July's season words, too, are all words of summer. At about the time of Shōsho, the Lesser Heat (around 7 July), the rainy season ends; from Taisho, the Greater Heat (around 23 July), come the doyō days, the hottest of the year, and with them the words of high summer, such as the blazing sky and the evening downpour. The saijiki counts Tanabata, the star festival, as an autumn word, so it stands in August.
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
- 梅雨明けSummer
- End of the rainy season tsuyu ake The early-summer rainy season comes to an end; clear days follow one another, and the true heat of summer begins.
- 暑しSummer
- Hot atsushi A word for the heat of summer itself; it carries the feeling of bearing a fierce heat. 暑き日を海に入れたり最上川BashōThe hot day / it has poured into the sea — / the Mogami River
- 涼しSummer
- Cool suzushi A summer word for a moment of coolness felt in the midst of the summer heat. 涼しさや鐘をはなるるかねの声BusonCoolness — / leaving the bell, / the voice of the bell
- 土用Summer
- Dog days doyō Doyō is the eighteen days before Risshū, the Beginning of Autumn, and falls in the hottest time of the year.
- 夏の果Summer
- Summer's end natsu no hate The very end of summer; the word carries a reluctance to let the passing summer go.
Sky and weather 天文
- 夕立Summer
- Evening downpour yūdachi Rain that comes suddenly and hard on a summer afternoon or evening, and soon stops.
- 雲の峰Summer
- Cloud peaks kumo no mine The towering thunderheads of the summer sky, rising high like the peaks of mountains. 雲の峰幾つ崩て月の山BashōPeaks of cloud, / how many have crumbled — / the mountain of the moon
- 炎天Summer
- Blazing sky enten The summer sky with the sun beating down as if to scorch, and the heat of it.
- 夕凪Summer
- Evening calm yūnagi On a summer evening, as the sea breeze gives way to the land breeze, the wind drops and the air turns hot and close.
Land and water 地理
- 夏河Summer
- Summer river natsu kawa A river in summer; the word also brings to mind people cooling their feet in the water. 夏河を越すうれしさよ手に草履BusonCrossing the summer river, / the gladness of it — / sandals in hand
- 滝Summer
- Waterfall taki Water falling from a height; for its coolness it counts as a summer word.
Daily life 生活
- 浴衣Summer
- Cotton kimono yukata The yukata, an unlined cotton kimono for summer, worn after the bath, out in the cool of the evening or on a festival night.
- 風鈴Summer
- Wind chime fūrin A small bell hung from the eaves, whose ringing in the breeze brings a feeling of coolness.
- 団扇Summer
- Flat fan uchiwa A flat fan for stirring up a breeze, once indispensable to daily life in summer.
- 打水Summer
- Sprinkling water uchimizu Sprinkling water on the garden or the street, on a summer evening and at other times, to settle the heat and the dust.
- 冷奴Summer
- Chilled tofu hiyayakko Chilled tofu served with a few garnishes, such as grated ginger and spring onion: a simple summer dish.
Observances 行事
- 海開きSummer
- Opening of the beaches umibiraki A ceremony at a bathing beach that opens the swimming season of the year and prays for safety at sea.
- 山開きSummer
- Opening of the mountains yamabiraki A ceremony at the start of the summer climbing season, with prayers for safety on the mountain.
- 祇園祭Summer
- Gion Festival gion matsuri The festival of Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, held through the whole of July and known for the procession of its tall floats, the yamaboko.
Animals 動物
- 蝉Summer
- Cicada semi An insect that sings from the trees in summer; each kind has its own song and its own time of singing. 閑さや岩にしみ入る蝉の声BashōStillness — / sinking into the rocks, / the voice of the cicadas
- 蟻Summer
- Ant ari A small insect busy everywhere in summer, often seen carrying food in a long line. 蟻の道雲の峰よりつづきけんIssaThe ants' road / must have run on / from the cloud peaks
- 金魚Summer
- Goldfish kingyo An ornamental fish kept in a bowl or a tank; the sight of it brings a feeling of coolness in summer.
Plants 植物
- 向日葵Summer
- Sunflower himawari A plant that grows tall in summer and opens a large yellow flower like the sun.
- 蓮Summer
- Lotus hasu A water plant that opens large pale pink or white flowers on ponds and marshes on summer mornings.
- 合歓の花Summer
- Silk tree flowers nemu no hana A tree that opens pink flowers like little brushes on summer evenings; at night it folds its leaves and seems to sleep. 象潟や雨に西施がねぶの花BashōKisakata — / in the rain, Seishi's / silk tree flowers
- 百日紅Summer
- Crape myrtle sarusuberi A tree that goes on flowering, crimson or white, for a long time from summer into autumn.
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.
