What is a Saijiki?
Wikipedia defines a saijiki:
A saijiki (歳時記, lit. “year-time chronicle”) is a list of Japanese kigo (seasonal terms) used in haiku and related forms of poetry. An entry in a saijiki usually includes a description of the kigo itself, as well as a list of similar or related words, and some examples of haiku that include that kigo.[1]
A kiyose (季寄せ) is similar, but does not contain sample poems.
Modern saijiki and kiyose are divided into the four seasons and New Year, with some containing a further section for seasonless (無季, muki) topics. Each seasonal section is further divided into a standard set of categories, each containing a list of relevant kigo. The most common categories are the season, the heavens, the earth, humanity, observances, animals and plants.
wikipedia.org
What are kigo?
🌸 Kigo are season words. We use them when writing haiku and haibun (the haiku portion). The idea is to use a word that tells your reader what season it is without saying: “winter, spring, summer, or fall.” 🌸
The word “season” is not a kigo. It’s much too general of a word. When reading a haiku or haibun, we want to use a word that the reader understands to be related to a season.
🌧️ The word “rain” is not a kigo word either. Rain isn’t specific enough. You would add the season before the word rain to use it as a kigo phrase. (autumn rain, summer rain, etc.) 🌧️
We all live in different countries and continents. Everyone’s seasons are different. For that reason, if you use your own kigo, please share the kigo word with us. It will help to explain what season you’re in.
🚨 Are you in the southern hemisphere? Use the kigo words that correspond to the season you are in. We’re in fall in the northern hemisphere, which means you’re in spring. 🚨
The World Kigo Database shares:
“A traditional Japanese haiku contains one kigo.
👉🏻 Kigo 季語 is a word (GO 語) indicating the season (KI 季）in which the haiku takes place. 👈🏻
This is a short form for kisetsu no kotoba 季節の言葉, season word, seasonal word, seasonal phrase, seasonal expression.
Such a word or phrase does not only refer to a phenomenon in nature (the bees and the butterflies, the weather report), but it shows us how things change within each season.
Furthermore, it incorporates the seasonal aspects in human life, such as ceremonies and festivals, lifestyle and food, as they flow within the seasons. They are the large pool of “social season words“.
Traditional Japanese haiku are about the changes of the season (not simply about nature!!) and the season words help to express this feeling of change.
More links for Kigo (Season Words)
🌎 World Kigo Database: https://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.com/ 🌎
👉🏻 CHECK OUT the list of Regional Kigo Lists and Saijiki on the bottom of the World Kigo Database website. You might find kigo words that work better for your area.
🌸 A Dictionary of Haiku Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods by Jane Reichhold 🌸 (this saijiki contains haiku examples)
👉🏻 U of Virginia Library: List of Kigo Words
⭐️ RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES: This is a listing of all the religious holidays around the world. These observances make great kigo words as long as they are held on the same date each year and fall between the season dates.
**Japanese season words (kigo) are a guide. The key here is the word season. Season words are a poetic device. Plus, seasonal words give us unexpected glimpses into how we view the world around us. That is why we write haiku. Season words are essential for clarity and concision in haiku.
You should adapt season words that share your view of the world. Different seasons illustrate different kinds of energy. Use that to your advantage. It’s the a’ha moment that makes your haiku sing. Haiku should share a singular experience or event. Write haiku that brings your world alive for us!
Now apply this same energy to the other syllabic forms. Let the kigo words inspire your poetry!
(paraphrased from Haiku: A Poet’s Guide, by Lee Gurga)
Here is a form I created for you to begin your own saijiki. If you use your own kigo words in your poetry, please let us know what the word is so we all understand.
The Saijiki page below is the landscape version:
The categories are: heavens, the Earth, humanity, holidays, animals, plants, & weather.
Tanka Tuesday 
