うすうすとしかもさだかに天の川
usu-usu to shika mo sadaka ni ama-no-gawa
slightly faint
yet also clear
the milky way
—Kiyozaki Toshio
(trans. David LaSpina[1])
The Milky Way, ama-no-gawa in Japanese, which literally says Heaven's River or River of Heaven, is a season word for the beginning of autumn. According to the traditional Japanese almanac, the 24sekki, we are just a few days away from autumn.
The Milky Way became a kigo (season word) for autumn mainly because of the Tanabata festival, which I talked about here. On the Western calendar the event is (mostly) celebrated on July 7th, but the date on the old calendar this year would have been exactly two days from now
Follow my link in the previous paragraph for more, but briefly, Tanabata is a celebration of the one time of year when the stars Vega and Altair meet. Normally they are divided by the Milky Way, but on this day they come together. In Japanese myth this becomes a love story. It also marks risshū, the beginning of autumn. Originally the Japanese considered the season to change when we were at the peak of the previous one.
I imagine a lot of people reading this blog have never seen the Milky Way with the naked eye. Light pollution being what it is, it's tough to see any stars clearly from all but the smallest cities. In pre-electric Japan it would have been a lot easier to see and enjoy.
That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩