豊穣(ほうじょう)

豊穣(ほうじょう) is a literary, somewhat elevated word meaning abundant harvest or rich productivity, used both literally for crops and figuratively for cultural or imaginative richness.

Usage

• Functions as a な-adjective and as a noun.
• The literal sense refers to a bountiful agricultural harvest.
• The figurative sense praises something as 'rich,' 'fertile,' or 'fecund' — typically applied to abstract qualities like culture, imagination, or literary tradition.
• Modifier: 豊穣(ほうじょう)な大地(だいち) (fertile earth), 豊穣(ほうじょう)な文化(ぶんか) (rich culture), 豊穣(ほうじょう)な想像力(そうぞうりょく) (rich imagination)
• Predicate: 今年(ことし)の実(みの)りは豊穣(ほうじょう)だ (this year's harvest is bountiful)

Cultural note

• The set phrase 五穀豊穣(ごこくほうじょう) (abundant harvest of the five grains) is recited in Shinto prayers and harvest festivals across Japan.
• The five grains traditionally are 米(こめ) (rice), 麦(むぎ) (wheat/barley), 粟(あわ) (foxtail millet), 豆(まめ) (beans), and 黍(きび) (proso millet).

Similar words

• 豊富(ほうふ): abundant, plentiful (everyday word, much more common).
• 豊(ゆた)か: rich, abundant (the most general and neutral term).