Editing Japanese calendar (section)

===Months===
{{Redirect-several|Kisaragi|Kannazuki}}
[[File:ShinOchaEkiMuralHachigatsu8540.jpg|thumb|right|This mural on the wall of [[Shin-Ochanomizu Station|Shin-Ochanomizu]] [[Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line|subway]] station in Tokyo celebrates ''Hazuki'', the eighth month.]]

As mentioned above, the Japanese calendar used to be based on an adaptation of the Chinese lunar calendar, which begins 3 to 7 weeks later than the Gregorian. In other words, the Gregorian "first month" and the Chinese "first month" do not align, which is important in historical contexts.

The "traditional names" for each month, shown below, are still used by some in fields such as [[poetry]]; of the twelve, ''Shiwasu'' is still widely used today. The opening paragraph of a letter or the greeting in a speech might borrow one of these names to convey a sense of the season. Some, such as ''[[Yayoi (given name)|Yayoi]]'' and ''[[Satsuki]]'', do double duty as [[given name]]s (for women). These month names also appear from time to time on ''[[jidaigeki]]'', contemporary television shows and movies set in the [[Edo period]] or earlier.

The Japanese names for the modern [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] months literally translate to "first month", "second month", and so on. The corresponding number is combined with the suffix {{nihongo krt|"month"|月|-gatsu}}. The table below uses traditional numerals, but the use of [[Western numerals]] ({{nihongo2|１月}}, {{nihongo2|２月}}, {{nihongo2|３月}}, etc.) is common.

[[File:Japanese calendar december.jpg|thumb|right|A Japanese calendar from 2011 depicting the month of December, {{nihongo||師走|shiwasu}}]]

{| class = wikitable
|-
! English name !! Common Japanese name !! Traditional Japanese name
|- valign = top
| January || {{nihongo krt||一月|ichigatsu}}
|{{nihongo3|"Month of Love," alternatively "Month of Affection"|睦月|Mutsuki}}.<ref name="about.com old names">{{cite web
 | url        = http://japanese.about.com/library/blqow34.htm
 | title        = Can you tell me the old names of the months?
 | publisher        = About.com
 | access-date        = 2011-05-05
 | archive-date        = September 28, 2011
 | archive-url        = https://web.archive.org/web/20110928025148/http://japanese.about.com/library/blqow34.htm
 | url-status        = dead
 }}[ About.com, Can you tell me the old names of the months?]</ref>
|- valign = top
| February || {{nihongo krt||二月|nigatsu}}
|{{nihongo||如月|Kisaragi}}  or {{nihongo3|"Changing Clothes"|衣更着|Kinusaragi}}.<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|- valign = top
| March || {{nihongo krt||三月|sangatsu}}
|{{nihongo3|"New Life"|弥生|Yayoi}}.<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|- valign = top
| April || {{nihongo krt||四月|shigatsu}}
|{{nihongo3|"''u-no-hana'' month"|卯月|Uzuki}}.<ref name="about.com old names"/> The {{nihongo||卯の花|u-no-hana}} is a flower, of the genus ''[[Deutzia]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=<span lang=ja>「卯月」で始まる言葉 – 国語辞書の検索結果 – goo辞書</span>| language=ja| url=http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/srch/jn/%E5%8D%AF%E6%9C%88/m0u/| access-date = 2011-11-23}}</ref>
|- valign = top
| May || {{nihongo krt||五月|gogatsu}}
|{{nihongo||皐月|Satsuki}} or {{nihongo3|"Early-rice-planting Month"|早苗月|Sanaetsuki}}.<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|- valign = top
| June || {{nowrap|{{nihongo krt||六月|rokugatsu}}}}
|{{nihongo3|"Month of Water"|水無月|Minazuki}}.  The {{nihongo2|無}} character, which normally means "absent" or "there is no", is ''[[ateji]]'' here, and is only used for the ''na'' sound. In this name the ''na'' is actually a possessive particle, so ''minazuki'' means "month of water", not "month without water", and this is in reference to the flooding of the rice fields, which require large quantities of water.<ref>{{cite web|title=<span lang=ja>「水無月」で始まる言葉 – 国語辞書の検索結果 – goo辞書</span>| language=ja| url=http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/srch/jn/%E6%B0%B4%E7%84%A1%E6%9C%88/m0u/| access-date = 2011-11-23}}</ref>
|- valign = top
| July || {{nowrap|{{nihongo krt||七月|shichigatsu}}}}
|{{nihongo3|"Month of Erudition"|文月|Fuzuki}}.<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|- valign = top
| August || {{nowrap|{{nihongo krt||八月|hachigatsu}}}}
|{{nihongo3|"Month of Leaves"|葉月|Hazuki}}. In old Japanese, the month was called {{lang|ojp|葉落ち月}} ({{tlit|ojp|Haochizuki}}, or "Month of Falling Leaves").<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|- valign = top
| September || {{nihongo krt||九月|kugatsu}}
|{{nihongo3|"The Long Month"|長月|Nagatsuki}}.<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|- valign = top
| October || {{nihongo krt||十月|jūgatsu}}
|{{tlit|ja|Kannazuki}} or {{nihongo3|"Month of the Gods"|神無月|Kaminazuki}}. The {{nihongo2|無}} character, which normally means "absent" or "there is not", was here probably originally used as an [[ateji]] for the possessive particle ''na'', so ''Kaminazuki'' may have originally meant "Month of the Gods", not "Month without Gods" (''Kaminakizuki''), similarly to ''Minatsuki'', the "Month of Water".<ref>Entries in the standard dictionaries ''Daijisen'' {{nihongo2|大辞泉}} (Shōgakukan {{nihongo2|小学館}}), ''Daijirin'' {{nihongo2|大辞林}} (Sanseidō {{nihongo2|三省堂}}), ''Nihon Kokugo Daijiten'' {{nihongo2|日本国語大辞典}} (Shōgakukan {{nihongo2|小学館}}).</ref>  However, by what may be [[false etymology]], the name became commonly interpreted to mean that, because in that month all the [[Shinto]] [[kami]] gather at [[Izumo-taisha|Izumo shrine]] in [[Izumo Province]] (modern-day [[Shimane Prefecture]]), there are no gods in the rest of the country. Thus in Izumo Province, the month is called {{tlit|ja|Kamiarizuki}} ({{lang|ja|神有月}} or {{lang|ja|神在月}}, "Month with Gods").<ref>For example, {{cite book|title=Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan|year=1998|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-2090-8|pages=178|author=Ian Reader and George J. Tanabe Jr.}}</ref> Various other etymologies have also been suggested from time to time.<ref>''Nihon Kokugo Daijiten'' {{nihongo2|日本国語大辞典}} (Shōgakukan {{nihongo2|小学館}}) lists nine more besides.</ref>
|- valign = top
| November || {{nowrap|{{nihongo krt||十一月|jūichigatsu}}}}
|{{nihongo3|"Month of Frost"|霜月|Shimotsuki}}.<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|- valign = top
| December || {{nihongo krt||十二月|jūnigatsu}}
|{{nihongo3|"Priests Running"|師走|Shiwasu}}.  This is in reference to priests being busy at the end of the year for [[Shogatsu|New Year's]] preparations and blessings.<ref name="about.com old names"/>
|}