The Month Without Gods?

Fun fact: October roughly corresponds to the tenth month of the traditional Japanese calendar. The tenth month is called kannazuki (神無月) or the month without gods. Why such an unusual name?

One theory is that there is a subtle trick with the second character 無 where it is being read as “na” not the usual “mu” pronunciation. This a form of ateji where a character is used in Japanese to reproduce a sound but not necessarily the meaning. It happens a lot with Buddhist words used in Japanese, trying to approximate the original Sanskrit. In this case it is used to reproduce the sound of the possessive particle の. So in that context the meaning becomes the month with gods. But that still doesn’t quite explain the meaning.

In Shimane Prefecture is a famous town called Izumo.¹ There you can find the venerable grand shrine, Izumo Taisha, whose patron Kami is Ōkuninushi (大国主). Although the standard word for a Shinto shrine is jinja (神社) some shrines that are especially sacred and old are called taisha (大社) or “Grand Shrine” instead. Izumo Taisha happens to be one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan, so it’s a fitting name.

Each year at the Izumo Grand Shrine, there is a festival each year where it is said all the Shinto Kami of Japan gather for a big meeting to discuss the year’s affairs. Sort of like a yearly company meeting I guess. Interestingly around the town of Izumo the same month is called kamiarizuki (神有月), or the month when the gods are present.

I wonder if they get to take home any good schwag after the meeting.

P.S. I write this while enjoying a view of the Harvest Moon, which in Japanese is called chūshū no meigetsu (中秋の名月). Thanks to my wife for pointing that one out.

¹ Speaking of Izumo, I am reading Sei Shōnagon’s “Pillow Book” now which quotes a small love poem of lost origin:

“As the tide swells
in Izumo’s Always Bay
so always and always
oh how my heart swells and fills
deep with love to think of you.” (trans. Meredith McKinney)