Hi Leafers,
Here we are in August, which I already knew (既に知っていた) was the hottest month of the year in Japan. What I didn't know (or had forgotten) was that its old name was Hazuki, written in kanji as 葉月. Comprising the characters for both leaves (葉) and month (月), the literal meaning of Hazuki (葉月の文字どおりの意味) is "the month of leaves."
Although it doesn't feel like fall now, in the old Japanese lunisolar calendar (太陰太陽暦), the beginning of autumn (立秋) was on or around August eighth. As autumn brings the changing and falling of the leaves, the eighth month of the year is traditionally (伝統的に) known as Hazuki.
Falling for autumn,
Alan
P.S. Hazuki is also used (sometimes with different kanji) as either a family name (名字) or a given name (下の名前) here in Japan.
