Kōyō & other japanese words for celebrating autumn
There is nothing quite like Autumn in Japan.
Aki 秋 — Autumn
I landed in Tokyo in late October, a year since being here last, and it feels like coming home every time. Autumn is my favourite season, and my love for it is amplified when I am in Japan — the smells, the light, the crisp air, the food, the festivals, the way the sun hits the red maple leaves and it is as if the tree is alight.
Japan is a culture so in-tune with the seasons, with the language itself capturing so many of small changes around us. It’s easy to move through the world without really paying attention to it, and words can be a gentle reminder to reconnect and look.
Below are just a few words found in Japanese that speak to the experience of being in Autumn, a celebration of fall leaves and light.
Kōyō 紅葉
‘leaves changing colour’ — the colour shift of autumn
Rakuyō 落葉 / Ochiba 落ち葉
‘fallen leaves’ — the Ochiba Koi gets its name from the gold markings that look like fallen leaves floating on water
Teriha 照葉
‘beautiful shining autumn leaves’ — the sun on Autumn foliage, when it seems as if the red leaves are glowing
Momijigari
‘hunting red leaves’ — momijigari is made up of two parts: momiji (紅葉), which means ‘red maple leaves’, and gari (狩り), which means ‘hunting’
Komorebi 木漏れ日
‘sunlight leaking through trees’
一 日 千 秋
‘one day; a thousand autumns’ — Japanese idiom for great change happening in a short span of time
Ame futte ji katamaru
‘after the rain, the earth hardens’ — a proverb speaking to growing through hardship
Aki matsuri 夏祭
‘autumn festivals’
tsukimi 月見
‘moon-viewing’ — autumn festivals honouring the full moon
Aki kaze ga fuku 秋風
‘autumn wind blows’ — also means ‘falling out of love’, the cooling feelings between two lovers
Aki Takashi 秋高し
‘high autumn skies’ — on cloudless days, the sky appears higher
hika-rakuyō 飛花落葉
‘blossoms fly and leaves fall’ — a Japanese idiom meaning the impermanence of life, reassured through the continual change of the seasons
Hagoshi 葉ごし
‘through the leaves’ — seeing the world through gaps in the foliage
hakage 葉陰
‘under the shade of leaves’
