Autumn Kigo — 150 Words from Risshū to Fuyu Chikashi

The Range and Hon’i of Autumn

The seasonal range of autumn (aki) is the three months from Risshū (around August 8) to Rittō (around November 8). In the modern solar-calendar sense, “autumn-like autumn” is October-November; but in haiku, autumn begins already in early August.

The hon’i of autumn is “clarity” and “pensiveness”:

• Summer’s heat and vigor recede; the air becomes clear
• Moon, insect voices, autumn leaves — a quiet, deep feeling spreads
• Harvest and abundance, and at the same time the loneliness of what passes away

Autumn is the season in which haikai holds its most introspective feeling, with masterpieces as numerous as those of spring.

1. Jikō — Words of the Time of Autumn

Early Autumn (August - early September)

• Risshū — around August 8, the start of autumn
• Zansho — heat that lingers after Risshū
• Aki atsushi — hot despite being autumn
• Aki suzushi — autumn cool
• Shinryō — the coolness of early autumn
• Shoshū — early autumn

Mid Autumn (mid September - early October)

• Shūbun — around September 23
• Higan — autumn Higan (the 7 days around the equinox)
• Chūshū — the old 8/15 (mid-September in the modern calendar)
• Chūshū — mid autumn (general)
• Aki no kure — autumn dusk

Late Autumn (mid October - early November)

• Banshū — late autumn
• Kure no aki — the end of autumn
• Yuku aki — the passing autumn
• Aki fukashi — deep autumn
• Aki oshimu — reluctant of autumn
• Hie — the chill of autumn
• Asasamu — cold autumn mornings
• Yosamu — cold autumn nights
• Fuyu chikashi — end of autumn, winter near

Whole Autumn

• Aki no yonaga — the nights grow long
• Nagaki yo — long night
• Sawayaka — the clear air of autumn

Representative Verses

• Bashō: “Aki fukaki / tonari wa nani wo / suru hito zo” — signature verse of aki fukashi
• Bashō: “Kono michi ya / yuku hito nashi ni / aki no kure” — autumn dusk

2. Tenmon — The Sky and Weather of Autumn

Sky and Clouds

• Aki no sora — the high clear autumn sky
• Iwashigumo — sardine clouds, the clouds of autumn sky
• Aki no kumo — autumn clouds
• Tsuki — “moon” alone means the autumn moon
• Meigetsu — the mid-autumn moon (old 8/15)
• Jūgoya — the 15th night
• Izayoi — the moon of the day after Chūshū
• Tachimachizuki — the moon of the 17th
• Imachizuki — the moon of the 18th
• Nemachizuki — the moon of the 19th
• Tsukimi — moon viewing
• Tsukimi-zake — moon-viewing sake
• Tsukishiro — moonlight
• Tsukigasa — the halo around the moon
• Ama no gawa — the Milky Way in the clear autumn sky (Tanabata in the old calendar is early autumn)
• Ryūsei — meteor

Rain and Wind

• Aki no ame — autumn rain
• Akisame — autumn rain
• Akishigure — autumn shower
• Nowaki — autumn typhoon, strong wind
• Taifū — typhoon (modern)
• Akikaze — autumn wind

Representative Verses

• Bashō: “Meigetsu ya / ike wo megurite / yomosugara” — the signature verse of meigetsu
• Bashō: “Aki fukashi / tonari wa nani wo / suru hito zo”
• Buson: “Nowaki fuku / soba no keshiki mo / akete hi ka” — nowaki

3. Chiri — The Landscape of Autumn

• Aki no mizu — the clear water of autumn
• Aki no kawa — the autumn river
• Mizu sumu — the clear water of autumn
• Aki no umi — the autumn sea
• Momiji / Kōyō — autumn leaves, the leading autumn sight
• Momijigari — going to see autumn leaves
• Kareha / Rakuyō — dry / fallen leaves (rakuyō is originally a winter kigo, but used in late autumn too)
• Hanano — a field of blooming autumn wildflowers
• Yama yosō — the mountain adorned in autumn

Representative Verses

• Bashō: “Ishiyama no / ishi yori shiroshi / aki no kaze” — autumn at Ishiyama
• Bashō: “Iwabana ya / koko ni mo hitori / tsuki no kyaku” — (a verse by Kyorai) rock and moon

4. Seikatsu — Life in Autumn

Farm Work

• Inekari — rice harvest of September-October
• Shinmai — new rice of autumn
• Ineboshi — drying rice
• Kakashi — scarecrow in the paddy
• Hasa — the wooden frame for drying rice
• Kama — sickle, the tool of rice-cutting
• Hōnen — a bountiful year
• Kyōnen — a bad year
• Shūkō — autumn tilling

Food of Harvest

• Shinmai — new rice
• Shinshu — autumn’s new sake
• Kinoko — mushrooms — matsutake, shiitake and others
• Matsutake — the pine mushroom
• Kaki — persimmon, autumn fruit
• Kuri — chestnut
• Nashi — Asian pear
• Budō — grape
• Ringo — apple
• Ichijiku — fig
• Sanma — the Pacific saury, the fish of autumn

Life at the Turning

• Yonaga — the nights grow long
• Tōka shitashimu — reading in the long autumn night
• Aki no hi — the autumn lamp
• Shōjibari (also spring) — repapering shōji in autumn too
• Robiraki — opening the tearoom hearth (November)

Clothing

• Awase — lined kimono for spring and autumn
• Hitoe-jimai — putting away the summer kimono

Representative Verse

• Issa: “Utsukushi ya / shōji no ana no / Ama no gawa” — the Milky Way through a hole in the shōji

5. Gyōji — Festivals of Autumn

• Tanabata — old 7/7 (mid-August in modern), early autumn
• Obon — mid August (old Bon) or mid July (new Bon)
• Mukaebi / Okuribi — the fires of Bon
• Shōryō-nagashi — floating spirit lanterns
• Jizōbon — Kyoto’s August festival
• Jūgoya (Chūshū no Meigetsu) — old 8/15
• Tsukimi — moon viewing
• Mushi-kiki — going out to hear the insects
• Aki matsuri — autumn festival
• Keirō no Hi — September (modern), Respect-for-the-Aged Day
• Taiiku no Hi — October (modern), renamed Sports Day
• Aki no tōrō matsuri — autumn lantern festival
• Chōyō — old 9/9, the chrysanthemum festival
• Jūsan’ya — old 9/13, later moon viewing
• Momijigari — autumn-leaf viewing
• Shichi-Go-San — November 15
• Bunka no Hi — November 3 (modern)

Representative Verses

• Bashō: “Bon sugite / urabon kitaru / yabu no naka” — Bon
• Bashō: “Miokuri ni / tatasare-hate-taru / yama kana” — returning from the sending-off fires

6. Dōbutsu — Living Creatures of Autumn

Insects (“mushi” is the general term of autumn)

• Mushi — general term for autumn insects, especially those that sing
• Mushi no koe — insect voices
• Suzumushi — bell cricket
• Matsumushi — pine cricket
• Kōrogi — cricket
• Kirigirisu — long-horned grasshopper
• Kōrogi — cricket (older writing form)
• Tombo — dragonfly, at full form in autumn
• Akatombo — red dragonfly
• Aki no semi — the cicadas of late summer to early autumn
• Hōshi-zemi — around Risshū
• Kamakiri — mantis
• Ga — moth of autumn

Birds

• Kari / Gan — wild geese, migrating from the north in autumn
• Shigi — snipe, an autumn waterfowl
• Kitsutsuki — woodpecker in autumn
• Hibari — skylark (actually spring, but also late autumn)
• Tsugumi — thrush
• Uzura — quail, autumn

Fish

• Sanma — saury, the leading autumn fish
• Sake — salmon, autumn
• Kajika — sculpin
• Dojō — loach

Others

• Otoshibumi — moth-rolled leaves, an autumn sight
• Shika — deer, autumn call (“Ogura-yama / mine no momijiba” of the Hyakunin Isshu)
• Shika no koe — the call of the deer

Representative Verses

• Bashō: “Aki fukaki / tonari wa nani wo / suru hito zo” — (against the background of the human sound and insect voice)
• Bashō: “Inazuma ya / yami no kata yuku / goi no koe” — the black-crowned night heron (actually a summer kigo)
• Buson: “Shiratsuyu ya / ibara no toge ni / hitotsu-zutsu” — white dew

7. Shokubutsu — Flowers and Grasses of Autumn

The Seven Autumn Herbs

• Hagi — bush clover, the leading autumn flower
• Susuki / Obana — pampas grass, the leading autumn field grass
• Kuzu — arrowroot
• Nadeshiko — pink
• Ominaeshi — golden lace
• Fujibakama — thoroughwort
• Kikyō — Chinese bellflower

Autumn Flowers

• Kiku — chrysanthemum, the leading autumn flower, of the Chōyō festival
• Shiragiku, Kigiku, Tairin-giku — white, yellow, large chrysanthemum
• Cosmos — the leading autumn flower (post-Meiji introduction)
• Akizakura — the phonetic-borrowed name for cosmos
• Shūkaidō — hardy begonia
• Higanbana / Manjushage — red spider lily, September
• Keitō — cockscomb
• Asagao — morning glory (actually an autumn kigo — the flower of the old early autumn)
• Yūgao — moonflower (actually summer)
• Fuyō — cotton rose

Fruits and Edible Plants

• Kaki — persimmon, the leading autumn fruit
• Kuri — chestnut
• Budō — grape
• Nashi — pear
• Ringo — apple
• Mikan — mandarin, late autumn
• Yuzu — the fragrant autumn citron
• Zakuro — pomegranate
• Ichijiku — fig

Autumn Leaves and Falling Leaves

• Momiji / Kōyō — autumn leaves, the leading autumn sight
• Kōyō — yellow leaves
• Momiji katsu chiru — leaves that turn and fall together
• Ichō — ginkgo, the autumn gold
• Ichō chiru — falling ginkgo
• Momijigari — autumn-leaf viewing

Grasses of the Field

• Ine — the rice-paddy
• Soba no hana — buckwheat flower
• Susuki — pampas grass
• Kareshiba — early-autumn withering of the grass

Representative Verses

• Bashō: “Nozarashi wo / kokoro ni kaze no / shimu mi kana” — the autumn wind (Nozarashi Kikō)
• Buson: “Aki no sora / tsuyu wo tametaru / aosa kana” — the autumn sky
• Issa: “Tsuyu no yo wa / tsuyu no yo nagara / sari nagara” — dew (mourning his child’s death)
• Kyoshi: “Kiri hitoha / hi atari nagara / ochi ni keri” — a paulownia leaf (autumn)

Shifting Seasonal Feel in Autumn

August 8 (Risshū) in the modern calendar feels in the midst of high summer. Only from late August through early September do the mornings and evenings finally become cool. Around November 8 (Rittō) in the modern calendar, many places still hold ample autumn feeling.

Modern poets:

• Early-to-mid August: compose as “residual heat” (zansho), “autumn heat” (aki atsushi)
• September: “early autumn” (shoshū), “new cool” (shinryō)
• October: “deep autumn” (aki fukashi), “autumn leaves”
• November: “late autumn” (banshū), “winter near” (fuyu chikashi), “cold wind” (kogarashi, a winter kigo)

Autumn is a season in which the gap between the saijiki and modern feel is comparatively small. Compared to spring and summer, the concern is that autumn has been growing “shorter” under warming.

Toward the Next Article

From clear autumn to quieted winter. The next article steps into the world of winter kigo — snow, cold wind, kotatsu, the winter moon, New Year’s Eve, winter camellia. Winter is the season of most silence and inwardness, and the masterpieces of Bashō and Issa concentrate here.