September's season words are all words of autumn. From Hakuro, the White Dew (around 7 September), the words are those of dew and the voices of insects, and in the days of Shūbun, the Autumn Equinox (around 23 September), those of the harvest moon and of higan, the equinox week. Of all the months of the year, it is the richest in words of the moon and the autumn grasses.
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
- 秋彼岸Autumn
- Autumn equinox week aki higan The seven days of higan, a Buddhist observance, centred on the day of the Autumn Equinox; higan said on its own means the one in spring.
- 爽やかAutumn
- Fresh and clear sawayaka A word for the pleasant days of autumn, when the air is clear and dry.
- 秋の夜Autumn
- Autumn night aki no yo A night in autumn, when the moonlight and the voices of insects come through the clear air.
Sky and weather 天文
- 露Autumn
- Dew tsuyu Drops of water that form on cool leaves of grass on autumn nights; dew also stands for all that does not last. 白露や茨の刺にひとつづつBusonWhite dew — / on the briar's thorns, / one drop each
- 月Autumn
- Moon tsuki In haiku, "moon" said alone means the moon of autumn, held to be the clearest and loveliest of the year. 月天心貧しき町を通りけりBusonThe moon in mid-heaven — / passing through / a poor town
- 名月Autumn
- Harvest moon meigetsu The moon on the night of the fifteenth of the eighth month in the old calendar, the full moon of mid-autumn; it is also called the taro moon, for the taro offered to it. 名月や池をめぐりて夜もすがらBashōThe harvest moon — / walking round the pond / all night long
- 月今宵Autumn
- The moon tonight tsuki koyoi The night of the harvest moon, said with the feeling that tonight, of all nights, is the one.
- 秋の空Autumn
- Autumn sky aki no sora The high, clear sky of autumn; the word also covers its changeable weather.
- 鰯雲Autumn
- Mackerel sky iwashigumo Small clouds spread across the autumn sky like a shoal of sardines, from which the Japanese name comes; they are also called scale clouds.
Land and water 地理
- 秋の水Autumn
- Autumn water aki no mizu The clear water of rivers and ponds in autumn, cold and pure.
Daily life 生活
- 新米Autumn
- New rice shinmai Rice harvested that very year, prized for its gloss and its fragrance.
- 月見Autumn
- Moon viewing tsukimi Enjoying the sight of the harvest moon; silver grass is set out, and rice dumplings and taro are offered. 岩鼻やここにもひとり月の客KyoraiOn the crag's tip — / here too, one more / guest of the moon
Observances 行事
- 重陽Autumn
- Double Ninth chōyō The seasonal festival of the ninth day of the ninth month, also called the Chrysanthemum Festival, when people drink sake with chrysanthemum petals floating in it and wish for long life.
- 敬老の日Autumn
- Respect for the Aged Day keirō no hi A public holiday on the third Monday of September, a day to celebrate long life and to honour the old.
Animals 動物
- 虫の音Autumn
- Insect voices mushi no ne The voices of bell crickets, pine crickets, field crickets and other insects singing on autumn nights. 行水の捨てどころなき虫の声OnitsuraBath water / with nowhere to throw it — / the voices of insects
- 鈴虫Autumn
- Bell cricket suzumushi An insect that sings on autumn nights in a clear voice: "rīn, rīn".
- 赤蜻蛉Autumn
- Red dragonfly akatonbo Red dragonflies that fly in swarms in autumn, a sight well suited to the clear autumn sky. 赤蜻蛉筑波に雲もなかりけりShikiRed dragonflies / over Tsukuba / not even a cloud
Plants 植物
- 芒Autumn
- Silver grass susuki A grass whose silver plumes stream in the wind on the autumn fields; it is also called obana, "tail flower", and is one of the seven flowers of autumn. 山は暮て野は黄昏の薄哉BusonThe mountains have darkened, / the fields at dusk — / silver grass
- 萩Autumn
- Bush clover hagi A shrub that spills small reddish-purple or white flowers in autumn, one of the seven flowers of autumn. 一家に遊女もねたり萩と月BashōUnder one roof / courtesans too are sleeping — / bush clover and the moon
- 鶏頭Autumn
- Cockscomb keitō A plant that opens red, velvety flowers like a cock's comb in autumn. 鶏頭の十四五本もありぬべしShikiThe cockscombs / there must be / fourteen or fifteen
- 糸瓜Autumn
- Loofah hechima A climbing plant with long fruit; the water drawn from its stem was used as a lotion for the skin and to soothe a cough. をととひのへちまの水も取らざりきShikiThe loofah water / of the day before yesterday / was not drawn either
- 梨Autumn
- Pear nashi A fruit of autumn, loved for its juicy sweetness and its crisp bite. 梨むくや甘き雫の刃を垂るるShikiPeeling a pear — / sweet drops / run down the blade
- 曼珠沙華Autumn
- Red spider lily manjushage A plant that opens red flowers on the ridges between rice fields around the autumn higan, and so is also called higanbana, the higan flower.
- コスモスAutumn
- Cosmos kosumosu A plant with white or pale pink flowers in autumn; it may also be written with the characters for "autumn cherry blossom".
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.
