--- In translatinghaiku@yahoogroups.com, "Greve Gabi"
<gokurakuatworldkigo@...> wrote:
>
> yo no hito no mitsukenu hana ya noki no kuri
>
> few in this world
> notice those blossoms--
> chestnut by the eaves
>
> Basho
> trans. Ueda
>
> ...........................................................
>
> The sweet chestnut and the horse chestnut are rather different
species with
> different flowers.
>
> http://worldkigo2005.blogspot.com/2005/03/chestnut-kuri.html
>
> Enjoy some early summer !
>
> GABI
>
> Thanks to Larry and Isabelle.
>
> The tree in my parent,s garden was a huge horse chestnut tree.
>
>

Hi all
This has been one of my favourite Basho hokku for some time. I had
assumed it referred to horse-chestnut (since I'm not familiar with the
sweet chestnut), yet always felt bewondered that no-one should notice
such remarkable flowers! I have two young uma no kuri in my garden :)

This ku raises a general question about kigo, that I hope someone can
answer for me. As I understand it, the kigo in question is 'kuri no
hana' (chestnut's blossom), yet that phrase does not appear in the ku
itself. I had the impression that a kigo was a fixed phrase which
wasn't open to this kind of manipulation, and now wonder was I quite
wrong? I thought that the 'topic' of flowering chestnut was better
called a kidai than a kigo?

All clarifications gladly received!
Norman