1.
June (traditional Japanese month name)
The old Japanese name for the sixth month. Despite the characters literally suggesting 'month without water,' it actually refers to the month when rice paddies are filled with water (水の月). Still used in literary, poetic, and cultural contexts.
水無月は梅雨の季節だ。
Minazuki (June) is the rainy season.
旧暦では六月を水無月と呼ぶ。
In the old calendar, June is called Minazuki.
水無月の風が心地よい。
The breeze in June feels pleasant.
2.
a triangular wagashi (Japanese sweet) eaten on June 30
A traditional Japanese confection made of sweetened rice flour topped with sweet azuki beans. It has a distinctive triangular shape representing ice. Eaten on June 30 as part of the Nagoshi no Harae purification ritual to ward off illness for the rest of the year.
六月になると和菓子屋に水無月が並ぶ。
When June comes, minazuki sweets appear in wagashi shops.
三角形の水無月は氷を表している。
The triangular shape of minazuki represents ice.
京都では六月三十日に水無月を食べる習慣がある。
In Kyoto, there is a custom of eating minazuki on June 30.
One of the twelve traditional Japanese month names (和風月名). The characters 水無月 literally mean "month without water," but this is interpreted as 水の月 (month of water), referring to the flooding of rice paddies during the rainy season.
TRADITIONAL MONTH NAMES:
- 睦月 (January), 如月 (February), 弥生 (March)
- 卯月 (April), 皐月 (May), 水無月 (June)
- 文月 (July), 葉月 (August), 長月 (September)
CULTURAL NOTE:
The 水無月 sweet (sense 2) is especially associated with 京都. It is eaten on June 30 during 夏越の祓え, a Shinto purification ritual held at the midpoint of the year. The triangular shape symbolizes ice, which was a luxury in ancient times, and eating it was believed to ward off summer illness.