Quail uzura

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Quail (uzura)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: See below
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

uzura 鶉 ( うずら) quail, Wachtel
Coturnix coturnix, Coturnix coturnix japonica



Japanese Quail, Coturnix japonica
species of quail found in East Asia. They are a migratory species, breeding in Manchuria, southeastern Siberia, and northern Japan, and wintering in southern the Japanese Island, the Korean Peninsula, and southern China. They dwell in grasslands and cultivated fields. The plumage of the Japanese Quail is a speckled yellow-brown, with a creamy white strip above the eye. Adults are approximately 20 centimeters in length and weigh about 80 - 130g. The species is abundant across most of its range.
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It belongs to the kiji pheasant family, but has not such a long tail.
Quais were kept by the rich in the Edo period to enjoy the calling in autumn and an egg once in a while. They were not eaten as meat.
Most daimyo lords had quail farmers, they came righ after the uguisu nightingales.
When showing off their birds in contests, they fought for the best voice, the form of the beak and the patterns of the feathers. Each daimyo brought some of his male birds and they were let out in the yeard all together. They began to cry for their teritory. The one who could cry the longest and loudest was winner.

Conoisseurs could divide three types of voices
kuu 「クワ頭」 choo 「チョ頭」koki 「コキ頭」

three types of beaks
「豆嘴」「椎嘴」「腐嘴」

three types of bodies
like a lobster, a crab or a mountain 「海老背」「蟹背」「山形背」

three types of tails
「さし尾」「平さし尾」「海老尾」

three types of speckles
white 「白府」red 「赤府」mixed「ボケ府」

three types of head forms
like a crane「鶴首」like a chicken 「雌鳥首」like a wild boar「猪首」


- and a pun

uzura o kakeru 憂面を掛ける : u zura - woeful face

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- quote -
History of The Japanese (Coturnix) Quails
..... The first written records of domesticated quail in Japan date from the twelfth century. These birds were initially developed for song. It is claimed that a Japanese Emperor obtained relief from tuberculosis after eating quail meat, and this led to selection of domestic quail for meat and egg production in Japan in the latter part of the nineteenth century (Howes, 1964).
By 1910, the Japanese quail in Japan were widely cultured for their meat and eggs. Between 1910 and 1941, the population of Japanese quail increased rapidly in Japan especially in the Tokyo, Mishima, Nagoya, Gifu and Toyohashi areas. This period also represented a time of imperial expansion in Japanese history and domesticated Japanese quail were established in Korea, China, Taiwan an d Hong Kong, and later on spread to Southeast Asia.
- source : thatquailplace.com/quail -

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kigo for late spring

denso kashtie uzura to naru 田鼠化して鴽となる
(でんそかして うずらとなる)
a mole transforms and becomes a quail

denso is another word for mogura, a mole.

. shichinuniko 七十二候 72 seasonal points .
second point of seimei, now around April 10 - 14.


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

飛鶉鼠のむかし忘るゝな
tobi uzura nezumi no mukashi wasururu na

you flying quail -
don't forget you have been
a mole once


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mugi uzura 麦鶉 (むぎうずら) quail in the wheat field,
about march and april. It is the mating seasen and the voice has a rather high pitch.
aiu, ai-u 合生（あいう） "looking for a mate"
hihi naki ひひ鳴き（ひひなき） calling out "hi hi"
..... (imitating the sound of the mating cry)

(The meat of the bird is best in this time.)

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uzura no su 鶉の巣 nest of the quail
kigo for summer

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kigo for all autumn

uzura 鶉 ( うずら) quail, Wachtel
Coturnix japonica

uzurabu 鶉斑（うずらふ）spots of the quail
on its rather brown feathers it has blackish spots.

uzura naku　鶉鳴く　（うずらなく）　cry of the quail
In autumn when the wild flowers begin to wither, it runs around in the fields and cries "guggu guggu ruru" with a pleasant voice. This has been the subject of poetry since the Heian period.
They were also kept in the Edo period for their nice song, which sounded like "gokitchoo" 「ご吉兆（ゴキッチョー）」, a good lucky omen.


katauzura 片鶉（かたうずら）
morouzura 諸鶉（もろうずら）

uzura no toko 鶉の床（うずらのとこ）nest of the quail
kakeuzura 駆鶉（かけうずら）quail running around
uzurano 鶉野（うずらの）field with quails

uzura awase 鶉合せ（うずらあわせ）
bringing quail together to have a singing contest
uzurakago 鶉籠（うずらかご）cage for a quail




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. uzuraguruma うずら車 quail car toy .


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food with quail eggs (not kigo)

Since the Edo period, the meat has also been eaten. They were also kept for their nice song, which sounded like like the auspicious "gokitchoo" 「ご吉兆（ゴキッチョー）」, a good lucky omen.
When they are around 60 days, they are ready to be eaten.
Aichi prefecture, Toyohashi town is famous for quail farms. Aichi has 70% of Japanese quail.
. WASHOKU
Quail eggs and Suzuki Tsuneji from Toyohashi





packed with the shell or already boiled


quails eggs ウズラの卵 / うずらの卵 uzura no tamago
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They have a high amount of cholesterol and more vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids that chicken eggs. They are good for children, elderly and reconvalescent people.
They are also said to help improve the male sex life.

They eaten on skewers (kushiage), in miso soup and ramen noodle soup, on curry rice and other dishes.

uzura no hanjuku tamago 鶉の半熟卵 soft boiled quail eggs



quail eggs on a stick, with salt



quail eggs deep-fried on a stick ... kushiage



with kamaboko, as a decoration for the Doll Festival
かまぼことうずらの卵


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Worldwide use

Wachtelei, Wachteleier


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Things found on the way


Dolls of wool and quail eggs
(Some look like my dear Daruma!)



source : popo-chan.at.


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HAIKU

桐の木に鶉鳴くなる塀の内
kiri no ki ni uzura naku naru hei no uchi

A tall paulownia,
and a quail calling out
behind a high fence.
Tr. Steven D. Carter


near paulownia trees
quails are calling -
inside the garden wall
Tr. Greve

Written in 元禄3年, Basho age 47.
At this time, rich people used to keep quails as a kind of pet and enjoy their calling.

Mabye an allusion to a waka by Fujiwara no Shunzei 藤原俊成

夕されば野辺の秋風身にしみて鶉鳴くなり深草の里

In the evening, near the wild fields, where the autumn wind blows
the quails are calling out with ruefull voices near the village of Fukakusa.

Fukakusa is a district in Fushimi, Kyoto.


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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Related words

WASHOKU ... Japanese Food SAIJIKI

WASHOKU : eggs (tamago)


***** World Kigo Database

BIRD SAIJIKI

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