List of kigo


This is a list of kigo, which are words or phrases that are associated with a particular season in Japanese poetry. They provide an economy of expression that is especially valuable in the very short haiku, as well as the longer linked-verse forms renku and renga, to indicate the season referenced in the poem or stanza.

Japanese seasons

Until 1872, in the Japanese calendar, seasons traditionally followed the lunisolar calendar with the solstices and equinoxes at the middle of a season. The traditional and contemporary months are approximately one month apart from each other, with the traditional New Year falling between late January and early February. The traditional Japanese seasons are:
For kigo, each season is then divided into early, mid-, and late periods. For spring, these would be:

Saijiki and kiyose

Japanese haiku poets often use a saijiki, a book like a dictionary or almanac for kigo. An entry in a saijiki usually includes a description of the kigo itself, as well as a list of similar or related words, and a few examples of haiku that include that kigo. A kiyose is similar, but contains only lists of kigo. Modern saijiki and kiyose are divided into the four seasons and New Year, with some containing a further section for seasonless topics. Each section is divided into a standard set of categories, each containing the relevant kigo. The most common categories are:
  • The season
  • The sky and heavens
  • The earth
  • Humanity
  • Observances
  • Animals
  • Plants
This is a list of both Japanese and non-Japanese kigo. If the kigo is a Japanese word, or if there is a Japanese translation in parentheses next to the English kigo, then the kigo can be found in most major Japanese saijiki.

Spring: 4 February – 5 May

The season

all spring

  • spring
  • 'warmth'''''

    early spring (February・First lunar month)

  • – First lunar month
  • February – when using the solar calendar
  • first day of spring – First solar term; approx. 4 February
  • usui – Second solar term; approx. 19 February
  • signs of spring
  • shunkan – cold weather in early spring

    mid-spring (March・Second lunar month)

  • Kisaragi – Second lunar month
  • March – when using the solar calendar
  • keichitsu – Third solar term; approx 6 March. Literally translated "awakening hibernating insects", when insects come out of the ground, believed to occur on the first day of the lunar month.
  • shunbun – Fourth solar term; approx. 20 March. Vernal equinox
  • 'higan'''''

    late spring (April・Third lunar month)

  • Yayoi – Third lunar month
  • April – when using the solar calendar
  • seimei – Fifth solar term; approx. 5 April
  • kokū – Sixth solar term; approx. 20 April
  • hanabie – chilly spring weather
  • 'fading of spring'''''

    The sky and heavens

all spring

  • spring mist or haze
  • hazy moon – 朧 oboro is a type of mist that obscures the moon; kanji composed of radicals for "moon" and "dragon"
  • awayuki – light snowfall
  • shunjin – frost and snow blown into the air by the spring wind

    early spring (February・First lunar month)

  • kaiyose – west wind that blows seashells ashore; traditionally believed to occur on the night of the vernal equinox

    mid-spring (March・Second lunar month)

  • haruichiban – the first strong southerly wind of the spring

    late spring (April・Third lunar month)

  • wasurejimo – late frost

    The earth

all spring

  • shunchō – pleasant tides of spring
  • yamawarau – a mountain covered in flower buds
  • haru no umi – calm sea of spring

    early spring (February・First lunar month)

  • usugōri or hakuhyō – thin ice

    mid-spring (March・Second lunar month)

  • mizu nurumu – warming of water
  • yukima – patch of ground without snow

    late spring (April・Third lunar month)

  • naeshiro or nawashiro – seedbed

    Humanity

  • Spring depression – all spring
  • '''Sowing'''

    Observances

  • Hanamatsuri, Buddhist festival celebrating the birth of Buddha, on 8 April.
  • Hinamatsuri – a traditional Japanese festival for girls on 3 March.

    Animals

  • frogs – all spring – noted for their loud singing
  • skylarks – all spring – noted for their songs in flight
  • swallows – mid-spring
  • twittering – all spring – the chirping of songbirds
  • Japanese bush warbler – early spring – the bird is used as an example of sweet sounds. Uguisu were mentioned in the preface to the Kokin Wakashū. It is often associated with ume blossoms and new growth in early Japanese waka and is regarded as a harbinger of spring.
''''

Plants

  • plum blossom – early spring
  • cherry blossoms and cherry blossom-viewing – late spring – for the Japanese, cherry blossoms are such a common topic that in just mentioning blossoms in haiku it is assumed they are cherry blossoms. Hanami is an occasion for partying with friends or coworkers.
  • willow – mid-spring

    Summer: 6 May – 7 August

The season

The season

  • autumn ; other combinations are autumn has come, autumn is ending, autumn being gone.
  • August, September and October
  • end of September, end of autumn.

    The sky and heavens

  • Milky Way – most visible in Japan in autumn. It is also associated with Tanabata.
  • moon – all autumn
  • Tsukimi – mid-autumn – the word "moon" by itself is assumed to be a full moon in autumn. Moon-viewing
  • 'typhoon'''''

    The earth

  • Field of flowers
  • Shiranui
  • 'Harvested rice fields'''''

    Humanity

  • scarecrow
  • rice harvest
  • Imonikai
  • leaf peeping – a common group activity

    Observances

  • Tanabata
  • grave-visiting
  • Bon Festival
  • mukaebi – bonfires welcoming the ancestorsand
  • bon odori.
The traditional date of Tanabata is 7th day of the 7th month of the Japanese calendar, which falls in early Autumn. The modern use of the Gregorian one has moved the observance to 7 July, which has resulted in a dispute as to whether Tanabata should be treated as a summer kigo.

Animals

The season

  • winter, using "winter" in a haiku adds a sense of chilliness, bleakness, and seclusion to the poem.
  • November, December and January
  • cold and 'coldness'''''

    The sky and heavens

  • snow
  • Indian summer – a period of unseasonable warmth, usually in late autumn to early winter
  • frost-covered trees
  • north wind – indicating the coming of cold weather
  • shigure – rain in late autumn or early winter

    The earth

  • yama-nemuru – lit. "sleeping mountain", evoking a sense of stillness in the mountains
  • kitsunebi – a type of atmospheric ghost light mostly associated with winter
  • winter landscape – Evokes the sense of a "winter wonderland"

    Humanity

  • snow-viewing – late winter – a popular group activity in Japan.
  • fugu soup
  • Anglerfish hotpot
  • calendar vendor – preparation for the new year.
  • asazuke – lightly pickled vegetables
  • 'breath vapor'''''

    Observances

  • Christmas　 – this is a modern kigo and uncommon in the Edo period.
  • New Year's Eve, and the New Year's Eve party
  • Kan – days from 5–6 January until 4–5 February, originating from the Chinese 24 seasonal periods. Also daikan a period that begins around 20 January.

    Animals

  • crane
  • swan
  • badger
  • rabbit
  • wolf
  • hibernation
  • whale watching – the number of whales off the coast peak at different times of the year depending on the region. In Japan, whales are most often seen during the winter.
  • oyster
  • 'waterfowl sleeping on water'''''

    Plants

  • winter chrysanthemum
  • daffodil
  • ornamental kale
  • false holly
  • fallen leaves
  • 'dry leaves'''''

    New Year

As in many other cultures, the Japanese New Year is an important time of year for celebrations and there are many activities associated with it that may be mentioned in haiku. Before Japan began using the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the Japanese New Year was at the beginning of spring. Many of these terms reflect the traditional calendar system.

The season

  • Japanese New Year
  • New Year
  • New Year's Day
  • New Year's Day – refers to the dawn or morning of New Year's Day
  • Old Year
  • Little New Year – traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of the month during the full moon
  • Women's New Year – same as above, referring to women who were too busy to celebrate the actual new year, especially in Osaka and Kyoto regions.

    The sky and heavens

  • First Day
  • First Sky – the sky on New Year's morning
  • first laughter – indicating good fortune
  • Each day of first week of the new year is treated as kigo, such as the seventh day of the new year.

    Humanity

  • kadomatsu – a traditional decoration usually made of pine and bamboo that is placed on the gate or outer doorway
  • toshidama – the custom of giving pocket money to children
  • toso – a ritual mulled sake only drunk on New Year's Day
  • osechi – traditional Japanese New Year's Day food
  • zōni – a traditional vegetable broth with mochi
  • Festival of Seven Herbs – a festival centered around eating seven-herb congee
  • first writing – the first calligraphy written around the New Year

    Observances

  • Namahage – a ritualized folktale in Akita Prefecture
  • Hatsumōde – the first visit of the year to a Shinto shrine
  • New Year's Sumo Tournament
  • First Poetry Reading
  • Ehōmairi – visit to a shrine or temple that lies in an auspicious direction

    Animals

  • yomegakimi – a euphemism for mouse, used for the first three days of the New Year
  • first sparrow – the first sparrow helps welcome the New Year
  • first sound – the first cry of an animal in the New Year
  • first cockcrow
  • 'Japanese spiny lobster'''''

    Plants

  • 'young greens'''''

    Helpful lists of species

Birds