What Were the Old Names for the Months in Japanese?

Japanese calendar with a full-color scene an a verse written in English. — George C. Baxley/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

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Updated on February 28, 2020

In modern Japanese, the months are simply numbered from one to 12. For example, January is the first month of the year, therefore it is called "ichi-gatsu."

The Old Japanese Calendar Names

There are also old names for each month. These names date back to the Heian period (794-1185) and are based on the lunar calendar. In modern Japan, they are not normally used when saying the date. They are written in a Japanese calendar, sometimes, along with the modern names. The old names are also used in poems or novels. Of the 12 months, yayoi (March), satsuki (May), and shiwasu (December) are still referred to quite often. A fine day in May is called "satsuki-bare." Yayoi and satsuki can be used as female names.

	Modern Name	Old Name
January	ichi-gatsu 一月	mutsuki 睦月
February	ni-gatsu 二月	kisaragi 如月
san-gatsu	san-gatsu 三月	yayoi 弥生
April	shi-gatsu 四月	uzuki 卯月
May	go-gatsu 五月	satsuki 皐月
June	roku-gatsu 六月	minazuki 水無月
July	shichi-gatsu 七月	fumizuki 文月
August	hachi-gatsu 八月	hazuki 葉月
September	ku-gatsu 九月	nagatsuki 長月
October	juu-gatsu 十月	kannazuki 神無月
November	juuichi-gatsu 十一月	shimotsuki 霜月
December	juuni-gatsu 十二月	shiwasu 師走

Name Meanings

Each old name has meaning.

If you know about the Japanese climate, you might wonder why minazuki (June) is the month of no water. June is rainy season (tsuyu) in Japan. However, the old Japanese calendar was about a month behind the European calendar. This means minazuki was from July 7th to August 7th in the past.

It is believed that all the Gods from throughout the country gathered at Izumo Taisha (Izumo Shrine) in kannazuki (October), and therefore, there were no gods for other prefectures.

December is the busy month. Everyone, even the most respected priests, prepares for the New Year.

Old Name	Meaning
mutsuki 睦月	Month of harmony
kisaragi 如月	Month of wearing extra layers of clothes
yayoi 弥生	Month of growth
uzuki 卯月	Month of Deutzia (unohana)
satsuki 皐月	Month of planting rice sprouts
minazuki 水無月	Month of no water
fumizuki 文月	Month of literary
hazuki 葉月	Month of leaves
nagatsuki 長月	Autumn long month
kannazuki 神無月	Month of no Gods
shimotsuki 霜月	Month of frost
shiwasu 師走	Month of running priests

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Abe, Namiko. "What Were the Old Names for the Months in Japanese?" ThoughtCo, Aug. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/can-you-tell-me-the-old-names-of-the-months-2027868. Abe, Namiko. (2020, August 29). What Were the Old Names for the Months in Japanese? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/can-you-tell-me-the-old-names-of-the-months-2027868 Abe, Namiko. "What Were the Old Names for the Months in Japanese?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/can-you-tell-me-the-old-names-of-the-months-2027868 (accessed December 3, 2022).