February’s names convey “the fragrance before spring,” balancing lingering cold with the first stirring of life.
February’s names convey “the fragrance before spring,” balancing lingering cold with the first stirring of life.
| Gomei | Meaning |
|---|---|
| awayuki | Light Snow |
| umebiyori | Perfect day for plum blossoms |
| baigetsu | Plum Moon |
| fuku | Good Fortune |
| haruasashi | “Spring still shallow” |
| kinensai | Imperial “Harvest-prayer” rite |
| shizukuishi | Dripping water stone |
| samomo | Early peach buds |
| iridaizu | Roasted soybeans (Setsubun) |
| momoiro | Peach pink |
| kōshun | Toward spring |
| hakubai | White plum blossoms |
| fukujusō | Adonis amurensis |
| hyōkai | Ice Melts |
| oni-yarai | Expelling demons |
| masu | Measuring Box |
| kōbai | Red plum |
| kōsetsuran | Freesia |
| sōkasumi | Early haze |
| yokō | Lingering winter sunlight |
| nodoka | Tranquil early-spring day |
| kanzakura | Winter cherry |
| ehō | Auspicious Direction |
| nadarebai | Plum avalanche (mass bloom) |
| kawaduzakura | Kawazu early cherry |
| yukige | Snow Thaw |
| risshun-daikichi | “Great fortune at Risshun” talisman |
| kazehonoka | Faint spring breeze |
| momo-hajimete-saku | “Peach first smiles” (72 micro-season) |
| kawaru | Fragrant spring |
| tobiume | Flying plum |
| saekaeru | Cold snaps back |
| usuibina | Dolls displayed at Usui solar term |
| nekoyanagi | Pussy Willow |
| yoka | Plum “left-over flowers” |
| ichiyō | One Yang |
| kaihyō | Thawing Ice |
| yukiore | Broken by Snow |
| kōō | Golden Oriole / Yellow Warbler |
| chakusui-un | Cloud touching water (mist) |
| konuka-ame | Fine drizzling rain |
| kanbai2 | Plum-viewing |
| saekaeru | Return of the Cold |
| umegoyomi | Plum Calendar |
| tōkasui | Water tinted by peach blossoms |
| ginrei | Silver Peak |
| usui | Rain-water solar term |
| risshun daikichi | Great Luck on the First Day of Spring |
| hibariagaru | Skylark ascending |
| hatsurai | First thunder of the year |
| haru tatsu | Spring Begins |
| risshun | First Day of Spring |
| oni | Demon / Ogre |
| inarimōde | Inari shrine pilgrimage |
| usugōri | Thin Ice |
| oborozuki | Hazy moon |
| yukigeshi | Disappearance of snow |
| yukibare | Clearing After Snow |
| kinensai | Prayer for a Bountiful Year |
| setsubun | Day before Risshun |
| tōkakō | Incense of peach blossoms |
| tanbai | Searching for Plum Blossoms |
| shundei | Spring mud |
| nekoyanagi | Pussy-willow |
| konomekaze | Wind over budding trees |
| harumachizuki | “Month waiting for spring” |
| yanagiaomeku | Willows turning green |
| kochi | East Wind |
| sōō | Early cherry |
| hōshun | Fragrant spring |
| yukima | Rift in the Snow |
| satsubame | Early-returning swallow |
| wakamizu | First Water of the Year |
| bōshun | Anticipating spring |
| ume | Plum Blossom |
| umeichirin | Single plum blossom |
| ume ichirin | A Single Plum Blossom |
| harikuyō | Memorial for Needles |
| yukige | Snow-melt |
| mizu nurumu | The Water Warms |
| kochi | East spring wind |
| kasumi-hajimete-tanabiku | “Haze starts to drift” (72候) |
| hakubai | White Plum Blossom |
| minuume | Unseen plum |
| shirauo | Icefish |
| ai | Love |
| kōsetsu | Fragrant snow (plum petals) |
| sōbai | Early Plum |
| hatsuayu | First ayu sweetfish (in tank) |
| umeniou | Plum’s scent |
| shunkan | Early-spring chill |
| fuku-wa-uchi | “Fortune in!” chant at Setsubun |
| meyanagi | Sprouting willow |
| garyūbai | Reclining-dragon plum |
| azeyaki | Burning field ridges |
| yosetsu | Remaining snow patches |
| yanaginome | Willow buds |
| yokan | Lingering cold after Risshun |
| ume | Plum blossoms |
| gyōten | Dawn Sky |
| yodan | Left-over warmth |
| tsuina | Heian court demon-chasing rite |
| uguisu | Japanese bush-warbler |
| kanbeni | Cold-season rouge |
| aoyagi | Young green willow |
| harutsugedori | Spring-announcing bird |
| setsubun | Setsubun (Seasonal Division) |
| makizushi | Rolled Sushi |
| shōmon raifuku | Fortune Comes to a Laughing Gate |
| nehan'e | Nirvana Day Ceremony |
| baika-no-yuki | Plum-petal snow |
| yukimagusa | Plants peeping through snow |
| kōbai2 | Scented plum |
| kusamoe | First sprouting grass |
| oni wa soto | Demons Out! |
| tenmangū | Tenmangū Shrine |
| usurai2 | Thin ice |
| haru matsu | Waiting for Spring |
| setchūka | Flower in the Snow |
| yokan | Lingering Cold |
| haruichiban | First strong south wind of year |
| ōshukubai | “Bush-warbler resting plum” |
| bonbori | Paper lamps for Hina dolls |
| haru wa kinu | Spring Has Come |
| usukurenai | Light crimson (plum petal hue) |
| amazake | Sweet fermented rice drink |
| hōshun | Heralding Spring |
| kan'ake | End of the Cold Season |
| tsukimachi | Waiting for the moon |
| kanbeni | Winter Crimson |
| yukigekaze | Wind that melts snow |
| uo-kōri-wo-izuru | “Fish rise up through ice” (72候) |
| harutonari | “Spring next door” |
| akebonobai | Dawn plum |
| hatsuhana | First Flower |
| kōbaikō | Scent of red plum |
| kenkoku kinenbi | National Foundation Day |
| hatsuhibari | First skylark song |
| tanbai | Searching for plum blossoms |
| zansetsu | Lingering Snow |
| sōshun | Early Spring |
| mebuki | Budding |
| kankō | Chilly fragrance (of plum) |
| hyōmon | Ice Patterns |
| kōbunboku | Tree that Favors Literature |
| shunkan | Spring Cold |
| kanbai | Winter Plum |
| kansawara | Winter Spanish mackerel |
| ehōmaki | Sushi roll eaten facing lucky direction |
| oni-wa-soto | “Devils out!” Setsubun chant |
| umemi | Plum Blossom Viewing |
| kazehikaru | Wind shining (glittering air) |
| asaake | Pale scarlet (plum bud colour) |
| rōbai | Wintersweet |
| toshiotoko | Man of the Year |
| ōshukubai | Warbler's Lodging Plum |
| yukiwari-sō | Snow-breaking flower |
| shunchō | Omen of Spring |
| fukinotō | Butter-bur sprout |
| mikaikō | Unopened Crimson |
| kinome | Tree Buds |
| hatsuuma-mochi | Rice cakes offered on Hatsu-uma |
| harumachidori | “Bird waiting for spring” |
| setchūbai | Plum in snow |
| sawarabi | Early bracken fiddleheads |
| oniuchimame | Demon-striking Beans |
| kaoriume | Fragrant plum |
| toshitokujin | God of the Year's Virtue |
| hinabi | Doll-festival lights |
| harugasumi | Spring haze |
| uguisu | Japanese Bush Warbler |
| oniuchimame | “Demon-beating beans” |
| sakigake | Forerunner / Pioneer |
| awagasumi | Pale haze |
| uguisumochi | Green-soybean mochi |
| warabimochi | Bracken-starch jelly |
| baika | Plum Fragrance |
| uraraka | Bright and calm (spring sky) |
| hinadōgu | Miniature furnishings for Hina display |
| haru no kizashi | Signs of Spring |
| mame | Bean |
| kentō | Offering a Light |
| tobiume | The Flying Plum |
| yukiwarisō | Hepatica / Snow-breaking Plant |
| hīragi iwashi | Holly and Sardine |
| fuku wa uchi | Fortune In! |
| shunchū | Spring daytime |
| zankan | Remaining winter chill |
| harukaze kōri o toku | East Wind Melts the Ice |
| haru no ibuki | Breath of Spring |
| kan suzume | Winter Sparrow |
| omizutori | Water-Drawing Ceremony |
| hatsune | First song of bush-warbler |
| shitahoe | Green Shoots Below |
| isobiraki | Opening of shore for harvesting |
| yukiyanagi | Spiraea with white blossoms |
| hikari no haru | Spring of Light |
| tōfu | Peach-wood talisman |
| sōshunfu | “Early-spring air” (song title) |
| yabai | Wild Plum |
| kangetsu | Cold moon |
| risshun | Beginning of spring solar term |
| kisaragi | Traditional name of February |
| kaihyō | Ice thaw |
| kasumi | Haze |
| kunimi | Land Viewing |
| shinonome | Dawn glow |
| kagerō | Heat shimmer |
| fukōge | Scentless Flower |
| haru no yuki | Spring Snow |
| tsuina | Demon-Quelling Ceremony |
| hikari-no-haru | “Spring of light” |
| wakame | New wakame seaweed |
| kōri no kagami | Mirror of Ice |
| kōbai | Red Plum Blossom |
| harutsugesō | Spring-Heralding Plant |
| mizunurumu | Water becomes lukewarm |
| hyōkai | Ice breakup |
| umemizuki | “Plum-viewing month” (archaic) |
| hiashi nobu | The Days Lengthen |
| shunkō | Spring light |
| sōbai2 | Early-blooming plum |
| jōshi | Third day of third month (Hina) |
| kisaragi | Kisaragi (Poetic month name) |
| hinagashi | Sweets for Hina dolls |
| hatsuuma | First “horse day” festival |
Seasonal words center on plum blossoms (ume), bush-warblers, Setsubun beans, and the solar term Risshun—the technical start of spring. A tea caddy may be called “Hatsukoi” (First Fragrance) after the sweet scent of a single blooming plum branch placed in the alcove; a bowl might be named “Fuyu-gure” (Winter Dusk) to acknowledge that frost still clings. The month’s dual mood—chill outside, promise within—encourages refined contrasts: charcoal fires glow warmly while scrolls quote poems on hidden buds and changing light, reminding guests that endurance soon yields to renewal.