December’s gomei evoke crystalline cold, year-end purification, and the quiet anticipation of a new beginning.
December’s gomei evoke crystalline cold, year-end purification, and the quiet anticipation of a new beginning.
| Gomei | Meaning |
|---|---|
| neyuki | Lingering Snow |
| gins sekai | “Silver world” |
| itezora | Frozen Sky |
| toshi no se | Year's End |
| fuyugyō | Winter dawn |
| tōji | Winter Solstice |
| sumi-osame | Last charcoal delivery for year |
| kotatsumori | “Kotatsu guardian” |
| buji | No Incident / Safe and Sound |
| kanrin | Wintry Forest |
| susuharai | Soot-sweeping ceremony |
| yuzu | Yuzu Citrus |
| yugekō | Fragrance of rising steam |
| shimai-kōbō | Year-last Kōbō fair (21 Dec) |
| konayuki | Powder snow |
| mochitsuki | Rice-cake pounding |
| kangetsu_dec | Winter Moon |
| susuharai | Soot Sweeping |
| hyōka | “Ice-flowers” on glass |
| mochitsuki | Mochi Pounding |
| fuyuseiza | Brilliant winter constellations |
| fuyukodachi | Leafless winter grove |
| roka | Hearth Fire |
| hibachi | Charcoal hand-brazier |
| sasameyuki | Very light flurries |
| beru | Bell |
| harumachizuki | “Month waiting for spring” |
| santa kurōsu | Santa Claus |
| kansuzume | Winter Sparrow |
| kan'ya | Cold night |
| fuyutaka | Hawk hunting in winter fields |
| yuki | Snow |
| botanyuki | Large fluffy flakes |
| yukiakari | Snow Light |
| ichiyō raifuku | Return of the Sun |
| taisetsu | Greater Snow |
| itetaki | Frozen waterfall |
| yukidaruma | Snowman |
| soyogo | Japanese holly leaves & red fruit |
| seibo | Year-end Gift |
| toshiyōi | New Year Preparations |
| gokuzuki | “Ultimate month” |
| shiwasu | Shiwasu (Poetic month name) |
| kanbai | First buds of winter plum |
| ōsōji | Big Cleaning |
| naminohana | Foamy “flowers” on winter waves |
| shimoyonabe | Hot-pot on a frosty night |
| neyuki | Snow that lasts all winter |
| shimobashira_december | Frost Columns |
| toshiwasure | Year-forgetting gathering |
| yuzuyu | Hot bath with floating yuzu |
| tōjigayu | Azuki-rice gruel for solstice |
| kanjaku | Tranquil Silence |
| yukutoshi | “The departing year” |
| fuyugeshiki | Winter Scenery |
| arare | Wintry hail pellets |
| fubuki | Blizzard |
| kagamimochi | Stacked New-Year rice cakes |
| poinsechia | Poinsettia |
| yukiarashi | Snow squall |
| kirizanshō | Year-end rice-flour sweet with pepper |
| karamatsu_december | Larch |
| yuku toshi | The Passing Year |
| fuyukodachi | Wintry Grove of Trees |
| tsurara | Icicle |
| joya | New-Year’s-eve night |
| fuyunagi | Calm sea in winter |
| kazari | Decoration |
| kōri | Ice |
| saigetsu | Time / Years |
| shimaichaji | Year-final formal tea gathering |
| jōdō-e | Buddha’s enlightenment ceremony (8 Dec) |
| oshidori | Mandarin Duck |
| tōji-kabocha | Pumpkin stewed on solstice |
| bantō | Deep late-winter period |
| yukiyo | Snowy night |
| seibomōde | Year-end shrine visit |
| fuyu no hoshi | Winter Stars |
| yuzukago | Bamboo basket of yuzu offered at hearth |
| shirogane_december | Silver |
| joya-no-kane | 108-stroke temple bell |
| awayuki | Transient light snow |
| toshikoshi soba | Year-crossing Noodles |
| akatsuki no chaji | Dawn Tea Gathering |
| fuyuboke | Winter quince bloom |
| fuyumoe_december | Winter Sprouting |
| howaito kurisumasu | White Christmas |
| yukidzuki | Full moon shining on snow |
| saimatsu | End of the Year (formal) |
| rōbai | Wintersweet |
| toshi no ichi | Year-end Market |
| fuyugomori | Winter Confinement |
| kanpa | Cold wave |
| fuyubare | Clear Winter Day |
| rogetsu | Classical Sino-Japanese “waxing month” |
| shinsetsu | Fresh-fallen snow |
| yukiguni | Snow Country |
| yukimi | Snow Viewing |
| joya no kane | New Year's Eve Bell |
| koto-osame | Last farm or household work day |
| mizore | Sleet |
| yuki usagi_december | Snow Rabbit |
| misokazuki | Very slim waning moon on 30th night |
| yuzukō | Fragrance of ripe yuzu |
| kantsubaki | Winter Camellia |
| tsukigomori | “Moon hiding” (month ends) |
| karesansui | Dry Landscape Garden |
| rōhachi-gayu | Barley-rice gruel served at Jōdō-e |
| hīragisashi | Holly sprig stuck in eaves |
| ōmisoka | New Year's Eve |
| yukiakari | Soft light reflected by snow |
| fuyutsubaki | Winter Camellia |
| bōnen | “Forget-the-year” |
| seiya | Holy Night (Christmas Eve) |
| shimoyo | Frosty Night |
| yukimitō | Stone lantern for snow viewing |
| yukimibune | Boat outing among falling snow |
| sumibidan | Warmth from charcoal brazier |
| kan no mizu | Winter Water |
| kotatsu-neko | Cat curled in the kotatsu |
| yukibare | Clear sky after snowstorm |
| senryō | Sarcandra glabra |
| kuma-ana-ni-komoru | “Bears enter dens” micro-season |
| kamanari | Humming of kettle on hearth |
| yukidaruma | Snowman |
| yukitsuri_december | Snow Ropes |
| kazahana | Sparkling wind-borne snow dust |
| toyagari | Geese settling in night roost |
| genkan | Intense mid-winter cold |
| shimekazari | New-Year straw festoon |
| kasujiru | Sake-lees winter soup |
| kanbai_dec | Winter Plum |
| ehō | Lucky compass direction for coming year |
| kabocha_december | Pumpkin / Squash |
| kangarasu | Crow in bleak cold |
| yukitsubaki | Wild camellia blooming in snow |
| kadomatsu | Paired pine New-Year gate decoration |
| toshinoichi | Year-end street market |
| sake-no-uo-muragaru | “Salmon crowd in rivers” micro-season |
| yobanashi | Night Conversation |
| kanki | Winter Cold / Cold Air |
| secca | Snow crystals |
| kurekozuki | “Month of ancient dusk” |
| yukimizake | Sake enjoyed while watching snow |
| manryō-mi | Scarlet berries of Ardisia |
| osameyu | Final communal bath of the year |
| kōri-watari | Walking over frozen lake |
| heisokushite-fuyu-to-naru | “Heaven & earth close; winter is born” micro-season |
| hyōheki | Sheet of vertical ice |
| kanzakura | Cold-season cherry |
| danro | Fireplace / Hearth |
| hatsuyuki | First Snow |
| shiwasu | Old lunar name “priests run month” |
| fuyu no yo | Winter Night |
| toshiwasure | Forgetting the Year |
| kōri-no-omokagami | “Ice-mirror surface” |
| sekka_crystal | Snow Blossom / Snowflake |
| fuyu no kawa | Winter River |
| yukishigure | Passing flurry of snow |
| toshi no kure | End of the Year |
| yuki-usagi | Small snow rabbit made by children |
| nantenmi | Red berries of heavenly-bamboo |
| hiiragi | Holly |
| saiban | Year’s last days |
| miyuki | Deep settled snow |
| shimai-tenjin | Last monthly Tenjin fair (25 Dec) |
| kyandoru | Candle |
| yama nemuru_december | The Mountains Sleep |
| purezento | Present |
| tonakai | Reindeer |
| harikuyō | Memorial for broken needles (8 Dec) |
| ōsōji | Thorough year-end cleaning |
| shimogare | Withered by Frost |
| fuyu no ume | Winter Plum |
| fuyugasumi | Winter Haze |
| suisen | Narcissus |
| fukujusō_december | Amur Adonis |
| mochibana | Decorative mochi blossoms |
| tōji | Winter solstice |
| joya | New Year's Eve |
| kurisumasu | Christmas |
| miyuki | Deep Snow |
| ginsekai | Silver World |
| tsurara | Long icicles |
| taisetsu | “Great-Snow” solar term |
| yukimi-shōji | Low-sill paper screen for viewing snow |
| toshinokure | Year-end |
| manryō | Ardisia crenata |
| shimofuka | Very heavy frost |
The twelfth month (Shiwasu) bustles with preparation yet cultivates reflective stillness inside the tea room. Names like “Kan-Zakura” (Cold Cherry), “Hatsushimo” (First Snow), or “Yukimi-Gama” (Snow-Viewing Kettle) highlight wintry clarity, while “Susuharai” (Soot-Sweeping) and “Toshi-Kosshi” (Year-Crossing) point to the great house-cleaning and purification rites of 13 and 31 December. Evergreen pine sprigs foreshadow the New Year, and guests may receive sweets shaped like plum buds or rising suns to suggest the cycle about to renew. The brazier’s deep glow, the kettle’s quiet hum, and scrolls reflecting gratitude for the departing year combine to leave participants cleansed, warmed, and ready to welcome “the firsts” of January once more.