如月

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Chinese

as (if); such as moon; month
trad. (如月) 如 月
simp. #(如月) 如 月

Pronunciation

Proper noun

如月

  1. (archaic) The second month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

Synonyms

See also

Note: Any month in the Chinese calendar may be preceded or followed by an intercalary month, an irregular month inserted into the calendar to bring the lunar year in line with the solar year.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
如 月
きさらぎ
Grade: S Grade: 1
jukujikun
Alternative spellings
二月
衣更着
更衣

Etymology 1

Likely from Old Japanese. Attested in a reading annotation to 春分 ("vernal equinox") in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE; depending on the manuscript it appears with the unvoiced (or no rendaku) reading キサラキ (kisaraki).[1]

720, Nihon Shoki, 62nd year of Emperor Nintoku:
自(より)㆑是(これ)以後(のち)、毎(ごとニ)㆑當(あたル)㆓ 季冬(しはすニ)㆒、必(かならズ)藏(をさム)㆑氷(こほりヲ)、至(いたリテ)㆑于(に)㆓春分(きさらぎ)㆒、始(はじメテ)散(くばル)㆑氷也(こほりヲ)。 [Man'yōgana]
是(これ)より以後(のち)、季冬(しはす)に当(あた)る毎(ごと)に、必(かなら)ず氷(こほり)を蔵(をさ)む、春分(きさらぎ)に至(いた)りて、始(はじ)めて氷(こほり)を散(くば)る。 [Modern spelling]
Kore yori nochi, shiwasu ni ataru goto ni, kanarazu kōri o osamu, kisaragi ni itarite, hajimete kōri o kubaru.
After this, he invariably storages ice every time when the end of winter (the 12th month) comes; When the vernal equinox (the 2nd month) comes, he distributes the ice for the first time.

The alternative spelling 衣更着 (and also 更衣 (“change the clothes”)) reflects the derivation from 衣 (kinu, “robes, clothing”) + 更 (sara, “again, more”) + 着 (ki, “wearing”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 着る (kiru, “to wear clothing on the upper body”)), first proposed by a poet Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (藤原清輔), in his work Ōgishō, 1144.[1][2][3]

Some sources also note that this spelling only arose in the late Heian period and propose alternative hypotheses including:

  • Compound of 気 (ki, “spirits, mood”) + 更 (sara, “again, more”) + 来 (ki, “coming”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 来る (kuru, “to come”)), from the sense of one's mood improving as winter comes to a close.[3]
  • Compound of 生 (ki, “live; life”, short for iki) + 更 (sara, “again, more”) + 来 (ki, “coming”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 来る (kuru, “to come”)), from the sense of plants putting forth new shoots.
  • James Marshall Unger suggests that this may ultimately be a loan from a source of modern Korean 겨울 (gyeoul, “winter”).[4] Compare obsolete or dialectal form 겨슬 (gyeoseul), and Middle Korean 겨ᅀᆞᆶ (kyezolh). In this hypothesis, the /o/ in the Middle Korean is potentially problematic, but Unger views the final /-lh/ as a good match for the final /-raɡi/ in the Japanese. However this theory is problematic for the following reasons:
    • The 2nd month of the East Asian lunar calendar is when the vernal equinox occurs, or the middle month of spring, which is not considered winter.[5]
    • The vowel ㅕ (Yale: ye) in Koreanic languages had been constantly transcribed as <e> in Japanese, until its pronunciation changed to in standard Korean (cf. 寺(てら) (tera, “temple”, (very likely) borrowed from a Koreanic language (likely Baekje), related to Middle Korean 뎔〮 (Yale: tyél; modern Korean 절 (jeol))), 嶋(セマ) (sema, transliteration of a(n archaic) Baekje/Koreanic word for "island", related to 셤〯 (Yale: syěm; modern Korean 섬 (seom))), 倍留(ぺる) (peru, transliteration of 별 (byeol, “star”) in the Wakan Sansai Zue, 1712[6]).

The spelling 如月 itself is borrowed from Middle Chinese 如月 (MC nyo ngjwot).

Pronunciation

Noun

如月(きさらぎ) • (kisaragi) 

  1. (archaic) the second month of the lunar calendar
  2. (poetic) February

Coordinate terms: 睦月, 如月, 弥生, 卯月, 皐月, 水無月, 文月, 葉月, 長月, 神無月, 霜月, 師走

Further reading

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
如 月
じょ
Grade: S 		げつ
Grade: 1
kan'on

Unknown. Appears to be coined in Japan of Middle Chinese-derived roots, as a compound of 如 (jo, “resemble, look like”) +‎ 月 (getsu, “moon; month”).

First cited with this reading to a text from 1559.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

如(じょ)月(げつ) • (jogetsu) 

  1. (archaic) the second month of the lunar calendar

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 “如月”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
  4. ^ Unger, J. Marshall (2001) “Layers of Words and Volcanic Ash in Japan and Korea”, in The Journal of Japanese Studies‎, volume 27, page 104
  5. ^ Vovin, Alexander (2010) Koreo-Japonica: A Re-Evaluation of a Common Genetic Origin, University of Hawai’i Press, →ISBN, →JSTOR, pages 151-152
  6. ^ Yokoyama, Yasuko (2015) “‘Japan-consciousness’ in the Past, Present and Future : Myself, A User of Chinese Characters, Barbarians, Non-user of Chinese Characters”, in International Japanese Studies, →DOI
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  8. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
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