Tsukimi

Tsukimi
Festival offerings: Tsukimi dango (left), susuki grass (middle) and chestnuts (right)
Official nameTsukimi (月見)
Observed byJapanese
TypeCultural, religious (Buddhist)
SignificanceCelebrates the harvest
ObservancesBurn incense at temples and consume dango
Begins15th day of the 8th lunar month
Ends18th day of the 8th lunar month
Date13th day of the 9th lunar month
2023 date29 September –
2 October
2024 date17 September –
20 September
2025 date6 October –
9 October
2026 date25 September –
28 September
FrequencyAnnual
Related toMid-Autumn Festival (in China)
Chuseok (in Korea)
Tết Trung Thu (in Vietnam)
Uposatha of Ashvini/Krittika (similar festivals that generally occur on the same day in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand)

Tsukimi (月見) or Otsukimi (お月見), meaning, "moon-viewing", are Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon, a variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese calendar, known as Jūgoya (十五夜, fifteenth night);[1] the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month, known as Jūsan'ya (十三夜, thirteenth night). These days normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar.

The tradition dates to the Heian era,[citation needed] and is now so popular in Japan that some people repeat the activities for several evenings following the appearance of the full moon during the eighth lunisolar month.

Tsukimi traditions include displaying decorations made from Japanese pampas grass (susuki) and eating rice dumplings called Tsukimi dango in order to celebrate the beauty of the Moon.[2] Seasonal produce are also displayed as offerings to the Moon. Sweet potatoes are offered to the full moon, while beans or chestnuts are offered to the waxing moon the following month. The alternate names of the celebrations, Imomeigetsu (meaning "potato harvest moon") and Mamemeigetsu (meaning "bean harvest moon") or Kurimeigetsu (meaning "chestnut harvest moon") are derived from these offerings.

  1. ^ ""Tsukimi": The Japanese Tradition of Autumn Moon Viewing". nippon.com. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  2. ^ Colleen Smith (September 25, 2015). "Where to view the harvest moon?". The Denver Post.