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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 for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher and for 7 years as an after-school childcare instructor, then took a post as a music teacher at an international school in Singapore. In addition to music education, I also engaged in activities that shared Japanese culture, traditional games, and recreational play, working with many children. Afterwards, through freelance writing, planning, and editing work at Shogakukan, I met many delightful adults and experienced the joy of communicating and conveying ideas. Leveraging the perspective cultivated in educational settings and my experience as an editor, I aim to deliver practical information—focusing on fields related to music and children—that values both input and output. Hobbies include instruments, singing, handcrafts, toys, drawing, traditional play, the outdoors, books, DIY, and crafts. Special skill: 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 (11–20)

Flower rain

Hana no Ame Kimi no Nagori, song by Yamanbagiri Kunihiro

Flower rain

It is a word that describes the gentle rain that falls as if scattering spring blossoms like cherry and plum.

The characteristically light spring drizzle washes away winter’s dry air and brings life-giving moisture to flowers and greenery.

The sight of petals struck by that rain fluttering down feels both fleeting and beautiful, evoking a momentary scene of spring.

In haiku, it is often used to express the shifting spring landscape, as well as ephemerality and tenderness.

When you use it while imagining the sound of rain on petals and the softly moistened scenery, a quiet, gentle spring scene naturally unfolds.

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In conclusion

Spring kigo—seasonal words—are filled with expressions that let us sense the shifting seasons in everyday moments. If you weave them into haiku, letters, or daily conversation, an ordinary day might become just a touch more colorful. Find your favorite spring kigo and enjoy expressing yourself in your own way.