How Long Is The Long Month?

In modern Japan the months are referred to, not by any name, but by number. September, for example, is kugatsu (九月), which literally means "nine month". October is jûgatsu (十月), which means "ten month", while August has the innocuous title hachigatsu (八月), which most would translate as "eight month".

Not very inspiring, is it? However, the Japanese haven't always done it this way.

In fact, there are traditional names for the months dating from antiquity. They were originally part of the Japonified Chinese lunar calendar, which was used up until the 11th century, but they were adapted to fit the Western solar calendar without sacrificing their seasonal significance. Therefore, though the traditional names are rarely used anymore except in poetry and certain school subjects, they still apply. They can be rather colorful, too. Allow me to illustrate:

January - Mutsuki - (睦月) "Harmonious Month", so named because it is a time for people to live together in harmony (possibly because it's so cold in January that people tended not to go out so much).

February - Kisaragi - (either 如月 or 衣更着) This one is hard for me to translate. The first way of writing it in kanji (如月) can mean "Exemplary Month" or even "Buddha's Month", but the second (衣更着) literally means "Put on more clothes"!. As for the word "kisaragi" itself, ignoring the kanji, it originally meant "rehabilitate plants". So many potential meanings for such a short month!

March - Yayoi - (弥生) - "More and More Life", so named because it is the time when green leaves and grass start to appear.

April - Uzuki - (卯月) - "Deutzia Month", so named because it's the time when the deutzia blooms. Actually, the first kanji, read "u" [oo] and meaning "deutzia", is often used in classical literature to refer to the fourth item in a series, so it's hard to say which came first, the flower or the count.

May - Satsuki - (皐月) - The original meaning is unclear and may have been lost. The first kanji is never used anymore except to mean "May", either in reference to the month or as a girl's name. Actually, it originally meant either "swamp" or "shore". It is known that rice planting began during this month, so maybe it was the time rice fields were flooded, thus turning them into "swamps".

June - Minazuki - (水無月) - Literally "Waterless Month". Ironically, the month was given this name because it's when the rainy season occurs, thus, it was believed, emptying the heavens of water.

July - Fuzuki (or Fumizuki ) - (文月) - "Composition Month". The first kanji by itself means "sentence" nowadays, but it traditionally refers to literary composition. The month bears this name because it was the season for poetry readings, an important event in the classical age.

August - Hazuki - (葉月) - "Leaf Month", so named because it is the month when leaves start to show their autumn colors.

October - Kannazuki - (神無月) - The name literally means "Godless Month" because it was believed the coming of the clouds meant the gods of heaven were going off on errands, leaving their posts vacant.

November - Shimozuki - (霜月) - "Frost Month". No explanation necessary.

December - Shiwasu - (師走) - The name literally means "Teachers (/Masters) Run" because it was the time of year when teachers were particularly busy. I guess some things never change even after a thousand years.

I seem to have forgotten a month, and it just so happens to be this month. The classical name for September is Nagatsuki (長月), which means "Long Month". Actually, it was originally called Yonagatsuki (夜長月) , "Evening Lengthens Month", because, surprise surprise, evenings start to grow noticeably longer with the passing of the autumnal equinox. Leave it to the Japanese to abbreviate everything!

To tell you the truth, though, I think the more modern version, Nagatsuki, is more on the mark. With all the things going on in September, planned or not, it really is shaping up to be a LOOONNNNNNNNG month!