March's season words are all words of spring. From Keichitsu, the Awakening of Insects (around 5 March), they tell of insects, grasses and trees waking, and after Shunbun, the Spring Equinox (around 20 March), more and more of them speak of the lengthening days and of news of the blossom.
Our company renku circle (社内連句会) gathered these words month by month, to choose the season word of a renku's opening verse. The old haiku are by poets of the Edo period to the Taishō era; the English versions are ours, kept close to the Japanese.
The season 時候
- 啓蟄Spring
- The Awakening of Insects keichitsu One of the twenty-four solar terms, which divide the year by the sun's course: around 5 March, when the insects that wintered underground crawl out into the open.
- 弥生Spring
- March, by its old name yayoi The old name of the third month, said to mean the month when grasses and trees grow ever more thickly.
- 暖かSpring
- Warm atataka The pleasant warmth of spring, neither cold nor hot.
- 彼岸Spring
- The equinox week higan The seven days with the Spring Equinox at their centre, when people visit the family graves and remember their ancestors. 毎年よ彼岸の入に寒いのはShikiEvery year, you know — / the cold at the start / of the equinox week
- 春の宵Spring
- Spring evening haru no yoi The early evening just after a spring day has ended, with a bright and gently sensuous air.
Sky and weather 天文
- 春雨Spring
- Spring rain harusame The fine, quiet rain that falls on and on in spring, gently wetting the buds of grasses and trees. 春雨やものがたりゆく蓑と傘BusonSpring rain — / talking as they go, / a straw raincoat and an umbrella
- 春風Spring
- Spring breeze harukaze The soft, warm wind of spring, which brings a leisurely, peaceful mood.
Land and water 地理
- 春の泥Spring
- Spring mud haru no doro The mud of roads and fields made soft by melting snow and spring rain; one of the sights of spring.
- 春の水Spring
- Spring waters haru no mizu The water of rivers and ponds, risen with melted snow and spring rain and beginning to grow warm. 春の水山なき国を流れけりBusonThe waters of spring / flow through a land / without mountains
- 春の海Spring
- The spring sea haru no umi The gentle sea of spring, which brings to mind a bright, calm, unhurried sea. 春の海終日のたりのたりかなBusonThe spring sea, / all day long / rising and falling, rising and falling
Daily life 生活
- 卒業Spring
- Graduation sotsugyō Finishing one's course at school and leaving, as a bird leaves the nest; in March graduation ceremonies are held all over Japan.
Observances 行事
- 雛祭Spring
- The Doll Festival hinamatsuri On 3 March, dolls are set out on display and the healthy growth of girls is celebrated. 草の戸も住替る代ぞひなの家BashōEven a grass hut / changes its dwellers — / a house of dolls
- お水取りSpring
- The drawing of sacred water omizutori Part of Shunie, the rites of the second month at the Nigatsudō hall of Tōdai-ji in Nara: in the small hours of 13 March, the sacred water is drawn.
Animals 動物
- 初蛙Spring
- The first frog hatsukawazu The first frog's voice heard in a year, or the first frog seen.
- 囀りSpring
- Birdsong saezuri Birds in their breeding season in spring, calling to one another in high, clear voices.
- 蝶Spring
- Butterfly chō Butterflies dancing over the spring fields; "butterfly" on its own is a season word of spring.
- 雲雀Spring
- Skylark hibari A small bird that rises high into the spring sky, singing on and on. 雲雀より空にやすらふ峠哉BashōHigher than the skylark, / resting in the sky — / the mountain pass
- 雉Spring
- Green pheasant kiji A bird that calls a sharp "kēn" in the spring fields; it is Japan's national bird. 父母のしきりに恋し雉子の声BashōFather, mother, / I miss them so — / the pheasant's call
Plants 植物
- 菜の花Spring
- Rapeseed flowers na no hana The flowers of the rape plant, which turn whole fields yellow in spring; they stand for the bright landscape of spring. 菜の花や月は東に日は西にBusonRapeseed flowers — / the moon in the east, / the sun in the west
- 初桜Spring
- The first cherry blossom hatsuzakura The first cherry blossom to open in a year, greeted with the joy of a long-awaited flower.
- 菫Spring
- Violet sumire A small purple flower that blooms quietly in spring fields and by the roadside. 山路来て何やらゆかしすみれ草BashōComing along the mountain path, / something draws me — / a violet
- 木蓮Spring
- Magnolia mokuren A tree that opens large purple or white flowers, facing upwards, in spring before its leaves come out.
- 沈丁花Spring
- Winter daphne jinchōge A shrub that flowers in early spring, its small flowers gathered into round clusters like a child's ball, filling the air with a strong, sweet scent.
- 桃の花Spring
- Peach blossom momo no hana A tree with pale pink flowers in spring; its blossom is also set out for the Doll Festival.
- 土筆Spring
- Horsetail shoots tsukushi The spore-bearing shoots of the field horsetail, which come up on banks and the like in spring; people enjoy picking and eating them too.
- 蒲公英Spring
- Dandelion tanpopo A plant with yellow flowers in spring fields and by the roadside, which in time sends its white down flying.
The seasons follow the old calendar, as Japanese books of season words (saijiki) divide them. Around Risshun, Rikka, Risshū and Rittō, the first days of spring, summer, autumn and winter, one month holds the words of two seasons.
To count the sounds of a haiku, try the Haiku Sound Counter.
