＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
The word “Reigetsu” in the preface(＊) to the 32 plum blossom poems from the Manyoshu, which was the source of the new era name “Reiwa” announced on April 1, 2019, means “a good month to do anything,” but it is also another name for the second month in the lunar calendar.
(＊) Preface to the 32 plum blossom poems in the Manyoshu
＜Original Text＞
于時初春令月 氣淑風和 梅披鏡前之粉 蘭薫珮後之香
<Modern Translation＞
It is a fine month in early spring, the air is pleasant, the breeze is fresh. The plum blossoms bloom like a beautiful woman applying powder to her face in front of the mirror, and the orchids give off a fragrant perfume like adorning the body.
Since ancient times, the Japanese have been sensitive to each season and not only gave each month an elegant name that suited it, but also divided the year into 24 parts and gave each season an appropriate name.
１．”Japanese-style month names”
The names of the months in the lunar calendar are called “Japanese-style month names.” These correspond to the seasons and events of the lunar calendar, and there is a 1-2 month difference from the current seasonal feeling.
・January: Mutsuki (the month of friendship) – the month when relatives gather together during the New Year
・February: Kisaragi – The month when it is still cold and people wear layers of clothes. Also called Reigetsu.
・March: Yayoi – The month when trees and grass grow lushly
・ April: Uzuki – The month when deutzia flowers bloom
・May: Satsuki – The month for planting seedlings. Also called Sanaetsuki or Satsuki (Early month).
・June: Minazuki (or Minatsuki) – The month of water , the month when water is drawn into the rice fields.
・July: Fumizuki (Fumitsuki) – The month when the ears of rice ripen (Hofumizuki)
・August: Hazuki (Hatsuki) – The month when the leaves fall
・September: Long moon (Nagatsuki, Nagazuki) and long night moon (Yonagazuki)
・October: Kannazuki (Month without Gods) means the month of the gods . There is also a theory that this is the month when gods from all over the country gather at Izumo Taisha Shrine, and gods from other regions are absent.
・November: Shimotsuki (the month of frost)
・December: Shiwasu – A month when even the master is on the move
I learned this method of memorizing the “Japanese-style month names” from my high school classical Japanese teacher. It goes like this: “Mukyau Samifuku Hanaka Shishi.”
This alone probably doesn’t make sense. Written in kanji, it means “no excitement shamisen wiping nose lion” and means “it’s a disappointment if the woman wiping the shamisen has a lion nose,” so it’s just a play on words and has no meaning. Even if you remember the names of each month, it can sometimes be hard to remember the order, but if you remember this, I think you’ll be fine.
Mu (Mutsuki), Ki (Kisaragi), Ya (Yayoi), U (Uzuki), Sa (Satsuki), Mi (Minazuki), Fuku (Fumizuki), Ha(Hazuki), Na (Nagatsuki), Ka (Kannazuki), Shi (Shimotsuki), Shi (Shiwasu)
２．”Twenty-four solar terms”
（1）Spring (January to March of the lunar calendar)
・Risshun: New Year’s Day. The cold weather has passed and signs of spring can be felt.
・Usui (Rainwater): During the New Year, the weather improves, snow and ice melt and turn into water, and snow turns into rain.
・Keichitsu: February festival. Insects that have been hibernating underground come out.
・Syunbun(Vernal Equinox): Mid-February. The sun rises due east and sets due west, and day and night are almost equal in length.
・Seimei(Qingming): March Festival. Everything looks lively and pure.
・Kokuu(Grain rain): In March, spring rain falls to moisten the grains.
（2）Summer (April to June in the lunar calendar)
・Rikka: The beginning of April, when signs of summer can be felt
・Shōman: In April, everything gradually grows and begins to fill the heavens and the earth.
・Bōshu: May festival. Planting of grains (with awns) such as rice.
・Geshi(Summer solstice): mid-May. The length of the day is the longest.
・Shōsho: June festival. The end of the rainy season and the start of summer.
・Taisho: June, when the summer heat is at its hottest.
（3）Autumn (July to September in the lunar calendar)
・Risshu: The beginning of autumn (Seventh month) ,Feel the signs of autumn
・Shosho: Mid-July, when the heat subsides
・Hakuro: August festival. White dew settles on the grass.
・Syubun(Autumnal Equinox): Mid-August. The middle day of the autumn equinox, when the length of day and night is roughly equal.
・Kanro (Cold Dew): September. As autumn deepens, cold dew forms on wild grasses.
・Sōkō(Frost): Mid-September, when frost begins to fall
（4）Winter (October to December in the lunar calendar)
・Rittō: October festival – the beginning of winter
・Shosetsu(Light snow): In October, it gets cold and rain turns to snow.
・Taisetsu(Heavy Snow): November. Snow finally starts to fall and pile up.
・Tōji(Winter solstice): November, the shortest day of the year
・Shōkan: December season. The cold weather increases as the cold weather sets in.
・Daikan: The coldest time of the month in December.
・Doyo : In the lunar calendar (lunisolar calendar), this refers to the 18 days before the beginning of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, but recently it has come to refer only to the “summer doyo”
・Setsubun: “The turning point of the seasons” and originally existed in the four seasons. Currently it refers to the day before the beginning of spring.
・Higan: The seven days consisting of three days before and three days after the spring and autumn equinoxes). The first day is called “Higan no iri”(the beginning of the equinox), the day itself is called “Cyunichi”(the middle day), and the last day is called “Ake”(the end).
・Hachijuhachiya: The 88th day after the beginning of spring, when frost becomes less frequent.
・Nyubai(Beginning of the rainy season): In the lunar calendar, this is the day of Mizunoe after the day of Bōshu, when the rains of the rainy season begin to fall.
・Hangesho: The 10th day after the summer solstice in the lunar calendar.
・Nihyakutooka: The 210th day counting from the beginning of spring.