If tea, like the moon at its clearest, could promote a beautiful state of mind in people throughout the world, it would surely make a great contribution to world peace.
Sen Sōshitsu XV
15th Grand Master of the Urasenke School of Tea.
Happy moon viewing season, friends!
According to Japan's ancient ritual calendar, the 15th night of the 8th lunar month heralds the autumnal tradition of tsukimi or moon-viewing. This year, it falls on the 17th of September, according to the Gregorian calendar, marking the beginning of Japan's moon-viewing festivities. This season is a celebration dedicated to appreciating the moon's illusive beauty. An endless source of poetic inspiration in Japanese art and literature, imagery of the moon can mean many things: a symbolic representation of autumn, a metaphor for truth, enlightenment or even love.
Tsuki is the Japanese word for moon, and the character is a pictograph of a crescent moon hidden behind clouds. Tsukimi means looking at or admiring the moon. The autumnal rite of moon viewing has been practised in Japan for over a thousand years. Tsukimi or Otsukimi is the Japanese equivalent of China's Japan's Mid-Autumn Festival.
This tradition of autumnal moon viewing has been celebrated in Japan for over a thousand years. The custom was initially introduced to Japan from China and dates back to the Nara period (710-794). In Japan, every Otsukimi people celebrate by making offerings of seasonal fruits and vegetables, attending moon-viewing parties, and eating rabbit-shaped delicacies while looking up at the harvest moon. The imagery of rabbits gazing up at the moon amongst autumn grasses combines the three key seasonal images that represent Autumn in Japan. You'll see these three elements separately and combined on stationary, tenugui and sweets throughout the country each September.
There are endless beautiful names for the moon in Japanese. As the moon dances through the sky throughout the year, each season and phase has its own tsuki or moon.
Tsukimi is also sometimes called jugoya, meaning the fifteenth night. According to the ancient Japanese lunar-solar calendar, the full moon appeared on the fifteenth night of each month, which was considered to be the best night of the year for observing the moon at its fullest and brightest. The fifteenth night of the eighth month of the old lunar calendar is known as jugoya no tsukimi.
Tsuki no Usagi: The Moon Rabbit
Myths about the moon have existed worldwide for thousands of years. The moon rabbit is a popular legend throughout East Asia and among many of the First Nations in America, Canada & Mexico— inspired by the craters of the moon that are said to look like a rabbit mounding mochi.
Rabbits and hares are popular figures in myth and legend throughout East Asia and Japan, often in combination with the moon. According to the Chinese zodiac, rabbits are peaceful, cooperative creatures. Rabbits embody yin, which manifests in their elegance, quiet contemplation and kind ways. They are known as the gentlest and also the luckiest of all the animals in the Chinese zodiac. In Japanese, the word eto refers to all twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, which are an inherent part of daily life in Japan.
Each September, to celebrate otsukimi or moon-viewing season in my own small way, I like to buy a rabbit-themed sweet to enjoy while I try to catch sight of the harvest moon. You'll see lots of rabbit-themed wagashi in Japanese sweet shops at this time of the year because they represent tsuki no usagi, the moon rabbit or moon hare. A popular mythical figure from East Asian folklore in China, he's called the Jade rabbit. According to Japanese lore, he is the rabbit who lives on the moon and spends his time pounding mochi.
The moon rabbit's story tells that one day, the man who lived on the moon grew lonely. He looked down at the earth, and in a forest, he saw a rabbit, a fox and a monkey. He decided that the kindest animal could come and live with him on the moon. Disguising himself as a starving beggar, he came down to earth and approached the animals in the forest and asked if they could help feed him. When the rabbit lit a fire and offered his own life to provide for the elderly man, he was rewarded with a place by his side for eternity.
Meigetsu: The Harvest Moon
Lunar legends and moon myths exist the world over. Indigenous Americans have poetic names for every moon of the year. Members of the Ojibwe, one of the largest remaining Algonquin tribes based in the Great Lakes area of the United States, call this moon the one closest to the autumnal equinox, the corn moon or the harvest of fruit moon.
The autumn moon is one of Japan's representative seasonal images. Of all the full moons that wax and wane throughout the year, it is autumn's full moon, or harvest moon, which is considered to be the most sublime. The term meigestu, meaning splendid moon or harvest moon, refers to the nearest full moon to shubun (the Autumnal Equinox), which appears on the fifteenth night of the eighth month, according to the old lunar-solar calendar. Transposed onto the Gregorian calendar, this is now September, the ninth month. In Japanese art, when a full moon hangs low in the sky, viewed as if rising from an ocean of swaying Pampas grasses, it refers to a place called Musashino Plain—an area of Tokyo known for its expanse of autumn grasses.
Here are a few suggestions to help inspire your own moon-viewing celebrations, no matter where you are.
How to Enjoy Moon Viewing Season at Home
Compose a poem inspired by the beauty of the moon.
Make a moon-themed seasonal display.
Learn about global lunar legends and rites. Why not read about a new one each year during September?
Take a moment to reflect on all the joys of summer and think about what you're most looking forward to about autumn.
Invite some friends for a harvest feast of seasonal delights under the light of the autumn moon; if the weather allows, you could even eat outside.
Enjoy some mochi and make an offering to the moon. Apples, persimmons, and other round harvest-season fruits and vegetables are perfect if you can't easily access mochi.
Fill a vase with autumnal grasses gathered from nearby fields and riverbeds or source some dried Pampas grass. Position it by the window so you can look past the brasses to see the moon.
Find out if there are any moon-themed events taking place near you. One of my favourites is Luke Jerram's travelling artwork, the Museum of the Moon, which continually tours the world. You can check the tour dates on their website.
If you enjoyed this substack and want to learn more about Japan's rich seasonal traditions. Then you might also like my book The Japanese Art of Living Seasonally: An Invitation to Celebrate Every Day. It's a treasure trove of the traditional Japanese foods, flowers, festivals and folklore that have delighted and inspired me since I started travelling to Japan almost a decade ago, which has forever changed how I connect with the natural world and the seasons.
Make sure to look up tonight to see the moon in all her autumnal glory. She put on a great show last night, and tonight will be even better!
Till next time, thank you for reading and take care out there.
Natalie
Xx
A great read and really interesting. It makes The Moon Season extra special. 🌔🌝
Thank you Natalie! I was teaching my students a Qigong form this morning called „Looking at the Moon”, which feels especially poignant after reading your words 🌝