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Surprisingly little-known winter season words! A collection of everyday, easy-to-use vocabulary ideas

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.

Have you ever found yourself wondering, when writing a haiku or a letter, “Was this word a winter kigo?” Compared to spring or autumn, winter kigo are surprisingly close to everyday life, and there are many words that feel familiar yet are not well known.

In this article, we’ve gathered a wide range of common winter kigo that are also used in daily conversation.

Whether as hints for seasonal letters and verse composition, or simply to savor winter’s unique scenes through words, please feel free to take a look!

Surprisingly little-known winter season words! A collection of ideas for familiar terms you can use in everyday life (11–20)

New Year’s Eve

Haiku and the seasonal word “Joya” [winter seasonal word]

New Year’s Eve

“Jo” means “to remove,” and it’s a time to gently let go of the year’s unpleasant moments and the haze in your heart as you welcome the new year.

As a seasonal word, there are expressions like “Joya no kane” (New Year’s Eve bell), “Joya no yuki” (New Year’s Eve snow), and “Joya no tsuki” (New Year’s Eve moon).

For example, on a New Year’s Eve when snow is falling softly, many people may have felt their year’s fatigue gently melt away as they listened to the bell while gazing out the window at the white landscape.

When used in writing, it can softly convey the stillness of a winter night and the gentle excitement of greeting a new year.

It is a special, warm time when both children and adults, with a little flutter in their hearts, welcome the year to come.

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In conclusion

Winter kigo—seasonal words—are filled with expressions that reflect familiar daily life and the changing face of nature. Even the everyday moments we pass without much thought may reveal new aspects when seen through the lens of kigo. In a haiku, a letter, a diary entry, or any casual scene, try weaving in winter kigo and take your time savoring the unique atmosphere of the cold season.