August’s poetic names balance blazing daylight with late-summer consolations—lotus flowers at dawn, lanterns of Obon, and the first hints of autumn dusk.
August’s poetic names balance blazing daylight with late-summer consolations—lotus flowers at dawn, lanterns of Obon, and the first hints of autumn dusk.
| Gomei | Meaning |
|---|---|
| shōryōdana | Bon altar for spirits |
| ikusanaki yo | A World Without War |
| nebuta | Nebuta float festival |
| senkō hanabi | Sparkler |
| susuki | Silver-grass before ears |
| fuyō | Cotton Rose Hibiscus |
| hechima-mizu | Luffa lotion |
| edamame | Green soybean pods |
| tōrō-nagashi | Floating lantern ceremony |
| kusahibari | Ground cricket |
| hechima | Luffa gourd |
| tōrō | Lantern |
| iwashigumo | Mackerel-sky clouds |
| shōryō-nagashi | Floating offerings for spirits |
| jizōbon | Children’s Jizō festival |
| daimonji | Daimonji Bonfire |
| higurashi-naku | “Cold-cicada sings” micro-season |
| kurage | Jellyfish drifting |
| tamayura | Transient / Fleeting |
| tōrōnagashi | Floating Lanterns |
| mushikiki | Evening insect-listening outing |
| okuribi | Bon fare-well bonfire |
| shosho | End of Heat |
| wata-no-hanashibe-hiraku | “Cotton bolls first open” micro-season |
| mukaebi | Welcoming Fire |
| taimatsu_august | Torch |
| bon | Bon Festival |
| akikusa | Various autumn grasses |
| hagi | Bush clover |
| kutsuwamushi | Great green katydid |
| tōgan | Wax-gourd |
| shinryō | First touch of cool air |
| zanshō2 | Afterglow in west sky |
| okuri-tonbo | Sending-off Dragonfly |
| fukaki-kiri-matō | “Thick fog rises” micro-season |
| hazuki | Hazuki (Poetic month name) |
| shūkaidō | Japanese begonia |
| nochi no suzu | Later Coolness |
| tsuioku | Remembrance |
| suimitsutō | Juicy white peach |
| ryūsei | Shooting star (Perseids) |
| tsuyu_august | Dew |
| kachiwari | Cracked-ice refreshment |
| natsu no hate | End of Summer |
| akitatsu | Autumn sets in |
| bontōrō | Paper lanterns for Bon |
| ryōfū | Cool breeze of early autumn |
| mukuge | Rose of Sharon |
| awa-odori | Awa dance festival |
| hazuki | Old lunar name of the 8th month |
| heiwa | Peace |
| kuzubana | Kudzu blossoms |
| hasuba-ame | Rain on lotus leaves |
| mandō-e | Ten Thousand Lantern Festival |
| gyokusen | Jade Cicada |
| aki-donari | Autumn is Next Door |
| urokogumo | Scale clouds |
| obana | Plumed pampas |
| hōsenka | Balsam flower |
| taifū_august | Typhoon |
| zansho | Lingering summer heat |
| yokaze | Night breeze |
| umaoi | Long-horned grasshopper |
| hōshizemi | Another name for Evening Cicada |
| akikaze_august | Autumn Wind |
| aoguri | Un-ripe green chestnut |
| neppū | Hot Wind |
| fusen | No War |
| ryō ichimi | One Taste of Coolness |
| katabira | Unlined hemp kimono |
| sagisō | Egret Orchid |
| chinkon | Repose of Souls |
| tōhanabi | Distant Fireworks |
| gosenzo-sama | Honorable Ancestors |
| uri | Gourd / Melon |
| tsukikage | Moonlight |
| natsusugata_august | Summer Appearance |
| aoinne | Green ripening rice |
| shosho | “Limit-of-Heat” solar term |
| inabikari | Flash of Lightning |
| budō | Grapes in season |
| shōryō-uma | Spirit Horse |
| gozan | Five bonfire mountains in Kyoto |
| akiatsushi | Hot day despite autumn |
| nigauri | Bitter melon |
| natsuno no tsuyu | Dew in the Summer Field |
| akigumo | Autumn clouds |
| natsumatsuri | Summer Festival |
| ryōzuki | Cool early-autumn moon |
| hachigatsu | August |
| akizemi | Autumn cicada |
| nashi | Pear |
| hanabi_august | Fireworks |
| risshū | First Day of Autumn |
| natsu no tsuki | Summer Moon |
| hidari-daimonji | Left “大” bonfire |
| urabon | Obon (Sanskrit origin name) |
| toriigata | Torii-shaped bonfire |
| aki tatsu | Autumn Begins |
| shoshū | Early autumn |
| tsuyukeshi | Dewy |
| asanagi | Morning Calm |
| suzukaze-itaru | “Cool wind arrives” micro-season |
| kansha_august | Gratitude |
| suzumushi | Bell-cricket |
| yūsuzumi | Cooling oneself at dusk |
| bon odori | Bon Dance |
| tonbo | Dragonfly |
| risshū | Beginning of autumn solar term |
| hagitsuyu | Dew on bush clover |
| shōryō-uma | Vegetable spirit-horses |
| inanami | Waves in green rice |
| myōhō | “Myōhō” twin-bonfires |
| kokumono-minor | “Grains grow ripe” micro-season |
| ominaeshi_august | Patrinia scabiosifolia |
| yūyake | Red evening sky |
| bonbune | Boat offering for spirits |
| shinryō | First Coolness of Autumn |
| funagata | Boat-shaped bonfire |
| matsumushi | Pine-cricket |
| mushishigure | Chorus of autumn insects |
| ichijiku | Fig fruit |
| shizuka_august | Quiet / Still |
| mu | Nothingness |
| hakuro_august | White Dew |
| kaya | Mosquito net |
| akikaze | Autumn wind |
| bon no tsuki | Bon Moon |
| gujō-odori | Gujō Bon dance |
| shōryō | Ancestral spirits returning |
| tsukiokure-bon | Delayed Bon |
| ichijiku | Fig |
| aburazemi | Large Brown Cicada |
| naruko | Bird-scare clappers |
| bon-odori | Bon dance |
| bon | Bon festival period |
| hanagasa | Flower-hat parade |
| hisho | Heat-escape (summering) |
| higurashi | Evening Cicada |
| hoshizukiyo | Star-bright night |
| akatonbo | Red Dragonfly |
| takanegumo | High mountain clouds |
| nemu_august | Silk Tree |
| yonaga | Lengthening autumn nights |
| omodaka | Threeleaf Arrowhead |
| zansho | Lingering Summer Heat |
| hamachidori | Plover on the beach |
| yūnagi | Evening Calm |
| kikyō_august | Bellflower |
| nagareboshi | Shooting Star |
| himawari_august | Sunflower |
| hatsuhagi | Season’s first hagi bloom |
| ochiayu | Downstream-running ayu |
| mizukagami | Water mirror |
| yukiai no sora | Meeting Sky |
| senkō-hanabi | Sparkler fireworks |
| daimonji | “Daimonji” bonfire |
| aki no kehai | A Hint of Autumn |
| okuribi | Sending-off Fire |
| shūsen kinenbi | End of War Memorial Day |
| agehanabi | Skyrocket Fireworks |
| urabon-e | Urabon-e (Bon Festival) |
| oniyuri | Tiger Lily |
| tōmorokoshi | Sweet corn |
| okuribon | Sending off for Bon |
| banka | Late Summer |
| tenchi-hajimete-samushi | “Heaven & earth first grow cool” micro-season |
| kisei | Homecoming |
| hōzuki | Chinese Lantern Plant |
| kōrogi | Field cricket |
| kuzu no hana | Kuzu (Arrowroot) Flower |
| shirasagi_august | White Egret |
| takisuzu | Coolness at a waterfall |
| akatonbo | Red dragonfly |
Obon (13–16 Aug) welcomes ancestral spirits, so names like “Bon-tōrō” (Festival Lantern) or “Mukae-bi” (Welcoming Flame) are common, while dawn gatherings may feature “Hasu-no-Ue” (On the Lotus) for the brief perfection of lotus blossoms. Fireworks inspire whimsical titles such as “Hanabi,” and the seasonal greeting “Yūsuzumi” (Evening Cool) appears on fans or tea bowls meant to be enjoyed after sunset. Although the heat still lingers, the calendar has tipped toward autumn (立秋 Risshū, around 7 Aug); subtle gomei like “Hatsu-Aki-Kaze” (First Autumn Breeze) remind guests that change has already begun, inviting a mood that is both festive and quietly wistful.