Lovely senior life

Brain training with spring kigo! A collection of ideas for common words you can use in haiku and conversation

10 years as a kindergarten teacher / elementary school teacher / junior and senior high school teacher / childminderkepiko
Graduated from Kunitachi College of Music, Faculty of Music (now: Department of Music Culture and Education, Early Childhood Music Education major). In elementary school, my homeroom teacher was Jun Kusaba, a game researcher. After graduating from university, I worked as a kindergarten teacher for 10 years and as an after-school childcare instructor for 7 years, then took a position as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I engaged in activities that introduced Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational activities, working with many children. Later, through freelance writing, planning, and editing at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and sharing. Drawing on the perspective cultivated in the field of education and my experience as an editor, I provide practical information with an emphasis on both input and output, mainly in areas related to music and children. My hobbies include instruments, singing, handicrafts, toys, drawing, traditional games, the outdoors, and books. My special skill is spinning-top tricks.

When you feel the arrival of spring, certain seasonal words naturally slip off the tongue, don’t they? The “seasonal words of spring,” which can be casually woven into haiku, letters, and everyday conversation, are filled with a uniquely Japanese sense of beauty.

In this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of commonly used spring kigo.

From familiar expressions to surprising discoveries that make you think, “Is that a seasonal word too?”, you’ll find plenty of hints for savoring the season.

Try incorporating them into your daily life.

Brain training with spring kigo! A collection of ideas for common words you can use in haiku and conversation (1–10)

Spring MoonNEW!

Haiku and the seasonal word “spring moon” [spring seasonal word]

Spring MoonNEW!

“The spring moon” refers to the moon that gently floats in the spring night sky.

Compared to the winter moon, it appears softer and faintly hazy, and gazing at it brings a calm, unhurried feeling to the heart.

In haiku, it is often used to depict quiet nighttime scenes or the gentle, tranquil mood of spring.

Even just saying, “The spring moon is beautiful tonight,” adds a tender, seasonal touch to a conversation.

Without overthinking it, you can use the phrase naturally by putting into words the feeling you get when you happen to look up at the sky on a spring night.

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Spring MudNEW!

Haiku and the season word “shundei” (spring mud) [spring season word]

Spring MudNEW!

It refers to mud that has become waterlogged and soggy as the ground absorbs meltwater and spring rain.

Soil that was frozen hard through winter softens, and with melted snow and rainwater mixed in, roads and fields turn pliant.

When you walk, mud may stick to your shoes, and it can feel a bit harder to get around, yet that very scene conveys that winter has ended and the season is shifting into spring.

In haiku, it is often used to depict the landscapes around the time of snowmelt and the beginnings of spring in people’s everyday lives.

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Spring SnowNEW!

Today's Haiku <Broadcast in Reiwa 5 (2023) February> Set Topic: "Spring Snow" (First Half)

Spring SnowNEW!

The soft snow that falls after spring has begun is called “spring snow.” Unlike the harsh snows of winter, it falls quietly, like a lingering trace of the season.

It often melts right away, evoking a sense of transience and the changing of the seasons.

In haiku, it’s also used to depict the gentle scenes on the way from winter to spring, or to express a slightly wistful feeling.

Just saying, “It’s spring snow today,” in conversation brings a tender sense of the season.

As you watch the snow dance, why not try putting that fleeting beauty into words and using the phrase casually?

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Beginning of SpringNEW!

Haiku and the seasonal word “Risshun” [spring seasonal word]

Beginning of SpringNEW!

It is a term that denotes the day when spring begins on the calendar.

Although the chill still lingers, this day is seen as the turning point toward spring.

Its charm lies in sensing the signs of the season in the subtlest changes—gentler winds, brighter sunlight.

In haiku, it is often used to express the start of a new season or the anticipation of the spring to come.

If you use it while imagining the faint presence of spring still nestled within winter’s crisp air, a natural sense of the season will unfold.

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ButterflyNEW!

Today's Haiku <Broadcast in Reiwa 5 (2023) March> Set Topic: "Butterfly" (First Half)

ButterflyNEW!

It depicts butterflies fluttering lightly in the warmth of spring.

Nature, which spent the winter in quiet, awakens and lets us feel that spring has truly arrived.

Their buoyant flight conveys a sense of calm and brightness, and they are often used in haiku to portray gentle, springlike scenes.

Even just adding a line like “The butterflies are flying” into a conversation can evoke the gentle air of spring.

It’s easy to use if you simply put that springlike scene into words while picturing them dancing around flowers.

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