March’s gomei rejoice in full awakening—peach, willow, and vernal equinox days when earth and sky come into balance.
March’s gomei rejoice in full awakening—peach, willow, and vernal equinox days when earth and sky come into balance.
| Gomei | Meaning |
|---|---|
| yayoi | Traditional name of the third lunar month |
| keichitsu | Insects awaken solar term |
| shunbun | Vernal equinox |
| shunsha | Rite for the earth-gods |
| hanami | Cherry-blossom viewing |
| kanō | Viewing cherry blossoms |
| yozakura | Nighttime cherry blossoms |
| hatsuzakura | First cherry seen in the year |
| yamazakura | Wild mountain cherry |
| ōka | Cherry flowers |
| yoshinoyama | Mount Yoshino famed for blossoms |
| yoshino | Yoshino district itself |
| someiyoshino | Somei-yoshino cultivar |
| hanafubuki | Blossom blizzard |
| hanaikada | Blossom rafts |
| hanaarashi | Blossom storm |
| hanafuki | Petal gust |
| hanagumori | Blossom haze |
| hanabie | Chill in blossom season |
| hanakagari | Torch-lit blossoms |
| hanaakari | Petal glow at dusk |
| hanadoki | Blossom season |
| hanakago | Flower basket |
| hanakuzu | Petal fragments |
| hanamizake | Sake for blossom viewing |
| hanagoromo | Blossom-patterned robe |
| hanadōgu | Utensils for blossom season |
| hanamibune | Blossom-viewing boat |
| sakuramochi | Cherry-leaf wrapped sweet |
| sakurayu | Hot water with salted blossoms |
| sakurashibe-furu | Stamens falling like rain |
| sakuragari | Searching for best blossoms |
| sakurakage | Shadow of cherry blooms |
| sakuragai | Pink tellin shells |
| sakuradai | Sea-bream caught in blossom season |
| hana-no-en | Florid banquet under blossoms |
| hinamatsuri | Girls’ Doll Festival (3 Mar) |
| hinadan | Multi-tier doll stand |
| momono-sekku | Peach Blossom Festival |
| botamochi | Spring rice-cake with azuki |
| higan | Equinox Buddhist week |
| higanzakura | Equinox-blooming cherry |
| higane | Equinox Buddhist ceremony |
| dōmyōji | Dōmyō-ji style sakuramochi |
| yamawarau | “Hills laugh” with fresh green |
| taitō | Mild and languid spring warmth |
| hanagasumi | Blossom haze |
| haruarashi | Spring gale |
| haruhayate | Sudden spring squall |
| harusame | Soft spring rain |
| shunshō | Spring evening |
| shunmin | Spring slumber |
| shuntō | Spring lamp |
| shunsui | Springtime water |
| nanohana | Canola blossoms |
| aburana | Rapeseed |
| natane-zuyu | Canola-rain drizzle |
| kichō | Yellow butterfly |
| hatsuchō | Season’s first butterfly |
| asagichō | Pale-yellow swallowtail |
| kien | Swallows returning |
| tsubame-kuru | Swallows arrive |
| hibari-saezuru | Skylark warbling |
| tōsei | Spring grass ramble (treading green) |
| kusawakaba | Fresh green grass leaves |
| wakakusa | Young grass |
| tsubaki | Camellia |
| benitsubaki | Red camellia |
| wabisuke | Wabisuke camellia cultivar |
| otome-tsubaki | Otome camellia cultivar |
| jinchōge | Winter-daphne fragrance |
| boke | Flowering quince |
| hanazuō | Eastern redbud blossom |
| ashibi | Andromeda shrub |
| rika | Pear blossom |
| shunrai | First strong spring thunder |
| awayuki | Light melting snow |
| nagashibina | Dolls floated on water |
| itoyanagi | Slender-stem willow |
| ryujo | Willow fluff |
| shunie | Tōdai-ji repentance rite |
| omizutori | Water-drawing rite |
| kagotaimatsu | Giant basket torches |
| namushi-chō-to-naru | “Caterpillars turn to butterflies” micro-season |
| suzume-hajimete-suku | “Sparrows start nesting” micro-season |
| sakura-hajimete-hiraku | “Cherry begins to open” micro-season |
| kaminari-sunawachi-koe-wo-hassu | “Thunder begins to sound” micro-season |
| kinome | Tree buds |
| yukigegawa | Snow-melt stream |
| hatsugatsuo | Season’s first bonito |
| sakuramasu | Cherry salmon |
| sakuraebi | Sakura shrimp |
| nabana | Edible flower shoots |
| tanpopo | Dandelion |
| mitsumata | Paperbush bloom |
| sotsugyō | Graduation |
| tabidachi | Setting out on a journey |
| wakareyuki | Parting snow |
| nagoriyuki | Lingering snow |
| haruhikage | Spring sunlight |
| asari | Short-neck clam |
| hanashigure | Petal shower |
| wakakusayama | Mount Wakakusa in Nara |
| nehan-e | Buddha’s Nirvana service (15 Feb lunar) |
| yukigemizu | Snow-melt water |
| hinamatsuri | Hina Doll Festival |
| momo | Peach |
| tōdaiji | Tōdai-ji Temple |
| higan | Higan (Equinox Week) |
| hiki-shio | Ebbing Tide |
| tsukushi | Horsetail Shoots |
| shirozake | White Sake |
| hishimochi | Diamond-shaped Mochi |
| dairibina | Imperial Couple Hina Dolls |
| yayoi | Yayoi (Poetic month name) |
| hina-arare | Hina Doll Rice Crackers |
| wakakusa | Young Grass |
| kai-awase | Shell-Matching Game |
| otaimatsu | Great Torch |
| botamochi | Botamochi Rice Ball |
| shunbun | Vernal Equinox |
| sakura | Cherry Blossom |
| oboro | Hazy / Dim |
| sotsugyō | Graduation |
| nanohana | Rapeseed Blossoms |
| gonin-bayashi | Five Court Musicians |
| kyokusui | Winding Stream |
| hatsuzakura | First Cherry Blossoms of the Season |
| shungyō | Spring Dawn |
| shiohigari | Shell Gathering |
| konome | Tree Sprouts |
| sannin-kanjo | Three Court Ladies |
| nagashi-bina | Floating Hina Dolls |
| yukiyanagi | Thunberg's Meadowsweet |
| shunkō | Spring Light |
| tōyama | Distant Mountains |
| shijimi | Freshwater Clam |
| kochō | Butterfly |
| sumire | Violet |
| sahohime | Goddess of Spring |
| hamaguri | Clam |
| haru ichiban | First Gale of Spring |
| yomogi-mochi | Mugwort Mochi |
| shirauo | Icefish |
| kagerō | Heat Haze |
| momo no sekku | Peach Festival |
| noyaki | Field Burning |
| daruma | Daruma Doll |
| hatsuchō | First Butterfly of the Season |
| tanpopo | Dandelion |
| tōgenkyō | Peach Blossom Spring / Paradise |
| katakuri | Katakuri (Dogtooth Violet) |
| keichitsu | Insects Awaken |
| haru no mizu | Spring Water |
| suzume no ko | Sparrow Chick |
| sakon no sakura | Cherry Tree on the Left |
| rengyō | Forsythia |
| yama warau | The Mountains Smile |
| shunpū / harukaze | Spring Breeze |
| rikyūki | Rikyū Memorial |
| nigatsudō | Nigatsu-dō Hall |
| wakasi | Wakasa Well |
| tabidachi | Departure / Setting Off |
| mokuren | Lily Magnolia |
| harusame | Spring Rain |
| mebuki | Sprouting / Budding |
| uraraka | Bright and Balmy |
| hibari | Skylark |
| shunran | Cymbidium goeringii |
| hana no kumo | Clouds of Blossoms |
| hana no ame | Rain on the Blossoms |
| hana akari | Glow of Blossoms |
| hanami | Flower Viewing |
| hanaikada_gomei | Flower Raft |
| saigyōki | Saigyō Memorial |
| yume | Dream |
| wasuregai | Forgotten Shell |
| kaze hikaru | The Wind Glistens |
| isoasobi | Beach-combing / Playing on the Shore |
| benitsubaki | Red Camellia |
| tori kaeru | Birds Return |
| shundei | Spring Mud |
| tsubame kuru | Swallows Arrive |
| seri | Japanese Parsley |
| warabi | Bracken Fern |
| taokoshi | Plowing the Paddy |
| kasumi | Haze / Mist |
| shunmin | Spring Sleep |
| ukon no tachibana | Tachibana Orange on the Right |
The Hina-matsuri girls’ festival, drifting peach petals, and soft winds (harugasumi, “spring haze”) dominate naming conventions. Utensils might be called “Momohana” (Peach Blossom) or “Shunbun” (Equinox) to mark the midpoint of spring. Willow catkins and returning swallows symbolize supple vitality, while poetry from the Manyōshū hints that life’s transience is already visible in falling petals. Tea gatherings often move from the ro to the portable brazier (furo) after the mid-month hearth-closing, physically signaling the lightening of the season.