Latest newsletter: Mantis
May 30, 2017Here is a Japanese traditional poem, Tanka, compiled in
chapter two, No.331, in "Ryojin Hisho (Songs to Make the Dust
Dance on the Beams, an anthology of Japanese poetry songs)".
"Okashiku maumonowa Konagi, Konaraha, Kurumano-do tokaya,
Byodo-in naru Mizuguruma, Hayaseba Maiizuru Iboziri. "
(Interpretation: The things that have an interesting dance
are shrine maiden, an acorn leaf, a wooden axle on a wheel,
as well as a water wheel in Byodo-in Temple and a mantis or
snail which appears with the rhythm.)
This period is named 芒種 (Mangzhong, Grain in Ear, or Boshu
in Japanese) under the 24 term in solar calendar. The first
5 days of Mangzhong is called "TouRouShouzu", the period
that Mantis are born. For us today, the mantis is a ferocious
insect as it is a carnivorous insect. How did ancient people
imagine the mantis to be like?
Read the full article:
A brave man with funny dancing: Mantis
Translation by: Hitomi Kochi, reviewed by Chan Yee Ting
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