Jūgoya (十五夜 - Full Moon Night)

Tonight is "jūgoya" (十五夜).

The "jūgo" (十五) means "fifteen," the "ya" (夜) means "night," so the literal meaning of the composite is "fifteenth night."

Actually, "jūgoya" means a full moon night around August 15th in the lunar calendar.

Since the date was based on the phases of the moon in the lunar calendar, August 15th at that time is currently from the middle of September to the beginning of October.

In the night, people enjoy watching the moon with family while decorating Tsukimi Dango (月見団子 - rice dumplings for moon viewing) and Japanese pampas grass.

Incidentally, "jūgoya" is also called "chūjū no meigetsu" (中秋の名月 - harvest moon).

十五夜

今夜は「十五夜」です。

文字どおりの意味は「15日の夜」であり、旧暦8月15日前後の満月の夜を指します。

旧暦では月の満ち欠けを基準にしていたため、旧暦の8月15日は現在の曆では9月中旬から10月初旬とずれが生じます。

この夜、月見団子やススキを飾り、家族で月を楽しむのが古来から続く十五夜の過ごし方です。

ちなみに十五夜は、「中秋の名月」とも言われます。