UVa Library Etext Center: Japanese Text Initiative

天文【てんもん】 tenmon The Heavens

雲の峰【くものみね】 kumo no mine peaks of clouds (all summer)

入道雲【にゅうどうぐも】 nyūdōgumo huge cloud-column(s) / cumulo-nimbus cloud(s) [literally "monk clouds" or "clouds entering the way"]
峰雲【みねぐも】 minegumo cloud peaks

The expression applies to the huge clouds that rise up like peaks of mountains. Referred to in meteorological terms as cumulonimbus clouds (積乱雲 [せきらんうん] Sekiran un) or cumulus clouds (雄大積雲　[ゆうだいせきうん] yūdai sekiun), these clouds can often turn into thunder storms that appear abruptly in the summer sky and cause evening showers. The peak of the cloud is white and gleams in the sun, but the bottom of the cloud tends to be dark and black, oppressively stretching out in the sky. This is caused by the heat of the ground, which produces rapidly rising air currents.

雲の峰いくつ崩れて月の山

芭蕉

kumo no mine ikutsu kuzurete tsuki no yama

how many peaks of clouds
have collapsed,
mountain of the moon

Bashō

生々と切株にほふ雲の峰

橋本多佳子

iki iki to kirikabu niou kumo no mine

vividly fragrant
stumps of trees,
peaks of clouds

Hashimoto Takako

雲の峯人煙細く触れにゆく

平畑静塔

kumo no mine jin-en hosoku fure ni yuku

peaks of clouds,
a thin smoke trail from a house
ascends to touch

Hirahata Seitō

厚餡割ればシクと音して雲の峰

中村草田男

atsuan wareba shiku to oto shite kumo no mine

the thick bean paste
makes a "shick" sound,
peaks of clouds

Nakamura Kusatao

The nostalgia for the Japanese sweet [a soft bun with thick bean paste filling], its heavy thickness making a "shick" sound when divided in half, even the summer sky with rising peaks of clouds, all share the unmistakable scent of everyday life.

夏の月【なつのつき】 natsu no tsuki summer moon (all summer)

月涼し【つきすずし】 tsuki suzushi the moon is cool / cool moon

南風【なんぷう】 nanpū south wind (all summer)

南風【みなみ】 minami south wind
はえ hae south wind [do not confuse with 蝿 hae, fly]

青嵐【あおあらし】 ao-arashi （あをあらし）, grass storm/tempest [literally "green tempest"] (all summer)

夏嵐【なつあらし】 natsu arashi summer (wind) storm

薫風【くんぷう】 kunpū fragrant breeze / balmy breeze (all summer)

風薫る【かぜかおる】 kaze kaoru the breeze is fragrant

卯の花腐し【うのはなくたし】 u-no-hana kutashi mid-summer rain [literally "deutzia flowers have rotted"; figurative for 五月雨【さみだれ】 samidare, fifth-(lunar)-month rain] (early summer)

梅雨【つゆ】 tsuyu rainy season (mid summer)

梅雨【ばいう】 baiu rainy season [literally "plum rain"]

This term refers to the rainy season from early June to mid July, characteristic of Japan and the Yōsu Bay area (in China), and by extension, the humid long-continued rain. The official beginning of the rainy season (入梅 [にゅうばい], nyūbai) according to the calendar is June 11th or 12th, lasting for 30 days. But in reality, the rainy season differs from year to year. It starts from the southern tip of Japan and travels north. The "clearing up" of the rainy season (梅雨明け [つゆあけ], tsuyu ake) also starts from the south. The rain in late May that prefigures the rainy season is called running rainy season (走り梅雨 [はしりづゆ], hashiri zuyu), or "bacteria rain" (黴雨 [ばいう], baiu) because it tends to create mold. In Japan, the rainy season was traditionally called May rain (五月雨 [さつきあめ] satsuki ame; [さみだれ] samidare), and started to be called tsuyu in the Edo era. When there is no rain during this season, it is called an empty rainy season (空梅雨 [からつゆ], kara tsuyu).

我船のすすむばかりや梅雨の海　

高浜虚子

waga fune no susumu bakari ya tsuyu no umi

how my ship
pushes forward,
the ocean in the rainy season

Takahama Kyoshi

荒梅雨や山家の煙這ひまはる　

前田普羅

ara zuyu ya sanga no kemuri haimawaru

in the rough rainy season
smoke from the mountain shack
crawls around

Maeda Fura

わらうてはをられずなりぬ梅雨の漏　

森川曉水

warōtewa worarezu narinu tsuyu no more

forced to stop laughing
at the dripping of the leaking roof
the rainy season

Morikawa Gyōsui

梅雨水輪生まれどほしの北陸路　

大野林火

tsuyu mizuwa umaredōshi no hokurikuji

from the rainy season, rings of water
appear
on the starry path in Hokuriku

Ōno Rinka

The haiku evokes a townscape similar to Kanazawa in the Hokuriku area. The journey is long, like the rainy season. Each weary footstep leaves a ring of water on the rainy path, making a never-ending chain. Yet the poet's contemplation of the path appears to be nostalgic and memorable, even in its weariness.

夕立【ゆうだち】 yūdachi （ゆふだち）, sudden (summer) shower [literally "evening shower"] (all summer)

ゆだち yudachi sudden shower
よだち yodachi sudden shower
白立【ゆうだち】 yūdachi white shower

喜雨【きう】 kiu delightful rain [that is, rain after a drought] (late summer)

雹【ひょう】 hyō hail [see note on arare] (all summer)

雲海【うんかい】 unkai sea of clouds [in the mountains] (late summer)

虹【にじ】 niji rainbow (all summer)

朝虹【あさにじ】 asa niji morning rainbow
夕虹【ゆうにじ】 yuu niji evening rainbow
円虹【まるにじ】 maruniji full rainbow

This phenomenon is mostly seen in the summer when a rainbow spreads its seven colorful arcs in the sky after an evening shower. A rainbow is caused by the reflection of the sun's rays bouncing off of water molecules in the air, so that the rays are separated into the spectrum from purple to red. Rainbows always appear opposite the sun. In the morning they appear in the west, while they appear in the east in the evening. Morning rainbows (朝虹 [あさにじ] asa niji) are said to foretell rain, while evening rainbows (夕虹 [ゆうにじ] yuu niji) indicate sunshine. Smaller rainbows can be seen when one sprays water following the same principle. Usually natural rainbows are semicircular, but in high mountains one can also observe perfectly circular full rainbows (円虹 [まるにじ] maruniji). Full rainbows are alluded to as "the Coming" (御来迎　[ごらいごう], goraigou). Standing with one's back to the sky, one can sometimes see a reflection of oneself in the mist, with a rainbow-colored halo around the head. Amida Buddha saw this as a sign of beckoning and named this "the Coming." Today the meaning of this expression is more often infused with the definition of a phonetically similar word that means sunrise on the top of the mountain (御来光 [ごらいこう], goraikou).

虹ありし暮天の碧さはなやぐも

内藤吐天

niji arishi boten no aosa hanayagu mo

with the rainbow
the blueness of the sky
blossoms

Naitō Toten

虹ふた重つたなき世すぎ子より子へ

篠田悌二郎

niji futae tsutanaki yosugi ko yori ko e

twin rainbows
the wretched world passes
from child to child

Shinoda Teijirō

虹透きて見ゆ我が生の涯までも

野見山朱鳥

niji sukite miyu waga sei no hate made mo

through the transparent rainbow
I see
even the end of my life

Nomiyama Asuka

The rainbow in the sky invites a contemplation of the world beyond of our own. The mind becomes pure, in the face of eternal temporality. The poet must have expressed this feeling as seeing the end of his life through a rainbow.

雷【かみなり】 kaminari thunder [note apparent derivation of native Japanese word: 神鳴【かみなり】 kaminari, the roar of the gods] (all summer)

雷【らい】 rai thunder
いかづち ikazuchi thunder
はたた神【はたたがみ】 hatatagami noisy gods
雷光【らいこう】 raikō thunder-flash [often casually translated "lightning", but note 稲妻【いなづま】 inazuma, "lightning", in autumn]
雷鳴【らいめい】 raimei thunder-clap
雷雨【らいう】 raiu thunderstorm
日雷【ひかみなり】 hikaminari clear-sky thunder [literally something like "thunder in the sun"]
遠雷【えんらい】 enrai distant thunder

This term refers to the atmospheric discharge of electricity, which happens when an intense ascending air current produces cumulonimbus clouds. The term is an overarching one that implies thunder-flash (雷光 [らいこう] raikō), thunderclap ( 雷鳴 [らいめい] raimei), and thunderstorm (雷雨 [らいう] raiu). The etymology is traced to the native Japanese word "the roar of the gods" (神鳴 [かみなり] kaminari). The Chinese character "god"（神 [かみ] kami）signified both thunder and thunder god. Thunder was traditionally feared as something that is thrown down by the almighty god above. It is most often seen in the summer, causing human and animal casualties, and the calamity is hard to prevent even in modern times. The extraordinariness of the phenomenon contributes to the usage of metaphors such as "thunder out of the blue"（青天の霹靂　[せいてんのへきれき] seiten no hekireki）, or "thundering father" ( 雷親父　[かみなりおやじ], kaminari oyaji). The literary effect of thunder as a summer phenomenon is diverse, ranging from "clear-sky thunder" (日雷　[ひかみなり], hikaminari), and "distant thunder" (遠雷 [えんらい], enrai), to "thunder-flash in night shadows" (夜陰の雷光　[やいんのらいこう] yorukage no raikō).

雷の音のひと夜遠くを渡りをり

中村草田男

rai no oto no hitoyo tōku o watari ori

crossing down
far away
one night with the sound of thunder

Nakamura Kusatao

夜の雲のみづみづしさや雷のあと

原　石鼎

yo no kumo no mizumizushisa ya rai no ato

oh the freshness
of the night cloud
after the thunder

Hara Sekitei

迅雷に一瞬木々の真青なり

長谷川かな女

jinrai ni isshun kigi no masao nari

in the swiftness of thunder
for a moment the trees
turn pale

Hasegawa Kanajo

谿二つ雷火立ちては相照す

水原秋桜子

tani futatsu raika tachite wa aiterasu

the two valleys
with rising flashes of thunder
light each other up 

Mizuhara Shūōshi

Here are two valleys separated by a mountain ridge, which is lit up by a momentary thunder-flash. Where the thunder hits actually remains dark but the other valley is illuminated. The incessant thunder-flashes are brilliantly evoked by the two valleys that "light each other up."

五月闇【さつきやみ】 satsuki yami midsummer darkness [literally "fifth-(lunar)-month darkness", i.e., June darkness; caused by the rainy season; see note on names of months] (mid summer)

朝曇【あさぐもり】 asagumori morning overcast/cloudiness (late summer)

夕焼【ゆうやけ】 yūyake （ゆふやけ）, afterglow (late summer)

ゆやけ yuyake afterglow

西日【にしび】 nishibi western sun (late summer)

大西日【おおにしび】 ōnishibi great western sun

炎天【えんてん】 enten blazing sky (late summer)

片蔭【かたかげ】 katakage shady side [as of a street, building, etc.] (late summer)

片かげり【かたかげり】 katakageri shady side

片かげり【かたかげり】 katakageri shady side (late summer)

旱【ひでり】 hideri drought (late summer)

旱魃【かんばつ】 kanbatsu drought
大旱【たいかん】 taikan great/long drought
旱田【ひでりだ】 hiderida drought-stricken paddy/paddies