Microseason: Wagtail Sing

AUTUMN

WHITE DEW

WAGTAIL SING

12 - 16 September

Wagtail, part of the Sparrow family, are said to call in the season. It’s their song that signals that we are properly situated in Autumn.

In Japanese legend, the islands are the children of gods Isanagi and Isanami. They placed a spear down from above and stirred the earth singing “kouro kouro kouro” to create a spirited island called Onokoro.

It is said that the fluttering movement of the Wagtail’s long tail provided the hint to Isanagi and Isanami as to how they should mingle on earth to birth the Japanese archipelago. And thus Wagtail are nicknamed Koioshiedori, literally the Love Teaching Bird. They first made Awaji Island, followed by Shikoku, Kyushu, Honshu, and the other small islands thereafter.

They subsequently created the gods of wind, sea, rock, river, mountain, fire, water, and tree, amongst all other parts of the natural world. And after a whirlwind labor of creation, Isanami birthed her final child in exchange for her own life. The god of love.

Photo credit: Momoko Nakamura