＜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) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・「山笑う」「山滴る」「山粧う」」「山眠る」など山のつく面白い季語
Recently, thanks to the TV program “Prebat,” there seems to be a bit of a “haiku boom.”
I’ve been interested in haiku for a long time, and I’ve previously written articles about poets such as Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, Takarai Kikaku, Masaoka Shiki, and Nakamura Kusatao.
This time, I’d like to introduce some interesting seasonal words related to mountains.
1. The mountain laughs（Yama Warau「山笑う」）
“Yama Warau” (the mountain laughs) is a seasonal word for “spring.”
Its meaning describes the scene of a spring mountain, where new plants and flowers sprout, bathed in the spring sun, giving the entire mountain a peaceful and bright feeling.
Its origin comes from the following passage in “Gayouroku” (臥遊録), a collection of paintings written by Guo Xi (circa 1023–circa 1085), a landscape painter of the Northern Song dynasty in China.
Spring mountains are gentle and seem to smile; summer mountains are verdant and seem to drip; autumn mountains are bright and clear and seem to adorn themselves; winter mountains are desolate and seem to sleep.
春山淡冶（たんや）にして笑うが如く、夏山蒼翠（そうすい）にして滴（したた）るが如く、秋山明浄（めいじょう）にして粧（よそお）うが如く、冬山惨淡（さんたん）として眠るが如く
Here are some example haiku:
* The mountains seem to be laughing, and the person who lives among the plum trees… – Takahama Toshio
* My hometown, wherever I look, the mountains are laughing… – Masaoka Shiki
* When I pick up my brush and face it, the mountains are laughing… – Oshima Ryota
・笑ふ山めぐらし梅に住める人 高浜年尾
・故郷やどちらを見ても山笑ふ 正岡子規
・筆取りてむかへば山の笑ひけり 大島寥太
2. The mountain is dripping wet（ Yamashitataru「山滴る」）
“Yama Shitataru” (山滴る) is a seasonal word for summer. Other usages include “Shitataru” (滴る) and “Koke Shitataru” (苔滴る).
Its meaning describes the beautiful summer mountain scenery, where young leaves turn a deep green, and water seems to drip from those leaves, creating a lush, vibrant appearance.
Its origin, like “Yama Warau” (山笑う), is from the “Gayuroku” (臥遊録).
Example haiku include:
* A single hat drips as I walk through the mountains – Masaoka Shiki
* A single leaf sways as water falls – Tomiyasu Fusei
* With no one gone, the mountains and rivers of Yamato drip – Kadokawa Haruki
・笠一つしたたる山の中を行く 正岡子規
・滴りの打ちては揺るる葉一枚 富安風生
・ひと亡くて山河したたる大和かな 角川春樹
3. The mountains are adorned with beauty.
“Yama Yosoou” (山装う) is a seasonal word for autumn. Other uses include “noyama no brocade” (野山の錦), “momiji no brocade” (紅葉の錦), and “kusa no brocade” (草の錦).
Its meaning describes the beautiful autumn scenery of mountains adorned with red and yellow leaves.
Its origin, like “yama warau” (山笑う), is from the “Gayūroku” (臥遊録).
Examples include the following:
* “Closing my eyes, I see the brocade of the mountains and fields today” – Takahama Kyoshi
* “Within the Kokonoe (Nine Layers of the Imperial Palace) the mountains and fields are a brocade” – Ōshima Ryōta
* “The mountain god seems to be here, as the mountains are adorned” – Inoue Masaru
・眼をつぶれば今日の錦の野山かな 高浜虚子
・九重を中に野山のにしきかな 大島寥太
・山の神来てゐるらしき山粧ふ 井上 雅
4. The mountain sleeps（Yama Nemuru「山眠る」）
“Yama Nemuru” (Mountains sleeping) is a seasonal word for winter.
Its meaning describes the lonely appearance of a winter mountain, as if it were sleeping. Many haiku using this phrase describe mountains on calm, windless days without snow.
Its origin, like “Yama warau” (Mountains laughing), is from the “Gayuroku” (Record of Gayuroku).
Example haiku include:
* Leaning against the desk as if the mountain were sleeping – Takahama Kyoshi
* The mountain, collapsing towards Tenryu, sleeps – Matsumoto Takashi
* Mount Asama sleeps on the left side of the sky – Ishida Hakyo
・山眠る如く机にもたれけり 高浜虚子
・天龍へ崩れ落ちつつ眠る山 松本たかし
・浅間山空の左手（ゆんで)に眠りけり 石田波郷
5. Mountain Climbing（Tozan「登山」）
Haiku about mountains are called “mountain haiku,” but “mountain climbing” is a seasonal word for “summer.” It’s also used in phrases like “mountain climbing（「山登り」）,” “trailhead（「登山口」）,” “mountain lodge（「登山宿」）,” “summer mountain route（「夏山路」）,” “mountain railway（「登山電車」）,” and “mountain climbing stick（「登山杖」）.”
Mountain climbing isn’t limited to summer; there’s also “winter mountain climbing,” and it’s done in spring and autumn as well.
However, “modern mountain climbing,” which combines sport and hobby, such as “winter mountain climbing (snow mountain climbing),” was introduced from the West during the Meiji era. It was the British foreign expert Gowland, who named the “Japanese Alps,” who was employed by the Japanese government.
In the past, mountain climbing was deeply intertwined with religion and faith, such as the “mountain asceticism of mountain priests” and the “Fuji pilgrimage” and “Fuji pilgrimage” of ordinary people who climbed mountains as objects of worship. It is thought that this history is why it became a seasonal word for “summer.” Incidentally, “mountain opening” is also a seasonal word for “summer.”
Examples of haiku include the following:
* Seeing my healthy child at the mountain station – Sugita Hisajo
* Riding the mountain bus with enthusiasm, everyone boards together, feeling close – Matsuo Shizuko
* The climbing stick doesn’t fall, resounding against the rocky gate – Takeshi Sakai
・健やかな吾子（あこ）と相見る登山驛 杉田久女
・登山バス躍り乗合相親し 松尾静子
・岩の扉にひびき倒れぬ登山杖 武石佐海
6. Seasonal words simply by adding “〇 mountain” and one of the four seasons
While it may seem like a straightforward seasonal word, its charm lies in its ability to allow for free thinking, unconstrained by fixed ideas or preconceptions, unlike phrases such as “mountains laughing,” “mountains dripping,” “mountains adorned,” and “mountains sleeping.”
(1) Spring Mountains (“Spring Mountains,” “March Mountains,” “Spring Mountainside”)
– Lost in the not-so-deep spring mountains – Matsuo Iwao
– The train plunges into the womb of the spring mountains – Saito Sanki
– A torrent, trying to shed the darkness of the spring mountains – Taki Haruichi
・春山の深くもなきに迷ひけり 松尾いはほ
・春山の胎内へ汽車もぐり込む 西東三鬼
・奔流や春山の闇脱がれむと 瀧 春一
(2) Summer Mountains (“Summer Mountains,” “Summer Peaks,” “Blue Peaks”)
– The summer mountains stand imposingly before the eaves – Tomiyasu Fusei
– Leaning my chin on my hand, the summer mountains are above my eyebrows – Yamaguchi Seison
– The blue peaks of July are close by, near the molten furnace – Yamaguchi Seishi
・夏山の立ちはだかれる軒端かな 富安風生
・頬杖をつけば夏山眉の上 山口青邨
・七月の青嶺まぢかく熔鑛爐 山口誓子
(3) Autumn Mountains (“Autumn Peaks,” “Autumn Peaks,” “Autumn in the Mountains”)
* Encountering a person made me frightened in the autumn mountains – Masaoka Shiki
* Looking down, the autumn mountains surround me – Takahama Kyoshi
* Even in the women’s bath, the sound of one person in the autumn mountains – Minakichi Sou
・人にあひて恐ろしくなりぬ秋の山 正岡子規
・見下ろせば秋の山々我をめぐる 高浜虚子
・女湯もひとりの音の山の秋 皆吉爽雨
(4) Winter Mountains (“Winter Mountains,” “Winter Peaks,” “Winter Mountain Path,” “Winter Mountain Dwellings”)
* Where the sun shines on the winter mountains, there are houses – Murakami Kijo
* Going to support the winter mountains that are about to fall – Matsumoto Takashi
* The faces of people who live in the dry winter mountains – Suzuki Rokurin’o
・冬山の日當（あた）るところ人家かな 村上鬼城
・冬山の倒れかかるを支へ行く 松本たかし
・冬山に乾き棲みつくひとの顔 鈴木六林男