for a number of years. Who was now having fibro flares due to her narrow minded thinking. Her symptoms had returned from a combination of stress, stopping 5HTP, and switching to Ambien. The side effects of Ambien include next day fatigue, achy muscle pain, “brain fog”, low moods, and loss of memory. Do these side effects look familiar? They should, they are the same symptoms experienced by everyone with fibromyalgia.
5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP) plus the B-vitamins, magnesium and other nutrients, in the CFS/Fibro formula makes the brain chemical serotonin. Serotonin increases mental clarity moods (the happy hormone), your natural sleep hormone, melatonin, and your pain threshold. The higher your pain threshold is, the less pain you have. The obvious solution for my patients’ recent fibro flares was to wean off of the Ambien and immediately start back on the 5HTP.
I recognize the importance of trying to save a few bucks, especially in today’s economy. But, saving money at the expense of your health isn’t worth it. My patient thought she was saving $20 a month, $240 a year. But, was she really saving money?
Well, let’s see. Let’s do the quick math – Due to her recent flare up, she’d visited two different doctors, and had missed a total of eight days of work. Her co-pays plus her visit to me were almost $200. Elizabeth works on an hourly basis. So she was out eight days or 64 hours worth of pay. It’s easy to see she wasn’t saving money at all. In fact if she had continued down the ill fated path, she would have become sicker, required more doctor visits, more drugs, and lost additional days at work.
I often have people tell me they can’t come see me because I don’t accept their insurance. They would rather stay trapped in with the medical go around with stupid doctors who continue to push the same old drugs. Yes the drugs and the doctor visits are covered by insurance but for most folks with fibromyalgia they don’t help, only make matters worse.
Please realize your insurance company doesn’t care if you get well or not – you’re a number, only a statistic to them. If you can find a doctor who knows what they’re doing and they can accept your insurance, then great. As long as you’re doing better, getting well, then stick with them. However, if you continue to follow advice from stupid doctors, ones who don’t offer any real, lasting help- find someone who will help even if it means you will pay out of pocket. Don’t let the insurance company or the narrow minded thinking keep you from feeling great again.
Saving money by seeing doctors who only take your insurance or taking drugs because they are covered and supplements are not, is a recipe for failure. If you think long term and factor in continued poor health, additional office visits, drugs, declining health from these drugs, missed work or opportunities, there is no savings at all.
Your health is your number one commodity. Without it, you’re destined to have mounting life robbing symptoms, doctor/drug bills, and misery.
Don’t let your insurance dictate your health, be proactive and find a doctor who will help you get well weather they accept your insurance or not.
If you are ready to feel good again and are looking for real change then call my clinic 205-879-2383 to schedule a phone or in clinic consult to see if I’ll accept your case. Life is too short to feel bad more days than good.
I can and do order blood tests and lab tests that you can have done in your home town…there isn’t a need to travel to Birmingham to see me in person.
Tags: 5 HTP, Dr. Murphree, Dr. Rodger Murphree, health insurance, natural healthcare, no insurnace coverage for wellness, Rodger Murphree, The Fibro Doctor, Treating and Beating
I am taking the B complex, and eating organically-fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meat, no gluten products. I recently spent a few hours in ER due to hemiplegic migraine. Would the 5HTP help me to prevent the migraines along with finally getting some sleep? I also take gabapentin, tramadol
I agree with what you are saying and have experienced it myself. A couple years ago I was in terrible shape, taking a handful of drugs and still feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. Then I read your book and started using your protocols but buying the supplements you recommended separately instead of buying your forumla. I’m now only taking pain medication and have gotten off pharmaceutical sleep aids, depression, and fibro medications and I’m taking samE, 5-HTP, COQ10, melatonin, etc. instead. BUT it costs me three times as much for the supplements as it did for the copay on the drugs. It’s easy for you, a person with money, to say it’s stupid to take drugs only due to the money. I am on SSD and my husband is retired so we are very limited on income and this is a big deal for us and a difficult decision. It upset me that you are deriding this person that I totally identify with. Sometimes it IS all about the money…
I’m sorry you are offended. However, to beat fibro you must get healthy, drugs don’t make you healthy and almost ALWAYS lead to more problems. Understand the pain of making financial choices, I lived on Ramen noodles for 8 years while I put myself through college. A bottle of melatonin costs less than $10, 5HTp $30. most products could be had for less than what it costs for copays and ongoing doctor visits.
I would love to try your products but it’s sometimes not being narrow minded it’s being poor! I have suffered from FMS for 7 yrs. I have been on disability for 6 yrs. I absolutely don’t have the money. When I had more than Medicare I tried everything. Now I am forced to take ambien & ultram because the two are under $20.00 together. No shipping! This only slightly helps but I get some sleep & the ultram sometimes takes the edge off. There are so many out there that are taking advantage of people with chronic pain & when there’s no money, your forced to just live with it!
I did the fibro pack for around 8 months, I think. i did extra melatonin and 5htp. I never slept, and I kept my restless leg syndrome. my iron went off the charts and my dr. then said i had hemochromotosis.
I believe in what you are saying, but was discouraged because i think i tried every supplement you had to offer for the syptoms I had. I never got to talk with you, but I would love to use your supplements and sleep and get better.
Wish it was easy….fibro is a complicated illness and patients benefit the most by working with one on one. My staff is happy to answer any questions 205-879-2383
I am not sure what supplements I should take to help relieve the Fibromyalgia. I take vitamins and extra vitamin D and Calcium but the exhaustion never goes away. I am 74 and have battled this before they had a name for it. I am so tired. I would like to spend the time I have left here feeling good.
I have never heard a doctor speak as you do, Dr Murphree! I am definitely intrigued by hearing what you have to say. I am considering calling you to seek your advice on how to improve my health. How much do you charge for phone consultations? I have no insurance except for Medicare, but am willing to pay out of pocket if necessary. I have been paying out of pocket for a while now, because I have had no other options, and like you said I am tired of listening to stupid doctors who just want to drug me and don’t really care if I get well or not! I do believe in taking natural supplements and have been taking the 5HTP because a friend suggested it. I have noticed a great benefit from taking it. I am curious about what else I can do to improve the quality of my health, and thus my life overall!
New Patient Phone consults are $129. Please call the clinic 205-879-2383 my staff will be happy to answer any questions and help anyway they can.
I have suffered from relentless flare-ups in the past 5 months, to the point where I am so exhausted and in so much pain, I can almost not function anymore. I am not on any medication for fibromyalgia currently, firstly because I was on Lyrica, but had such horrendous side effects that I stopped taking it after 6 months. Secondly, my husband is unemployed, and we have no health insurance, and very little money, so I honestly don’t HAVE the money to spend on medication or additional doctors’ visits. But I am miserable. I really don’t know which way to go next. I am 52, but if this is the rest of my life, it’s not worth living.
Matilda sorry you are struggling. A low cost way to get started is through learning what to do next here is the link for ordering my eBook or you can do so online at Amazon http://www.getfibrobooks.com
I make $21, 000 a year. I barely make ends meet on that. I know I should take better care of myself but with my $850 deductible and just trying to keep a roof over my head. I can’t go to the doctor or always keep up on my supplements. Any ideas for poor fibromyalgia suffers?
A low cost way to get started is through learning what to do next here is the link for ordering my eBook or you can do so online at Amazon http://www.getfibrobooks.com
I was your patient 2 years ago, and then my time ran out -I still read your articles, but this one particularly interested me – I also was on ambiem for years. You got me off it, and I am so glad. You suggested Trazadone for me, which I still do – but so much better without the ambiem.
Can I buy 5 HTP without a prescription? I live in MI and have been diagnosed for years with fibro and three types of arthritis. I have no insurance but would love to be able to sleep and feel rested.
James Bond is widely considered to be the poster boy for all things espionage. With a history spanning over six decades, it’s safe to assume that Bond would have at least mastered the basics by now and would have no difficulty walking into any spy agency in the world.
Last Thursday, Britain’s enigmatic chief of Secret Intelligence Service, Alex Younger, acknowledged that while the Bond franchise has helped to establish the agency as one of the most recognisable of its kind in the world, it’s come at a price.
“I’m conflicted about Bond. He has created a powerful brand for MI6: as C, the real-life version of M, there are few people who will not come to lunch if I invite them. Many of our counterparts envy the sheer global recognition of our acronym.”
“And to be fair, there are a few aspects of the genre that do resonate in real life: fierce dedication to the defence of Britain, for example. The real life ‘Q’ would want me to say that we too enjoy – and, indeed, need – a deep grasp of gadgetry. But’s that’s pretty much where the similarity ends. And, were Bond to apply to join MI6 now, he would have to change his ways,” Younger said.
It turns out that changing his ‘ways’ roughly translates to “This blokes a bit too loose to get a job here, he should probably chill on the whole ‘breaking every law in the civilised world’ thing and while he’s at it, probably stop trying to root any woman who glances at him,” … Or something like that.
Younger went on to speak about how the Bond franchise has actually led people to believe that there’s a checklist of qualities that are needed to work for the allusive spy agency when that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“For too long – often because of the fictional stereotypes I have mentioned – people have felt that there is a single quality that defines an MI6 officer, be it an Oxbridge education or a proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. This is, of course, patently untrue. There is no standard MI6 officer.”
So there you go, it’s actually possible to become an MI6 agent after all. HMU when you start looking for agents with very few employable qualities and a dislike for physical activity.