Time and Season -- Part 4

Time and Season – Part 4
Freeing the Moon from Fall

“The autumn moon is incomparably beautiful. Any man who supposes the moon is always the same, regardless of the season, and is therefore unable to detect the difference in autumn, must be exceedingly insensitive.”

“Essays in Idleness” by Kenko
Translated by Donald Keene
Number 212


In traditional renga the moon is understood to be a season word indicating autumn, or fall. That it to say, if there is a verse in a renga in which the moon appears then it is a Fall Verse, unless the poet specifically indicates otherwise. For example, if the moon is seen through bare branches, or over snow drifts, then it is a winter moon. But if the moon is seen on the horizon, with no other image indicating a season, then the verse will be considered a Fall Verse. One way of looking at this is that the moon’s default category is the Fall Season.

This association is very strong for Japanese culture and is deeply rooted in their poetic culture. It goes back to such ancient collections of poetry as the Kokinshu, and may have even earlier roots. To get a sense of how intimately this connection is felt, consider that for those living in the U.S. the game bird, turkey, automatically assumes Fall seasonal associations due to that particular food item being embedded in myths about the founding of the nation among the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. It would be difficult for an American to not associate turkey with Fall. If someone in the U.S. wanted to write about eating turkey, but not in the Fall season, the writer would have to specifically mention that the meal was served at some other time. Just as in a traditional renga if one writes a moon verse, but wants a non-Fall moon, the poet has to specifically inform the reader that some other season than Fall is being referred to.

However, outside of the U.S. there is no such intimate, or deep, connection between serving turkey for a meal and a particular season. Just as there is no particular seasonal association for a meal centered on chicken or rice in the U.S., so there is no particular seasonal association for turkey outside of the U.S.

I would suggest that the same applies to the moon outside of Japan. As renga moves into the world at large these kinds of associations that are culturally specific need to be reconsidered. Are they efficacious? Do they still have a meaningful function?

When Time and Season are separated into distinct topics one of the consequences is a reconsideration of the Moon Verse and its meaning in a renga. Moon words are, from the perspective of Time and Season as separate topics, time words. The cycle of the moon is a way of keeping track of time. Just as “morning”, “evening”, “Monday”, etc., are time words based on the solar cycle, words such as “full moon”, “new moon”, “gibbous moon”, or “blue moon”, “Aries moon”, etc., are time words that specify a particular time as measured by the lunar cycle. And just as words designating solar time are not inherently seasonal, so also words designating the lunar cycle are not inherently affixed to a particular season. A term like “full moon” can be at any season.

There is a gain to separating the lunar cycle and its terms from a specific seasonal referent. That gain is that when this is done the moon verse can function as a pivot between two seasonal verses. Let me give an example:

Brown leaves and cool air
Switching to the thicker socks
Blankets on the bed

The almost full moon is seen
Crossing the garden of stars

Beside the Hawthorn
Whose first blossoms have opened
Near the empty house

The first verse is a Fall Verse: brown leaves = Fall. The third verse is a Spring Verse: first blossoms = Spring. The second verse is a moon verse and acts as a pivot, which can link equally well to the two seasonal verses. Here is what I mean:

Brown leaves and cool air
Switching to the thicker socks
Blankets on the bed

The almost full moon is seen
Crossing the garden of stars

Verses 1 and 2 make a complete image.

The almost full moon is seen
Crossing the garden of stars

Beside the Hawthorn
Whose first blossoms have opened
Near the empty house

Verses 2 and 3 also make a complete image.

The shift between Verse 1 and Verse 3 is a shift of season; from Fall to Spring. Verse 2 allows for that shift to take place. But this is only true if one frees the moon from the traditional Fall association. If the traditional association is maintained, then one has a series of seasonal verses as follows: Fall, Fall, Spring. The pivot function of the second verse is now lost.

Just as a verse specifying solar time, such as “sunrise” can function as a pivot between two seasonal verses, because “sunrise” does not inherently specify a season, so also a verse specifying lunar time, such as “the almost full moon” can function as a pivot in the same way. Both lunar and solar time verses can facilitate the shift; and not only a seasonal shift, but other types of shift as well.

I realize that dropping the traditional association with the Fall season for lunar verses represents a break with tradition. I wouldn’t put forth the idea unless I thought there was something to be gained by doing so. I believe that the ability for a lunar verse to function as a pivot opens up the lunar verse to possibilities that have not been previously considered and explored within the context of renga. Furthermore, I believe that by dropping this traditional association, renga will become more accessible to the world at large, which does not, by a large, share in this kind of association. For these reasons, I offer this suggestion. I recognize that thoughtful people may disagree with this suggestion and I have no quarrel with those who want to continue with the traditional pattern of associating the moon with Fall. I only offer the possibility here of a different approach to the moon verse and its meaning.


“The moon that appears close to dawn after we have long waited for it moves us more profoundly than the full moon shining cloudless over a thousand leaves. And how incomparably lovely is the moon, almost greenish in its light, when seen through the tops of the cedars deep in the mountains, or when it hides for a moment behind clustering clouds during a sudden shower! The sparkle on hickory or white-oak leaves seemingly wet with moonlight strikes one to the heart.”

“Essays in Idleness”, Number 137


“Looking at the moon is always diverting, no matter what the circumstances.”

Essays in Idleness, Number 21