BACKUP : Seasons and Months

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Names and Months,
24 solar sections and 72 seasonal points



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Original is HERE

. Names of months and solar seasons



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Names of old Japanese months and their meanings
Dates accordng to the Gregorian Calendar

Japan has been using the Gregorian calendar since 1874.

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quote from
Time in Saijiki
by Hasegawa Kai

In the old calendar,
spring was from the first month through the third month,
summer from the fourth month through the sixth,
autumn from the seventh month through the ninth, and
winter from the tenth month through the twelfth.

Since every month had a full moon falling on the fifteenth in the old calendar, the Bon Festival always fell on the day of the full moon.
According to the solar calendar, however, the fifteenth day of the seventh month is close to the end of the rainy season when summer is at its climax.
... people in rural communities decided to observe the Bon Festival one month later, according to the solar calendar, on 15 August.
Mid-August is not exactly the same as the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, but it is close.
snip
Even after 1873, new saijiki were edited one after another. The saijiki of the new era, however, could not just attach the season words to similar dates of the solar calendar, so that, for example, an observance of the ninth day of the ninth month (old style) would be attached to 9 September (new style). Events and customs that were firmly bound tothe old calendar still remained throughout the country.
snip
The biggest problem caused by the change of calendar was the one-month discrepancy in correspondences of the four seasons and the twelve months.

Seasonal festivals are important annual events today as in the past. There are five in all: jinjitsu 人日(or nanakusa 七草, Seven Herbs) on the seventh day of the first month, jooshi 上巳(or hinamatsuri 雛祭り, Doll Festival) on the third day of the third month, tango 端午(Boy’s Festival) on the fifth of day of the fifth month, tanabata 七夕[ (Star Festival) on the seventh day of the seventh month, and chooyoo 重陽(Chrysanthemum Festival) on the ninth day of the ninth month.
All dates fall on the odd days in the odd months, and further, the day and month have the same number except jinjitsu.

When these seasonal festivals are moved to the “same” dates in the solar calendar, the seasons come about one month early.
In the provinces, beyond the jurisdiction of the government, people started to celebrate seasonal festivals a month late. This habit still remains in various places around the country, such as in Sho¯nai in Yamagata prefecture, where the Doll Festival is held in April, or Sendai, where the Star Festival is held in early August.

How would it be if these names for months were all moved back by one?
Shin saijiki (New Saijiki) by Kyoshi 虚子adopted this method. ... Shiwasu winds up being called January. But to call January Shiwasu (literally, “priests running,” a reference to end-of-the-year busyness) does not work. For this reason, Shin saijiki associates Shiwasu with December.

Read an interesting discussion here
source : Time in Saijiki
by Hasegawa Kai


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the HAIKU SEASONS

spring begins, February 4, risshun 立春
summer begins, May 6, rikka　立夏
autumn begins, August 8, risshuu　立秋
winter begins, November 7, rittoo　立冬

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Shoogatsu, the New Year
January 1 till 15, the first half of the first month
It used to co-incide with no-moon till full moon on the 15th of the first lunar month.
Therefore it was also the first month of spring in the old system.
Many kigo of this "early spring / new year / January as late winter" time bracket need to be checked carefully.
When the new saijiki were compiled according to the solar calendar, a fifth season, the NEW YEAR was introduced to avoid these complications. Many of the preparations for the New Year, done in December, are also problematic with respect to the season.


1.Mutsuki 睦月 (むつき) - Sociable Month
4 Feb – 5 Mar
The old name for January. Also read "Mutsubizuki". Etymological word was unknown but in poetry, it always means the month of affection when members of family, relatives and friends join to celebrate the New Year.


2.Kisaragi 如月 (きさらぎ)- More-Clothes
6 Mar – 4 Apr
The archaic name for February. Etymological word was said to be (Kisaragi) means the rebirth of plants and trees, or (Kinusaragi or Kisaragi) means putting more clothes against the cold weather. (In Japan, February is the coldest month of the year.)


3.Yayoi 弥生 (やよい) - Growth
5 Apr – 5 May
The archaic name for March. Etymological word was said that it was transformed from (ya-oi) means the thickly growth. The word (ya or iya) is a prefix, sometime it means "many".


4.Uzuki - Deutzia Month
6 May – 5 Jun
The archaic name for April. It means the month in which (U no Hana　卯の花) or the flower of Deutzia blooms.


5.Satsuki - Swamp Month
6 Jun – 6 Jul
The archaic name for May. The word "Sa", is omitted from (Sanaezuki　早苗月), means the month of planting rice shoots. Sometime it also can be written as (Satsuki 皐月). The word is a prefix, no meaning. For another example : (Sa-otome)


6.Minazuki - Waterless Month
7 Jul – 7 Aug
The archaic name for June. Also read as "Minatsuki". Although literally, it means the "waterless month", etymological word has various views. Some said that "Mi" refers to water and "Na" is a word added for euphony. So, the original meaning may be "Mi no tsuki" or "Month of water". (June is the month which has the most rain of the year).


7.Fumizuki - Literary Month
8 Aug – 7 Sep
The archaic name for July. Also read as "Fuzuki" or archaic, "Funzuki". Literally, "month of letter". It has various views on etymology. Some peoplementioned that the original was from the late Heian period (794-1192) which said that July was the month for writing a letter with casual language. Some people that because of Tanabata Festival (on July 7), people wrote poems in Chinese characters. So it can be said that it was the month of poetry.


8.Hazuki - Leaf Month
8 Sep – 7 Oct
The archaic name for August. Also read as "Hatsuki". Etymological word was unknown, but It refers to the month of falling leaves. In an ancient story, it said that around this time, leaves on the moon changed into light yellow which made the moon became more delight. The full moon on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar was also called "Bright Moon of Taro".


9.Nagatsuki - Long Month
8 Oct – 6 Nov
The archaic name for September. Also read as "Nagazuki". Literally, "Long month", or sometime refers to "Long moon". Because poets appreciated the beauty of full moon through out long nights of the spring.


10.Kannazuki - 　Month without Gods
7 Nov – 6 Dec
The archaic name for October. Also read as "Kaminazuki" or "Kamunazuki". Literally, "godless month". The legend said that large numbers (Yao-yorozu)of gods from places in Japan, leave their homes to assemble at Izumo Taisha or the Grand shrine of Izumo (now located in Shimane Prefecture) to match soul mates for human. So, there were no gods remains in local shrines. In Izumo, people called this month (Kami-arizuki) or "month of gods".

Large Number, in this case, is the word (Yao-yorozu). Although literally means 8 million, in Archaic Japanese, the word "Ya" means "many". So, the word Yao-yorozu should means "great numbers".


11.Shimotsuki - Frost Month
7 Dec – 4 Jan
The archaic name for November. Literally, "month of frost", because in Japan, winter begins at early November. Dew becomes frozen from the northeast of Japan. It was named to reminds farmers to get ready for winter.


12.Shiwasu - Rushing About, Busy Month
5 Jan – 3 Feb
The archaic name for December. Also called (Gokugetsu) or (Gokutsuki). The word "Shi" refers to a priest, literally, "running priests". It always means to "month of busy priests". In the past, it was a custom that priests must went to houses to attend religious services to Buddhists. Around the end of a year, priests would be busy going to places and it also showed how people be busy at the end of a year.


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24 Sekki ... the 24 solar sections 二十四節気

Risshun (立春): February 4—Beginning of spring
Usui (雨水): February 19—Rain water
Keichitsu (啓蟄): March 5—awakening of hibernated (insects)
Shunbun (春分): March 20—Vernal equinox, middle of spring
Seimei (清明): April 5—Clear and bright
Kokuu (穀雨): April 20—Grain rain

Rikka (立夏): May 5—Beginning of summer
Shōman (小満): May 21—Grain full
Bōshu (芒種): June 6—Grain in ear
Geshi (夏至): June 21—Summer solstice, middle of summer
Shōsho (小暑): July 7—Small heat
Taisho (大暑): July 23—Large heat

Risshū (立秋): August 7—Beginning of autumn
Shosho (処暑): August 23—Limit of heat
Hakuro (白露): September 7—White dew
Shūbun (秋分): September 23—Autumnal equinox, middle of autumn
Kanro (寒露): October 8—Cold dew
Sōkō (霜降): October 23—Frost descent

Rittō (立冬): November 7—Beginning of winter
Shōsetsu (小雪): November 22—Small snow
Taisetsu (大雪): December 7—Large snow
Tōji (冬至): December 22—Winter solstice, middle of winter
Shokan (小寒): January 5 Small Cold— a.k.a.
. . . . 寒の入り (Kan no iri) entrance of the cold
Daikan (大寒): January 20—Major cold

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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72 seasons, seasonal points
shichijuuni koo, shichinuniko 七十二候（しちじゅうにこう）
Shichijūni kō

made by dividing the 24 Sekki of a year further by three sections.
Dates are from the year 2010
There is a difference in naming from China and Japan.
Here I list the ones which are used as KIGO.


. . . . . SPRING

uo hi ni noboru 魚氷に上る (うおひにのぼる)
fish climb on ice
(うおこおりにあがる)
until February 14



kawauso uo o matsuru
獺魚を祭る (かわうそうおをまつる)
otter festival
oso no matsuri 獺の祭（おそのまつり）
..... dassai 獺祭（だっさい）
..... dassaigyo 獺祭魚（だっさいぎょ）
within the 24 section of
Usui (雨水): February 19—Rain water, in Japan also called
土脉潤起 / 土が潤い起る


. Dassai Ki 獺祭忌（だっさいき）Dassai memorial day
Otter Festival Anniversary
memorial day for Masaoka Shiki


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taka kashite hato to naru
鷹化して 鳩と為る (たかかしてはととなる)
the hawk changes into a dove
last of keichitsu.
around March 16 to 20

More TAKA haiku in Japanese
http://www.shigaku.or.jp/hanapoem/00.3.23.htm



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denso kashite uzura to naru
田鼠化して鴽となる (でんそかしてうずらとなる /
田鼠化為鴽)
moles come out and change into quails
second point of seimei , now around April 10 - 14.
late spring

also called
雁が北へ渡って行く geese flying north



. . . . SPRING
the complete SAIJIKI


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. . . . . SUMMER



fusoo hotaru to naru 腐草蛍となる (ふそうほたるとなる)
compost leaves become fireflies
second point in Bōshu (芒種): June 6—Grain in ear



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hangeshoo 半夏生 (はんげしょう)
eleventh day after the summer solstice
hange 半夏（はんげ）
hange ame 半夏雨（はんげあめ）
The rice planting should be finished by this time. It is the last bit of the rainy season.
There are a lot of regional ways to celebrate this day, some with special food.

. WASHOKU
hagesshoomochi 小麦餅（はげっしょう餅 ）from Nara
and Wakayama　



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. . . . . AUTUMN


mizu hajimete karu 水始めて涸る (みずはじめてかる)
water dries out for the first time
third section after the autumn equinox
day 3 and 4 of the 10th solar month


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kigo for late autumn

ookami kemono o matsuru
豺獣を祭る おおかみけものをまつる
wolf offers wild animals
..... ookami no matsuri 狼の祭（おおかみのまつり）
..... sai no matsuri 豺の祭（さいのまつり）
first section of the ninth month
Wolves are seen to make an offering of their prey.



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suzume hamaguri to naru
雀蛤となる (すずめはまぐりとなる)
sparrow becomes a clam
suzume umi ni iri hamaguri to naru
雀大水に入り蛤となる（すずめうみにいりはまぐりとなる）
suzume ka shite hamaguri to naru
雀化して蛤となる（すずめけしてはまぐりとなる）
second section of the ninth month
All things that can fly will now change. The color of the wings of a sparrow and the color of the shell of a hamaguri are seen as similar.



. . . . AUTUMN
the complete SAIJIKI



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. . . . . WINTER


mizu hajimete kooru 水始めて氷る (みずはじめてこおる)
water freezes for the first time
first point of ritto


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kigo for late winter


kan no iri 寒の入 (かんのいり) "cold period begins"
..... kaniri 寒入り（かんいり)

kan no uchi 寒の内 (かんのうち)
"within the cold period"
between shokan and daikan, see above the 24 solar sections
(Now the thirty days from about January 5 until February 3. This is the opposite of the doyoo hot period of summer.)
kan 寒（かん）cold
kanchuu 寒中（かんちゅう）
kanshiroo 寒四郎（かんしろう）"fourth son of the cold"
The fourth day of the COLD period.
kanku 寒九（かんく）"nineth day of COLD period"

kan doyoo 寒土用 (かんどよう) doyoo period of the cold
doyoo refers to the part, when the season is "at its best", in this case, the most cold.



. . . . WINTER
the complete SAIJIKI


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The 72 annual spells in Japan
Susan Delany from Texas has made a list, comparing the 72 seasonal spells to events of Texas.
How to make the 72 Seasonal Spells
Shokan Tadashi Kondo
2007, a PDF-file

Backup File in our library
. 72 spells in Tokyo and in Plano, Texas
By Susan Delphine Delaney, MD





more is here n Japanese : koyomi8.com !



More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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垂乳根の奪衣婆にいま半夏生
tarachine no datsueba ni ima hangeshoo

the old hag of hell
with sagging breasts celebrates
11 days after the solstice

Tomita Naoji 富田直治 (1922 -

Datsueba (Datsue ba 奪衣婆 or 脱衣婆 the ood hag of hell


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. The Four Heavenly Directions 　
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Yin and Yang 陰陽 　


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Original is HERE

. Names of months and solar seasons




. . . . WKD : the complete SAIJIKI


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