| 04/29 |  |
5月 皐月 May |
NIC Japanese language school
現在 5月 昔 皐月（さつき）
意味 耕作を意味する古い言葉（古語）から、稲作（いなさく）の月として「さつき」
になった。漢字の「皐」という字は「神にささげる稲」という意味がある。
または早苗を植える月「早苗月（さなえずき）」が略され｛さつき｝になったとも
言われている。
その他のさつき：五月・皐月・早月などと書く。
花：サツキ(「皐月躑躅（さつきつつじ）」を 省略したもの。つつじの一種。
「杜鵑花」とも書く
五節句. 人日（じんじつ）: 1月7日、七草 • 上巳（じょうし/じょうみ）:
3月3日、桃の節句、雛祭り(ひなまつり) •
5月5日、菖蒲の節句; 端午（たんご）:
7月7日、たなばた、星祭り、竹・笹;:
9月9日、菊の節句 重陽（ちょうよう）
縁起ものとして5月の節句に柏餅の葉に使われ柏の葉で餅（もち）を
包んでいたと思われる。
季節：1年を通してもっとも活気にあふれた美しい季節。若葉、色々の花、そして
穏やかな気温とすばらしい季節。
行事：ゴールデンウィークと呼ばれ4月の29日から大型の連休がはじまる。
お正月やお盆と同じく人々は旅行に出かけるなど連休を楽しむ。
4月29日 昭和の日 5月3日 憲法記念日
5月4日 みどりの日 5月5日 こどもの日
耕作（こうさく）：cultivating 稲作（いなさく） rice cropping
ささげる sacrifice 早苗 nursery plant (rice)
サツキ a kind of azalea
菖蒲 As the fragrance of irises was believed to drive away bad air,
people began to take baths with these medicinal leaves.
端午 Iris Festival 重陽 Chrysanthemum Festival
柏 Oak (rice cake wrapped in an oak leaf)
縁起もの bringer of good luck 憲法記念日 Constitution day
来月に続く NIC instructor Keita Suzuki
http://www.nicjapanese.com
現在 5月 昔 皐月（さつき）
意味 耕作を意味する古い言葉（古語）から、稲作（いなさく）の月として「さつき」
になった。漢字の「皐」という字は「神にささげる稲」という意味がある。
または早苗を植える月「早苗月（さなえずき）」が略され｛さつき｝になったとも
言われている。
その他のさつき：五月・皐月・早月などと書く。
花：サツキ(「皐月躑躅（さつきつつじ）」を 省略したもの。つつじの一種。
「杜鵑花」とも書く
五節句. 人日（じんじつ）: 1月7日、七草 • 上巳（じょうし/じょうみ）:
3月3日、桃の節句、雛祭り(ひなまつり) •
5月5日、菖蒲の節句; 端午（たんご）:
7月7日、たなばた、星祭り、竹・笹;:
9月9日、菊の節句 重陽（ちょうよう）
縁起ものとして5月の節句に柏餅の葉に使われ柏の葉で餅（もち）を
包んでいたと思われる。
季節：1年を通してもっとも活気にあふれた美しい季節。若葉、色々の花、そして
穏やかな気温とすばらしい季節。
行事：ゴールデンウィークと呼ばれ4月の29日から大型の連休がはじまる。
お正月やお盆と同じく人々は旅行に出かけるなど連休を楽しむ。
4月29日 昭和の日 5月3日 憲法記念日
5月4日 みどりの日 5月5日 こどもの日
耕作（こうさく）：cultivating 稲作（いなさく） rice cropping
ささげる sacrifice 早苗 nursery plant (rice)
サツキ a kind of azalea
菖蒲 As the fragrance of irises was believed to drive away bad air,
people began to take baths with these medicinal leaves.
端午 Iris Festival 重陽 Chrysanthemum Festival
柏 Oak (rice cake wrapped in an oak leaf)
縁起もの bringer of good luck 憲法記念日 Constitution day
来月に続く NIC instructor Keita Suzuki
http://www.nicjapanese.com
| 04/02 | |
Cherry Blossom |
NIC Japanese Language School
Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan (花見 はなみ)
Sakura (桜) or Cherry Blossom is the Japanese name
for ornamental cherry trees and their blossoms.
Cherry fruit(known as sakuranbo) comes from a different species of tree.
Sakura is indigenous to the Himalayas, and in east Asia such as China,
Japan and Korea. Especially, Japan has a wide variety of sakura：
more than 300 cultivars can be found here.
Many were artificially hybridized or grafted by Japanese horticulturalists centuries ago.
Hanami, or parties for cherry blossoms viewing, got popularity
among the aristocrats during the Heian period (8 th to 12th centuries),
and went to its extreme with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the 16th century warlord.,
when he threw a hanami under the cherry blossoms of Daigoji Temple in Kyoto.
Hanami became a custom among the common people during the Edo period
(1600-1867) and it’s still one of the biggest annual events today.
Japanese people appreciate the beauty of the sakura and enjoy the beautiful view.
Some do hanami by eating and drinking under the cherry blossoms with friends.
Every year the people pay close attention to the update information provided
by Meteorological Agency. regarding cherry. blossom forecast,
as the location of the areas with newly cherry blooming moves gradually
northward up the Japanese archipelago .
There are many famous cherry blossom spots in Japan,
and these places can be crowded.
There are cherry trees everywhere throughout Japan.
Stop by any castles, parks, shrines, temples and schoolyards nearby.
You can enjoy quietly the beauty of cherry blossoms there.
But hurry, because the sakura blooms for one week.
Sakura blossoms long ago went deep into the Japanese heart.
The monk-poet Saigyo (西行)
composed the poem in about 1150 :
“A world without the scattering blossom would rob me of my feeling of melancholy.
“ One reason the sakura have fascinated the Japanese for centuries is
that their peak of beauty is so short. In Japan sakura symbolizes the short-lived life.
The sakura is so fragile that it reaches its peak fast and disappears fast.
The Japanese find this way of blooming and scattering graceful and attractive.
The most popular variety of sakura in Japan today is the Somei Yoshino.
Its flowers are pale pink. They bloom and usually fall within a week,
before the leaves come out.
The variety was cultivated about 130 years ago in Somei (now part of
Toshima-ku in Tokyo ) and named after its birthplace.
Most of the cherry blossoms that the ancient poets like above-metioned
Saigyo saw are believed to be those of the wild Yamazakura (山桜)variety,.
Mount Yoshino in Nara Prefecture was the most famous blossom-viewing spot
in ancient times、and even today the spot still attracts many visitors every year.
Among other varieties are yaezakura and shidarezakura,
The yaezakura has large flowers, thick with double deep pink petals.
The shidarezakura, or weeping cherry, has willow-like branches
If you are planning to go to Kyoto, springs a good time.
Kyoto’s historical sites are famous for their cherry trees.
Many tourists from abroad and in Japan visit Kyoto for cherry blossoms.
But there are many good spots for hanami in and around Tokyo.
The below are some of recommended spots ：
Ueno Park: a few steps from Ueno Station
One of Japan’s most crowded and popular cherry blossom spots.
featuring more than 1,100 trees along the street toward the National Museum
and around Shinobazu Pond.
Shinjuku Gyoen : 5 minute walk from Shinjuku Station.
a large park featuring more than one thousand cherry trees
of over a dozen varieties in Western and Japanese style gardens.
Entrance fee is 200yen. Open between 9:00 and 16:30.
Chidorigafuchi : Subway Kudanshita StationA
Around the Imperial moats .
Aoyama Cemetery : 5 minute walk from Gaienmae Stationt
The straight road leading through cemetery, lined by hundreds of cherry trees.
Sankei-en : 10 minutes by bus from
JR Negishi Station
A beautiful Japanese landscape garden in southern Yokohama, displaying
many historic buildings from across Japan.
NIC Instructor Sachiko Hamano
http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School
Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan (花見 はなみ)
Sakura (桜) or Cherry Blossom is the Japanese name
for ornamental cherry trees and their blossoms.
Cherry fruit(known as sakuranbo) comes from a different species of tree.
Sakura is indigenous to the Himalayas, and in east Asia such as China,
Japan and Korea. Especially, Japan has a wide variety of sakura：
more than 300 cultivars can be found here.
Many were artificially hybridized or grafted by Japanese horticulturalists centuries ago.
Hanami, or parties for cherry blossoms viewing, got popularity
among the aristocrats during the Heian period (8 th to 12th centuries),
and went to its extreme with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the 16th century warlord.,
when he threw a hanami under the cherry blossoms of Daigoji Temple in Kyoto.
Hanami became a custom among the common people during the Edo period
(1600-1867) and it’s still one of the biggest annual events today.
Japanese people appreciate the beauty of the sakura and enjoy the beautiful view.
Some do hanami by eating and drinking under the cherry blossoms with friends.
Every year the people pay close attention to the update information provided
by Meteorological Agency. regarding cherry. blossom forecast,
as the location of the areas with newly cherry blooming moves gradually
northward up the Japanese archipelago .
There are many famous cherry blossom spots in Japan,
and these places can be crowded.
There are cherry trees everywhere throughout Japan.
Stop by any castles, parks, shrines, temples and schoolyards nearby.
You can enjoy quietly the beauty of cherry blossoms there.
But hurry, because the sakura blooms for one week.
Sakura blossoms long ago went deep into the Japanese heart.
The monk-poet Saigyo (西行)
composed the poem in about 1150 :
“A world without the scattering blossom would rob me of my feeling of melancholy.
“ One reason the sakura have fascinated the Japanese for centuries is
that their peak of beauty is so short. In Japan sakura symbolizes the short-lived life.
The sakura is so fragile that it reaches its peak fast and disappears fast.
The Japanese find this way of blooming and scattering graceful and attractive.
The most popular variety of sakura in Japan today is the Somei Yoshino.
Its flowers are pale pink. They bloom and usually fall within a week,
before the leaves come out.
The variety was cultivated about 130 years ago in Somei (now part of
Toshima-ku in Tokyo ) and named after its birthplace.
Most of the cherry blossoms that the ancient poets like above-metioned
Saigyo saw are believed to be those of the wild Yamazakura (山桜)variety,.
Mount Yoshino in Nara Prefecture was the most famous blossom-viewing spot
in ancient times、and even today the spot still attracts many visitors every year.
Among other varieties are yaezakura and shidarezakura,
The yaezakura has large flowers, thick with double deep pink petals.
The shidarezakura, or weeping cherry, has willow-like branches
If you are planning to go to Kyoto, springs a good time.
Kyoto’s historical sites are famous for their cherry trees.
Many tourists from abroad and in Japan visit Kyoto for cherry blossoms.
But there are many good spots for hanami in and around Tokyo.
The below are some of recommended spots ：
Ueno Park: a few steps from Ueno Station
One of Japan’s most crowded and popular cherry blossom spots.
featuring more than 1,100 trees along the street toward the National Museum
and around Shinobazu Pond.
Shinjuku Gyoen : 5 minute walk from Shinjuku Station.
a large park featuring more than one thousand cherry trees
of over a dozen varieties in Western and Japanese style gardens.
Entrance fee is 200yen. Open between 9:00 and 16:30.
Chidorigafuchi : Subway Kudanshita StationA
Around the Imperial moats .
Aoyama Cemetery : 5 minute walk from Gaienmae Stationt
The straight road leading through cemetery, lined by hundreds of cherry trees.
Sankei-en : 10 minutes by bus from
JR Negishi Station
A beautiful Japanese landscape garden in southern Yokohama, displaying
many historic buildings from across Japan.
NIC Instructor Sachiko Hamano
http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC Japanese Language School