1.
autumn equinox period; autumn higan; autumn week of Buddhist memorial services
A seven-day period centered on the autumn equinox (around September 22-23), during which Japanese families visit ancestral graves and make offerings. The autumn counterpart of 春彼岸.
秋彼岸にはお墓を掃除する。
I clean the graves during the autumn equinox period.
秋彼岸にはおはぎ}をお{供えするのが伝統だ。
It's traditional to offer ohagi during the autumn equinox period.
秋彼岸を過ぎると朝晩はぐっと涼しくなり、秋の深まりを感じる。
After the autumn equinox period passes, mornings and evenings become noticeably cooler, and you can feel autumn deepening.
Compound of 秋 ('autumn') and 彼岸 ('equinox period'). The autumn counterpart of 春彼岸, with the same structure of grave visits and offerings but associated with different seasonal imagery.
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
- Like spring higan, spans seven days: three before, the equinox day, and three after
- The traditional offering is 御萩 (ohagi), a rice ball coated in red bean paste, named after the autumn bush clover (萩)
- 彼岸花 (red spider lily) blooms around this time and is closely associated with the period
- The proverb 暑さ寒さも彼岸まで ('heat and cold last until higan') marks this as a seasonal turning point
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 秋彼岸のお墓参り: autumn equinox grave visit
- 秋彼岸の入り: start of the autumn higan period
- 秋彼岸の中日: the middle day (equinox itself)
- 秋彼岸の明け: end of the autumn higan period
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 春彼岸: spring equinox period — the same observance around the spring equinox in March
- 彼岸: equinox period (general) — can refer to either spring or autumn higan
- お盆: Obon; Bon festival — another major ancestor memorial period in mid-August
Related Words
Antonym:
はるひがん