初冬【はつふゆ】 hatsufuyu early winter (early winter)
- 初冬【しょとう】 shotō early winter
- 冬初め【ふゆはじめ】 fuyu hajime winter's beginning
冬【ふゆ】 fuyu Winter
時候【じこう】 jikō The Season
神無月【かんなづき】 kannazuki 10th lunar month [literally "gods-absent month"; approximately November] (early winter)
- かみなづき kaminazuki 10th lunar month [the same]
- 神有月【かみありづき】 kamiarizuki 10th lunar month [literally "gods-present month"]
神の留守【かみのるす】 kami no rusu the gods' absence [see previous kidai] (early winter)
- 神の旅【かみのたび】 kami no tabi the gods' travels
- 神送り【かみおくり】 kamiokuri sending off the gods
- 神迎【かみむかえ】 kamimukae greeting the gods
立冬【りっとう】 rittō beginning of winter / first day of winter [about 7 November] (early winter)
- 冬立つ【ふゆたつ】 fuyu tatsu winter begins/starts
- 冬に入る【ふゆにいる】 fuyu ni iru (to) enter winter
- 冬来たる【ふゆきたる】 fuyu kitaru winter comes on / winter arrives
冬ざれ【ふゆざれ】 fuyuzare winter withering (all winter)
- 冬ざるる【ふゆざるる】 fuyuzaruru winter- withered
小春【こはる】 koharu little spring [equivalent to North American "Indian summer"] (early winter)
- 小六月【ころくがつ】 korokugatsu lesser/little May [literally "lesser sixth (lunar) month"]
- 小春日【こはるび】 koharubi little-spring day
- 小春日和【こはるびより】 koharubiyori mildness of a little-spring day
In haiku, "little spring", also called "lesser sixth month" (another name for the tenth month of the lunar calendar), comprises sub-topics such as "little spring day" and "the mildness of a little-spring day". The cause is a meteorological phenomenon known as migratory anticyclones which spread gradually over Japan from the west, bringing a few days of mild weather before the harsh cold of winter sets in. The topic evokes the pleasure of the warmth and comfort afforded by such weather. Further into winter, spells of warm days are referred to by the season words "winter warmth" (冬暖か【ふゆあたたか】 fuyu atataka) and "winter mildness" (冬ぬくし【ふゆぬくし】 fuyu nukushi).
On the day that this journey has finally come to an end, the poet finds himself walking on a long strand of beach, perhaps gently curving around the ocean's shore. A mild day of little spring is entirely fitting for the end of such a pleasant journey as this one must have been. The poem suggests that the journey of life might be equally untroubled.
海の音一日遠き小春かな
暁台
umi no oto ichinichi tōki koharu kana
sound of the sea
all day at a distance
little spring
Gyōdai
玉の如き小春日和を授かりし
松本たかし
tama no gotoki koharubiyori o sazukarishi
like a precious gem
we are given the mildness
of a little-spring day
Matsumoto Takashi
この山に道あればゆく小春かな
高木晴子
kono yama ni michi areba yuku koharu kana
if there is a path
on this hill I will go
little spring
Takagi Haruko
人肌のごと小春日が墓を抱く
中山純子
hito hada no goto koharubi ga haka o daku
warm as someone's skin
a little spring day
hugs this gravestone
Nakayama Junko
小春の旅長き汀に終りけり
大野林火
koharu no tabi nagaki nagisa ni owarikeri
a little-spring journey
on a long shore has come
to an end
Ohno Rinka
除夜【じょや】 joya （ぢよや）, year-end (mid winter)
- 年の夜【としのよ】 toshi no yo New Year's Eve [literally "year's night"]
冬日【ふゆひ】 fuyu hi winter sun ["winter day" is only a faint connotation for this term in haikai] (all winter)
- 冬の日【ふゆのひ】 fuyu no hi winter sun
- 冬日影【ふゆひかげ】 fuyu hikage winter sunshine
短日【たんじつ】 tanjitsu short day(s) (all winter)
- 日短【ひみじか】 himijika short day(s)
- 暮早し【くれはやし】 kure hayashi early dusk
- 暮易し【くれやすし】 kure yasushi early dusk [literally something like "easy dusk"; this and the previous kigo are virtually interchangeable]
- 日つまる【ひつまる】 hi tsumaru days grow shorter
As the nights become longer, it is only natural that the days should be shorter. In haikai, though, "long nights" is an autumn topic, while "short days" is associated with winter. By analogy, "long days" is a spring topic and "short nights" is a summer topic. As the days begin to feel shorter, we anticipate the approach of the winter soltice and of the year's end. The season word "short days" connotes the forlornness of weakening daylight and of increasing cold. In conversation we speak of the diminishing length of daylight and at this time of year are apt to say "the days are growing shorter" as a greeting.
As the days grow shorter the streets of the town grow quiet sooner. In the busier neighborhoods, though, because of shorter days the streets and shops are lighted earlier. By the time one is aware of evening the streets are already brightly lit. A note of sadness remains within the gaiety.
日短かやかせぐに追いつく貧乏神
一茶
hi mijika ya kasegu ni oitsuku binbōgami
days grow short
and the God of Poverty
is pressed to earn money
Issa
暮れはやし高波浜の子守唄
石原八束
kure hayashi takanami hama no komoriuta
dusk comes quickly--
a lullaby by a shore
where high waves rise
Ishihara Yatsuka
短日や北見の国に北見富士
西本一都
tanjitsu ya kitami no kuni kitamifuji
short days . . .
in the province of Kitami
Kitami Fuji
Nishimoto Itto
短日のいまはなやかやはや灯り
池内友次郎
tanjitsu no ima hanayaka ya hayatomori
short days
and gaiety comes quickly
streets light up early
Ikenouchi Tomojirō
冷し【つめたし】 tsumetashi cold [of things, persons, and the like] (all winter)
- 冷ゆ【ひゆ】 hiyu (something) gets cold
寒し【さむし】 samushi cold [of weather, air, and the like] (all winter)
- 寒さ【さむさ】 samusa coldness [of weather, air, and the like]
- 寒気【かんき】 kanki the cold / frosty air
春隣【はるとなり】 haru tonari next to spring (late winter)
- 春近し【はるちかし】 haru chikashi spring is near
- 春信【しゅんしん】 shunshin the coming of spring [carries the sense of a faith in spring's coming]
節分【せつぶん】 setsubun seasonal divide [about 3 February, the day before 立春【りっしゅん】 risshun (the first day of spring); sometimes called "Bean-Throwing Night" in English] (late winter)
Literally setsubun means the dividing point between two successive seasons, or the day following which each of the four seasons passes into the next. Since about the 15th century, though, setsubun has referred primarily to the day before the first day of Spring, around the 3rd of February by the modern calendar. This is traditionally the beginning of the New Year, and a season for felcitation. The celebration as practiced in recent times focuses on the driving out of evil spirits and demons on the eve of the New Year.
These ashes may be those of a bonfire or a charcoal stove, but it is clear that the person scattering them was keenly aware of tending this fire and then scattering a handful of ashes with ritual care, in a solitude underscored by the advent of a new year.
節分や家ぬちかがやく夜半の月
水原秋櫻子
setsubun ya yanuchi kagayaku yowa no tsuki
season's divide . . .
shining into the house
the midnight moon
Mizuhara Shūōshi
節分の提灯下げて寺男
松藤夏山
setsubun no chōchin sagete tera otoko
seasonal divide:
carrying a hand-lantern
a temple monk
Matsufuji Kazan
節分や田へ出て靄のあそびをり
森澄雄
setsubun ya ta e dete moya no asobi ori
seasonal divide . . .
into the paddy field
playing with the mist
Mori Sumio
節分の火の粉を散らす孤独の手
鈴木六林男
setsubun no hi no ko o chirasu kodoku no te
at season's divide
I scatter ashes with
a hand of solitude
Suzuki Murio
