Japanese Traditional Month Names (Wafū Gatsumei) ①

[Traditional Aliases for 12 Months] January: Mutsuki (睦月) Meaning: During the New Year, relatives and friends gather together and spend the holiday in harmony (睦み合う). February: Kisaragi (如月) In the dead of winter, the weather is cold, requiring one to "wear more clothes" - Ki-saragi (衣更着). Ki (衣): Clothes, garments Sara (更): More, anew, again Gi/Ki (着): To wear, to put on March: Yayoi (彌生) Describing lush vegetation. Spring arrives, and plants begin to "grow more (彌生)". Iya (彌): More, increasingly, lush Oi (生): To grow, to sprout When read together, the pronunciation evolved into Yayoi. April: Uzuki (卯月) This month is the season when the "deutzias (卯の花)" bloom. May: Satsuki (皐月) The month for planting rice seedlings. In ancient times, 'Satsu' (皐) meant cultivation. This is the month when farmers "plant rice seedlings (早苗)". The original kanji for "Satsuki" was "早苗月" (Sanaezuki), meaning "the month of planting rice seedlings." Later, the pronunciation was simplified to "Satsuki," and the kanji "皐月" was borrowed. June: Minazuki (水無月) The month filled with water. Mi (水): Water Na (無): In ancient Japanese, the particle 'na' here means the attributive particle 'no' (of). Tsuki/Zuki (月): Month Therefore, the true meaning of Minazuki is "the month of water" used for irrigating rice fields.