1.
spring equinox period; spring higan; spring week of Buddhist memorial services
A seven-day period centered on the spring equinox (around March 20-21), during which Japanese families visit ancestral graves and make offerings. One of two annual higan periods, the other being 秋彼岸.
春彼岸にお墓参りに行く。
I go to visit the graves during the spring equinox period.
春彼岸にはぼた餅をお供えする習慣がある。
There is a custom of offering botamochi during the spring equinox period.
「暑さ寒さも彼岸まで」という言葉のとおり、春彼岸を過ぎると暖かくなる。
As the saying 'heat and cold last until higan' goes, it gets warmer after the spring equinox period.
Compound of 春 ('spring') and 彼岸 ('the other shore' in Buddhism; equinox period). 彼岸 literally means 'the far shore' (彼の岸), referring to the Buddhist concept of the shore of enlightenment, and the equinox — when day and night are equal — symbolizes the balance between this world and the next.
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
- The seven-day period spans three days before, the equinox day itself, and three days after
- The main activities are visiting family graves (墓参り), cleaning gravestones, and offering flowers and food
- The traditional offering is 牡丹餅 (botamochi), named after the spring peony flower (牡丹)
- The autumn equivalent offering is 御萩 (ohagi), named after the bush clover (萩)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 春彼岸のお墓参り: spring equinox grave visit
- 春彼岸の入り: start of the spring higan period
- 春彼岸の中日: the middle day (equinox itself)
- 春彼岸の明け: end of the spring higan period
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 秋彼岸: autumn equinox period — the same type of observance around the autumn equinox in September
- 彼岸: equinox period (general) — can refer to either spring or autumn higan
- お盆: Obon; Bon festival — the other major ancestor memorial period, held in mid-August
Related Words
Antonym:
あきひがん